July 10, 2019 by Angela

Connecting with Furry Friends that Help People See the World

Schurig Center’s latest Community Integration group outing happened in May with a visit to Guide Dogs for the Blind, a leading guide dog school serving people who are blind or visually impaired.

The Guide Dogs team warmly welcomed a group of Schurig Center participants, volunteers, and staff for a walking tour of the San Rafael campus to learn all about their guide dog programs, from birth and puppy socialization to training and pairing with prospective clients.

After the tour, the Schurig group wrapped up the day with lunch and an extra special art project to reflect on what they had learned during the visit – each person created and shared an original art piece depicting their very own dream guide dog.

Community Integration… Why It Matters

Community integration outings like this one are important to the recovery process of our participants. Isolation is often one of the greatest challenges facing people living with the effects of a brain injury. These group outings help keep people active and connected by providing an opportunity for participants to:

Re-engage with the community
Build confidence through personal interactions with new people
Practice communication and social skills
Support one another through cooperation and peer-to-peer support
Increase their sense of independence
Participate and not just be an observer
Access experiences and activities that may not otherwise be available to them

The outings are also a wonderful way for members of the community-at-large to learn more about brain injury as well as to meet and get to know people living with the effects of a brain injury as unique, valuable individuals, not just as their disability.

Our community is truly stronger when everyone is included!

Thank you!

Big thanks to Keith Rosenthal and the rest of the awesome team at Guide Dogs for their time and enthusiasm to make this memorable “warm and fuzzy” day possible for Schurig’s group.

No one should have to go through brain injury alone.
Your generosity helps ensure no one does.

Schurig Center’s innovative programs are powered by the giving of foundations and individual donors, like you. We hope you’ll join us in making critically-needed services, like the Community Integration Program, possible by donating today. Your gift ensures everyone in our community has the opportunity to live happily, meaningfully, and fully. Thank you!

October 29, 2018 by Angela

Your gift to Schurig Center helps address a “public health crisis”

Every day there seems to be a new feature story about concussion in the media. This is important news because concussions, a type of traumatic brain injury, happen frequently and can have lasting effects. Despite often being associated with professional and youth sports, a concussion can happen to anyone at any age from a blow or jolt to the head. Causes include falls, motor vehicle and recreation accidents, whiplash, and even seemingly minor bumps to the head, like bumping into a cabinet door.

Concussion has become an important area of research to improve understanding of its short and long-term side effects and to establish effective treatment protocols.

In a recent San Francisco Chronicle article, renowned neurosurgeon and UCSF Professor, Dr. Geoffrey Manley, shared his study findings that too many concussion patients do not receive follow-up care even when they experience ongoing post-concussive symptoms.

Many health care professionals believe concussion patients don’t need or cannot benefit from subsequent visits and treatment. Dr. Manley’s study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, found the opposite to be true. “This is a public health crisis that is being overlooked,” Manley said in an interview.

In fact, half of concussion patients are discharged without being warned about possible follow-up symptoms, red flags and dangers. Only 40% of the patients in Manley’s study saw a doctor or other medical provider within three months of being injured.

Dr. Manley drew parallels between traumatic brain injuries and other diseases, noting that it is important to think of a head injury as an ongoing condition rather than an isolated event.

“If you have a heart attack, you get great care,” he said. “A doctor will follow up with you. With traumatic head injuries, we have a whole bunch of people out there that when we looked at those that aren’t being seen, they needed to be seen. We have got to do a better job.”

You help people not only survive, but thrive!

As a Schurig Center supporter, you play a critical role in filling the gaps in follow-up care for people living with the effects of a concussion. You provide therapeutic and support services designed to help people improve their abilities and transition from the hospital to community living.

Your generosity helps hundreds of people each year achieve their best quality of life by providing:

A restorative community
That provides a vitally important bridge between medical intervention and survivor independence.

Customized recovery plans that offer survivors in crisis a ray of hope.
When doctors don’t have time to recommend therapists and insurance won’t pay for transitional services, you give them a place to turn.

Brain injury expertise and education
That is helping to change the future of brain injury recovery.

It’s not enough to save a life.
Everyone deserves to have a life.

Thanks to you, survivors and their families have a place to turn to get the support they need to build meaningful lives after a brain injury, from an accident, concussion or stroke. THANK YOU!

September 26, 2018 by Angela

Volunteer Betty Schrohe Helps Survivors Rediscover Their Voice

Volunteer Betty listens on as John practices his reading and speech skills with a book about Albert Einstein

At Schurig Center, “it takes a village” isn’t just a cliché, it’s the key to our success. We are deeply grateful for Betty Schrohe, one of the caring members of our active community of volunteers and donors whose contributions of time and talent power our programs.

Betty’s training in speech therapy and experience working with stroke survivors and children with disabilities were a natural fit for volunteering at Schurig Center, so she decided to jump in. For almost 10 years, Betty has assisted weekly in classes and worked individually with clients who have aphasia to help them improve their reading and speech skills by reading books aloud together. In a recent interview, Betty expressed that she has found it very gratifying to be able to assist people on their journey to recovery. She also mentioned particularly enjoying her work with stroke survivor John Nelson and shared:

“It’s exciting to watch John’s progress over time. Some days are quite challenging for him, so it’s especially exciting to be with him to celebrate on days when his speech and reading seem to be more effortless. You can really feel how much it means to him.”

Ongoing rehabilitation, like speech therapy, is critical to rebuilding skills after a stroke. Our center relies on the support of people like Betty, and you, to offer an array of services, which are designed specifically to help brain injury survivors improve their abilities. You help provide innovative, high-quality services that are not available anywhere else in our area. YOU truly are the difference that makes a difference. Thank you!

Connecting with Furry Friends that Help People See the World

Community Integration… Why It Matters

Thank you!

No one should have to go through brain injury alone.
Your generosity helps ensure no one does.

Your gift to Schurig Center helps address a “public health crisis”

You help people not only survive, but thrive!

It’s not enough to save a life.
Everyone deserves to have a life.

Volunteer Betty Schrohe Helps Survivors Rediscover Their Voice

Did you know?

About 25 to 40% of stroke survivors acquire aphasia.

What is aphasia?

Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process language, speak, understand others, read, and/or write.

Community Integration… Why It Matters

Thank you!

No one should have to go through brain injury alone. Your generosity helps ensure no one does.

You help people not only survive, but thrive!

It’s not enough to save a life. Everyone deserves to have a life.

Did you know?

About 25 to 40% of stroke survivors acquire aphasia.

What is aphasia?

Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process language, speak, understand others, read, and/or write.

No one should have to go through brain injury alone.
Your generosity helps ensure no one does.

It’s not enough to save a life.
Everyone deserves to have a life.