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Program scope
Kessler Foundation developed the SCI Navigator Program with clinical teams and community partners to provide holistic, interdisciplinary support. The program is free to adults 18 and older with spinal cord injuries who received rehabilitation services from Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. Its focus is helping participants address changing needs after returning home.
Personalized navigation
Each participant receives a primary and secondary navigator for up to two years. The four-person team helps clients set goals and tackle practical barriers, including transportation, home accessibility, paperwork and community-resource searches. Navigators may also support families and caregivers. Contact is expected at least monthly, though some participants communicate with navigators daily.
Flexible community support
Navigators manage caseloads of 10 to 30 people, from newly discharged patients to individuals living with injuries for as long as four decades. Meetings can occur during medical or therapy appointments, in the community or through other arrangements. The program emphasizes adapting support to each person’s circumstances and breaking complex problems into manageable steps.
Expansion plans
Kessler Foundation began beta testing the model at University Hospital, a level 1 trauma center in Newark. Program leaders hope the navigation approach will expand further, while using insights from navigators’ work to inform teams currently serving people with spinal cord injuries.
