Stroke Patients Without Funding Receive Free Therapy from PT Students, a Win-Win in PT

It is common for people who experience a stroke to go through physical therapy afterwards to regain functions that may have been lost or damaged during the stroke.

A new program in New Orleans at the LSU Health Sciences Center is designed to help stroke victims who can’t pay for physical therapy get physical therapy for free. The program works by pairing stroke victims with physical therapy students that need their required clinical hours for their degree.

The program provides a creative win-win for both the stroke victims and the students who all gain much from the experience. Students swapping valuable physical therapy treatment in exchange for valuable and required physical therapy experience.

Patients heal, for free, while students get that much closer to earning their degree at the same time providing a real impact on patient’s lives and gaining extremely valuable physical therapy experience they will carry throughout their careers.

It isn’t uncommon to hear stories like Aubrey Jones’. Aubrey was a jazz sax player and restaurant server. I say ‘was’ because a stroke debilitated Aubrey’s use of his left hand preventing him from playing sax or serving tables until his physical therapy treatment would effectively rehabilitate the use of his hand. Unfortunately, before he gained use of his hand again, his insurance stopped paying for his physical therapy treatment.

Thankfully, Aubrey was not left out to dry.

The LSU Health Sciences Center stepped in providing free rehab for Aubrey and other patients who couldn’t pay for rehab.

Masters students studying physical, occupational, and speech therapy are participating in this new program and providing free therapy services to stroke patients. The students attest that the program not only gives them the hands-on clinical experience that their degrees require and insight into their future careers, but the students say that their experience has been life-changing.

Statistics show that stroke patients are getting younger and younger, no longer is a stroke only a fear for those over 65. Many reports are surfacing of men and women in their 40s experiencing strokes. So, a program like this has come at a great time to battle a growing health problem.

Resources on Physical Therapy for Stroke Patients

If you or someone you know has experienced a stroke then be assured that you or them have options to heal. Not only can physical gains be measured but the emotional gains will be even more significant.

Here are 3 great resources for stroke patient’s physical therapy treatment options:

1. See if you qualify for LSU’s new stroke clinic (this will be for folks in New Orleans) Call 504-568-4302 and participate in their screening process.
2. Read and practice Post Stroke Rehabilitation treatment provided by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
3. Read and implement the Stroke Recovery Guide from the National Stroke Association

Have you experienced a stroke and recovered with physical therapy? Do you know about other resources for stroke victims rehabilitation journey? Pleas tell us about it in the comments below 🙂