Frequently Asked Questions

QUESTION

Can you handle my loved one's problems with short term memory, impulsive behavior, confusion and medical needs?

ANSWER

A wise person said "If you have seen one brain injury, you have seen one brain injury." We believe that every injury affects the individuals brain differently and the resulting deficits and behaviors should be treated importantly for each person's future.

CORE Health Care has over 25 years of experience helping with individuals with brain injuries. Problems with short term memory, confusion, and impulsivity are some of the leading deficits of this type of injury and our licensed therapists and certified brain injury specialists are trained specifically to handle these types of needs. Our goal is to educate residents and their families about compensatory strategies that will improve these difficulties.

Nursing is available for those residents that need assistance with medical problems. Additionally, CORE has the staffing capacity to offer 1:1 care 24 hours a day to residents that may need it for medical or behavioral needs.

QUESTION

What does a typical rehabilitation day look like?

ANSWER

Just as each individual with a brain injury is unique so is the individualized treatment plan for our residents. Our licensed professionals provide cognitive, speech, physical, vocational, vision, occupational, and psychological therapies in individual and group formats. Each therapist will evaluate the needs of the resident as they admit to CORE and will make recommendations as to the number of therapy hours needed in each discipline. Therapies take place on the CORE campus and out in the community offering real-world experiences to re-integrate our residents into their former life activities.

All meals are provided in the dining room as a group and therapeutic activities are offered each evening and weekend.

QUESTION

Do you take Medicare or Medicaid?

ANSWER

Most Post-Acute Rehabilitation Providers in Texas do not take Medicare or Medicaid. CORE Health Care is funded primarily through private insurance, workman’s compensaton, private pay and DARS.

The two Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative
Services (DARS) programs that often fund our services are:

1. Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services (CRS) - This program helps persons (age 16 or older) with traumatic spinal cord and brain injuries receive intensive therapies to increase independence by providing
payment for inpatient Comprehensive medical rehabilitation; outpatient services such as occupational, physical, speech and cognitive therapies; and post-acute TBI rehabilitation services to help with injury-related cognitive difficulties. (800) 628-5115 http://www.dars.state.tx.us/drs/crs.shtml

2. Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) - This program helps people with disabilities prepare for, find and keep jobs. Work related services are individualized and may include counseling, training, medical treatment, assistive devices, job placement assistance, and other services. Eligibility criteria for this program include: the presence of a physical or mental disability that results in a substantial impediment to employment, whether the individual is employable after receiving services, and whether services are required to achieve employment outcomes. For more information contact the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) at (800) 628-5115 or http://www.dars.state.tx.us/drs/vr.shtml

Our admissions department will work with families to find all resources available for your loved one's rehabilitation and long-term care.

QUESTION

What options are available for long-term care of my loved one?

ANSWER

CORE has two programs that offer long-term care:

Our Oak Point house offers 24 hour supervision and private rooms for individuals who have suffered a brain-injury and are unable to live independently.

Our Cedar Point house offers 24 hour supervision and private rooms for individuals who suffer from complex psychiatric disorders, autism and other special needs.

Our safe and home-like long term care environment encourages each resident to achieve higher self-esteem and greater personal growth. Additionally, our residents benefit from a low staff to client ratio allowing time for individualized care, interests and community involvement. Our continuum of care is designed to maximize each person's well being by emphasizing safety, developing vocational, leisure and social pursuits that the individual finds meaningful and consistent with their life goals.

QUESTION

When can we come and visit our family member? Can we take him or her out for the day or overnight? Some facilities have told us that we can't come during the first month. Is this true at CORE Health Care?

ANSWER

At CORE Health Care, you can visit your loved one as soon or as frequently as you want. Due to our extensive individualized therapy programs, patients' schedules are usually very busy, inside and sometimes outside the facility. Therefore, we always appreciate courtesy calls so we can arrange schedules accordingly. Day and overnight trips can be very helpful and therapeutic, but sometimes insurance companies or other funding sources have restrictions on the amount of time that can be spent away from the facility. You may also direct us on who may or may not be appropriate visitors.

QUESTION

We have limited resources that need to last for our loved one's lifetime? Can CORE's long-term care programs provide a plan that fits our life care plan?

ANSWER

It is not in our practice to utilize an individual's financial resources to exhaustion, allocating no available funds for life-long care or medical emergencies. CORE makes every effort to deliver the most robust service for the price of care. If a resident comes to us requiring stabilization, there will be a period of higher cost until symptoms and/or functional ability improves. Once more stability is achieved, costs will drop to an efficient rate. As our residents achieve higher levels of independence, the cost of care also decreases.

