Wood's World Archives - Beechwood NeuroRehab

Beechwood NeuroRehab Participates in Developing National Position Statement

October 29, 2018

Beechwood NeuroRehab, along with BIAPA staff, participated in developing a National Position Statement titled “Identifying and Responding to Youth with Brain Injuries within the Juvenile Justice System”, published in September 2018 by the National Partnership on Juvenile Services http://npjs.org/

This National Position Statement came out of our Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice work through the PA Department of Health (Beechwood NeuroRehab was a subcontractor), and funded by the Federal Administration on Community Living (ACL).

2018 Brain Injury of Pennsylvania Annual Conference

June 14, 2018

The BIAPA 18th Annual Conference is coming up! June 24-26, 2018 at the Lancaster Marriott

Register now to attend the conference. Online registration is now available.
You may also register using fax or email until Thursday, June 21.

The online registration link is: https://biapa.z2systems.com/eventReg.jsp?event=51

When the account box appears, search using your email address to ensure you are linked to your current record in the database. If your email is not linked to a record, you may create a new record. Once you login, the system will ask you for a password. That will allow you to view your record and registrations.

Join us for the 18th Annual Conference. With 5 keynote presentations, 18 workshops and multiple social events, this conference will be the one to attend. Attendees needing continuing education credits have the opportunity to earn up to 11 CEUs.

For more information or questions, please email Kara at admin@biapa.org

InSPIRE Program Takes Flight

June 13, 2018

Just one peek at the Beechwood NeuroRehab InSPIRE Program Facebook page and you will see that this is a group that likes to have fun. From a trip to the Philadelphia flower show, to taking in a Trenton Thunder game, to playing adaptive sports and games on the beautiful grounds at Beechwood, InSPIRE program members are truly living life to the fullest.

Established in February as part of Beechwood’s Structured Day Program, InSPIRE was designed as a complement to BNR’s Clubhouse, Supported Employment Programs, and Supported Education Programs. InSPIRE stands for Increasing Social Participation In Real-life Experiences, and utilizes a brain injury skills training/facilitation model to allow each person to participate to their maximum potential. It was developed to provide choice to its participants in terms of their productive daily activities.

“InSPIRE really gives individuals the opportunity to explore their recreational and leisure interests while building their social skills,” said Paige O’Sullivan, InSPIRE Program Manager. “It is also an opportunity for them to get out into the community and try new things and adapt things that they used to do in a different way to give them new experiences.”

O’Sullivan’s education and training prepped her for the opportunity to lead the InSPIRE Program. She earned a Master’s degree in Recreation Therapy and a Bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation, both from Temple University, and is also a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. In addition to her background, she brings a wide range of interests including hiking, camping, geo-caching, sports, recreational games, board games, and crafting.

“When I saw this position available I thought it was really cool that I could be at the start of a program and frame it the way that I and our team envisions it and try new ideas,” she said. “First and foremost we always make sure we are client-focused so we find ways to incorporate everyone’s interests and abilities into what we do.”

In addition to O’Sullivan, InSPIRE is led by two InSPIRE Program Coordinators: Hailey Glover, who has a dance background, and Megan Aslanian, a music therapist. There is also a group of Life Skills Trainers who help to aid clients in their participation.

There are currently 12 InSPIRE program members, but O’Sullivan says that number may jump to as high as 40 once the group is able to utilize their new space, which is currently under construction in Beechwood’s Stabler Center and expected to be ready this summer. Despite not having their own dedicated space just yet, the InSPIRE Program has certainly kept busy and has many future plans in the works, including expanded offerings for clients.

“Every day we try to do something physical, cognitive, social and recreational or artistic. When the full program starts we are going to have two programs running every hour so that gives people a choice,” said O’Sullivan. “I think that will be helpful for a lot of clients to feel like they have a say about what they are doing in their leisure time.”

While InSPIRE has proven to be beneficial for the dozen clients who are participating, O’Sullivan says it has been a rewarding experience for her as well.

“I love the clients that we have here. You really get connected to them and get to know their backgrounds, what they love, what they don’t like, their stories, how long they’ve been here,” she said. “It’s really interesting to see the different personalities and how they all work together.”

