United Helpers Now Offering Stroke Therapy From Region's Only Certified Stroke Rehabilitation Specialists

Alycia Dezell and Stacie Jessmer, Certified Stroke Rehabilitation Specialists

OGDENSBURG – At any given time there can be as many as a dozen or more stroke patients receiving therapy services through United Helpers.

While traditional therapy is certainly better than no therapy at all, United Helpers can now say they employ the region’s only two Certified Stroke Rehabilitation Specialists.

Alycia Dezell, an Occupational Therapist at RiverLedge Health Care & Rehabiliation Center in Ogdensburg and Stacie Jessmer, a Physical Therapy Assistant at Maplewood Health Care & Rehabilitation Center in Canton recently earned their certification by completing a series of classes offered by the National Stroke Association over the past several months. 

“There are only 40 Certified Stroke Rehabilitation Specialists in all of New York State and until now the closest one was in Syracuse,” Mrs. Jessmer said. “Being Certified Stroke Rehabilitation Specialists, we now know the most beneficial ways and latest techniques for treating stroke patients.”

Ms. Dezell said the course included a lot of lab-based work and data analysis.

“They used to say there was a small window of opportunity, usually around a six month window, for someone to be able to reach their maximum potential after a stroke. With new research we now know that fully recovering from a stroke can sometimes take years. In some instances progress can even continue throughout the remainder of their lifetime,” she said.

Mrs. Jessmer said that it is her hopes that with their certifications, insurance companies may be willing to provide additional therapy services for those trying to recover from a stroke.

“Sometimes insurance companies will only approve therapy for someone for up to three or four weeks, but now with our certifications we have evidence-based information, training and skills that we can use to show the insurance companies how beneficial additional therapy could be,” she said.

Director of Rehabilitative Services Terry L. Micelli said that stroke therapy at either location could occur in an outpatient or inpatient setting. Ms. Dezell and Mrs. Jessmer may provide services to those who just recently had a stroke or those who have had a stroke in the past, but need additional therapy in order to reach the highest level of function possible.

“There is evidence out there that people who have had a stroke even three or four years ago, can possibly regain some function with the help of a specialist,” she said.

The key, Mrs. Jessmer said, is constant stimulation in their environment through specific functional-based tasks.

“To be successful with neuro-therapy you have to stimulate the brain,” she said. “Stroke patients need the same amount of sleep as anyone else, as when they’re sleeping their brain can recover and process the information it has learned. Throughout the day the best thing for them is constant stimulation within their environment.”

Ms. Jessmer said that information, which she and Ms. Dezell learned in the course, is a much different approach than what is often taken with traditional therapy, where stroke patients often work in little bursts and are then given “time to recover,” before doing more therapy work.

In addition to having each other to bounce ideas off of, Ms. Dezell said they know have access to the National Stroke Association’s plethora of experts and library of resources. She also said that in order to maintain their certifications, they must recertify every two years and get an additional 16 hours of continuing education credits.

“This will ensure that our patients are always receiving cutting edge treatment and the benefits of the most up-to-date information and research available,” Ms. Dezell said.

To help provide their stroke patients with constant stimulation, Mrs. Jessmer also said they will be relying heavily of the nursing staff at both facilities.

“It’s a total team effort,” she said.

Mrs. Jessmer and Ms. Dezell are also currently working on a presentation where they will share some of what they’ve learned with other members of the therapy team, nursing staff and people in key positions.

If you feel like yourself or a loved one could benefit from therapy services offered by a Certified Stroke Rehabilitation Specialist, please contact Navigator Nicholas Maneely at (315) 714-3110 ext. 504.