Shepherd Center embraces a total approach to fitness and wellness that emphasizes physical and mental wellbeing.
Facilities include a weight room, indoor track, full-court gymnasium and swimming pool.
Through land and aquatic classes, personalized programs, massage, yoga and personal training, Shepherd Center attempts to improve its members’ fitness and quality of life.
The facility is completely accessible to allow people with physical disabilities to participate in all programs, as appropriate.
Professionally trained and certified staff members are available to ensure that all members receive the highest quality assistance.
Shepherd also introduces inpatients and day program patients to its fitness center, including aquatics, to give them the tools and knowledge to participate in their community fitness centers after discharge from the hospital.
Rebecca Washburn, M.S., is here to discuss how health and wellness before a person’s injury is important, but even more important following injury to maintain strength, endurance and prevent secondary complications.
Selected Podcast
How to Get Fit When Living with a Physical Disability
Featured Speaker:
Rebecca Washburn, MS
Rebecca Washburn is the manager of Shepherd Center’s Beyond Therapy® program and ProMotion fitness center. She has worked at Shepherd Center for 16 years. Rebecca holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southern Connecticut State University. Transcription:
How to Get Fit When Living with a Physical Disability
Melanie Cole (Host): Shepherd Center embraces a total approach to fitness and wellness that emphasizes physical and mental well-being. My guest today is Rebecca Washburn. She is the manager of Shepherd Center’s Beyond Therapy Program and Promotion Fitness Center. Welcome to the show, Rebecca. Tell us a little bit about what is involved in keeping somebody who has got a disability, a brain or spinal cord injury, fit and active so that their bodies can do as much as possible.
Rebecca Washburn (Guest): Before injury, it is important for us to be healthy and well and post-injury, it is even more important to stave off secondary complications with somebody who has a disability. We take a very early approach when someone is injured at Shepherd Center. As soon as they are stable, we will introduce them to fitness. That could be the weight room. That could be aquatics. It could be a recreational activity but, whatever it is, we are teaching them--the individual--to advocate for themselves in their own community. What is the information that they need to know so that they can translate it to their home? Community gyms, if it is hand cycling or some of the other activities they can do outside with their family or if it is teaching them to be safe and what is involved in being independent in the pool.
Melanie: What are some of the challenges at Shepherd Center that you deal with with these patients? Sometimes, obviously, movement is severely limited? But, are there challenges or resistance in doing some of these things as well?
Rebecca: There are challenges along with way and it is really based on where somebody is in their recovery and whether they are ready to do some of the things that we are asking them to do. We can, for the most part, from C4 down, figure out an activity or intervention from a health and wellness perspective for an individual to do. They may not always be able to complete it independently but we can teach family members how to work with somebody. Range of motion, as well, if persistence isn’t something that they can achieve. The other challenges I think that people face is finding locations in their own community with knowledgeable staff that can help them carry out their health and wellness goals. If they didn’t want to do it while they are at Shepherd, a year down the road they may be ready to engage. It’s finding those places in the community that they can go and reach out to start their health and wellness goals.
Melanie: That’s a very good point. So, when they do go home from Shepherd Center and they are at home, are there things that you recommend that they can do? For the majority of us, even without equipment, we can do a video or walk around the block – whatever. What do you recommend for these patients that they can do at home to at least keep moving?
Rebecca: Generally, when they leave Shepherd Center, I would have to say that probably 99% of the people are given a home program--something that fits the needs of what they have in their community. Some people prefer to work out in their home and not go out to a gym. It really just depends where they are. You can do some simple stuff. It’s the same as you and I. If you don’t want to buy weights, then you can use cans of vegetables or stuff like that. Resistance bands are very inexpensive. That is something else that we can send somebody home with to carry out some fitness programs within their own house. The biggest thing, I think, for us at Shepherd Center in trying to get people out in the community to understand what individuals with a disability need is, we actually started “Train the Trainer” as a part of the Neilson Grant here. We went just in the local area – we’re starting small. We went to the 18 metro Atlanta YMCAs and we trained their wellness coaches on how to work with someone with a disability-- whether it’s brain injury, spinal cord, MS. That has been very successful and it has also given us an avenue where we can tell our patients, “This is available in your community.” We can also meet with wellness coaches one-on-one with the patient as they discharge so that there is a smooth transition for them to go in the community and do their fitness programs.
