Building Community with Support Groups

Left to right: Rebecca Orischak, OTR/L; Elizabeth Kase; and Nicole Hartman, MSN, RN, MRMC.

Elizabeth Kase had never been to a support group until she was an inpatient at Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing as an amputee.

"I didn't know what to expect or what it was going tobe," Kase said. "It turned out to be a group of people at different stages of rehabilitation sharing every emotion under the sun together,listening to one another and giving and receiving compassion and empathy."

Support groups offer encouragement and advice, as well as practical tips for dealing with illness, recovery, and the challenges ofeveryday life - all thingsKase experienced at the Amputee Support Group, one of the support groups offered at the facility.

Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing offers seven different support groups for numerous diagnoses and life-altering situations, including aphasia, stroke, brain injury, amputees, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's Disease, and a Caregiver Support Group, whichare all overseen by Nicole Hartman, MSN, RN, MRMC, and Rebecca Orischak, OTR/L.

"Members of the group taught me so much," Kase shared. "I learned strategies for taking care ofthings in the summertime, how to wash my liners and so many other things I needed as a newamputee. These groups can help you take additional steps you may not have thought of and really show you that you're not alone."

While each support group is a littledifferent, every session is driven by the attendees andoffers a hearty mix of presentations, check-ins, collaboration, and conversation in a judgment-free environment. All sessions are completely free of charge and don't require any form ofpre-registration.

Clinicians at the facility acknowledge how crucial these spaces are to the rehabilitation process and understand the value of the lived experience. In a previous Amputee Support Group session, attendees engaged in an emotional healing presentation with a fellow amputee. Hartman, program director of acute rehabilitation, shared that the facility sees patients from many different types of backgrounds and experiences, so it's importantto provide safe spaces for a variety of diagnoses.

"People in our community are goingthrough so many different things," Hartman said. "These support groups really help us to carry over the education we provide to our patients in a way that is almostimpossible to replicate. There is greatvalue in providing spaces for people to collaborate, share advice, and listen to those who have also hadsimilar experiences."

"Our staff's involvement is invaluable," said Orischak, coordinator of professional development and education for the therapy continuum. "Oftentimes, patients are not at a point in their recovery where they can process all the education they receive during inpatient, and ourstaff members really help to continue that education through our support groups."

Kase said she is deeply grateful for the care she received at Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing, butespecially so forthe Amputee Support Group. As a way to pay it forward, she currently volunteers her time at the Amputee Support Group andoffers to gowith newattendees to helpalleviate those barriers of anxiety or fear.

"There is alwaysfear surrounding something newor different, and that first step is always the hardest," Kase said. "I took the leap and knew thatI was in the right place. You're always among your friends here."

Support Groups

For more information about Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing (RHRW) and the support groups offered at the facility, please visit:

• Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing (RHRW)
• Support Groups at Reading Hospital
• Amputee Support Group at RHRW