Coordinators of the 10 Specialized Rehabilitation Centers (CER) in Rio Grande do Norte met this Thursday (28/7) to discuss the implementation of the family-centered care model for rehabilitation, in an activity promoted by the State Department of Health of RN (Sesap/RN). The meeting took place at the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center (Anita), one of the two ISD units in Macaíba, where the model is already adopted and served as a basis for the creation of a pilot project in the other rehabilitation centers of the 7th Health Region of the State.

According to the coordinator of the State's Health Care Network for People with Disabilities, Marilene Soares, the objective of the meeting is to allow the ISD, the Children's Rehabilitation Center and the Heitor Carrilho Clinic, units of the 7th Health Region that have already adopted the model within the pilot plan, to present their service flow based on the family-centered model to the other centers, in order to allow this experience to be replicated throughout the state network.

“We have services at the CER where we can see work being done with the family, but this model still needs to be improved. We are developing this project to create a format where the patient and family can be together in this service, with the development of goals and sharing of expectations, because that individual will not always be able to be rehabilitated in 100%, and what we want is for them to be able to be integrated into society and perform their activities while respecting their limitations. To do this, it is essential to consider the family, professionals, health services and community as a whole”, says Marilene.

The family-centered care model seeks to make the rehabilitation process more horizontal. In it, the family plays a central role, actively participating in decision-making and goal-setting, assuming joint responsibility for patient care, together with the healthcare team, as explained by the ISD's Coordinator of Teaching Activities, psychologist Samantha Maranhão.

“The family is a central part of rehabilitation. It is a major player in this care process. It is the family that has to help the healthcare team determine the best paths and strategies, providing horizontal care, with the family on the same level as the healthcare team, as co-responsible for the care and proactive in this process, including participating in decision-making.”

The proposal to adopt a family-centered rehabilitation flow for the state network was presented by ISD to Sesap in 2021. In July of that year, the Secretariat began a series of meetings with ISD, CRI and Clínica Heitor Carrilho to implement the pilot project in the 7th Health Region. “This model is not new: it has already been adopted in several countries and in some states in Brazil. So, when Anita brought up the idea of working across the entire network with this model, we immediately agreed to talk to everyone, and the pilot project was carried out precisely in the 7th Health Region,” says Marilene Soares.

According to the coordinator, the adoption of this model will also allow for an increase in the flow of care in the network, reducing the existing waiting list for rehabilitation services. “This work will provide centers with the possibility of providing a greater flow of patient care, because today we have a very long waiting list for care and, if we do not work on strategies to move this list forward, we will never give other people the opportunity to access the service”, highlights the coordinator.