Melanie: That’s a wonderful service that you provide, Rebecca. I certainly applaud that for sure. Tell us about things like yoga and some of those kinds of complimentary type exercises and how great are those for people who have suffered brain and spinal cord injury?
Rebecca: Yoga has been in existence at Shepherd Center for 13 years but it has become a big part of what we do across the continuum. You can do yoga in a chair, out of a chair. You can do yoga simply as a breathing technique as well. For some of those higher level injuries, being able to do the yoga and being part of a group activity is huge. It is something that, not only can the participant do, but many of our individuals have caregivers. The caregivers can be a part of it. It’s a stress reliever. It’s a great way to increase range of motion and it’s a great way to kind of relax during a yoga session and not feel like you have to go 100% effort versus being in the weight room. It is a nice compliment to someone’s fitness program.
Melanie: So, bringing up the family: how do you get the family involved in this fitness endeavor that you’ve got patients on? What can the family do to help?
Rebecca: Again, it is really based on the family’s support. We do one of two things with the family. If the family is supportive and they want to be involved, we include them in all aspects of the training including if the person needs someone to be with them at every piece of equipment. If the family wants to be a part of that, then we train the family so that they both can work out together. After someone is set up, the family can go and work out. We also have – if somebody wants to be involved with a fitness program and they don’t have a caregiver and they don’t have the means to pay for someone to help them, we’ve set up the “Fitness Buddy Program” which is volunteers that we will set up the program with the client, certain times of day. The volunteer will meet with the patient or client and it’s free. It has helped people be more consistent with their fitness program knowing that they have to be accountable to someone to do that. The other part of fitness that I want to mention, too, as far as the families is when a family member is here and their loved one is here as well, we give them a free membership to the fitness center so that they can go ahead and keep themselves healthy and well. That is a huge key to helping the person that is injured.
Melanie: Tell us about the “Beyond Therapy” program at Shepherd.
Rebecca: The Beyond Therapy program is an intensive activity based where if somebody has already gone through the continuous care, the insurance company is no longer going to pay for them to continue. They can access the Beyond Therapy program to work on health, wellness and recovery. It’s self-pay. It’s not covered by insurance. They would be assigned to a primary physical therapist and a primary exercise physiologist. Those two would do a two day evaluation and then a treatment plan weekly for the client. We do anywhere from three day/three hours or five day/two hours per week. The intensity level is probably 50-75 times more intensive than traditional outpatient therapy. It’s a very athletic model.
Melanie: Wow. Do the patients seem to love it? Does it get them ready for more than just reentering life? Is there some component to it that is even athletic?
Rebecca: Yes. One of the other pieces to the health and wellness part that we do is we also introduce our clients that are wanting to – we introduce them to sport, adaptive sports as part of Beyond Therapy as well or not as part of Beyond Therapy. It could be during their inpatient stay. What we find is people who have attending Beyond Therapy have become more confident. Their quality of life has improved and they are willing to return to life--whether that is going back to work, engaging in a sport activity, or just getting back to some of the things that they used to do.
Melanie: Wonderful work that you’re doing, Rebecca. In just the last few minutes, give us your best advice for staying active and fit for someone or a loved one while they are going through rehabilitation for brain and spinal cord injury and why they should come to Shepherd Center for their care.
