Dr. John Dodson serves as director of NYU Langone’s Geriatric Cardiology Program. He maintains an active general cardiology practice, which focuses on patients over age 70, and also provides care for patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation at NYU's Rusk Rehabilitation. He currently is the Principal Investigator for a Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) from the NIH/NIA and a Mentored Clinical and Population Research Award from the American Heart Association. An Assistant Professor in both the Department of Medicine and the Department of Population Health, he is Board certified in both cardiovascular disease and internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. A recipient of a fellowship in epidemiology from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, he also had a fellowship in geriatrics from Yale University School of Medicine and another fellowship in cardiovascular disease from Yale-New Haven Hospital. His medical degree is from NYU and he has an MPH degree from Harvard. He did his residency at Columbia University Medical Center.

In Part One of this two-part interview, Dr. Dodson discusses: use of cardiac catheterization in frail patients, the associations of incident heart failure with rates of cognitive decline, rehabilitation interventions to deal with slow gait speed, factors involving discharge after transcatheter aortic valve replacement to either the home or a skilled nursing facility, and steps in the discharge process.

Dr. Pablo Celnik is director of the Johns Hopkins Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and physiatrist-in-chief at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He also is a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, and neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. A native of Argentina, his medical degree is from the University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine. He completed his residency training in neurology in Argentina and a fellowship in neurological rehabilitation at the University of Maryland. He also earned two research fellowships at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Celnik has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. 

In Part 2 of the two-part series, Dr. Celnik discusses: another one of his studies on the bail ty of motor learning to occur after a stroke;  efforts to achieve the translation of clinical findings and evidence-based research to the bedside in a timely manner;  importance of patient involvement in medical decision-making and in any related aspects of their care; patient resilience and positive willingness to want to participate actively in all aspects of rehabilitation; role of in-home telehealth therapy programs; ways in which rehabilitation services can benefit from leveraging existing and emerging kinds of social media platforms and using other modalities, such as apps, wearable devices, and virtual reality technology; and how developments in assistive technologies and genomics influence rehabilitation. 

Dr. Pablo Celnik is director of the Johns Hopkins Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and physiatrist-in-chief at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He also is a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, and neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. A native of Argentina, his medical degree is from the University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine. He completed his residency training in neurology in Argentina and a fellowship in neurological rehabilitation at the University of Maryland. He also earned two research fellowships at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Celnik has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.

In Part 1 if this two-part series, Dr. Celnik discusses: the number of individuals who experience a stroke in the U.S. annually and the percentage of them able to return home following treatment; kinds of impairments that result from a stroke and which ones are the most common; factors, such as age that can affect both the degree and the speed of recovery following a stroke; kinds of measures to determine neurological recovery and at what stages they are applied most effectively; periods of time in which most rehabilitation interventions take place and whether plateaus occur where further treatment is not associated with additional improvements; and a study in which he was involved to determine whether post-stroke mirror movements in the non-paretic hand are generated cortically or subcortically. 

 Joseph Adams is a Senior Physical Therapist and a Clinical Instructor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Rusk Rehabilitation, NYU Langone Health. He has performed physical therapy interventions for a diverse group of patients with central and peripheral vestibular disorders and assisted the program manager in expanding NYU’s concussion center into the vestibular department. He completed two clinical research studies and coordinated four ongoing clinical research studies in the Ambulatory Care Center at Tisch Hospital at NYU, and the Concussion Center. Dr. Adams is board certified in neurological rehabilitation. His doctorate in physical therapy is from the Touro College of Health Sciences where he also serves as an adjunct professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program. Additionally, he is a teaching assistant in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Columbia University.

In this interview, Joseph discusses: post-concussion syndrome from the standpoint of the amount of time that elapses after a head injury has occurred for the syndrome to be manifested; the kinds of symptoms that characterize this problem; the number of individuals in the U.S. who experience a head injury annually and the proportion affected by post-concussion syndrome; his involvement in a study of a supervised home program provided in the context of a multi-modal rehabilitation intervention to address persistent dizziness and disability; his participation in an investigation of  a supervised home exercise vestibular rehabilitation aerobic training program to address persistent post-concussion symptoms; factors, such as age, gender, race, and ethnicity that can affect both the degree and the speed of recovery from post-concussion syndrome; the role a patient’s psychiatric history and family members’ psychiatric history involving conditions such as pre-morbid anxiety or depression can play in the recovery process of post-concussion syndrome; kinds of measures to determine recovery and stages when they are applied most effectively; and ways in which rehabilitation services for post-concussion syndrome can benefit from leveraging existing and emerging kinds of social media platforms and using other modalities, such as apps, wearable devices, and virtual reality technology.

