Highlights from the SASCA Congress

Rolling Inspiration
4 Min Read

The biennial Congress of the Southern African Spinal Cord Association (SASCA) was held at the Century City Conference Centre and Hotel in Cape Town from 18 to 20 May. The congress provides an opportunity for rehabilitation professionals to network and share their expertise.

This year, the congress was held in collaboration with the South African Spine Society (SASS) “for even greater networking and collaborative learning between spinal surgeons and spinal cord rehab professionals”, the official congress website states.

The three days are filled with lectures and presentations on a range of subjects from industry experts, and boasts a small exhibition of businesses and organisation within the rehabilitation industry. Topics ranged from technology and assistive devices to remote work and mental health for people with spinal cord injuries.

Dr Virginia Wilson spoke at the congress about the best practice recommendations for bladder management. She provided clinical guidelines based on a research paper by the same titled published by the Clinical Advisory Panel (CAP) of SASCA. The QuadPara Association of South Africa (QASA) assisted with the study and established the Access to Health (AtH) project, in collaboration with Coloplast, to spread awareness and advocate for better standards.

QASA was also in attendance at the congress with a small exhibition. General manager, Richard Barron, was invited to speak about the future vision for the organisation. He took to the stage to discuss how QASA aims to build community with its members so that the organisation is part of their journey, as opposed to only a stop along the way.

He reimagined Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to represent the various services and programmes on offer at QASA, and how these might speak to the needs of the members at various points in their lives. Support and education, for example, was at the base of the pyramid as the first and basic need for members. This entails assisting members with adjusting to life after their spinal cord injury.

Thereafter, QASA assists with mobilising their members through providing assistive devices, followed by capacitating members through the various programmes such as Driving Ambitions and the Work Readiness Programme. The end goal is for members to succeed the current leadership.

Richard used his own life as an example. He joined the organisation as a beneficiary, but remained actively involved until he was appointed as the general manager in April. Richard concluded that QASA wishes to build a lifelong relationship with its members aimed at empowering them to live their lives to their full potential.

Another noteworthy speaker was Ari Seirlis, formed QASA CEO and Rolling Inspiration contributor. Ari recently published his autobiography, Wheels of Fire, and used the opportunity at the congress to share some of his journey. The heartfelt presentation shared the hardships he experienced, the lessons he learned and the value that rehabilitation offered.

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