12/20/2006

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
Gail Koenig, left, and Steph Sutherland joke about coffee consumption at Sutherland's apartment in Traverse City.

Filling in the blanks

Community Links helps adults regain independence

By AL PARKER

Special to the Record-Eagle

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
Koenig assists Sutherland with her monthly planner.

TRAVERSE CITY — As an experienced rehabilitation nurse, Julie Smith recognized a decade ago that there were gaps in the process of returning patients to independence following a traumatic injury, such as an auto accident.

"We knew that adult patients would often be sent home from the hospital, but they needed more assistance to regain their independence,” explained Smith. "In some cases, they may require lifelong care.”

In 1995, Smith and an associate, Deborah Newton, launched Community Links, a company dedicated to providing care, assistance and support services to adult patients who are recovering from brain and spinal injuries.

"We looked at what were holes in the rehabilitation system,” said Smith. "Our niche is helping functional people who need a little more assistance to be successful. We think we provide a really unique service.”

Gail Koenig, RN, who cared for patients for 24 years at Munson Medical Center, is the company's program director. She oversees operations at the corporate offices in Fife Lake; in addition to serving clients in the northwestern Lower Peninsula, the company cares for clients in Ann Arbor, Brighton and southeastern Michigan.

Other Fife Lake staff members include a recreational therapist and a rehabilitation technologist. They also have contract agreements with other professionals, including a vocational counselor, to provide services to clients. The company's Northville office has a staff of 19.

"Our goal is to bring people back to their community following a brain or spinal injury,” said Smith. "Depending on their injury, it may be as simple as a daily phone call reminding them to take their medications. For others it may be helping them return to the work force or assist them with banking or other life skills.”

For example, one recent patient in his mid-20s had been living with his elderly parents. When caregiving got to be too difficult for his aging parents, Community Links helped their client rent an apartment and regain many of his daily living skills.

"We worked with him every day for hours each day,” said Smith. "We helped him find a job and assisted him in improving his money management. But we don't do these things for the client. It's important that they do it themselves and learn to function as an adult.”

Being able to work with a variety of community agencies is also part of the job, according to Koenig.

"Our clients all have different goals and different interests,” she said. "For example, we may help a client obtain food stamps, Social Security disability or with issues at their work site.”

Rehabilitation doctors often refer patients to Community Links, where many of the patients' fees are covered under auto insurance policies.

Both Koenig and Smith agree that seeing their clients overcome their injuries and regain their independence is very satisfying.

"You really can see their self-esteem, their sense of worth go up so much,” said Koenig. "That makes it all worthwhile.”

For more information about Community Links, call 879-3144.