Dr. Jeffrey Heckman is a board certified physiatrist and a University of Washington assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and also the Director of the Regional Amputation Center at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. He specializes in the evaluation and management of the medical and functional aspects of rehabilitation following amputation, including prosthesis prescription, phantom limb pain and musculoskeletal injuries, as well as for arthritis-related joint pain and other age-related musculoskeletal conditions. His research interests are mobile technology, phantom limb pain, and peer support, and his teaching interests include amputation/limb loss and prosthetics/orthotics. He received his undergraduate degree from Penn State University and his osteopathic medical degree from the University of New England. He completed his residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the NYU Langone Medical Center, Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine.

In Part 2, Dr. Heckman discusses: children involved in amputations and their rehabilitation; how neighboring parts of the body may be affected by amputation; provision of relief from phantom pain; use of mirror therapy in treatment of phantom limb pain; translation of clinical findings and evidence-based research to the bedside in a timely manner; key research topics aimed at improving patient care of amputees; patient involvement in medical decision-making; patients’ resilience and positive willingness to want to participate actively in all aspects of rehabilitation; role of in-home telehealth therapy programs; and major challenges facing the profession of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Dr. Jeffrey Heckman is a board certified physiatrist and a University of Washington assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and also the Director of the Regional Amputation Center at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. He specializes in the evaluation and management of the medical and functional aspects of rehabilitation following amputation, including prosthesis prescription, phantom limb pain and musculoskeletal injuries, as well as for arthritis-related joint pain and other age-related musculoskeletal conditions. His research interests are mobile technology, phantom limb pain, and peer support, and his teaching interests include amputation/limb loss and prosthetics/orthotics. He received his undergraduate degree from Penn State University and his osteopathic medical degree from the University of New England. He completed his residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the NYU Langone Medical Center, Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine.

In Part 1, Dr. Heckman discusses: health problems that necessitate amputation; kinds of assessment tools to predict functional outcomes in amputees; major physical and psychological challenges faced by patients following amputation; efforts to assess mental health status pre-surgery; use of prosthetic devices; instances where patients decide to cease using prosthetic devices; and use of targeted muscle re-innervation to restore physiologic continuity as a means of possibly enabling more intuitive prosthetic control.

Jane Armer is a Professor at the University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing, Director of Nursing Research at the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, and Director of the American Lymphedema Framework Project. As Principal Investigator for three National-Institutes-of-Health-funded grants in breast cancer lymphedema measurement, occurrence, and impact, Dr. Armer has conducted extensive work in the area of lymphedema prevalence, signs and symptoms, anthropometric measurement, and self-management among breast cancer survivors; fatigue among persons with lymphedema; and self-management of chronic illness. A Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, she is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including in 2017 being a Sigma Theta Tau International Inductee into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. A prolific contributor to the professional literature on cancer and lymphedema, her PhD in gerontology nursing is from the University of Rochester.

In Part 2, of this interview, she discusses: available therapies to treat lymphedema, clinical treatment guidelines, use of CAM therapies, role of religiousness/spirituality in relation to positive health outcomes, adequacy of the health workforce to provide treatment, and future research that would be valuable to conduct.

The interview was completed with three resident physicians in the field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rusk Rehabilitation/NYU Langone Health. Dr. John Fox currently serves as a Chief resident for the 2017-2018 academic year. He will graduate residency in June and begin training in a one year Pediatric Rehabilitation Fellowship this summer. Dr. Jason Roth is an upcoming Chief Resident for the residency program who will serve for the 2018-2019 academic year. Dr. Raj Panchal is a current resident who will be completing his first year of Rehabilitation residency training at RUSK this June. All three physicians have served or are active representatives for PM&R in the hospital-wide Physician Wellbeing Committee, a committee where representatives from each residency training program meet to discuss issues of resident burnout, wellbeing, and ways to improve the collective residency training experience.

