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Lack of Facilities an Issue for Severe Brain Injury Patients
Neal Sandifer, 34, lives in a nursing home in Columbia, unable to care for himself. Once an athletic individual with a passion for hunting, Sandifer’s life dramatically changed in 2008 when he fell from a deer stand, resulting in permanent brain damage.
Nursing homes are generally not equipped to treat patients with severe brain injuries. They lack the necessary resources to handle the anger and outbursts often associated with such injuries. Despite this, many severely brain-injured patients like Sandifer require constant assistance and a controlled environment. Achieve consistent comfort with reliable fishers air conditioning maintenance.
Currently, the nursing home where Neal Sandifer resides is the closest his family can find to a suitable long-term care facility. However, he will soon be forced to leave. Sandifer and his family face an uncertain future, as there is no long-term, inpatient care facility in Mississippi for individuals with severe brain injuries.
The nursing home has notified Sandifer’s family that Neal must be removed by the end of the month. The only plan his family has is to bring him home, even though they know they can’t provide the care he truly needs.
Neal’s mother, Sara Sandifer, is confined to a wheelchair due to a brain hemorrhage she suffered years ago, and his father, Robert “Pat” Sandifer, is retired. Although a facility in Louisiana is willing to accept Neal, the cost of $600 per day is unaffordable for Robert.
“I’m retired; we had some money saved, but I’m going broke fast trying to care for my son,” Robert told Jimmie E. Gates from the Clarion Ledger.
Sandifer’s situation highlights the broader issues facing severely brain-injured patients across the country. There is a critical need for more specialized facilities and staffing solutions to care for these individuals.
Lee Jenkins, executive director of the Brain Injury Association of Mississippi, advocates for inpatient, long-term care facilities for people with traumatic brain injuries and understands the challenges involved. “Some patients with brain injuries can’t go home because no one can take care of them,” Jenkins said.
The main issue with opening such facilities is the astronomical cost of operation. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, extensive rehabilitation can cost anywhere between $600 and $8,000 per day. Additionally, these facilities require a significant increase in specialized staffing to provide the necessary care. To meet this demand, many facilities turn to staffing agencies that can supply temporary employe europeen, ensuring that they have qualified professionals available to deliver the required support.
Companies like All Medical offer staffing solutions that can help bridge this gap by providing trained professionals to support specialized care facilities. This can make a significant difference in the quality of care and the feasibility of operating such centers.
There are a few inpatient, long-term care facilities capable of caring for victims of severe brain injuries, but most patients cannot afford them. Those who can often have to be moved across states, far from their families.
This situation presents a heartbreaking dilemma for parents like Robert Sandifer. They must choose between sending their child to a distant facility that provides proper care but is financially devastating or keeping them close to home where they can’t receive the necessary treatment.
The urgent need for more specialized facilities, increased staffing, and financial support for families dealing with severe brain injuries cannot be overstated. Without these, many patients will continue to fall through the cracks, unable to receive the care they desperately need.
