FAQs

We encourage families to participate in some of the treatment sessions, but we also ask that you respect the important balance between treatment time and family time. After all, some separation from family is vital to help the patient regain independence. In the event that a patient requests that his or her family be involved in learning a specific skill, the patient’s treatment team will reach out to the family to coordinate schedules.

Treatment hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Visiting hours are typically from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the patient’s case manager if you need an alternative visitation plan.

Yes, upon room availability and what is appropriate for your loved one’s treatment.

Our team of insurance specialists works hard to ensure that brain injury rehabilitation treatments are covered by the patient’s insurance carrier. We will do everything we can to secure coverage, including filing appeals with the insurer, if a treatment is denied.

We understand the anxiety that accompanies any medical treatment that’s not covered by insurance. Our representatives will help individuals locate and apply for financial assistance, from entities such as the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), which funds comprehensive rehabilitation services and vocational rehabilitation activities for patients who have the potential to return to work.

With more than 30 years of rehabilitation experience, we have devised a unique approach to therapy for persons with acquired brain injury. Our approach begins with us getting to know each patient on a deeper level. Armed with this information, we devise a rehabilitation plan based on real-world simulation, individualized therapies, and results-oriented programs. Our therapies include physical, occupational, speech/language, cognitive, behavioral, vocational and even animal-assisted therapy activities. Our diverse clinical teams – including 10 clinical neuropsychologists – represent many clinical backgrounds and work together to facilitate the best rehabilitation program.

Pate has various programs designed to care for a wide range of patients:

• Community-based therapy – for patients who have the best potential for success in their own family environments. We work with the patient and family regularly at their home to help them learn essential skills in daily living and help structure their everyday lives.
• Day neuro program – for individuals who live at home, but need therapy from Monday through Friday (up to six hours per day).
• Transitional post-acute program – for individuals who are medically stable, yet require a 24-hour rehabilitation program to return to their highest level of independence.
• Young adult program – for patients ages 12-19 (based on individual needs).
• Supported living program – for residents who need specialized care and lifelong support. This program provides the opportunity for residents to live as independently as possible.

Because Pate designs an individualized, community-based rehabilitation program for every patient, every specific treatment plan is unique to the patient’s needs.

Nurses are available on campus Monday through Friday during regular business hours and some overnight hours. Each facility has a designated nurse on-call at all times: 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our residential staff is expertly trained and, in the event of an incident, will either contact the nurse on-call for his or her on-site assistance, or relay the problem immediately to 911.

A neuropsychologist is an expert in the structure and function of the brain related to specific psychological processes and behaviors. At Pate, our clinical neuropsychologists combine knowledge and understanding of an injury’s effect on brain function with the reality of the patient’s real strengths, weaknesses, interests, and personality in order to develop a treatment plan that will work the best for that individual patient.

It is the neuropsychologist’s responsibility to make sure that every member of a patient’s treatment team understands the whole person. The neuropsychologist is an integral part of the rehabilitation team and continually re-evaluates the patient as progress is made. The team’s ultimate goal is for the patient to successfully re-enter the real world.

Clinical neuropsychologists are fundamental to the assessment and personalized plan development for each patient. Pate does not limit treatment to speech therapy, grooming and dressing exercises, and mobility – our neuropsychologists consider all of the underlying neurofunctions required to perform these activities. Because we have a number of neuropsychologists at Pate, each is able to give individual attention to effectively assess and treat his or her patient’s very specific needs.

Yes! Along with one-on-one or individual treatment.

Most people think of group therapy as several people in a room talking about their problems or performing the same activity. At Pate, group activities are designed to mimic real life while incorporating the patient’s needs and goals. When patients leave Pate, they want to go back to “real life.” This means they need to be able to perform certain tasks with other people or when other people are around. Some examples are going back to work, peforming volunteer work, going to school, riding on a plane, going to the grocery store or going to get a driver’s license. In fact, this approach is supported by research on evidence-based treatments for individuals with brain injury.

A brain injury can leave a person with a wide range of challenges. Many problems require individual focus from a trained therapist or professional. For example, impairments such as the inability to swallow, paralysis of a limb, communication problems like aphasia or the inability to move fingers require one-on-one interaction with a therapist at least initially.

At Pate, we believe that interactions with other people, whether it is with coworkers, cashiers, family members, neighbors, teachers, or the general public are very important in the brain injury rehabilitation process. The ultimate goal is for the patient to become as independent as possible, which includes self-starting and completing activities without minute-by-minute guidance from a therapist. Consequently, therapies need to eventually include other people. There is a time for quiet and one-on-one, and there is also time for carefully increased noise, distractions, and interactions with other people.

At Pate, our therapists are trained to evaluate and determine the right combination of individual therapist interaction, while gradually guiding the patient’s interactions with other people.

Almost all patients with a brain injury want to become more independent, live on their own, drive, and resume their pre-injury activities. “Real life” is the goal for most – and the only way to accomplish this goal is with balance between therapist guidance and the patients doing activities on their own.