Heather Milton leads group fitness classes at NYU Langone Orthopedic Center and is a clinician with the Running Laboratory and Golf Laboratory. She is a board-certified exercise physiologist and strength and conditioning specialist. She is certified in Functional Movement Systems® and by the Titleist Performance Institute. She develops specialized programs to help athletes reach their maximum potential and ability. Ms. Milton creates unique and motivational programs to inspire health and fitness clients and designs injury prevention programs for at-risk athletes and youth sports teams. She also identifies limitations that may affect sport performance, including gait faults in running, swing faults in golf, and swing, kick, and throw patterns in rotational sports. Her undergraduate degree in cardiopulmonary science and her master’s degree in clinical exercise physiology are from Northeastern University.

This is the second of a two-part series. In Part 2 of the interview, Ms. Milton discusses how an off-season training program contributes to an athlete’s injury risk and overuse injuries; what can be done to reduce overuse injuries in various sports; prevention of baseball pitcher injury; whether female and male patients sustain ACL injuries via different mechanisms; and how information of this nature can serve to improve injury prevention strategies.

Heather Milton leads group fitness classes at NYU Langone Orthopedic Center and is a clinician with the Running Laboratory and Golf Laboratory. She is a board-certified exercise physiologist and strength and conditioning specialist. She is certified in Functional Movement Systems® and by the Titleist Performance Institute. She develops specialized programs to help athletes reach their maximum potential and ability. Ms. Milton creates unique and motivational programs to inspire health and fitness clients and designs injury prevention programs for at-risk athletes and youth sports teams. She also identifies limitations that may affect sport performance, including gait faults in running, swing faults in golf, and swing, kick, and throw patterns in rotational sports. Her undergraduate degree in cardiopulmonary science and her master’s degree in clinical exercise physiology are from Northeastern University.

This is the first of a two-part series. In Part 1 of the interview, Ms. Milton discusses how to screen patients with ACL injury to help guide their training and return to sport; time intervals at which screening measures are used, key areas of a training program that patients with ACL injury must address to transition back to their sport; common traits observed in both male and female athletes that have completed physical therapy following ACL injury; the continuum of older adults attending rehabilitation for gait training and the importance of muscle mass to avoid falls and the onset of frailty; muscle loss (sarcopenia) as a result of aging; and designing a training program for an older adult with many comorbidities.

Dr. Tamara Wexler is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center. Dr. Wexler established the Endocrine Patient Registry to support clinical research, and multidisciplinary and inter-institute research collaboration to further investigate the importance of pituitary dysfunction, and its treatment. She serves as principal investigator of the TBI/Pituitary Registry and the lead site investigator for a multisite neuroendocrine tumor study. Her research interests are focused on neuroendocrine and reproductive endocrine changes that may occur, including after traumatic brain injury. Her medical degree and PhD are from the University of Pennsylvania. She did her residency in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Wexler also had a fellowship at MGH involving Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism.

This is the second of a two-part interview. In Part Two, Dr. Wexler discusses the role played by other factors, such as age, gender, and race/ethnicity in pituitary dysfunction following a TBI; hypopituitarisms and the extent of pituitary dysfunction and the amount of time that elapses after a TBI; determining when it is appropriate to conduct screening; and the degree to which incidence and prevalence data indicate the mount of progress being made in treating pituitary problems.

Dr. Tamara Wexler is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center. Dr. Wexler established the Endocrine Patient Registry to support clinical research, and multidisciplinary and inter-institute research collaboration to further investigate the importance of pituitary dysfunction, and its treatment. She serves as principal investigator of the TBI/Pituitary Registry and the lead site investigator for a multisite neuroendocrine tumor study. Her research interests are focused on neuroendocrine and reproductive endocrine changes that may occur, including after traumatic brain injury. Her medical degree and PhD are from the University of Pennsylvania. She did her residency in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Wexler also had a fellowship at MGH involving Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism.

This is the first of a two-part interview. In Part One, Dr. Wexler discusses collaborations she established to further research and patient care; how the pituitary responds to different kinds of TBI and whether the injury stems from a one-time event or a series of repetitive events; how a TBI affects the anterior and posterior pituitary lobes; and whether genetic disposition plays a role in pituitary dysfunction after a TBI.

