Acquired Brain Injury Program

Shepherd Center provides a full continuum of services to meet the complex needs of people who have traumatic and non-traumatic brain injuries, as well as people who have had complications from a stroke or tumor.

We understand that recovering from a brain injury requires a continuum of care that is focused on community re-entry, which for many people means returning to home, work, or to a supported community living environment.

Acquired brain injuries may result in significant impairment of an individual's physical, cognitive and psychosocial functioning. Shepherd is equipped to meet the medical and clinical needs for people who require ICU-level care, to post-acute services, such as our Day Program or Outpatient Services.

Acute Care / ICU
A person's best chance for recovery may begin with Shepherd Center's program for the acutely injured. Here, our goal is to manage a patient's medical status and get him or her ready for rehabilitation. This phase includes everything from monitoring drug therapies and nutrition to getting the patient mobile and out of bed as soon as possible.

Shepherd Center's intensive care unit accepts the most medically fragile patients—including those who are ventilator dependent, but weanable, those who have a dual diagnosis of brain and spinal cord injury, and those who are comatose or minimally conscious. Working to achieve a certain level of responsiveness, the ICU team has a goal of quickly transitioning the patient from intensive care to inpatient rehabilitation.

PREP (Pre-Rehabilitation and Education Program)
PREP is a short-term, three-to-five-week program for patients who are semi-comatose or minimally conscious (Rancho I-III) and takes into account a slow response to therapeutic intervention. Reducing medical acuity, preventing medical complications and continually measuring arousal and attention to the environment are key components of this program, which also takes into account neuropharmacological management, nutritional management, maximizing mobility and beginning family education and training.

The interdisciplinary team works closely to facilitate the patient's recovery by offering an individualized plan of care that balances medication management, therapies, environmental stimulation and rest. At Shepherd Center, we believe in educating each family in order to help you care for your loved one in the event that he/she is not ready for active rehabilitation.

Inpatient Rehabilitation
Inpatient rehabilitation involves both the patient and his or her family in a treatment program that takes into account all of the physical and cognitive changes that have taken place, as well as the information the patient and family need to prepare for the future.

Our 30-bed, secured care unit is home to a program that treats not only brain injury but also patients with stroke (under age 65) and diagnoses including encephalitis and anoxia. We also have specialized programs for adolescents recovering from brain injury.

Closed-circuit cameras, bed alarms and specialized beds ensure safety.  The unit includes a large therapy gym, a transitional living apartment with full kitchen, a recreation/classroom for adolescents, accessible bathrooms, private treatment rooms and a computer lab.

The family’s role in rehabilitation is critical, and Shepherd works to find low or no-cost temporary lodging for family members who live outside driving distance of the Center. As recovery progresses, a patient enters the post-acute phase and may make the transition to Shepherd Center’s day or residential programs.

In addition, through the Marcus Community Bridge Program at Shepherd Center, our experts help you make sure that the skills you learn during rehabilitation are applied at home and in the community. They also help coordinate your equipment needs, arrange for follow-up care and assist with back-to-work or back-to-school goals.

Day Program
The Day Program enables patients with acquired brain injury who no longer need 24-hour nursing care to continue their recovery and rehabilitation.

Whether they are living alone or with family, patients in the day program arrive each day to participate in facility-based training and re-integration training into the community.

Patients and their therapists organize activities like grocery shopping, accessing transportation, dining out at local restaurants, and pre-vocational and vocational assessment and counseling to help patients make a smooth transition to their communities, school or work.

Shepherd Center's Day Program takes place at Shepherd Pathways, a nearby facility in Decatur, Georgia and includes treatment rooms, two large therapy gyms, a computer lab, outdoor sports equipment and putting green for recreational and leisure activities.

Outpatient Services
Specialized therapies, evaluations and programs for people who have sustained a traumatic brain injury are available through Shepherd Pathways on an outpatient basis.

Read more about Outpatient Services at Shepherd Pathways.

Residential Program
Shepherd Center's post-acute, residential brain injury program is located at the Shepherd Pathways facility in nearby Decatur, Georgia.

The residential program has 12 designated beds that are supported by 24-hour supervision from life skills trainers, who support individual treatment goals.

Shepherd Pathway's comprehensive services emphasize the restoration of functional, cognitive, social and vocational skills.

A physiatrist assists in directing each patient's care with the support of nurses, therapists and rehab assistants. Specially trained life-skills coaches work with transitional residential patients to implement behavior and personal-management plans. Patients also receive assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), medications and management of behaviors.

Supported Living
Spring Creek House is Shepherd Center's long-term, supported-living residence for people with acquired brain injuries who have completed their rehabilitation, and are ready to live in the community, but still need 24-hour support.

Spring Creek House provides an environment in which residents live in the community while supporting their independence and individual needs. The ivory brick home is located off a quiet, shady street in nearby Decatur, Georgia.

Residents in the six-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot home are assisted by full-time life-skills coordinators, who help individuals with personal care, meal preparation, money management, community navigation, socialization, vocational assistance and other needs.  For more information, please call 404-603-1400.