Rebecca: I think the key for everybody – we’re all motivated at different levels to be healthy and well. I think the key is to find something that motivates you to do it daily, whether that is getting back into, if you were a cyclist, getting back into hand cycling. If you were a gym rat, then getting back to stuff that you can do in a gym. The reason I would say to come to Shepherd Center is we’re very unique in our approach to health and wellness. The addition of exercise specialists or exercise physiologists to the team--when I first got here at Shepherd we only had one exercise physiologist and that was one full-time person that I had on my staff. Now, we have 33 exercise physiologists for across the continuum of care including brain injury, MS, SCI. They are integral to the quality of the treatment team. It is a big push for Shepherd Center to make sure that our patients have the knowledge, the information and also the staff to carry out their health and wellness goals.
Melanie: Thanks so much, Rebecca, for being with us. It’s such great information. You’re listening to Shepherd Center Radio and for more information you can go to Shepherd.org. That’s Shepherd.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
How to Get Fit When Living with a Physical Disability
Melanie Cole (Host): Shepherd Center embraces a total approach to fitness and wellness that emphasizes physical and mental well-being. My guest today is Rebecca Washburn. She is the manager of Shepherd Center’s Beyond Therapy Program and Promotion Fitness Center. Welcome to the show, Rebecca. Tell us a little bit about what is involved in keeping somebody who has got a disability, a brain or spinal cord injury, fit and active so that their bodies can do as much as possible.
Rebecca Washburn (Guest): Before injury, it is important for us to be healthy and well and post-injury, it is even more important to stave off secondary complications with somebody who has a disability. We take a very early approach when someone is injured at Shepherd Center. As soon as they are stable, we will introduce them to fitness. That could be the weight room. That could be aquatics. It could be a recreational activity but, whatever it is, we are teaching them--the individual--to advocate for themselves in their own community. What is the information that they need to know so that they can translate it to their home? Community gyms, if it is hand cycling or some of the other activities they can do outside with their family or if it is teaching them to be safe and what is involved in being independent in the pool.
Melanie: What are some of the challenges at Shepherd Center that you deal with with these patients? Sometimes, obviously, movement is severely limited? But, are there challenges or resistance in doing some of these things as well?
Rebecca: There are challenges along with way and it is really based on where somebody is in their recovery and whether they are ready to do some of the things that we are asking them to do. We can, for the most part, from C4 down, figure out an activity or intervention from a health and wellness perspective for an individual to do. They may not always be able to complete it independently but we can teach family members how to work with somebody. Range of motion, as well, if persistence isn’t something that they can achieve. The other challenges I think that people face is finding locations in their own community with knowledgeable staff that can help them carry out their health and wellness goals. If they didn’t want to do it while they are at Shepherd, a year down the road they may be ready to engage. It’s finding those places in the community that they can go and reach out to start their health and wellness goals.
Melanie: That’s a very good point. So, when they do go home from Shepherd Center and they are at home, are there things that you recommend that they can do? For the majority of us, even without equipment, we can do a video or walk around the block – whatever. What do you recommend for these patients that they can do at home to at least keep moving?
Rebecca: Generally, when they leave Shepherd Center, I would have to say that probably 99% of the people are given a home program--something that fits the needs of what they have in their community. Some people prefer to work out in their home and not go out to a gym. It really just depends where they are. You can do some simple stuff. It’s the same as you and I. If you don’t want to buy weights, then you can use cans of vegetables or stuff like that. Resistance bands are very inexpensive. That is something else that we can send somebody home with to carry out some fitness programs within their own house. The biggest thing, I think, for us at Shepherd Center in trying to get people out in the community to understand what individuals with a disability need is, we actually started “Train the Trainer” as a part of the Neilson Grant here. We went just in the local area – we’re starting small. We went to the 18 metro Atlanta YMCAs and we trained their wellness coaches on how to work with someone with a disability-- whether it’s brain injury, spinal cord, MS. That has been very successful and it has also given us an avenue where we can tell our patients, “This is available in your community.” We can also meet with wellness coaches one-on-one with the patient as they discharge so that there is a smooth transition for them to go in the community and do their fitness programs.
Melanie: That’s a wonderful service that you provide, Rebecca. I certainly applaud that for sure. Tell us about things like yoga and some of those kinds of complimentary type exercises and how great are those for people who have suffered brain and spinal cord injury?
