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Wii-habilitation rehabs patients in Herrin Herrin Hospital uses video games to help patients recover

TRAVIS BEAN Daily Egyptian From her wheelchair, Cynthia Matheny pulls back her Wii Remote as she prepares to bowl her final frame. As she knocks down her last pins, her score reveals she has bowled a 146 and her opponent, Mark Basco, has bowled a 159. “If I could bowl in real life, I’d be bowling a lot better than this,� Matheny said. Matheny is not playing in the comfort of her home but at the Acute Rehabilitation Center in Herrin Hospital. The game is part of Matheny’s rehabilitation after having her ankle amputated. Basco, a staff member for the center, said the department uses the games “Wii Sports� and “Wii Fit� to engage patients in a virtual reality therapy program. He said certain games are chosen to fit patients’ needs, and bowling was chosen for Matheny. “Bowling is the best one. They’re just sitting and moving,� Basco said. “But if we want to challenge our patients we will have them play baseball or tennis. Baseball is intended to strengthen eye-hand coordination.� Herrin Hospital has used the Wii for two years to treat rehabilitation patients, Jim Osborn said. Osborn, executive director of the Acute Rehabilitation Center, said his staff was thinking of creative ways to enhance the rehab program and somebody suggested the Wii. Suggesting the Wii was one thing, Osborn said, but securing

SAMI BOWDEN | DAILY EGYPTIAN

Cynthia Matheny plays “Wii Bowling� as part of her rehabilitation process Monday at Herrin Hospital. Matheny has been using the gaming console as part of her therapy after being admitted for surgery Jan. 27 to amputate part of her leg due to gangrene. one proved to be difficult. He said he was searching for a Wii during its sales peak and it would quickly sell out at stores. The hospital could find no one to donate a Wii, so an employee had to wait in line, he said. The story was generated among local news, but Osborn said it grew from there. He said a reporter from the Chicago bureau of The Associated Press picked up the story and wrote an article. Before Osborn knew it, the story had garnered national attention. “One day, somebody came in and said, ‘Herrin is on Yahoo News,’� Osborn said. By day’s end, Osborn was doing a live interview for a San Francisco

radio station. He said media from cities such as Minneapolis and Seattle have done stories, he has spoken with an Australian radio station and even appeared in an Italian health magazine. “The use of the Wii has been one of the most unusual things that have happened to me in the whole time I have been a professional in this field,� Osborn said. Osborn said the Wii employs various aspects of patient treatment, including physical, occupational and speech therapy. He said it is used as a treatment strategy for improving range of motion, hand-eye coordination and endurance. The hospital even uses a game called “Big Brain Academy� that helps improve short-

term memory loss, he said. The Wii does not replace actual therapy, Osborn said. While the gaming console has many benefits, he said it is a supplement to three hours of intense therapy and serves as a reward for patients. “They need to get to a certain point; when they’re closer to going home, then we introduce the Wii,� Osborn said. “They need to be a little more functional, a little more with-it to do all the tasks and benefit from it.� Osborn said the best thing about the Wii is it allows patients to become immersed in the game and forget the pain. “I remember one of the very first ladies we tried this with,� Osborn

said. “She was really huffing and puffing after doing it for a few minutes and the therapist stopped and said, ‘Do you want to take a break now?’ She said, ‘No, I want to beat my score.’� Matheny said she has enjoyed her time at Herrin Hospital and the Wii was the most fun she had during rehabilitation. She said she is determined to get through rehab and walk again after her prosthetic leg is attached. “It’s just mind over matter,� Matheny said. “I guarantee it. I will walk.�

Travis Bean can be reached at cardsos@siu.edu or 536-3311 ext. 274.

Social service representatives dispute budget cut recommendations NICK JOHNSON Daily Egyptian The city’s most beneficial youth services are unfairly in danger of being discontinued, representatives from local community service organizations said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

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Recommended budget cuts on a wide range of community organizations were submitted for council and community discussion to help curb a projected budget deficit of more than $5 million over the next two fiscal years by the city manager’s office. The final budget will not be ap-

e cannot afford to change the city’s funding of social services. — Abdul Haqq Executive Director of Attucks Community Services

proved until April 20, Mayor Brad Cole said. Should the council follow staff recommendations, nine community programs, including the Lights Fantastic, Attucks Community Services and “I Can Read� of Southern Illinois would not receive any funding. Attucks Community Services, and “I Can Read� of Southern Illinois which are both based in the city-owned Eurma C. Hayes Center, would still be given rent subsidies, according to staff recommendations. Cole referred to a standing offer

made to the organizations by the city: Either the city would cover the center’s rent and the organizations would be responsible for funding their own services, or the city would cover the costs of their services but transfer the building and its maintenance to the group. Staff-recommended funding would be disproportionately granted to organizations that aren’t included in the city’s definition of “community services,� under the proposed budget said Abdul Haqq, executive director of Attucks Community Services. He

asked the city to consider restoring 100 percent of funds to all social service agencies. “We cannot afford to change the city’s funding of social services,� Haqq said. “(We need to) compete against those barriers that place youth and family at risk.� The “I Can Read� organization can only employ one record keeper, so it has problems getting grants, said Margaret Nesbit, chairwoman of the “I Can Read� Board.

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