Brain Injury Center of Excellence

The Brain Injury Center of Excellence is one of three Centers of Excellence at HillsideRehabilitationHospital. This Center of Excellence offers comprehensive care and rehabilitation for people with traumatic and non-traumatic brain injury to help them achieve their highest level of function and return to life in the community.

Our Mission

The mission of the Brain Injury Center of Excellence is to enhance the cognitive, physical and emotional well being of patients with brain injury, promoting the highest level of functioning.

The members of the team are dedicated to providing comprehensive patient treatment and family education on the impact of brain injury throughout the continuum of care: hospital stay, outpatient services and community integration efforts.

About the Center

This uniquely designed Center addresses each individual’s physical, emotional, medical and psychological needs to help him or her regain a sense of dignity and achievement. Goal-directed, interdisciplinary services focus on general health, mobility, communication, cognitive skills functioning, activities of daily living, emotional/behavioral adjustment and social adaptation for functioning within the community.

Inpatient care is coordinated with outpatient services including case management, therapeutic services and vocational services for returning to life in the community. Consultation with area educators, school systems and employers is often available. Additionally, the HRH Brain Injury Insight Group serves as a valuable resource and support for continuing care after discharge.

A special focus is mild brain injury and the interruptions it makes on home, school and work functioning.Mild traumatic brain injury may be a temporary disruption in brain functioning despite rapid physical restoration observed. Problems in functioning can be identified in thinking skills, behavior, and emotions that are not immediately evident post injury, such as post concussion syndrome, war veteran and sports-related injuries.

Brain Injury Team

The dedicated Brain Injury Center of Excellence team, individually and collectively, possesses in-depth knowledge, advanced training and a commitment to continuing education in brain injury and related areas.This specialized interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, therapists and health professionals works together to coordinate care that encourages the healing and brain relearning processes efficiently and successfully.

The staff philosophy promotes treatment in the least restrictive environment compatible with safe, effective rehabilitation.This involves the limited use of sedative medications, as well as an appropriate staff-to-patient ratio for consistent monitoring of patient responses. When needed, a Special Intensive Assistance Program (SIAP) of Behavior Technicians helps to meet this goal.

We value evidence-based treatment with sharing of research findings used by all disciplines involved in patient care. Appropriate research projects relevant to rehabilitation are welcomed.

Aspects of Care

The BrainInjuryCenter of Excellence:

·Provides services to assist patients in achieving the highest level of functioning

·Delivers appropriate care in the least restrictive environment compatible with safety and wellness

·Fosters a continuum of care from inpatient rehabilitation to outpatient andcommunity reintegration services

·Works closely and consults with community agencies for vocational and educational reintegration

·Provides resources for family/caregivers and patients regarding communityfunctioning with a support group called “Insight Group” that meets monthly

·Promotes prevention of brain injury through community education via staff participation in a speaker’s bureau, educational pamphlets and other reference materials

Our Services

·Physician / Medical Management

·Rehabilitation Nursing

·Speech Pathology Services

·Psychology

·Case Management

·Occupational Therapy

·Physical Therapy

·Therapeutic Recreations

·Adapted Sports

·Audiology

·Vocational Rehabilitation

·Nutrition Services

·Pastoral Care Services

Patient Satisfaction

At the Brain Injury Center of Excellence, as well as Hillside’s many other programs, patient satisfaction is very important to us.Patient satisfaction measures are key elements to our program evaluation, and we are very proud of our results. Who is better than our patients and families to tell about the care Hillside’s provides.

During 2006, 38% of 178 total patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Non-Traumatic Brain Injury (NTBI) responded to satisfaction survey questionnaires.Nationally, the return rate for similar surveys is 3%.

TBI patients

Overall satisfaction ratings of good, very good and excellent96.3%

Patients who would recommend this facility to others96.1%

Patients identifying facility’s help to meet goals100%

NTBI patients

Overall satisfaction ratings of good, very good and excellent94.3%

Patients who would recommend this facility to others87.5%

Patients identifying facility’s help to meet goals94.6%

Types of Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is an injury caused by a force outside of the brain.The two main types of traumatic brain injury include:Closed head injury that results from a blow to the head and Open head injury that results from a sharp object entering the brain through the skull.

• 1.4 million people sustain a TBI each year, of which approximately 50, 000 die, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2006.
• 5.3 million Americans have a life-long need for help in performing activities of daily living after TBI.
• Leading causes of TBI are fall (28%), motor vehicle crashes (20%), other “struck-by” or against something events (19%) and assaults (11%).
• One specific group that includes military personnel in war zones and blast injuries are the leading cause of TBI in this population.

Non-Traumatic Brain Injury (NTBI)

Non-traumatic brain injury, or acquired brain injury, is a stroke with damage to a particular area of the brain where blood flow has been altered or interrupted.This can be caused by anoxia, acute cerebral hemorrhage, metabolic insult, infectious or viral agents, as well as neoplasm or tumor.