Program connects injured patients with community mentors

Intermountain Health’s Rehab Advocates Mindset Mentorship Program (RAMMP) was born from a need recognized by Bonnie Larsen.

As an occupational therapist, Bonnie was working with a patient who had suffered a spinal injury in a car accident. The patient, Miles, lived in another state but was flown to Intermountain Medical Center for treatment so that his parents could support his recovery. However, that meant that he was no longer near his own children, which left him despondent.

“He was saying, ‘I can’t imagine what life will be like in a wheelchair, I don’t know if it’s worth it,’” Bonnie recalled. In that moment she decided to introduce the patient to Joe Taggart, another patient who, after his own traumatic injury, had earned a degree and gotten married.

Miles and Joe hit it off well, leaving Miles so impressed with Joe’s accomplishments that he was able to shift his attitude.

“Miles came away saying, ‘I get it now, I can do this for my kids,’” Bonnie said.

Bonnie took the concept of uniting patients with severe health issues (such as traumatic brain injury, amputation, burns, or other major medical complexities) with mentors from the community and, with help from her supervisors and support from Intermountain, turned it into RAMMP. Over its first six years in operation, the program has helped more than 3,400 patients at IMC alone, at no cost to the patient. The original group of 12 peer mentors (who all go through stringent screening and training as official volunteers of the neuro-specialty rehab unit) has swelled to nearly 40.

“The volunteers get a purpose in giving back,” Bonnie said, noting that most stuck with the program through the disruptions of the Covid pandemic. “They want to share their tips and tricks of how they’ve been able to survive and thrive.”

Annette Larson, an imaging operations manager at West Valley Clinic, was introduced to RAMMP after her 23-year-old son experienced a stroke.?

“Cameron had a stroke due to a patent?foramen ovale, and was in the ICU for 71 days at IMC,” Annette said. “He came home in a wheelchair. He could not walk, talk, eat, and had many other deficits. Now at 28 he is incredible — he works, he drives, he got his MBA and bought a home. The help we had from the stroke team at IMC and the RAMMP program changed his life.”

For her efforts, Bonnie was recently honored by Utah Business Magazine with a community outreach award. Four other Intermountain caregivers were also singled out.

Anyone on the neuro-specialty team can reach out to a peer mentor on behalf of a patient. Then Bonnie or someone else on the team facilitates a meeting between patient and mentor, either one-on-one or at a group therapy session. Further interaction is left to the patient and mentor.

“The goal is to teach clients they can live a normal life after injuries,” Bonnie said. “When they meet someone who’s already doing it, it’s like a magic pill.”

The program is available at Intermountain Medical Center, McKay-Dee Hospital, and Utah Valley Hospital, and is expected to expand to St. George Hospital and hopefully other facilities after that. Bonnie, who allocates 10 hours per week to the program, acknowledged that it was “a challenge” to launch RAMMP, but said that Intermountain’s resources also allow the program to help more patients. To watch Intermountain’s 3-year celebration of the RAMMP program, click here.

“It’s been great to learn that this can be duplicated and systematized,” Bonnie said. “It’s fun, and it’s a little surreal that it was just a wild idea that has turned into how we practice, so that’s rewarding.”

RAMMP partners with community non-profits like the National Ability Center, Wasatch Adaptive Sports, Ogden Valley Adaptive Sports, and Disabled Sportsmen to provide free adaptive sporting events such as skiing, cycling, water sports, and more. Contact [email protected] for information.

“I never thought I was creating a program, I was just trying give good care to patients,” Bonnie added. “In my small way, I feel like I changed healthcare. It’s a good feeling as an occupational therapist who just wanted help people. Whatever happens, I feel good that I created something that has helped so many.”