Picking Our Brain with Shepherd Center

Concussions are mild traumatic brain injuries caused by a sudden jolt or blow to the head and typically resolve within a week or two. In typical concussions, headaches and other symptoms subside, and patients feel as capable as they did before their injury.

Russell Gore, MD, director of Shepherd Center’s Complex Concussion Clinic, will discuss sports related concussions and the rehabilitation process.

In today’s podcast Rebecca Washburn, MS, discusses the importance of fitness after injury and the ways Shepherd Center’s facilities and programs promote healthy living for people with disabilities.

Patients with catastrophic injury face a higher severity of illness requiring complex medical management. As medical complexity evolves in the course of rehabilitation, Shepherd Center assures access to specialized medical needs. A team of experts including physiatrists, internal medicine/pulmonology intensivists and specialized clinicians collaboratively manage the most medically complex, traumatic patient care needs.

In today’s podcast, Shepherd Center chief medical officer Michael Yochelson, M.D., MBA, discusses complex rehabilitation care and efforts to minimize conditions that could result in setbacks for patients.

Shepherd Center provides assistance from vocational rehabilitation case managers after rehabilitation for a spinal cord or brain injury. They assist clients in returning to their previous jobs, pursuing new employment options or preparing them for employment in the future. Case managers make recommendations and help implement workplace accommodations to support the client’s independence and autonomy.

Additionally, case managers educate employers and help manage clients’ disability benefits whether it’s through Social Security or their own long term disability plans.

In today’s broadcast, Shepherd vocational specialist and peer support liaison Zachary Bradley discusses workplace accessibility for people with disabilities.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive compound found in the cannabis plant often used by patients as an oil to manage the symptoms of chronic conditions.

In today’s podcast, Ben Thrower, M.D., the medical director of the Multiple Sclerosis Institute at Shepherd Center, will discuss the use of CBD products in managing the symptoms of MS.

Shepherd Center sponsors 11 sports teams that enable individuals with physical disabilities to participate in sports on a recreational or competitive level. Athletes compete in local and regional competitions, as well as at the national and international levels. Regular practice sessions offer expert instruction, as well as camaraderie and peer support.

In today’s podcast, sport teams coordinator Matt Edens discusses the program and how it raises awareness about disabilities and increases participation in adapted sports.

In partnership with the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, Shepherd Center has created AutoCoach, an app that teaches parents how to effectively and safely teach their teen to drive. AutoCoach aims to improve parental supervisory behaviors and involvement through quizzes, distraction notifications, driving logs and a ten-chapter curriculum based on best practices.

In today’s podcast, Shepherd Center director of injury prevention Emma Harrington discusses how the app aims to combat motor vehicle crashes and promote injury prevention. The app will be available as a free download in the Apple and Google Play app stores in summer 2017.

Caring for a person with a neurodegenerative disease can be extremely challenging. Beyond the potential physical exhaustion caregivers may experience, they also may experience emotional and psychological changes when having to take care of someone else, and it is a potential problem that needs to be addressed.

In this podcast, Deborah Backus, director of multiple sclerosis research at Shepherd Center and co-author of the paper “Coping With Caregiver Burnout When Caring for a Person With Neurodegenerative Disease: A Guide for Caregivers,” discusses the importance of recognizing and addressing the impact of caregiving.

People with spinal cord injuries and their families often feel anxious about returning home after rehabilitation and dealing with the many challenges related to living with such injuries. Patients with SCI who receive more intensive peer mentorship have more active engagement in rehabilitation, greater self-efficacy and lower hospital readmissions.

In this segment of Shepherd Center Radio, Minna Hong, the Spinal Cord Injury Peer Support Program supervisor at Shepherd Center, discusses the value of peer support and the importance of peer-led self-care education classes after injury.

Today, Shepherd Center access case manager Dorea Fowler discusses treatments for people with spinal cord injury in the first 72 hours after injury.

This podcast describes the way spinal cord injury affects the body, including the levels of injury and muscles that coordinate with those injuries, and how people with spinal cord injury differ from other patients in an intensive care unit.