The Brain Injury Center of Ventura County serves people who are learning to live life after a brain injury at any point in their journey. But, we do know that the earlier we meet the survivor and their family, the better. Family support and advocacy makes a huge difference in the life of the survivor. Coaching the family in their new role, empowering the survivor, and helping both develop needed skills makes them more likely to achieve self-identified personal goals around symptom management and functional recovery.

Persons living life with a brain injury are faced with so many barriers it is hard to imagine. Coordinating dates and appointments, keeping track of medications, following doctor's orders for treatments and diet, trying to fit back into a family that does not understand what has happened to their loved-one are just a few.

Beginning at the point of discharge from the hospital, our staff work with the brain injury survivor, and their family care giver, to strengthen existing capabilities, identify needed supports, assist in managing community resources and empowering the client and family caregiver as they develop new, positive skills.

Caregiver stress over the multitude of adaptations and new activities, the changes in their loved one, and the isolation that occurs when energy is focused on the needs of the one being cared for can often result in what is known as "secondary patient" syndrome. The program's caregiver support and skill-building helps reduce the depression and other secondary patient syndrome symptoms.

The program's early intervention, immediately upon discharge, provides stabilization that reduces the use of emergency or inpatient medical services as patient and caregiver better utilize their own developing strengths and the supports available in the community. Program evaluation data (submitted for professional publication) supports the success of Care Transitions in avoiding re-injury and avoidable readmissions.

Trabajadora de Salud is a bilingual, bicultural adaptation of the Care Transitions program, designed to meet the specific needs of Latino brain injury survivors and their families. This program includes a culturally adapted initial hospital visit, an in-home visit within 72 hours of hospital discharge, and additional home visits or phone calls over the next 90 days, as needed. The goals are to assess needs, provide support, educate on what it means to have a brain injury, conduct medication reviews, and offer referrals for assistance. Trabajadora de Salud coaches prioritize developing personalismo (personal relationships) with brain injury survivors and their families. They also embrace familismo during visits, involving family members and extended kin as vital support resources. These coaches address unique language and cultural barriers to care and empower the strengths of Latino families to enhance the health of the entire family unit.

At the Brain Injury Center of Ventura County, we have always recognized the role of family caregivers, not only as supporters of brain injury survivors but also as clients who deserve self-care, education, and support. Our Trabajadora de Salud intervention has informed our broader Care Transitions intervention, reminding us to take the time to build rapport and foster meaningful relationships with everyone we serve.

Our 24-hour, 6-bed, Adult Residential Facility is located in the heart of the beach community of San Buenaventura California. Banner House is a well-appointed residence with expansive landscapes, open yard, patios and gardens. Activities are client-centered with special focus on both cognitive and physical rehabilitation support. Meals use organic non-GMO ingredients that accommodate a wide variety of dietary preference.

Banner house staff are led by Certified Brain Injury Specialists with Administrative credentials from the State of California. Our highly skilled Caregiver staff have training and experience in both personal care and brain injury

Individual support services are available for brain injury survivors and/or their family/caregivers who require additional care coordination and support. Support is provided by Certified Brain Injury Specialist and typically include an assessment session, goal setting and assistance in improving reintegration in community, work and social life.

Support Groups are based upon a peer-to-peer support model with facilitators assisting the group to learn more about brain injury and available services by meeting with others who are facing or have faced similar challenges. The essential elements of a support group are: gathering/sharing information; sharing common needs and strengths; providing a place to meet new friends and find new connections in the community; and providing an opportunity to give and receive support.

These groups are intended for brain injury (whether caused by a trauma to the head, stroke, illness or tumor) survivors – and their family/support system. There is no charge to attend any of our programs. Please contact the office for more information

Virtual Reality for brain injury rehabilitation is a novel intervention aimed at enhancing recovery for individuals with brain injuries. The Brain Injury Center of Ventura County is advancing this innovative approach by collaborating with faculty (Kristen Linton, MSW, Ph.D., and Bahareh Abbasi, Ph.D.) and students from California State University Channel Islands. Together, we are conducting research to assess the impact of two virtual reality scenarios we developed available in both English and Spanish. These scenarios were inspired by our 2021 focus groups with brain injury survivors in Ventura County, who expressed a desire for virtual reality tools to help with eye tracking, prospective memory (the ability to remember future tasks), communication, and physical rehabilitation.

Participants use virtual reality headsets provided by the Brain Injury Center of Ventura County to engage in the study, which involves completing 12 sessions of virtual reality, each lasting 20 minutes. Sessions take place at the Banner House cottage in Ventura, CA. Participants are required to sign a consent form and complete pre- and post-surveys. They are randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a delayed-intervention group. Those in the delayed-intervention group are asked to attend 12 sessions of 20 minutes each, playing a memory card game with a virtual reality technician followed by 12 sessions of virtual reality. A trained technician assists participants with using the headset, starts the scenarios, provides guidance, and offers support as needed.

1. Beach Stroll/Paseo por la playa: The first scenario aims to improve eye fixation or eye-tracking abilities. Although participants are seated, the scenario offers a first-person view of walking slowly along Pt. Mugu Beach, accompanied by relaxing ocean sounds. Participants are instructed to focus on a "ball" on the horizon for the six-minute duration of the scenario. Distractions such as waves crashing to the right, seagulls flying by, and cars driving on the Pacific Coast Highway to the left provide a subtle challenge for brain injury survivors. At the end of the scenario, the screen displays the percentage of time the participant remained focused.
2. Park Stroll/Paseo por el parque: The second scenario focuses on enhancing prospective memory, the ability to remember tasks planned for the future. In a first-person perspective, participants are seated on a park bench and instructed to hand specific objects to three different park-goers in a particular order. Participants are given time to memorize the order before the virtual reality technician begins the scene. Slowly, park-goers approach the participant one by one, asking if they have something for them. Participants use a controller to select the object and gently toss it to the park-goer. There are three scenes, each with different object orders, providing nine different combinations to memorize. At the end of each scene, the screen displays feedback on the number of items remembered correctly.

We are currently developing two additional scenarios focused on improving hand rehabilitation and communication skills. For more information or to schedule your Virtual Reality rehabilitation session, please email Kristen Linton at kristen.linton@csuci.edu.

We offer a variety of social opportunities each month beyond our bi-weekly supports groups. These activities are intended for both brain injury survivors and care givers to engage in activities and shared interests. The activities range from bowling, picnics, dine-outs, art socials, music singalongs, karaoke, dancing, craft projects, a garden club and an annual gala celebrating both professionals and a survivor of the year. See the calendar for schedules

The Brain Injury Center offers on-going training and skill-building opportunities for both brain injury survivors and family/caregivers. Small group seminars are offered throughout the year on topics such as Auditory Complications After Brain Injury", "Healthy Intimate and Sexual Relationships", "Navigating the Healthcare System", "Special Needs Trusts", Problem Solving" and others. An annual conference is held for professionals, caregivers, survivors and brain injury advocates as well as annual Caregiver Retreat. See the calendar for schedules