Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 58, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 31, 2011 Page: 3 of 40
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Page A3
Jewish Herald-Voice
March 31, 2011
Up Close
reputation for treating serious brain
injuries and because of the family’s
strong support network in Houston.
TIRR Memorial Hermann CEO
Carl Josehart wasn’t surprised. TIRR
is one of a few hospitals in the country
designated as a Model System for
Traumatic Brain Injury by the National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research. The model system is a federal
designation, funded through the U.S.
Department of Education after a
competitive process to obtain the grant.
“You need to demonstrate the
capability of conducting relevant
research in brain injury recovery and
participate in sharing your research
with sites all over the country,” said
Josehart. “The idea of the model centers
is to produce high-quality research. The
results are shared across the country
and become widely adopted.”
According to researchers, the
recovery and functional outcomes of
TBI depend on several factors, including
neurological diagnosis, severity of
injury and age of patient. Each year,
an estimated 1.5 million Americans
sustain a TBI. As a result of these
injuries, 50,000 people die, 230,000
people are hospitalized and survive,
and an estimated 80,000-90,000 people
experience the onset of long-term
disability.
Rehabilitation involves setting
goals, that one can achieve in the
short-term and the longer-term.
Although Josehart could not share
Giffords’ specific rehabilitation goals,
due to privacy regulations that govern
patient confidentiality, he said that the
rehabilitation process sets long- and
short-term goals based on what is
biologically possible in each recovery
case.
“Patients and their families are
encouraged to participate in setting
those goals,” said Josehart. “Different
people value different things. For
example, if one’s job was more
intellectual, some people might value
more verbal or intellectual skills. Others
might value the ability to walk. The goals
are not preset. They are individualized.
“To use an example: If someone had
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End of Life Supplement . . . Section B
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In Other Words...........A11
Health................A22
Obituaries..............A26
On Campus.............A21
Schools...............A20
Shabbat Shalom...........A9
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Synagogues ............. A9
Teens................A21
Up Close...............A2
Upcoming.............A12
concerns,” said Josehart. “Certainly,
we’ve had to change some things about
ways we operate our security system.”
Josehart gained some experience
in this area in 2007 when Buffalo
Bills tight end Kevin Everett went for
rehabilitation at TIRR.
“Although his treatment program
was similar to other patients, concerns
about intrusion and privacy were
fftl^d-Voice
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Challenges remain in Giffords’ rehabilitation
By AARON HOWARD
Eleven days after U.S. Rep. Gabrielle
Giffords was shot through the head
while meeting with constituents
outside a Safeway store in Tucson,
Ariz., husband Mark Kelly announced
that she would come to Houston’s
TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital for
rehabilitation. Although other hospitals
in New York and Washington briefly
were considered, Kelly said TIRR
was chosen because of its national
a spinal-cord injury and never could heightened,” recalled Josehart. “A
walk again, setting the goal of walking is regular citizen doesn’t have helicopters
inappropriate. But, a goal of independent circling the hospital, trying to get
movement might be achieved through pictures through the window. One of
the use of a mechanical
wheelchair. It’s a
mixture of taking what
is medically realistic
along with the wants and
desires of those families
and getting as close to
the goal as possible. We
talk to the families and
depending on the type of
injury and severity, we
may be able to help them
get to a goal but not the
way they did before.”
Early in the rehabilitation process,
people may set unrealistic goals. And,
some of that is healthy, said Josehart,
in the sense that being stubborn and
setting a high goal is motivating. Also,
denial of permanent disability is part
of accepting a traumatic event. But,
the bottom line for the TIRR teams
of physicians, nurses and therapists
is to help TBI patients set a realistic
framework.
“If the goal is too fast or unrealistic,
we don’t have a way to make that
happen. We also have to help patients
cope with anger, bargaining and
adjusting to a new normal. We often talk
to families about the same stages that
Dr. Elisabeth Kiibler-Ross described in
her book on dying. People grieve in a
similar way to the loss of independence
or part of their bodily function. We often
use that same model to talk to patients
about what they might experience in
their own recoveries,” said Josehart.
A patient like Giffords represents a
different challenge to a hospital like
TIRR, not because of her need for a
specialized treatment, but because
of the added burden to protect their
privacy. People are curious about
Giffords in ways that they are not about
other people. The shooting that led to
her TBI is public knowledge. Plus, there
are security concerns. Since Giffords’
injury was the result of an assassination
attempt, there’s always the possibility of
a copycat incident.
“Making sure she and her family are
safe and those who are taking care
of her are safe has been one of our
the things that make
treatment possible is the
patient’s belief that we
will respect their private
medical information and
_ matters.”
Carl Josehart Josehart said that
it has been very gratifying to see the
entire community of Houston reach
out to Giffords’ family with offers of
assistance.
“Many organizations and agencies
realize we were chosen to provide care,
and there have been an outpouring of
offers to help with everything from
homes for the family to stay in, to food
to pastoral care. I have great pride in
Houston and in the Jewish community,
which I am a part of. We’ve had more
offers than we’ve been able to utilize.
Fortunately, the family is not lacking in
resources.”
Josehart also said that he was
gratified that Giffords’ rehabilitation
has led to an increased awareness of
life after traumatic injury and ways
to be more inclusive of people with
limitations.
“There are many questions to ask
in our Jewish community. Are our
synagogues accessible to people with
mobility issues? Can they get up on
the bimah to make an aliyah? Are our
Jewish institutions prepared to welcome
in everybody, or are there obstacles,
physical and attitudinal?
“The whole goal of rehabilitation
is for people to return to all of the
aspects of life that are meaningful to
them: work, socializing, spiritual life.
Everything we value as an individual is
valued by people with disabilities. The
media give most of their attention to
life-saving measures. But, restoring life
is only the first step in a long journey. If
there’s no quality of life after recovery,
what kind of life have we saved?
“Interest now is spurred because
many people feel close to Gabrielle
Giffords. But, she represents the
struggle that millions of Americans
go through every day trying to live
meaningfully in society and be
human in all the sense of what that
word means.” □
Mm§ Art
“JP -tfF
David P. Kapiloff
Brian J. Kapiloff
Jay E. Gerstenhaber
E. Henry Hochman
Philip B. Wise
INSURANCE + BENEFITS
houston 713-541:72721 wwwinsgroup.net
not release information
to the public they are not
interested in sharing. If
a patient can’t trust the
details of their private
life won’t be shared, they
won’t trust us in other
ROBERTA. CUMINS
Gabrielle Giffords was shot on Jan. 8.
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Samuels, Jeanne F. Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 58, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 31, 2011, newspaper, March 31, 2011; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth544283/m1/3/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .