October 31, 2018 by Angela

November is National Family Caregivers Month

At Schurig Center, we know how important family caregivers are! Every day, we see the love, commitment, time, and support family caregivers provide their loved ones as they navigate life after brain injury.

It’s wonderful that an entire month is dedicated to honoring family caregivers and providing education to the community about how much caregivers offer those in need of help.

Did you know?

Family members provide over 75% of caregiving support in the United States.

44 million Americans care for a family member, friend, or neighbor.

When a person experiences a brain injury, it can affect the entire family. Providing physical, emotional, and financial care is a daily reality for millions of American families and it poses a great strain on the caregiver, many of whom are struggling to balance work and family responsibilities. Caregivers are heroes that deserve honor and recognition for all they do.

Please join us this month in celebrating and thanking these heroes who do so much to keep our families and communities strong, each and every day.

Here’s just a few ways
to celebrate your family caregiver…

Start by saying “thanks.”

A “thank you” can go a long way in showing your love and appreciation. It can be as simple as sharing a heartfelt “thank you” in person or in a card, poem, letter, or note.

Give them a day off.

Plan a date to give your caregiver a day to do whatever they want. If it’s challenging to manage your daily tasks without your caregiver, consider hiring temporary help as an alternative or ask a family member of friend to help out for the day.

Give a thoughtful gift.

Think about what your family caregiver would appreciate most. Flowers, a gift card, a book or even a favorite coffee drink are all wonderful gifts that show your appreciation for all of their hard work.

Spend some quality time together.

Quality time with your caregiver can be a great way to remember your shared bond beyond the daily routine of caregiving. Watch a favorite movie together, play a board game, look through old photo albums, or sit together in the park. Spend some time together doing something that brings you both joy.

Remind them to take some time for themselves.

Family caregivers are less likely than non-caregivers to practice preventive healthcare and self-care behavior. Give your family caregiver the nudge they need to take some time out of the day for themselves. Whether it’s 15 minutes or a couple of hours of taking a nap, reading a book, or exercising, a little bit of ‘me’ time will go a long way to help your caregiver recharge their battery.

If you are a caregiver, please remember…
You are not alone. We are here to help!

Schurig Center offers services to support family members in adapting to the life changes that result from a brain injury, including resource referral assistance, consultation and a Family and Caregiver Support Group.

For more information, contact our Resource & Intake Specialist at:
(415) 461-6771 x100
resources@schurigcenter.org

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!

November is National Family Caregivers Month