Santa Lucia Foundation is a Scientific Institute for Research and Healthcare (IRCCS) specialized in the field of neuroscience and operates a highly specialized neurorehabilitation Hospital (Code 75) for the treatment of patients with severe neurological deficits.
Neurological Deficiency: responding to complex issues
Severe neurological damages affect multiple functions of the individual and requires an interdisciplinary approach by highly specialized multidisciplinary teams as well as the support of appropriate rehabilitative facilities and technologies. The deficits affect vital functions such as breathing and nutrition, loss of neuromotor capacities and the impairment of cognitive functions such as language (aphasia), attention or memory.
In some cases the patient suffering from severe brain injury may also have undergone a period of coma and present, at the time of admission, an altered state of consciousness. However, there is no correlation between coma and severity of brain damage. There are coma patients that do not present functional deficits that require a particularly intensive neurorehabilitation approach. Conversely there are patients who, due to severe brain injury, require a complex and highly specialized neurorehabilitation approach even though they have not undergone a period of coma.
Primary pathologies treated
The Santa Lucia Foundation provides highly specialized neurorehabilitation treatments for patients who have severe neurological deficits caused mainly by traumatic brain injuries eventually accompanied by episodes of coma as well as stroke, spinal cord injuries and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Multiple Sclerosis.
The Foundation also has a Children’s Neurorehabilitation Center which treats as a priority children under the age of 18 months presenting complex pathologies mainly caused by infantile cerebral palsy, severe prematurity, serious feeding and communication disorders, intellectual disabilities, rare genetic syndromes.
Rehabilitation Technologies
The synergic work of medical and health personnel, engineers and researchers guarantees the use of advanced technologies in the rehabilitation programs of Santa Lucia Foundation. The Ausilioteca further supports the patient in adapting mobility and communication tools to her/his personal needs as well as in the choice of home automation solutions to increase his autonomy in daily life after leaving the Hospital.