DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – (September 5, 2018) – Halifax Health and Brooks Rehabilitation have partnered to establish a multidisciplinary outpatient program for individuals who have sustained a concussion from car accidents, falls, sporting accidents or related injuries.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 3.8 million sports and recreation-related concussions occur in the United States each year. A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that affects brain functioning in a unique set of ways. Common symptoms after a concussion are headache, dizziness, and problems with attention or memory among other symptoms. While the effects are often considered temporary, some symptoms can persist.
The Halifax Health | Brooks Rehabilitation Concussion Program provides a multidisciplinary approach for improving patient outcomes for individuals with persistent symptoms. Eugene Rankin, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist affiliated with the program, states, “Our program is truly unique within the Central Florida region. We take a multidisciplinary approach that is tailored to the individual.”
Patients will first be seen by a physician specializing in brain injury rehabilitation. Based on the unique set of symptoms, he or she may be referred to specialty-trained adult and pediatric neuropsychologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists to initiate concussion treatment. Multidisciplinary team services include physician evaluations, neuropsychological consultations and testing, equipment adaptation for daily living activities, including work and school activities, as well as treatment for common post-concussion symptoms such as dizziness and headaches.
Carolyn Geis, M.D., medical director for Halifax Health | Brooks Rehabilitation, is one of the two physicians in the program. “This program fills a unique need in the community. Typically patients with concussions have to see a variety of specialists to address all of their needs. Providing coordinated services is a tremendous benefit to the patient and their families,” explains Geis.
Roy Lemaster, M.D., program director for the Halifax Health – Sports Medicine Fellowship Program, adds, “There are multiple points of admission to this program, from the Emergency Department, Trauma Services, community physicians, athletic departments or self-referrals. If you are concerned about symptoms after a concussion, an evaluation by trained experts can help. Our Sports Medicine fellowship is one of the oldest continually accredited fellowships in the state and we have been around since 1997. We provide medical coverage to all of the local colleges as well as many local high school athletic events.”
This newly developed Halifax Health | Brooks Rehabilitation Concussion Program is one of the components of a well-established continuum of services available to persons with traumatic brain injuries in the Daytona Beach area. Halifax Health is Volusia and Flagler’s only Level II Trauma Center. In addition, the Halifax Health | Brooks Rehabilitation Center for Inpatient Rehabilitation, a 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital located within Halifax Health, specializes in treating stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury and other complex orthopedic conditions. A full spectrum of physical and neuro-rehabilitation services are provided. Halifax Health | Brooks Rehabilitation also offers outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapies at five area locations, including one that specializes in pediatric rehabilitation.
For more information about the program, or to be seen for evaluation, please call 386.898.0220 or email Eugene.Rankin@halifax.org.
About Brooks Rehabilitation
Brooks Rehabilitation has been serving the Southeast for more than 45 years. As a nonprofit organization based in Jacksonville, Fla., Brooks operates one of the nation’s largest inpatient rehabilitation hospitals in the U.S. with 160 beds, one of the region’s largest home healthcare agencies, 32 outpatient rehabilitation clinics, a skilled nursing unit dedicated to orthopedic rehabilitation, the Brooks Rehabilitation Medical Group, two skilled nursing facilities, assisted living and memory care. Brooks will treat approximately 45,000 patients through their system of care each year. In addition, Brooks operates the Clinical Research Center, which specializes in research for stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury and more to advance the science of rehabilitation. Brooks also provides many low or no cost community programs and services such as the Brooks Clubhouse, Brooks Aphasia Center and Brooks Adaptive Sports and Recreation to improve the quality of life for people living with physical disabilities. For more information, visit BrooksRehab.org.
About Halifax Health
Recognized by The Joint Commission as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures, Halifax Health serves Volusia and Flagler counties, providing a continuum of healthcare services through a network of organizations including a tertiary hospital, community hospital, freestanding emergency department, an urgent care, psychiatric services, a cancer treatment center with five outreach locations, the area’s largest hospice, a center for inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, primary care walk-in clinics, a walk-in clinic specializing in women’s health, a pediatric care community clinic, three children’s medical practices, a home healthcare agency, and an exclusive provider organization. Halifax Health offers the area’s only Level II Trauma Center, Comprehensive Stroke Center, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Pediatric Emergency Department, Child and Adolescent Behavioral Services, complete Neurosurgical Services, OB Emergency Department and Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for babies born as early as 28 weeks. For more information, visit halifaxhealth.org.
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