What is the Average Length of Stay at a Residential Program?

The use of the term “average” is a misnomer when it comes to the clients of NeuLife in Mount Dora, Florida. None of them are average. They are all unique. They are unique for many reasons:

• Their backgrounds and the manner in which they define “independence.”
• The way in which they sustained their catastrophic injury. A stroke? A head injury? A motor vehicle accident? A work-related accident?
• The fact that they have sustained different degrees of catastrophic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries that require specific methods of rehabilitation to attain the best possible outcome consistent with the client’s own definition of independence.
• Their individualized needs for catastrophic injury rehabilitation, specialized rehabilitation and neurorehabilitation of different kinds, including physical and cognitive rehabilitation.
• They may have sustained a traumatic limb amputation and need specialized rehabilitation including occupational therapy.
• The dynamics of their injuries may have resulted in multiple trauma requiring the need for physical, behavioral and other cognitive rehabilitation.
• Some have short-term needs and some have long-term needs that include residential programs.

The use of the term “residential” is also a misnomer as it relates to the clients of NeuLife. NeuLife is not an “assisted-living facility” in the general sense of the term. Clients at NeuLife are “assisted” in regaining their independence to the greatest degree possible. While some may stay long-term, they are not “residents”; they do not live at NeuLife.

Maybe most importantly, and in recognition of these and other factors, is the way in which NeuLife develops and implements a customized Client Goal Plan for each client. NeuLife, in its quest to consistently provide the highest standard of care in the delivery of clinically relevant services to achieve successful, sustained outcomes and to exceed the expectations of all persons served, does not take a cookie-cutter approach to post-acute rehabilitation. That is because NeuLife delivers innovative post-acute rehabilitation. NeuLife’s clients are individuals with their own goals and dreams. It is NeuLife’s mission to help them to achieve them.

There exist some generalities that can be drawn from studies. However, individuals are cautioned not to conclude that any of the generalizations can, or do, apply to them. A few of the generalities include:

• One of the major measures of disability, and thereby, a predictor of the length of stay in a residential program is the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). The FIM provides a uniform measure of disability based on the International Classification of Impairment, Disabilities and Handicap. It measures the level of an individual’s disability and indicates how much assistance is needed by the individual to carry out activities of daily living. It evaluates eighteen items consisting of thirteen motor tasks and five cognitive tasks. Scoring ranges from complete independence to complete assist[1]. From that score, one can generally gauge an average length of stay in a residential program

• In a 1996 study, it was concluded that medical complications associated with traumatic brain injuries and consequent motor impairment negatively affected functioning at the start of rehabilitation. However, those effects diminished by one-year post-injury[2].

NeuLife’s philosophy is that healing, wellness and personal fulfillment are best achieved in a positive and uplifting therapeutic environment where caring staff encourages, assists and supports each client so he or she may achieve specific goals. NeuLife believes personal fulfillment is equally as important as goals to achieve function and independence.

NeuLife, in Mount Dora, Florida, is a fully accessible residential post-acute program providing specialized rehabilitation to individuals diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic amputations and other catastrophic injuries.

2725 Robie Avenue

Mount Dora, Florida 32757

[1] http://www.rehabmeasures.org/Lists/RehabMeasures/DispForm.aspx?ID=889

[2] The Impact of Acute Complications, Fractures, and Motor Deficits on Functional Outcome and Length of Stay After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Multicenter Analysis.

Englander, Jeffrey S. MD; Cifu, David X. MD; Wright, Jerry BA; Zafonte, Ross DO; Mann, Nancy MD; Yablon, Stuart MD; Ivanhoe, Cindy MD; Williams & Williams, 1996