Brain Injury Programs

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Acute Rehabilitation Brain Injury Program

John was home alone when he fell to the floor suffering an Ischemic stroke. A quick response from a neighbor made John a candidate for t-PA drug therapy. His splintered skills in processing information made him a candidate for the Brain Injury Program.
“The selection of the right Rehabilitation program and doctor like Physiatrist Joel Rosen, MD, was critical in determining my future success in returning to my ‘normal’ life. The NHMC Brain Injury Day Treatment program was the best choice I could have made.”

According to the National Safety Council, more than 700,000 Americans suffer from brain injury each year. This statistic underscores the need for comprehensive treatment programs to help brain injured patients and their families put their lives back together and return to the home, community, workplace and school.

The Acute Rehabilitation Brain Injury Program offers a full continuum of services that include coma recovery treatment in acute inpatient care, acute rehabilitation and post-acute treatment. Patients with physical and cognitive limitations re-learn simple tasks while the rehabilitation team assists the patients' family and friends with the adjustment and re-establishment of life within the community. 

Emotional and psychological support is available to help patients and families deal with the long-term effects of a brain injury. As the patient progresses, post-acute services in the form of the Brain Injury Day Treatment Program, Home & Community Services, and Outpatient Therapy Services are available after discharge from the hospital.

Remember that brain injury can result from a variety of reasons, including traumatic insult, aneurysm or anoxia, and that each patient suffers from very different disabilities. Patients may be in a comatose state or show just minor deficits in thinking. Each person is unique.

System of Care
A full spectrum of specialized services is available to provide optimum care for patients with brain injuries. Services may include emergency care supported by helicopter ambulance, acute medical care, acute rehabilitation, post-acute programs and community re-integration.

Comprehensive Team Approach
We call on the skills of the entire interdisciplinary team to address each patient’s individual needs. Team members evaluate each patient to develop and implement an integrated treatment plan that focuses on physical, emotional and cognitive needs through structured rehab therapy, medical and nursing management, counseling and family education.
Team members responsible for the comprehensive care provided to the patient include:

• Medical and Surgical Consultants
• Medical Psychologists
• Medical Social Workers
• Occupational Therapists
• Orthotists/Prosthetists
• Physiatrists (MD specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation)
• Physical Therapists
• Rehabilitation Nurses
• Respiratory Therapists
• Speech Therapists
• Therapeutic Recreation Therapists

Patient and Family Training
To ensure a successful outcome, family participation is critical during each step of the recovery process. Education starts from the beginning of the patient’s stay. Families participate in an orientation that includes information regarding the stages of recovery and what to expect during the process.

As the stay continues, families are trained to assist with certain portions of care in order for the patient to be as prepared as possible for discharge. At discharge, the patient and family will have a clear understanding of physical abilities and limitations, medications, personal hygiene needs, skin-care and equipment.

For information on the inpatient Acute Rehabilitation Brain Injury Program, please call 818-700-5648.

Brain Injury Day Treatment Program

Although a person may have successfully completed the inpatient Acute Rehabilitation Brain Injury Program there may be instances when he or she is not yet ready to resume their usual lifestyle after brain injury. Family members may notice that their loved one has difficulty with memory, does things that are unsafe, has uncontrolled impulses, makes inappropriate decisions or has other problems that adversely affect independent living.

The Brain Injury Day Treatment Program is the first hospital-based program of its kind to serve the needs of adult and adolescent brain-injured persons in the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas. Established in 1985, this unique brain injury recovery program is under the direction of a well respected Board-certified physiatrist (MD specializing in Physical Medicine) and is part of the Center for Rehabilitation Medicine’s continuum of care.

The program is designed to re-integrate persons with brain injuries back into the community by returning to work, going to school, living independently or resuming some other type of function. Using comprehensive therapies and emphasizing an individual and group treatment approach, patients are given the skills necessary to achieve success in major aspects of their lives.

Our multidisciplinary team consists of licensed and certified therapists in the following disciplines:

• Occupational Therapy enhances necessary skills for functional independence. Areas addressed are self-care, home management, use of transportation, community re-integration and return to work and school.
• Speech Therapy provides therapy for cognitive, speech and language problems and offers compensatory strategies for increased functional independence.
• Physical Therapy improves strength, flexibility, endurance, coordination, balance, mobility skills and safety.
• Neuropsychology provides private counseling to patients and their families for emotional support and education.
• Therapeutic Recreation facilitates the development and improvement of cognitive and physical skill deficits through the use of leisure modalities, such as education about leisure and recreation activities and community participation.
• Social Services helps patients and their families cope with the stresses of disability through counseling and assists in exploration of financial resources.
• Medical Management is provided by the patient’s own physician or by one of the physiatrists on staff at the Center for Rehabilitation Medicine.

