Max
01-04-2008, 01:42 PM
'Wii'-habilitation center using donated game system to help patients
Regional rehab center had more reasons to celebrate in 2007
Wednesday, Jan 02, 2008 - 04:01 PM Updated: 04:18 PM
By Press Release
GREENVILLE – When 10-year-old Stephen May was admitted to the Regional Rehabilitation Center at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in 2006, he was suffering from excruciating pain in his left leg. He had been diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and would require intensive rehab therapy. After three weeks of inpatient therapy at the rehab center and continued outpatient therapy, Stephen was able to rejoin his soccer team last spring and was pain free by the end of the year.
Before his stay at PCMH, Stephen had never been an avid player of video games. That all changed during his therapy.
“We discovered that while Stephen was playing videogames in the hospital, he wasn’t focused on the pain,” said Stephen’s dad, Craig May. “The games actually took the pain away.”
After Stephen was discharged, the entire May family – including mom Peggy and Stephen’s six-year-old sister Morgan – decided they wanted to do something for the pediatric rehab department that would benefit other children like Stephen.
“When Stephen was down, the entire family was down, especially Morgan,” said his father. “Stephen is so much better now. We just wanted to do something for the other children that we knew our son would have enjoyed as well.”
That’s when they decided to donate a Nintendo Wii video game system to the rehab center. The only problem was that the systems were few and far between at area stores. Stephen’s dad just happened to be in a store in Knightdale that had just received three systems a couple of hours earlier. There was only one left, and he grabbed it.
After checking with the folks in pediatric rehab, the Mays purchased all of the appropriate accessories and games and delivered the system.
“Our patients are able to use the Wii to improve strength and endurance while at the same time relieve stress and anxiety related to hospitalization,” said Jennifer Brown, pediatric recreation therapist.
In addition to the Wii donation, the Regional Rehabilitation Center has had a lot of reasons to celebrate in 2007. From celebrating its 30th anniversary to being reaccredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), the center has reached two major milestones in one year.
“The Regional Rehabilitation Center is the only center in eastern North Carolina that has physicians with specialty board certifications in spinal cord medicine, pediatric rehabilitation, and brain injury,” said Dr. Daniel Moore, medical director, PCMH physical medicine and rehabilitation, and professor and chair, physical medicine and rehabilitation department at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. “The dedicated specialty treatment units and treatment teams for children and adults recovering from brain injury and spinal cord injury is unique in eastern North Carolina and aids in our patients’ recovery process.”
Since 1977, the inpatient facility has offered a wide range of integrated inpatient and outpatient programs. The 75-bed rehab center specializes in the care of people with stroke, spinal cord injury, acquired brain injury, orthopedic injuries, pediatric injuries and neuromuscular disorders.
In September, CARF International announced that the rehab center at PCMH had been reaccredited for three years for the following programs and services:
http://www.wnct.com/midatlantic/nct/features.PrintView.-content-articles-NCT-2008-01-02-0022.html
Regional rehab center had more reasons to celebrate in 2007
Wednesday, Jan 02, 2008 - 04:01 PM Updated: 04:18 PM
By Press Release
GREENVILLE – When 10-year-old Stephen May was admitted to the Regional Rehabilitation Center at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in 2006, he was suffering from excruciating pain in his left leg. He had been diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and would require intensive rehab therapy. After three weeks of inpatient therapy at the rehab center and continued outpatient therapy, Stephen was able to rejoin his soccer team last spring and was pain free by the end of the year.
Before his stay at PCMH, Stephen had never been an avid player of video games. That all changed during his therapy.
“We discovered that while Stephen was playing videogames in the hospital, he wasn’t focused on the pain,” said Stephen’s dad, Craig May. “The games actually took the pain away.”
After Stephen was discharged, the entire May family – including mom Peggy and Stephen’s six-year-old sister Morgan – decided they wanted to do something for the pediatric rehab department that would benefit other children like Stephen.
“When Stephen was down, the entire family was down, especially Morgan,” said his father. “Stephen is so much better now. We just wanted to do something for the other children that we knew our son would have enjoyed as well.”
That’s when they decided to donate a Nintendo Wii video game system to the rehab center. The only problem was that the systems were few and far between at area stores. Stephen’s dad just happened to be in a store in Knightdale that had just received three systems a couple of hours earlier. There was only one left, and he grabbed it.
After checking with the folks in pediatric rehab, the Mays purchased all of the appropriate accessories and games and delivered the system.
“Our patients are able to use the Wii to improve strength and endurance while at the same time relieve stress and anxiety related to hospitalization,” said Jennifer Brown, pediatric recreation therapist.
In addition to the Wii donation, the Regional Rehabilitation Center has had a lot of reasons to celebrate in 2007. From celebrating its 30th anniversary to being reaccredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), the center has reached two major milestones in one year.
“The Regional Rehabilitation Center is the only center in eastern North Carolina that has physicians with specialty board certifications in spinal cord medicine, pediatric rehabilitation, and brain injury,” said Dr. Daniel Moore, medical director, PCMH physical medicine and rehabilitation, and professor and chair, physical medicine and rehabilitation department at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. “The dedicated specialty treatment units and treatment teams for children and adults recovering from brain injury and spinal cord injury is unique in eastern North Carolina and aids in our patients’ recovery process.”
Since 1977, the inpatient facility has offered a wide range of integrated inpatient and outpatient programs. The 75-bed rehab center specializes in the care of people with stroke, spinal cord injury, acquired brain injury, orthopedic injuries, pediatric injuries and neuromuscular disorders.
In September, CARF International announced that the rehab center at PCMH had been reaccredited for three years for the following programs and services:
http://www.wnct.com/midatlantic/nct/features.PrintView.-content-articles-NCT-2008-01-02-0022.html