The Amputee Coalition, Manassas, Va, recently reported that it has forged a peer support affiliation agreement with TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas. The Coalition designates the agreement as the second in the nation to be signed and the first in the Southwest. The agreement is intended to provide the opportunity for other hospitals and rehabilitation facilities to officially embed the Coalition’s peer support program into their facilities.
Carl Josehart, CEO, TIRR Memorial Hermann, articulates the organization’s honor, “to be the first hospital in the Southwest to be affiliated with the Amputee Coalition. We hope that our partnership will serve as an example to others, so that we can help more amputee patients in this region,” Josehart says.
A release from the Coalition notes that as part of this partnership, TIRR Memorial Hermann will use Coalition materials and guidelines for peer visitation and will also provide an official trainer on staff to train peer visitors. The Coalition adds that it will also assist in integrating the program, training staff, and providing materials.
Sue Sout, chief policy and programs officer, Amputee Coalition, emphasizes that, “Those who benefit the most from this relationship will be patients of the TIRR Memorial Hermann as it will set the system in place to ensure that every patient who wants a peer visit will be able to get one,” Sout says.
The Coalition says it will also be seeking agreements with other hospitals nationwide, places a focus on Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).
For more information visit www.amputee-coalition.org
Source: Amputee Coalition
