Seniors Archives - Stroke Support Station

The cells in the brain need oxygen and nutrients to help us function in everyday life. The blood which flows to the brain through blood vessels carries these much needed oxygen and nutrients.

A stroke happens when blood flow to a part of the brain is disrupted, causing our brain cells to die due to lack of oxygen.

 

Stroke in Singapore

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of disability in Singapore. According to the National Registry of Diseases Office (NRDO), the total number of stroke cases reported in 2022 (9,702) has almost doubled since 2010 (5,890), over a decade ago.

Alarmingly, NRDO’s data also revealed that the number of younger people (between 15-49 years) found to suffer a stroke has been increasing over the years, debunking the myth that only the elderly population are at a higher risk of experiencing a stroke at least once.

 

Types of stroke

 

Causes & risk factors

Ischaemic strokes are commonly associated with the ‘3 Highs’: high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia), and high blood sugar (diabetes). Meanwhile, haemorrhagic strokes are commonly caused by high blood pressure.

 

Effects of stroke

The impact of a stroke varies based on the part of the brain damaged. Patients may have long-term loss of strength, sensation, or the ability to speak due to the stroke. The effects of a stroke are also different for everyone; for example, a person may have speech difficulties after a stroke while another may not.

Some possible effects include:

 

Stroke prevention tips

 

Spot stroke F.A.S.T

Source: HealthHub.SG

Source: HealthHub.SG

Life after a stroke may be full of uncertainties due to the new changes in physical, cognitive and emotional abilities, and daily activities. Here, we break things down for you to guide you along your recovery journey.

The 'Golden Period' of Recovery

Did you know that the first 3 to 6 months after a stroke are crucial for stroke recovery?

This period is characterised by the most rapid and significant improvements in motor skills and other functions as the brain undergoes neuroplasticity. In other words, in most cases, the brain can best relearn functions affected by stroke (e.g. walking, dressing, speech, etc) during this period, resulting in better rehab outcomes.

Stroke-focused rehabilitation is thus critical in the first few months after a stroke to maximise recovery potential.

Roadmap to Stroke Recovery

  1. Discharge from acute care
  2. Receive referral to S3 from the following channels:
    • Private walk-in
    • Hospital / Polyclinic
      • Request your doctor/social worker to raise an AIC referral to S3 for you. AIC will process the referral and contact you to confirm your interest to S3 before referring your application to S3.
    • Social Service Agency (SSA)
      • Request your therapist/social worker to raise an AIC referral to S3 for you. AIC will process the referral and contact you to confirm your interest to S3 before referring your application to S3. 
    • *Note: A doctor’s referral letter is required for all channels.
  3. Attend Initial Assessment with S3
  4. Attend scheduled stroke rehabilitation sessions
  5. Re-assessment with S3 therapy team after 6 months
  6. Discharge from active rehab at S3
  7. Reintegration into the community OR join S3’s Wellness Programmes!

Note: As the effects of stroke are unique to each individual, the recovery journey may also be different for each person.

Essentials to Your Recovery Journey

The road to stroke recovery will involve various people who want to help you, such as your doctor, social worker, therapy team, family and friends, and more. However, you can take some simple steps below to help yourself towards recovery too!

Reframing Mindsets (Corrective Thinking)

  • Believing in your own recovery potential can make a huge difference! Self-motivation has shown to drive positive physiological changes, such as better moods and enhanced performance during rehab.
  • Allow others to support you. Having encouragement and support from others will help you feel less alone in your recovery journey and improve psychosocial wellbeing.
  • Focus on yourself. Refrain from comparing your journey to someone else’s as the road to recovery will be different for everyone.

Adjusting Habits (Corrective Training)

  • Stretch every morning! Stretching can warm up your muscles to regain strength and get you ready for the day.
  • Pay attention to your affected side. Try to use your affected hand or foot as much as possible in your daily activities so that you don’t forget about it!

Safeguarding Yourself (Corrective Behaviour)

  • At home
    • Keep the floor clear of objects to prevent tripping.
    • Keep a lamp or nightlight nearby your bed. Switch it on when you have to get up at night so that you can see the floor clearly.
  • In the bathroom
    • Install railings or grab bars in your house bathrooms to help you move around safely.
    • Use non-slip bath mats to reduce risk of slipping.
  • When outdoors
    • Do not rush and move at a comfortable pace.

