The introduction is done by Dr. Steven Flanagan, Chairperson of the Department of Rehabilitation at NYU Langone Health.
Sara Cuccurullo MD is Professor and Chairman, Residency Program Director in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Rutgers- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; Medical Director, VP at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute; and Physician in Chief of HMH Rehabilitation Care Transformation Services
Talya Flemming MD is Medical Director: Stroke Recovery Program, Post-COVID Rehabilitation Program, Aftercare Program ABMS, Brain Injury Medicine Certified JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinical Associate Professor, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Core Associate Professor, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.
Part 2
Dr. Flemming described the functional results obtained from their intervention. They specifically chose the activity measure proposed for post-acute care, abbreviated as AM-PAC. It showed improvement over time and it allowed looking at specific subsections within rehabilitation, such as basic mobility, daily activity, and cognitive scores. An AM-PAC score is a recognized tool by Medicare used in multiple post-acute care settings. Dr. Cuccurullo indicated that according to an article published in 2011 in the journal Stroke, the all-cause mortality for stroke patients in the U.S. is 31%. In one year, the all-cause mortality in their program was 1.47%. Their results were published in the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The paper received the Excellence in Research Writing Award for the most impactful article of the year. Significantly, the manuscript attracted the attention of Medicare officials who asked them to present their findings. CMS wanted to know if it can be proved that the stroke recovery program saves money, can they validate their previous improvement in mortality with more patients, and can they replicate the results at other institutions nationally. Drs. Fleming and Cuccurullo described what they did in response to these questions.
A Question & Answer period followed.