Rebecca: Yoga has been in existence at Shepherd Center for 13 years but it has become a big part of what we do across the continuum. You can do yoga in a chair, out of a chair. You can do yoga simply as a breathing technique as well. For some of those higher level injuries, being able to do the yoga and being part of a group activity is huge. It is something that, not only can the participant do, but many of our individuals have caregivers. The caregivers can be a part of it. It’s a stress reliever. It’s a great way to increase range of motion and it’s a great way to kind of relax during a yoga session and not feel like you have to go 100% effort versus being in the weight room. It is a nice compliment to someone’s fitness program.
Melanie: So, bringing up the family: how do you get the family involved in this fitness endeavor that you’ve got patients on? What can the family do to help?
Rebecca: Again, it is really based on the family’s support. We do one of two things with the family. If the family is supportive and they want to be involved, we include them in all aspects of the training including if the person needs someone to be with them at every piece of equipment. If the family wants to be a part of that, then we train the family so that they both can work out together. After someone is set up, the family can go and work out. We also have – if somebody wants to be involved with a fitness program and they don’t have a caregiver and they don’t have the means to pay for someone to help them, we’ve set up the “Fitness Buddy Program” which is volunteers that we will set up the program with the client, certain times of day. The volunteer will meet with the patient or client and it’s free. It has helped people be more consistent with their fitness program knowing that they have to be accountable to someone to do that. The other part of fitness that I want to mention, too, as far as the families is when a family member is here and their loved one is here as well, we give them a free membership to the fitness center so that they can go ahead and keep themselves healthy and well. That is a huge key to helping the person that is injured.
Melanie: Tell us about the “Beyond Therapy” program at Shepherd.
Rebecca: The Beyond Therapy program is an intensive activity based where if somebody has already gone through the continuous care, the insurance company is no longer going to pay for them to continue. They can access the Beyond Therapy program to work on health, wellness and recovery. It’s self-pay. It’s not covered by insurance. They would be assigned to a primary physical therapist and a primary exercise physiologist. Those two would do a two day evaluation and then a treatment plan weekly for the client. We do anywhere from three day/three hours or five day/two hours per week. The intensity level is probably 50-75 times more intensive than traditional outpatient therapy. It’s a very athletic model.
Melanie: Wow. Do the patients seem to love it? Does it get them ready for more than just reentering life? Is there some component to it that is even athletic?
Rebecca: Yes. One of the other pieces to the health and wellness part that we do is we also introduce our clients that are wanting to – we introduce them to sport, adaptive sports as part of Beyond Therapy as well or not as part of Beyond Therapy. It could be during their inpatient stay. What we find is people who have attending Beyond Therapy have become more confident. Their quality of life has improved and they are willing to return to life--whether that is going back to work, engaging in a sport activity, or just getting back to some of the things that they used to do.
Melanie: Wonderful work that you’re doing, Rebecca. In just the last few minutes, give us your best advice for staying active and fit for someone or a loved one while they are going through rehabilitation for brain and spinal cord injury and why they should come to Shepherd Center for their care.
Rebecca: I think the key for everybody – we’re all motivated at different levels to be healthy and well. I think the key is to find something that motivates you to do it daily, whether that is getting back into, if you were a cyclist, getting back into hand cycling. If you were a gym rat, then getting back to stuff that you can do in a gym. The reason I would say to come to Shepherd Center is we’re very unique in our approach to health and wellness. The addition of exercise specialists or exercise physiologists to the team--when I first got here at Shepherd we only had one exercise physiologist and that was one full-time person that I had on my staff. Now, we have 33 exercise physiologists for across the continuum of care including brain injury, MS, SCI. They are integral to the quality of the treatment team. It is a big push for Shepherd Center to make sure that our patients have the knowledge, the information and also the staff to carry out their health and wellness goals.
Melanie: Thanks so much, Rebecca, for being with us. It’s such great information. You’re listening to Shepherd Center Radio and for more information you can go to Shepherd.org. That’s Shepherd.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.