Tips to Reduce Risk of Recurrent Stroke

A stroke puts you at higher risk of encountering another stroke, but you can reduce the chance of this happening by controlling the risk factors. Below are some simple ways that can lower stroke risk:

  • Exercise (as recommended by your therapy team!)

Note: Not all exercises are suited for everyone. Consult your therapy team for advice before trying out a new exercise.

  • Control hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, and/or diabetes, which are the three main causes of stroke
  • Making positive lifestyle changes
    • Stop or reduce smoking habits
    • Limit alcohol intake
    • Adopting healthy eating habits
    • Take medicine as prescribed by your doctor

Remember: spot stroke F.A.S.T.!

Source: HealthHub.sg 

Useful Resources

Click the link below to view a full list of available schemes for financial assistance, transport, caregiving support, and more: 

Ms Chang Hwee Nee

Director and Chairman

Ms Chang Hwee Nee is Chief Executive of the National Heritage Board (NHB). Before joining NHB, Ms Chang Hwee Nee held senior positions in the Ministries of National Development, Education, Health, and Finance. Ms Chang graduated with an MA in Economics from Cambridge University, United Kingdom. She also holds a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Ms Chang is also a member of the Nomination (1 April 2019) and Investment (1 April 2020) Committees at S3.

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Mr Loh Khum Whai, Max

Director, Treasurer and Chairperson, Finance Committee

Mr Max Loh is the Chairman of Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore and serves as a director on various statutory boards as well as public and private companies. He was formerly the Managing Partner for EY in Asean, Singapore, Brunei.  He has over 30 years of experience in providing audit and business advisory services to a broad range of clients, including technology, construction and manufacturing corporates, hotels, financial institutions, and government concerns. He is also experienced in strategic planning, re-organisation, and operations improvement projects for various local companies as part of their globalisation and listing efforts. Mr Loh graduated from the National University of Singapore with Honours and is a fellow member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants, CPA Australia and the Singapore Institute of Directors. He also serves as a member of the Investment Committee at S3.

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Dr Ahmad Bin Mohamed Magad

Director and Chairperson of Human Resources Committee

Dr Ahmad Magad is the Lead Independent Director at Salleh Marican Foundation and PropNex Limited respectively. He currently sits in the Board of Trustees at Sree Narayana Mission Singapore (SNM) and is a member of the Malay Heritage Foundation. He was also Non-Executive Chairman at Second Chance Limited. Dr Ahmad was formerly the Secretary General of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, and the Group Managing Director and Chairman at II-VI Singapore Pte Ltd as well as that of II-VI Infrared (IR) Optics Manufacturing Operations in Asia. He also served as President of the Singapore Productivity Association. He was also an elected Member of the Singapore Parliament (MP) and served in the Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC). Dr Ahmad is a Fellow Member of CPA (Australia), the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK), and the Singapore Institute of Directors. He is also a Distinguished Fellow of the Management Development Institute of Singapore. Dr Ahmad was awarded the Walter L. Hurd Executive Medal by the Asia Pacific Quality Organisation in November 2016 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Dr Ahmad is also a member of the Strategy & Partnership Development Committee (1 April 2019) and was recently appointed Chairman of the Human Resources Committee at S3.

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Ms Foo Sew Yen, Janet

Director and Chairperson, Fund-raising and Communications Committee

Ms Foo Sew Yen, Janet has 40 years of experience in the tourism industry with a specialisation in marketing and corporate event management for international clients. Prior to retirement, she founded her own events company servicing clients in the financial and information technology industries. An advocate of early parenthood, she formerly served on the board of I Love Children. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Singapore Institute of Management. Ms Foo is also a member of the Strategy & Partnership Development Committee (1 April 2020) at S3.