This interview is with a panel of three Rusk leaders: Dr. Tamara Bushnik, Dr. Brian Im, and Michelle Smith. 

Dr. Tamara Bushnik is an Associate Professor and Director of Inter-Hospital Research and Knowledge Translation at Rusk Rehabilitation. She is  is the Project Director of the current RuskTraumatic Brain Injury Model Systems (TBIMS) at NYU. She has over 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts since joining the project. She has been the Chair of the TBIMS Knowledge Translation Committee since 1999 and has led the selection of topics for the popular traumatic brain injury Fact Sheets and end-of-grant-cycle special issues/sections highlighting TBIMS research.

Dr. Brian Im is the director of brain injury rehabilitation at Rusk where he treats both inpatients and outpatients in the brain injury rehabilitation program. He is heavily involved in program development and academic medicine. He is the program director for the ACGME accredited brain injury medicine fellowship at NYU School of Medicine, has an active role in TBI research, and in the TBIMS projects. His research focus of interest is in studying the health care disparities and differences that exist in TBI care for different populations. 

Michelle Smith is an Assistant Research Scientist where she manages day-to-day activities of studies, including the TBIMS National Database. She has a professional background and interests in health communications with the goal of providing vital information to patients to help improve their health through increasing health literacy. Prior to her current role, she managed the development and implementation of  research studies to improve health in the underserved community of Harlem by developing and maintaining a website and a randomized-controlled trial to reduce hypertension.  

During the interview, the three discuss: treatment of older patients who sustained a traumatic brain injury; interventions necessary when patients' health literacy levels are low; addressing patients’ treatment preferences when they have different beliefs about the nature of health problems; and how patients' level of emotional functioning can affect treatment outcomes.

Dr. Jonathan Whiteson is Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine; Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine; Medical Director of Rusk Outreach and Growth; and Medical Director of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. His research interests include: cardiac rehabilitation for patients with advanced congestive heart failure and after left ventricular assist device placement, pulmonary rehabilitation of individuals exposed to world trade center dust, and recognizing encephalopathy and delirium in the cardiopulmonary rehabilitation setting. His medical degree is from the University of London and he completed his residency at NYU Medical Center in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation where he also completed a fellowship in cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation. He is certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 

This is the second of a two-part series with Dr. Whiteson in which he discusses many topics including: conditions such as medically complex, cardio-pulmonary, stroke, or TBI that make it more likely that a patient could become a candidate for readmission within 30 days of being discharged; challenges in treating frail patients; a pilot program at Rusk that involves patient needs assessment, medication reconciliation, patient education, making arrangements for out-patient/home-based services, and telephone follow-up; what is being done at Rusk from the standpoint of educating family caregivers and viewing them as valuable members of the health care team; how the Rusk team does an assessment of the safety of a patient's home to lower the risk of falls; and problems associated with polypharmacy that need to be taken into account when providing rehabilitation care.

Dr. Jonathan Whiteson is Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine; Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine; Medical Director of Rusk Outreach and Growth; and Medical Director of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. His research interests include: cardiac rehabilitation for patients with advanced congestive heart failure and after left ventricular assist device placement, pulmonary rehabilitation of individuals exposed to world trade center dust, and recognizing encephalopathy and delirium in the cardiopulmonary rehabilitation setting. His medical degree is from the University of London and he completed his residency at NYU Medical Center in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation where he also completed a fellowship in cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation. He is certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 

This is the first of a two-part series with Dr. Whiteson in which he discusses many topics including: conditions such as medically complex, cardio-pulmonary, stroke, or TBI that make it more likely that a patient could become a candidate for readmission within 30 days of being discharged; challenges in treating frail patients; a pilot program at Rusk that involves patient needs assessment, medication reconciliation, patient education, making arrangements for out-patient/home-based services, and telephone follow-up; what is being done at Rusk from the standpoint of educating family caregivers and viewing them as valuable members of the health care team; how the Rusk team does an assessment of the safety of a patient's home to lower the risk of falls; and problems associated with polypharmacy that need to be taken into account when providing rehabilitation care.

