oh My Achin
Feet"
Speaker Addresses
Rehab And Reforms
RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER
u know how painful it can be.
If you are experiencing any foot problem
Dr Lazar specializes in heel spurs • warts • callouses and corns • sports
injuries • ingrown nails • mycotic nails • foot deformities • diabetes
and fractures. Dr. Lazar can provide free transportation as needed or he
can make house calls as needed.
Dr. Lazar Has Moved His Office To A New Location That Is Within Easy Access From 1-696
Daniel Lazar D.P.M. P.C.
15300 W. Nine Mile Rd.
hen is enough, enough?
The question con-
tinues to plague reha-
bilitation specialists
and other medical professionals
in their day-to-day work with pa-
tients who, despite months of
costly therapy, show little or no
progress.
Experts say the dilemma is
complicated by pocketbook real-
ities. They point out that, as in-
surance companies limit their
reimbursement to health-care
providers, fewer funds exist for
prolonged treatment.
Dr. Mitchell Rosenthal, a
Wayne State University profes-
suffering from some of the accu-
sations and indictments that
have occurred over the past few
years."
In 1993, with health-care re-
form on the horizon, an "era of
consolidation" began taking
place. Institutions started dos-
ing and merging. A shift to out-
patient treatment and shorter
hospital stays developed.
Simultaneously, the industry
placed more emphasis on sub-
acute care. This type of rehabil-
itation usually is delivered in
skilled-nursing facilities. It gen-
erally targets patients who will
have a slower course of recovery
(2 blocks E. of Greenfield)
Oak Park
(810) 967-3668
G. Jan Beekhuis MD
•
4
•00"
-.
wit
imommium
COSMETIC
SURGEONS
OF
/ MICHIGAN
\\
Specializing in Facial & Cosmetic Surgery
.0
• Surgery of The Eyelids
• Rhinoplasty
• Chemical Peels
• Face Lifts
• Chin and Cheek Augmentation
38
30700 Telegraph Road • Suite 4566 • Bingham Farms
(Between 12 & 13 Mile Roads)
810-645-0844
Advertising in The Jewish News Gets Results
Place Your Ad Today. Call 354-6060
Dinner co-chairs Reva and Robed Rosen host Dr. Mitchell Rosenthal who stands
beside Scott Silver.
sor, recently discussed these is-
sues with a gathering of 40
Jewish rehabilitation profes-
sionals. The group met for a Fed-
eration-sponsored Campaign
dinner at Knollwood Country
Club.
"Everything we've come to un-
derstand about rehabilitation is
undergoing a great deal of scruti-
ny," he said. "There is a burden
being placed on facilities to take
a look at their own practices.
We're in the most challenging pe-
riod that I'm aware of."
Dr. Rosenthal called the mid-
1980s an "era of proliferation,"
when rehabilitation clinics
seemed to spring up everywhere.
The 1990s brought an "era of ac-
countability." Newspapers ran
headlines exposing fraudulent
clinics, primarily those dealing
with traumatic brain injury pa-
tients. The bad publicity served
to tarnish the field's reputation,
though it also prompted many
institutions to reevaluate their
modes of care, he said.
"There were a few that gave
the field a bad name," he said.
"We, as an industry, are still
and cannot tolerate intensive
therapy.
Cost-wise, sub-acute care uses
fewer resources than occupa-
tional and other forms of thera-
py. For instance, a brain-injury
patient taking a long time to
emerge from coma is less expen-
sively maintained in a sub-acute
facility than a hospital.
But, in the quest to save mon-
ey, the issue of best serving lives
remains uncertain.
"What we are not absolutely
sure of is whether the functional
level of outcome in sub-acute pro-
grams is equivalent to that at-
tained previously in traditional
patient rehabilitation," Dr.
Rosenthal said.
Dr. Rosenthal also said tight
finances makes it all the more
imperative for rehabilitation
professionals to be meticulous
in tracking their patients'
progress.
He also believes the purse
strings will further tighten on the
industry when health-care legis-
lation passes: "Reform really has
created a lot of tension in the
field." ❑
1
4