Former Philadelphia Flyer Brian Propp Announces Scholarship to Benefit Stroke and Brain Injury Patients at Magee Rehabilitation

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Former Philadelphia Flyer Brian Propp, who recovered from a stroke at Magee Rehabilitation in Fall 2015, has created a scholarship program to help fellow stroke and brain injury survivors receive the therapy they need. Following a generous gift from the Handen Family to kick off the fundraising campaign, the goal is to raise $100,000 this year for the Brian Propp Helping Hands Project.

After his discharge as an inpatient at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, Brian returned home but was still in need of intensive therapy to continue his recovery from stroke. Brian was fortunate to be able to participate in the Day Rehab program at the Magee Riverfront outpatient center, where received treatment each day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There are other patients that could benefit from this program, too, the same way that Brian did, but unfortunately, they don’t have the insurance coverage or financial means necessary. Day Rehab costs $1,000 per day. Most patients attend for four to six weeks and then transition to a program of the services they still require, like Physical, Occupational, and/or Speech Therapy. Insurance typically does not cover all that is needed. This is where gifts to the Brian Propp Helping Hands Project can help. Supporters can sponsor a patient for a day, a week, or a month.

“I was lucky to have received world-class care from Magee,” Brian says. “I wanted to make sure that as many people as possible could benefit from their efforts and expertise. Not everyone has enough insurance coverage to get all the help they need. This program is designed to help them.”

Scholarship patients will be chosen based on the following criteria:
 They can achieve measurable goals such as returning to work or school, caring for their children, or navigating a day at home without fulltime assistance;
 They have reliable transportation and home support; and
 Every insurance option has been exhausted to provide this therapy, or their insurance coverage has been exhausted but they still have gains to make.

Day Rehab offers a comprehensive day of therapy to patients, enabling them to continue working towards achieving the goals that began as a patient in the hospital. Services offered as a part of this program include:
 Occupational, Physical, Recreation and Speech Therapies
 Art and Horticulture Therapies
 Locomotor Training
 Case Management and Nursing services
 Psychology and Coping Groups
 Group sessions with education and activities
 Planning and execution of a weekly community outing that focusses on therapy goals

In addition to the benefits that patients gain from these services, they have the opportunity to work together with people recovering from similar injuries, sharing milestones and accomplishments, and often building friendships that last beyond their discharge from Magee.

To learn more about Brian’s story, click here.

About Magee Rehabilitation Hospital
Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, a founding member of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s NeuroRecovery Network, is the Philadelphia region’s original provider of physical and cognitive rehabilitation. The not-for-profit hospital provides nationally-recognized lifetime rehabilitation and wellness programs for individuals with spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, orthopedic joint replacement, amputation, pain management, and work injury. Since 1978, Magee has partnered with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to form The Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center of the Delaware Valley, one of only 14 federally designated model systems of care in the country.

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