Dr. Steven Flanagan is the Chair, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Howard A. Rusk Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Rusk Rehabilitation. He is highly recognized, nationally and internationally, as one of the leading experts in the area of brain injury rehabilitation. He serves on numerous medical advisory boards, including the Brain Trauma Foundation and is a peer reviewer for several scientific journals. He currently is chairperson of the Medical Education Committee and sits on the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medicine. The author of numerous chapters and peer-reviewed publications, he has received awards from several organizations and been continually listed as one of America’s Top Doctors by Castle Connolly.

In this interview, he discusses: the kinds of patients treated for TBI at Rusk, if a TBI sustained during early adulthood or mid-adulthood can pose a risk for dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases associated with aging, the role of brain reserve in developing an understanding of the interplay between TBI and neurodegenerative diseases associated with aging, treatment of chronic cognitive impairment in TBI, TBI and sleep disorders, inclusion of family members in the care giver team, the use of technological innovations in rehabilitation, and research on TBI being conducted at Rusk, along with any system enhancements underway or being planned.

This interview is a continuation of a panel discussion on TBI. This is the second of a two-part series featuring Dr. Prin Amorapanth and Dr. Brian Im.

Dr. Prin Amorapanth is a clinical instructor and a member of the research faculty at Rusk. His  fellowship at NYU Langone Health focuses on brain injury medicine. His current research interests include identifying markers of visuospatial impairment following acquired brain injury as well as the use of non-invasive brain stimulation as both a therapeutic and investigational tool for maximizing rehabilitation and better understanding mechanisms of recovery following brain injury. He is certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. His medical degree and PhD are from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his residency training in rehabilitation medicine at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Dr. Brian Im is Associate Director of Brain Injury Rehabilitation at Rusk. He also is program director for the ACGME-accredited brain injury medicine fellowship at NYU School of Medicine.  Following medical school at SUNY, Syracuse, rehabilitation residency at NYU School of Medicine/Rusk Rehabilitation, and fellowship in BI rehabilitation medicine at UMDNJ/Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, his subsequent 5-year tenure at NYU Bellevue Hospital focused upon an interest in improving brain injury rehabilitation for underserved populations.  He has an active role in TBI research at NYU and the TBI Model Systems Project at Rusk Rehabilitation, specifically as co-director of the Bellevue program.  His primary research interest is in disparities in TBI health care for different U.S. populations. 

In Part 2, the discussion includes: kinds of tests employed to assess patient emotions and the possibility of the results being compromised; differences between male and female athletes in TBI injuries; key rehabilitation research topics involving TBI where it would be beneficial to conduct more investigations; and changes that may occur as more patient care services  occur mostly outside the hospital setting

This interview is a continuation of a panel discussion on TBI. This is the first of a two-part series featuring Dr. Prin Amorapanth and Dr. Brian Im.

Dr. Prin Amorapanth is a clinical instructor and a member of the research faculty at Rusk. His  fellowship at NYU Langone Health focuses on brain injury medicine. His current research interests include identifying markers of visuospatial impairment following acquired brain injury as well as the use of non-invasive brain stimulation as both a therapeutic and investigational tool for maximizing rehabilitation and better understanding mechanisms of recovery following brain injury. He is certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. His medical degree and PhD are from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his residency training in rehabilitation medicine at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Dr. Brian Im is Associate Director of Brain Injury Rehabilitation at Rusk. He also is program director for the ACGME-accredited brain injury medicine fellowship at NYU School of Medicine.  Following medical school at SUNY, Syracuse, rehabilitation residency at NYU School of Medicine/Rusk Rehabilitation, and fellowship in BI rehabilitation medicine at UMDNJ/Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, his subsequent 5-year tenure at NYU Bellevue Hospital focused upon an interest in improving brain injury rehabilitation for underserved populations.  He has an active role in TBI research at NYU and the TBI Model Systems Project at Rusk Rehabilitation, specifically as co-director of the Bellevue program.  His primary research interest is in disparities in TBI health care for different U.S. populations. 

In Part 1, the discussion includes: whether different patterns of outcomes occur upon discharge of different racial and ethnic TBI patients from inpatient rehabilitation facilities; challenges involved in predicting the degree of cognitive, motor, and psychological recovery and the timeline of such recovery after sustaining a TBI; diagnostic tools to explore chronic traumatic encephalopathy pathophysiology; progress being made in identifying suitable biomarkers; kinds of emotional impairment among TBI patients; and the usefulness of incorporating patient self-reports in assessments of their emotional state.

