Kessler Foundation stroke expert receives $145,000 grant from Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey

A.M. Barrett, MD, director of stroke rehabilitation research at Kessler Foundation, was awarded a $145,000 grant (#2733) by The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey. The grant will enable the Stroke Research team and Dr. Barrett, an expert in hidden disabilities after stroke, to extend their work in hidden disabilities to stroke survivors and their health care providers in Newark, New Jersey. Dr. Barrett and her team are well known for their research on the hidden disability of functional vision known as spatial neglect. Their investigations focus on the use of optical prism therapy for this disabling complication of stroke.

Hidden disabilities that impair functional vision affect as many as one out of three stroke survivors. They are the underlying cause of accidents, falls, injuries that prolong recovery and increase costs for rehabilitation. To address these common disabling complications of stroke, greater awareness is needed, as well as education for healthcare providers, according to Dr. Barrett. This will lead to better care for people recovering from the cognitive effects of stroke.

"Preliminary testing of Kessler Foundation's optical prism treatment is promising," noted Dr. Barrett. "Now is the time to offer this therapy to more people. This generous grant from the Healthcare Foundation of NJ will enable us to provide prism treatment to stroke survivors, aged 20 to 85, living in underserved areas of Newark. Moreover, we will provide specific guidelines to providers and healthcare organizations in Newark. Our objective is to work with these organizations to train providers in the community to identify and treat hidden disabilities of functional vision."

"This grant enables Kessler Foundation to extend the benefits of its clinical research to the local community," said John DeLuca, PhD, vice president of Research & Training at Kessler Foundation. Training health care providers will reinforce the hospital-to-community care pathway, resulting in better health care and greater independence for hundreds of Newark-based stroke survivors.

Provided by Kessler Foundation