Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rotarians Hear About Rehab Hospital Work

By JOHN MILLER

There are programs to help those unable to help themselves.

John Taylor, director of human resources with Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, told members of the Gurdon Rotary Club, Thursday, Sept. 11, of the programs offered by ARS.

Taylor told the Rotarians he works at the rehab center in Hot Springs, which was originally the nation's first Army-Navy hospital. The center, he said, has 46 buildings on 21 acres with six hot springs on the property as well.

Since the facility opened in 1961, he said, some 24,000 people have been helped by the services provided.

Currently, he said, there are 314 clients at the center, with most having some sort of learning disability. Others have problems of a physical nature.

There are 28 training areas in the center, with 15 offices in the state recruiting clients. To be considered at the center, he said, the potential client must first be referred by a field counselor.

Once recommended, the prospect takes medical and psychological tests to see what their problems are and if they qualify.

Arkansas's rehabilitation center, Taylor said, is one of nine in the United States and the only one west of the Mississippi River.

The program is fully comprehensive, he said, helping the clients learn a skill or trade, while also enhancing their social abilities. Most clients, he told the members, lacked social skills and were not employable. Others, however, have psychological problems.

The instructors at the center work with the clients, training them so they can find suitable employment.

Taylor said the center will make sure any dental work the clients need is done, while they are also helped with any medical condition they may have.

Depending on the job they find once their training has been completed, he said, the center also helps purchase appropriate clothing.

The clients are also aided in finding a place to live, with the center paying the first month's rent and giving them $100 for groceries.

But, the clients aren't then left to fend for themselves. They are checked up on in follow ups by the instructors to make sure they're doing well and aren't sliding back into old bad habits and behavior patterns.

The rehab hospital, he said, is accredited and has 72 beds. It offers a head injury program, along with a spinal cord injury program, which is one of the best in the nation, Taylor said.

The center also offers physical, occupational and recreational therapy to its clients.

According to Taylor, interns from all over the region come to Hot Springs to do their therapeutic internship at the center.

While many people don't know anything about the center, Taylor said it's actually an economic benefit. For every $1 spent on helping a client, the state gets $11 back.

These clients, once they find work, he said, make better employees than most non handicapped people. They take fewer sick days and basically don't like taking time off.

This is because they know what it's like to be down and out and don't like the feeling.

Several areas, including cosmetology and welding, have 100 percent placement with the clients. Taylor said one company hires every student who completes the welding course.

There is no age limit for the clients, he said. "Our goal is to put everyone who can to work. We don't turn anyone away. We work to help people meet their goals and lead their lives to the fullest."