Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation
A Personal Approach to TBI Rehab
At Helen Hayes Hospital’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Rehabilitation Program, patients benefit from a full range of rehabilitative services dedicated to enabling them to resume active, independent lives following a brain injury. Our philosophy is to let the patient be our guide, helping our skilled specialists design an individualized TBI treatment plan to meet the patient’s specific needs and goals after sustaining a brain trauma.
Each patient receives treatment from a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team under the direction of a board-certified physician specializing in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation. Working collaboratively toward the patient’s goals, the team consists of physical, occupational and speech therapists, rehabilitation nurses, case managers, neuropsychologists, vocational counselors, and other committed professionals.
Program Admissions
Traumatic brain injury affects a person’s total way of life, which is why it is vital to have a comprehensive continuum of care to address a patient’s full spectrum of needs. Individuals who have sustained injury due to trauma, cerebral aneurysm, cerebral hemorrhage, anoxia, brain tumor, or infection, such as encephalitis, can all benefit from rehabilitation at Helen Hayes Hospital because of our extensive range of services.
The program treats the complex effects of brain injury, such as difficulty walking, communicating, eating, and dressing, limitations in memory and thinking skills, and social, emotional, and cognitive issues.
Located in New York’s Hudson Valley, the program not only serves patients from throughout the New York Metropolitan region, New Jersey, and Connecticut, but also attracts patients from across the country.
Neuro Recovery / Coma Recovery Program
Comatose patients are admitted directly to our program from an acute care facility and receive ventilator weaning and tracheostomy support services. Care is provided around-the-clock, with all of the necessary adaptive support and stimulation to achieve two purposes: to help the patient wake up from a coma and to prevent secondary complications.
Therapists provide structured and organized sensory stimulation, including touch, vision, sound, movement, and aroma therapy. Simultaneously, therapists work to preserve the patient’s physical condition through flexibility and range of motion exercises and splinting and serial casting, as necessary. Medications to stimulate the brain are also utilized.
Based on the physician’s neurological assessment, the rehabilitation team also provides oximetry monitoring, tracheostomy care and suctioning, psychological services, and nutritional intervention.
Continuum of Care
The strength of our program is its extensive range of services, offering a smooth continuum of care. Patients can be admitted directly into our Neuro-Recovery (Coma Recovery) Program, where they receive round-the-clock care. Following inpatient rehabilitation, patients can be discharged into our outpatient therapy programs. The Transitional Rehabilitation Program, designed exclusively for individuals with traumatic brain injury, program serves as an important final step in transitioning back to the community. This extensive continuum of care is vital to our patients’ recovery. Furthermore, our patients benefit from our collaborative approach to treatment, with caregivers tracking a patient’s progress through the recovery process.
Specialized Services
TBI patients are admitted to the inpatient traumatic brain injury rehabilitation program either directly from an acute care hospital, or are transferred from the coma recovery unit when they are medically ready to participate in rehabilitation. Each patient receives treatment from a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team under the direction of a board-certified physician specializing in TBI rehabilitation.
The acute TBI rehabilitation program provides a full spectrum of services to help the patient resume full living, including:
- Dedicated 24-bed TBI Unit and therapy gym
- Physical Therapy to restore mobility & strength
- Occupational Therapy to restore the activities of daily living
- Speech Language Therapy
- Dysphagia/swallowing therapy including videoflouroscopy & neuromuscular electrical stimulation
- Cognitive Therapy
- Neuropsychological services
- State-of-the-art therapeutic equipment including: SaeboFlex, Bioness, Body Weight Supported Gait Training, VitalStim, FEES
- Respiratory Therapy
- Ventilator Weaning & Management
- Tracheostomy Care
- Rehabilitation Nursing & 24/7 on-site physician care
- Psychiatry & Psychology Services
- Services of the Center for Rehabilitation Technology
- Medication Evaluation & Optimization
- Nutrition Education
- Patient & Family Education
- Recreational Therapy Services
- Aquatic Therapy
- Vocational Rehabilitation Services
- Driver Education & Training
- Home & Food Management Center
- Case Management & Discharge Planning
- Traumatic Brain Injury Support Group
- Virtual Reality Therapy
"I wish the world could know the wonderful things that are happening on the fourth floor of Helen Hayes Hospital. In the middle of our personal crisis, we met such wonderful people–people who were where they should be, doing what they do best, caring for people who have had an injury."
For more information, please contact the
Helen Hayes Hospital Admission Referral Center:
1-888-70-REHAB ext. 4118
845-786-4118
info@helenhayeshospital.org
To schedule a guided tour,
call 845-786-4118
