Harnessing The Power of Social-Emotional Support at Sinai Post-Acute Nursing & Rehab Center

The moment of admission to Sinai Post-Acute Nursing & Rehab Center is a turning point for every patient, and the Social Workers at Sinai Center certainly know how to harness this crucial transition to propel the patients through the next stage: the challenging days of rehabilitation.

Indeed, even if no longer at the hospital and with the intensive-care days behind them, the rehabilitation journey ahead can seem daunting to the newly admitted rehab patients, as they will need to summon both physical strength and a bounty of emotional support to reach the next coveted plateau: the eagerly anticipated discharge to return home.

Enter Dana Mark, MSW, Director of Social Services at Sinai Center and her team of compassionate social workers who understand that “having a generous dose of emotional support and tools for stress management are key factors when in rehab”.

Certainly, current research indicates that effective social-emotional support can be a key factor when striving for positive rehab outcomes, pointing that as valuable as the rehabilitation process itself is, ultimately, it is the intense daily work of sustaining the patients in social-emotional wellbeing what allows them to reap the most benefit from the entire rehabilitation journey.

Starting with the Initial Assessment at the time of Admission, conducting family meetings to apprise the patients’ loved-ones of the rehab road ahead, the quarterly meetings to asses how the patients’ needs have evolved, planning a timely discharge, and even accessing resources for post-discharge services like outpatient services and home care, the Social Services Team at Sinai operates with a keen focus: To provide the social-emotional support needed for the patients to attain their highest possible level of rehabilitation so they can safely and confidently resume daily life.
“Throughout the various phases of the rehab process” says Mark, “our role at Sinai Center remains consistent/stable: We function as the staff members who provide support, the one who research and access resources, provide education, tools for our patients to cope and, when necessary, act as a referral for further services”.

As the eagerly awaited time of discharge approaches, the Social Services Team works with the patients and their families to plan for the discharge by assessing the patients post-rehab needs – whether the need is for referral to a community agency or purely additional information and tips from a team “in the know”, compassionate and effective individuals who have been through similar scenarios before – and know just where to turn to access resources.
For more information about Sinai Center please contact Vivian Toro at (973) 483- 6800 extension 103.