The Amputee Coalition has announced that it has signed a peer support affiliation agreement with MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital, headquartered in Washington DC, with facilities in DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware. MedStar will use Amputee Coalition materials and guidelines for amputee peer visitation and will have an official trainer on staff for training amputee peer visitors, and the Amputee Coalition will assist in integrating the program, training staff, and providing materials.
“[T]his will set the system in place to ensure that every patient who wants a peer visit will be able to get one,” said Sue Stout, chief policy and programs officer for the Amputee Coalition.
According to Jessica Barth, inpatient occupational therapist at MedStar, “The partnership agreement between the Amputee Coalition and MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital will provide an additional layer of support and mentorship to an already-existing intensive rehabilitation program for individuals following an upper-limb or lower-limb amputation. We are excited to embark upon this partnership with the Amputee Coalition.”
The Amputee Coalition said it will be seeking agreements with other hospitals around the country, focusing attention on Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF)-accredited rehabilitation facilities.