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Mr Yap Wai Ming

Director and Chairperson, Strategy and Partnership Development Committee
Chairperson, Nomination Committee

Mr Yap Wai Ming is a consultant to Harry Elias Partnership LLP, a Singapore law practice and a partner with Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership, a Malaysian law firm. He has over 37 years of experience in advising corporate clients on mergers and acquisitions, project finance and equity and debt capital markets and has an interest in the gaming and leisure business sectors. He is also a founder member and director of Corporate Monitor Limited, a Singapore charity that focuses on improving corporate performance of listed companies through rigorous research and engagement. He is also a Director of Vanguard Health Fund Limited, a committee member of the SingHealth Foundation Fund and Vanguard Medifund Committee respectively. He serves on the board of Ren Ci Hospital as well. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with an LLB with Honours and was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the Singapore and Malaysia bar. Mr Yap is also a member of the Audit Committee (21 March 2018) at S3.

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Dr Khoo Cheng Hoe, Andrew

Director and Chairperson, Investment Committee

Dr Andrew Khoo is currently a board member of the National Environmental Agency and the Bank of Ningbo respectively. He is also Chairman of the board at OCBC Bank (Hong Kong). He was formerly Deputy Managing Director (Corporate Development) at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, where he spent most of his career. He was a board member of the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. Dr Khoo is also a non-executive and independent director at the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) as well as a non-executive director at Great Eastern Holdings Ltd. He also served as a member of the Council on Corporate Disclosure and Governance, Securities Industry Council, Accounting Standards Council, and Advisory Board of the School of Accountancy at the Singapore Management University. He is also a member of the Audit Committee (1 October 2021) at S3.

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Dr Loh Yong Joo

Director and Chairperson, Programmes, Services & Innovation Committee

Dr Loh is currently a Senior Consultant and Head of Department in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. His clinical sub-specialty is in neurorehabilitation and research interests are in rehabilitation technologies, especially in the areas of virtual reality, wearable sensors, telehealth, serious gaming, robotics, and AI/deep learning in rehabilitation. He is currently also Director of Clinical Innovations in TTSH Clinical Research & Innovation Office (CRIO), Adjunct Associate Professor, NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and Academic Chair, NHG Rehabilitation Health Academic Clinical Program. Dr Loh has been newly appointed as Chairperson of the Programmes, Services & Innovation Committee at S3 on 1 October 2025. 

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Ms Magdelene Chua

Director and Chairperson, Audit Committee

Magdelene is a Partner with PwC Singapore with over 25 years of professional experience providing assurance and financial advisory services to multinational and listed clients. Beyond her experience in financial and operational audit, she has accumulated specific experience in corporate governance, financial reporting, investigations, global capital markets, data audits, M&A transactions, post- deal implementation and finance effectiveness. She is passionate about digitalisation, and in her previous role as PwC’s Assurance Transformation Leader in Singapore, she was responsible for driving the digital strategy and transformation programmes. Magdelene is a Fellow Chartered Accountant of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants and Fellow of CPA Australia. Beyond professional work, she is a Global Governing Trustee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and currently serves as a board member on the National Parks Board and ULI Asia Pacific Board.

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Mr Jason Bay

Director and Chairperson, Technology Committee

Mr Jason Bay is Director, Chief Operating Officer’s Office, Sea Limited, and Chairperson of the newly installed Technology Committee (as of 1 October 2025) at S3. He is also a Senior Research Fellow (Adjunct) at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.

Mr Bay previously served as a public sector digital technology policymaker and privacy regulator, supporting the digital transformation of key sectors of the Singapore economy and advancing competition and consumer protection policies in the infocomm, media, and data protection domains.

As a technology practitioner, Mr Bay was the inventor and mastermind of TraceTogether, the world’s first digital contact tracing system, which won multiple international awards for innovation during the pandemic. He is the subject of case studies on digital innovation by Harvard Business School and Singapore Management University, and regularly speaks on digital governance, ethics, and innovation.

Mr Bay continues to pursue societal benefit through the considered application of digital technology to improve lives.

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Mr Ling Ping Chih, Leonard

Director

Mr Ling is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Coherence Pte Ltd and is the Chief Human Resource Officer at Foundation Healthcare Holdings. He has over 18 years of experience in People Strategy and Organisation Development in both consulting and corporate environments. His key consulting experiences include job redesign, competency modelling, performance management, manpower planning, training and development, knowledge management, remuneration and benefits structuring, change management, organisation design, and strategy development. Mr Ling is also a member of the Nomination Committee (7 February 2022) at S3.