Working in concert with each other, this team configuration enhances the patient’s ability to achieve goals when combined with the therapy schedule, which can be up to six-hours-per-day.

Other services include:

• Hydrotherapy
• Neuropsychological Assessment
• Weekly Community Re-Entry
• Therapy Pre-Vocational Training
• Return to School Program
• Driver Preparation Program
• Home & Community Services
• Case Coordination

At the time of admission, each patient is assigned a Clinical Case Coordinator. The case coordinator is a member of the treating team, and is the direct point of contact for the patient, family, referral source and payer regarding progress and outcomes.

This system of patient case management provides accountability for achievement of goals. The interdisciplinary team and program resources are used by the clinical case coordinator to help the patient and family set and achieve goals. The team works together to develop an individualized and flexible treatment plan that is re-defined as treatment progresses, meets the needs of the patient and family and is approved by the insurance carrier.

Back in the Mommy Seat  As a 36-year-old mother of two small children, Annalissa Montesclaros feared her stroke would impact her ability to care for and enjoy them. Upon arrival to the Stroke Rehabilitation Program, she had double vision, couldn’t stand and had no coordination in her left arm.

“Kevin Pidgeon, MD, Physiatrist, helped to develop a personalized treatment plan that included Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapies,” she says. “The best part was that he catered to my individual needs so I could regain my independence.” Today, Annalissa is thriving again as a stay-at-home mom. “I care for myself and bathe, cook for and play with my children—it feels great to be back in my role as a full-time mom.”

Vital Support of Family and Friends
Families are encouraged to participate in the treatment plan to gain a better understanding of the various skills needed for brain injured patients to resume an active family and social life. Families learn about their role in supporting the patient throughout the treatment process, and in developing realistic expectations of the patient’s potential outcome.

Quality Management
Successful patient progress results from a carefully designed treatment plan and patient participation in the program and follow-up after discharge. Our follow-up system is designed to evaluate achievement of goals, assess outcome over an extended period of time and provide the basis for continuous upgrading of standards, staff education and improvement in the quality of patient care.

Financial Arrangements
The Brain Injury Day Treatment program manager assists patients and their families to determine insurance coverage prior to entering the Program.

For additional information on the Brain Injury Day Treatment Program, or to find out about insurance coverage, please contact the program manager at 818-349-0265. Your request will be responded to within 24-hours, Monday through Friday.

Home & Community Services

Home and Community Services helps individuals with neurological impairments who have the potential to make rehabilitation gains through a medically-directed intervention that addresses physical, cognitive, language and communication deficits. Services are arranged through and are part of the Brain Injury Day Treatment Program.

This care team concept has an important place in the rehabilitation continuum of care for brain injury patients. This team personalizes each therapy plan with the ultimate goal in mind—for every patient to return to the highest functional level possible within his or her own environment. 

These services can benefit the following:

• Patients who have completed an inpatient Acute Rehabilitation Brain Injury Program and are unable to tolerate an all-day outpatient Brain Injury Day Treatment Program due to decreased physical endurance, confusion, personal hygiene issues, etc.
• Patients who have progressed to the point where their full recovery potential can be realized in therapy sessions geared towards increased independence in their home and community.
• Patients who can only reach their highest level of recovery in familiar environments like their home and within their surrounding community.

We start with an evaluation by licensed and certified  Occupational, Speech and Physical Therapists. Goals are set for the patient to regain skills in settings where everyday living tasks are performed. The therapy team helps patients succeed by incorporating the treatment plan with family involvement, cognitive retraining, endurance training, pre-vocational activities, and daily living, recreational and social skills. The therapeutic program can begin in the home.

As the patient progresses, the home program will expand to include the neighborhood, various transportation services, shopping centers, volunteer work, academic settings and possibly competitive employment.

Financial Arrangements
The Brain Injury Day Treatment program manager assists patients and their families to determine insurance coverage prior to scheduling Home & Community Services.

For additional information on Home & Community Services, or to find out about insurance coverage, please contact the program manager at 818-349-0265. Your request will be responded to within 24-hours, Monday through Friday.

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