Chester House
Chester House TBI and SCI Care
Chester House is a state-of-the-art, post-acute program for individuals recovering from traumatic brain injury (“TBI”) and spinal cord injury (“SCI”), but will also accept appropriate residents recovering from cerebral vascular accidents (strokes and intracranial hemorrhage), tumors, cerebral damage caused by infection or neurodegenerative disease. While residents at Chester House may stay for periods as little as 3 months, they may stay as long as necessary, even permanently, depending on their circumstances.
Regardless of length of stay, the Chester House program never loses its focus on developing and maximizing independent skills, creating improved accommodations for living, working and recreation and maximally integrating our residents lives in the community. All programs are individual and constantly changing as our residents needs change. Chester House is also discrete in everything it does. We will not focus on our residents disabilities within Chester House or out in the community, but concentrate on their abilities and help families to do the same.
The Chester House program is based on the following principals:
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No two brain injured patients/residents are alike and all require individual, evidence-based programs.
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Programs must be constantly evaluated and changed to meet the changing needs of the resident.
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Regardless of the degree of impairment, living, working and recreation environments can be adapted in creative ways to provide the resident with a more rewarding life and continued growth. Training starts in Chester House, but then continues to the job, recreation and home environment.
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Our services are residential and habilitative and can last for any length of time. While medically safe and supported, our community looks and feels more like a fine hotel and certainly not like a hospital or nursing home.
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Programs must never stop challenging the resident to do better and to achieve a higher level of independent functioning.
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State-of-the-art therapy services can continue to contribute and improve a residents level of functioning on a life-long basis.
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The surrounding community is there to be used whenever possible. Our vehicles are unmarked. We don't advertise our residents disabilities. We are skilled at using community facilities, plan our trips, provide adequately trained staff and assume and exercise our residents rights to access all (or almost all) public spaces.
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We understand that brain injury affects an entire family, not just the injured family member. We are the families constant support and source of information and hope. This goes across all ages of family members including parents, siblings, spouses, children and grandchildren.