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Mrs Celine Tang

Director

Mrs Celine Tang is the Non-Executive Chairman of Acrophyte Pte Ltd (formerly known as Chip Eng Seng Corporation Ltd). As a veteran of the real estate industry, she ran SingHaiyi Group Pte Ltd as its Group Managing Director before retiring in March 2023. In addition to real estate, Mrs Tang possesses rich experience spanning pharmaceutical and commodities trading. Mrs Tang also controls New Port Duty Free Pte Ltd, the leading bonded provision supplier and ship chandler in Singapore. She also serves as the Non-executive Chairman of OKH Global Ltd. Possessing a strong belief in giving back to the society, Mrs Tang has been actively sponsoring and donating to the local community, education, sports and healthcare. Mrs Tang graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature from China People’s University for Police Officers (now known as People’s Public Security University of China). Mrs Tang is also a member of the Strategy & Partnership Development Committee (1 March 2024) at S3.

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Ms Ng Rei Na

Chief Executive Officer

Since 2009, Ms Ng Rei Na has served in various social service sector roles both locally and internationally prior to her appointment as the Executive Director of S3.

Rei Na began her career in the social services sector by being part of the Strategic Planning, Research and Development Unit at the then Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS). She subsequently led Singapore’s largest disability sheltered workshop and social enterprise programme in the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) for nearly a decade, where she spearheaded innovation and digital transformation, led ideation and strategic thinking for inclusive employment, and more. Rei Na proceeded to lead the Employability Services Unit at Rainbow Centre for almost three years. She also served on the Board of Directors for Workability International from 2019 to 2022.

Rei Na holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (2nd Upper Class Honours) from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Joined 18 October 2021

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Mr Cheng Guang Hao

Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Mr Cheng Guang Hao started his career as a physiotherapist in the private sector. Since 2019, he joined the social service sector through TOUCH Community Services where he played multiple roles in managing complex operations, leadership development, project management, and strategy development. Leveraging his prior clinical experience, Guang Hao possesses a deep understanding of the core challenges faced by staff in the community care sector, allowing him to effectively lead the clinical programme development and corporate services within S3.

Guang Hao holds a Masters in Clinical Physiotherapy (Manipulative Therapy) from Curtin University and a Diploma in Physiotherapy from Nanyang Polytechnic. He has also attained a Graduate Certificate in Organisational Development and a Professional Certificate in Public Policy and Administration.

Guang Hao is an AHPC registered physiotherapist in Singapore and a Prosci Certified Change Practitioner.

Joined 2 May 2023

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Mr Lim Yuan Kang

Director, Partnerships & Development
Co-Director, Programmes (Active Ageing)

Mr Lim Yuan Kang has over a decade of experience in the community health and social care sector honed through both professional and volunteer roles, thus equipping him with in-depth knowledge of community health service providers and the needs of persons with disabilities. Prior to joining S3, Yuan Kang played a key role in developing integrated community eldercare services at the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC). He also led a pioneering programme with caregivers at Rainbow Centre to enable alternative models of employment for persons with special needs that required high support.

Yuan Kang holds a Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude from Middlebury College.

Joined 7 March 2022

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Ms Goh Shi Min

Deputy Director, Rehabilitation & Clinical Services

Ms Goh Shi Min brings over a decade of diverse physiotherapy experience to S3. She honed her skills for seven years at the National University Health System’s (NUHS) JurongHealth Campus, providing physiotherapy care to a broad spectrum of patients including those in neurological and geriatrics unit, orthopaedic, and cardiac rehabilitation. She took special interest in neuro-rehabilitation and also developed and conducted training programmes for various stakeholders in the neurological department.

She further expanded her expertise as a Senior Clinical Specialist with BMEC.asia before joining S3 in 2023 to lead the clinical team in optimising the current service structure for the stroke community.

Shi Min holds a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy from the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD), and a Diploma in Physiotherapy from Nanyang Polytechnic.

Shi Min is an AHPC registered physiotherapist in Singapore. She has also been granted the certification of an Adaptive and Inclusive Trainer (AIT) from ATA (Adaptive Training Academy).

Joined 17 April 2023

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