Ventilator services at Magee are designed to increase the independence of SCI survivors whose breathing requires mechanical assistance. The Ventilator Program is a comprehensive approach to rehabilitation, which includes the latest in medicine, allied health, medical and assistive technology, patient education and case management.

Treating-team members have been specially trained to work with patients who use ventilators. Patients will benefit with interaction with others who use ventilators or who have recently been weaned, in addition to interaction with SCI patients who do not use ventilators. Magee is one of only a handful of rehabilitation centers in the country that can provide this specialized rehabilitation environment.

In Magee's Ventilator Program, as with all SCI programs, individual goals are set, and services are geared toward individual needs. The Ventilator Program team works with patients and families in the following areas:

• mobility (using standard or power wheelchair)
• equipment evaluation, selection and ordering
• use of "high-tech" environmental aids
• weaning from ventilator (when appropriate)
• patient-family teaching
• muscle strengthening
• community living skills
• home needs assessment and recommendations
• discharge planning (with appropriate community service referrals)
• psychological wellness

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