One thing the group has in common is a love for classic rock, which is often incorporated into their daily activities. O’Sullivan says plans are in the works to take the InSPIRE group to concerts, an adaptive surfing event, and maybe even an Eagles game. Be sure follow the InSPIRE Facebook page to see where they end up next! https://www.facebook.com/InSPIREBeechwood/

Dr. Drew Nagele Featured in Recent Publications

May 17, 2018

Beechwood NeuroRehab Exective Director Dr. Drew Nagele’s study entitled “A call for implementing preferred practices for brain injury screening in youth to improve transition” was recently featured in NeuroRehabilitation: An Interdisciplinary Journal. The newsletter can be accessed here.

A research study co-authored by Nagele titled “The Under-Identification of Brain Injuries and the Relationship with Juvenile (and Eventually Adult) Criminal Justice” was recently published in the Brain Injury Professional. The outcome is the result of work being done at Beechwood NeuroRehab, in conjunction with the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania, as well as policy work being done by the National Collaborative on Children’s Brain Injury (NCCBI). You can read the full article here.

The Ivan Project: Powering Forward

May 16, 2018

One of Ivan Loesch’s favorite things to do on a nice day is to ride from his residence at Beechwood NeuroRehab into Langhorne Borough. He will often stop to chat with friends along the way as he pops into the Tiger Mart, Luk-Oil gas station, and Dollar General. Thanks to Ivan’s research and ingenuity and help from Woods’ Maintenance Department, those trips into town are now being made in an electric wheelchair that is run on solar-powered batteries.

“I first got the idea from Super Storm Sandy, which was a major influence for this project. We were without power for about a week and I knew from my research that solar power does not go down during weather anomalies,” said Ivan.

Ivan has always been an idea man so once he got the notion in his head to make his wheelchair solar-powered, there was no stopping him. He devoted himself to researching and learning everything he could about solar energy before diving into what is now known as “The Ivan Project”.

After reading numerous articles and guides on solar power, Ivan reached out to Tyler Doan, Mechanical Lead in the Woods’ Maintenance Department, for assistance. Tyler then enlisted the help of other department members, including electrician Frank Britsch and HVAC technician Tony Daniels. Despite the research, preparation and technical expertise of those working on the project, solar energy wasn’t exactly in Frank and Tony’s wheelhouse.

“We hooked everything up and everything was working and we come back the next day and the battery is drained and his wheelchair is not charged,” said Tony, who has worked at Woods for three years. “We thought the manual was really going to tell us everything we needed but it didn’t.”

Though the project required some additional research and ended up taking longer than expected, the group did not give up and the system is now up and running. Ivan has a routine that he follows each day in order to ensure that his arsenal of batteries stay charged so he is able to make his trips into Langhorne Borough and joyride around the Beechwood NeuroRehab grounds. Ivan is very thankful to Frank and Tony for their willingness to participate in his project and bring his vision to life, but he says he’s just getting started with his solar power plans.

“I would like to expand my solar apparatus. It would be great to power a tower at Woods. I know it’s a big undertaking but I think it could be feasible,” said Ivan, who will turn 40 in June and celebrate 20 years at Beechwood in July. “I want to do the tower because I think it could be symbolic, like a monument or a legacy.”

Beechwood NeuroRehab Executive Director, Dr. Drew Nagele, served as the mediator for “The Ivan Project” and set all of the necessary wheels into motion after hearing about the idea from Ivan himself. Nagele even arranged for a video to be shot (coming soon!) to document the process.

“Ivan’s determination to explore and experiment with alternative energies has now paid off,” said Nagele. “I’m extremely proud of Ivan’s accomplishment of creating a solar-powered wheelchair.

As for Frank and Tony, though “The Ivan Project” was frustrating at times, the pair was happy to help Ivan’s dream become a reality.

“I happened to be in Beechwood Manor when he was talking to Drew (Nagele) and I heard him telling people that he loved it and that he would like to do more stuff with (solar

energy),” said Frank. “Anytime you see our individuals and you know they are happy because of something you did, it’s rewarding.”

So how does it work?

The solar panels are on a 45-degree angle in the back of (Ivan’s residence) facing Southwest, where we can get the most sunlight. There are two wires on the back that absorb and transfer the energy into the basement. Once in the basement it goes to a control panel, from the control panel it goes to a battery. The battery absorbs the electricity from the solar panel. From the battery it goes to an inverter. The inverter changes the power from direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC), which is then fed into a receptacle that is connected to a wire that goes through the basement up a half-wall that is connected to the other end of an outlet, which is where Ivan plugs his battery in for his wheelchair.

Video version of Powering Ideas: The Ivan Project