This episode is part two of a panel discussion on TBI with Dr. Steven Flanagan and Dr. Erika Trovato.

Dr. Steven Flanagan is Director of the Rusk Rehabilitation Institute. He is highly recognized, nationally and internationally, as one of the leading experts in the area of brain injury rehabilitation. He serves on numerous medical advisory boards, including the Brain Trauma Foundation and is a peer reviewer for several scientific journals. He currently is chairperson of the Medical Education Committee and sits on the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medicine. The author of numerous chapters and peer-reviewed publications, he has received awards from several organizations and been continually listed as one of America’s Top Doctors by Castle Connolly.

Dr. Erika Trovato recently completed her fellowship in Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation at Rusk. She obtained her medical degree from New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rusk Rehabilitation before beginning her fellowship. Her current research interest involves sleep dysfunction after traumatic brain injury. She has accepted a TBI attending physician position at Burke Rehabilitation in White Plains, NY and will begin working there in October 2017. 

In this interview, the two discuss: how to deal with situations when a patient’s resilience and positive willingness to want to participate actively in all aspects of rehabilitation are not present; long-term motor dysfunction and movement disorders in the kinds of research being conducted; progress being made in the incorporation of advances in technology to patient care; availability of prognostic tools to predict and define outcomes after a TBI; ways in which the rehabilitation of TBI patients could benefit from the development of more innovations of a non-technology nature; breaking bad news to patients and their family members about reduced chances for significant recovery; and kinds of interventions effective in dealing with fatigue.

This episode is part of a panel discussion on TBI with Dr. Steven Flanagan and Dr. Erika Trovato.

Dr. Steven Flanagan is Director of the Rusk Rehabilitation Institute. He is highly recognized, nationally and internationally, as one of the leading experts in the area of brain injury rehabilitation. He serves on numerous medical advisory boards, including the Brain Trauma Foundation and is a peer reviewer for several scientific journals. He currently is chairperson of the Medical Education Committee and sits on the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medicine. The author of numerous chapters and peer-reviewed publications, he has received awards from several organizations and been continually listed as one of America’s Top Doctors by Castle Connolly.

Dr. Erika Trovato recently completed her fellowship in Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation at Rusk. She obtained her medical degree from New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rusk Rehabilitation before beginning her fellowship. Her current research interest involves sleep dysfunction after traumatic brain injury. She has accepted a TBI attending physician position at Burke Rehabilitation in White Plains, NY and will begin working there in October 2017. 

In this interview, the two discuss: the TBI Model System at Rusk; activities undertaken in the Rusk Fellowship Program; advice for incoming Rusk Fellows; when a patient is ill, how decisions are made regarding which different kinds of therapy should commence and when;​ and use of family caregivers to assist in the pain assessment of TBI patients.

Samantha Muscato is a clinical specialist in pediatric occupational therapy acute care at Rusk Rehabilitation, where she has been for nine years. She has worked in all pediatric rehabilitation departments including: outpatient, the former preschool program, inpatient acute rehabilitation, and acute care. Her experience includes assessing needs regarding assistive technology, seating and mobility, splinting, as well as standard occupational therapy assessment of fine motor, visual motor, sensory processing, cognitive skills, and activities of daily living. Her current work primarily is in the neonatal intensive care unit, the congenital cardiovascular care unit, and the acute care unit providing feeding therapy to infants born prematurely and babies with complex medical/surgical histories. Her Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Occupational therapy are from D’Youville College in Buffalo, NY. She has taken certification courses for Kinesiotaping, neonatal oral motor assessment scale, and she is a Certified Lactation Counselor.

In this interview, Samantha discusses: the ages of her patients and the kinds of conditions they have that necessitate the provision of occupational therapy services; feeding therapy to infants born prematurely and babies with complex medical and surgical histories; what specifically distinguishes the work of an occupational therapist in the pediatric intensive care unit; whether certification is necessary for an occupational therapist to work in that unit; tools for conducting assessments; occupational therapy strategies employed when addressing the complex health care needs of children at different ages; the role of assistive technology; mentoring and training new pediatric occupational therapists for all aspects of acute care; and developing programs and providing education for staff in other health professions.