The meeting of the Orange County Stroke Support Groups took place on Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 7:00 pm at the American Heart Association offices at 4600 Campus Drive, Irvine, CA 92617. Below are the meeting minutes. For future meeting information, please contact us.

 

Meeting minutes:

• Attendees discussed the OCSRN website www.ocsrn.com, and how it can better serve our needs. 
  
  One suggestion was to look for and add resources that pertain to providing legal and financial advice for stroke survivors (e.g., how to apply for disability benefits; assistance with ADA compliance issues).
  
  Another suggestion was to cross reference the information about transportation on the Area Office on Aging’s website with the OCSRN Transportation Resource page.

• Review of our annual Stroke Awareness Picnic, which took place on May 7, 2011, in Irvine
  
  In general, the picnic received favorable reviews, particularly for the new, more accessible location. Issues to address for next year:

  1. Providing more space for tables to avoid crowding and to accommodate last-minute exhibitors.
  2. Better sound system--it was difficult for those at the tables in the alcoves to hear the speakers. Arnie Pike will ask an acquaintance he knows about donating the use of his system next year.
  3. Contacting the professional organizations (Occupational Therapy Association, California Physical Therapy Association, American Speech and Hearing Association, etc.) to assist with outreach/advertising efforts, particularly those targeting stroke survivors.

• Community Speaker: Kathy Eastman, OTR/L CDRS, Driving Evaluation Program from St. Jude Centers for Rehabilitation and Wellness spoke about her program that provides driving assessments for individuals post-stroke. St. Jude also can make referrals for those who want to participate in a driver retraining/rehabilitation program, although they do not provide that service on-site. Kathy also reviewed the laws and regulations pertaining to revocation and re-issuance of a driver’s license after stroke and described the services available through the DMV.

• Our upcoming second annual symposium, “The OCSRN Stroke Rehabilitation Continuing Education Workshop,” will take place Saturday, November 5, 2011, from 9 a.m. –12 noon (details to follow). Speakers include: Dr. Candace Vickers, who will speak about constraint-induced speech therapy; Dr. Ana Solodkin, who will speak about her research using the mirror neuron system in stroke recovery, and Dr. W. Scacchi, who will speak about video gaming and rehabilitation. The OCSRN will apply for Continuing Education Units for therapists and nurses for the seminar.