QUESTION

Do you work with trust officers or have experience with special needs trusts?

ANSWER

We have extensive experience working with trust officers and trust departments within banks. If a loved one's difficulties will prevent them from ever living independently again, then we encourage all our families to explore the option of creating a special needs trust will a skilled attorney. These complex trusts allow an individual to set aside and preserve funds for life-long care, while maintaining government aid eligibility. CORE has a short list of trusted attorneys we can share with you.

QUESTION

What are the costs for care? Will my insurance cover the cost? For what charges will the family be responsible?

ANSWER

CORE will work diligently to pre-certify as many services for which your loved one is eligible under insurance benefits plans. We work with most major insurance plans, multi-state workers' compensation plans and have a contract with the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) to provide both comprehensive rehabilitation services and vocational rehabilitation. Costs vary greatly depending on the facility, level of need and degree to which a resident can live independently. The frequency of therapy needed; type of therapy needed; amount of medical services required; and the level of additional supervision and attendant care needed for safety, impulsivity, daily living assistance or instruction; determines each individual's cost of care. Frequently, we can provide bundled and prompt payment discounts in order make efficient use of funds. We can also provide bundled discounts for long-term care to fit within a loved one's life-care plan.

QUESTION

We do not live in Texas. Do other families live out of state? Can you provide escorts for our loved one to travel back home?

ANSWER

About half of our long-term care families live outside Texas. Many families come to CORE after becoming disillusioned with other providers and facilities throughout the country. We frequently escort our long-term care residents back home for extended travel with family and residents' personal vacations. We can also provide an escort for your loved one when you visit and enjoy the sites of Austin and Central Texas. Once a year, CORE hosts "Family Day" at various special places in the Austin area. Most recently, CORE reserved the luxury suites at the Dell Diamond to enjoy watching our own minor league baseball team, The Round Rock Express, with families, residents and employees.

QUESTION

What can we bring and what should we leave at home?

ANSWER

Each resident should have enough seasonal clothes to last about seven days. (Summers here are hot and last until mid-October. Winters are mild, but we do have an occasional hard freeze in the Hill Country). Also, bring personal hygiene items, (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, brushes, Depends, feminine hygiene supplies, etc.), comfortable walking shoes, a wrist watch, a laundry basket and an alarm clock. TV's are provided in our recreation rooms, so we typically discourage residents who may have a tendency to isolate themselves from bringing their own. Radios, small stereos and computers are welcome as are any other personal items that will make our residents feel more at home (a favorite chair, books, a wall hanging, a family quilt, etc.).

QUESTION

How is laundry handled?

ANSWER

As each resident's deficits will differ, so will the chores during their rehabilitation stay. Each resident will have a scheduled time each week to complete their laundry cleaning. If they are unable to complete the task on their own, our staff will work with them to complete the activity.

QUESTION

Do you have residents who are really aggressive? Will our loved one be safe?

ANSWER

While any of our residents may have outbursts from time-to-time, CORE does not admit people who are overtly aggressive. Our employees are trained in de-escalation techniques and, as a last resort, safe physical restraints may be used to protect our residents and staff. CORE does not use mechanical restraints or seclusion rooms.

QUESTION

In many of our family member's past placements, it seemed as though the doctors and therapists didn't really want our input and didn't make much time for us. Will this really be different at your facility?

ANSWER

At CORE we have a culture that values your opinion and actively solicits your input. Indeed, we cannot achieve any successful outcome without a family's participation and support. We know leaving your loved one in the care of others is initially worrisome, so we encourage families to become as much a part of the treatment process as they wish. Typically, teams at the post-acute facility meet during treatment reviews once per month and either every six months or annually for long-term care. Residents' families are a part of the team and we appreciate your participation, even if it is via conference-call. Additionally, our case managers are available to receive your input between treatment reviews.

See How To Choose A Healthcare Provider or Facility for more information.

QUESTION

Unfortunately, our family member has a number of problems, not just one diagnosis. Is CORE still an appropriate placement?

ANSWER

CORE has always specialized in helping residents who have not succeeded in other treatment settings. The majority of our residents have multiple diagnoses and complex difficulties, but we will find a way to build on your loved one's strengths. What we want are the same things you want for your loved one: to be happy, healthy and as productive as possible.

QUESTION

How do we figure out where he or she will go after discharge from the post-acute rehabilitation facility? How will it be paid for?

ANSWER

Discharge planning for relatively short stays at the post-acute program begins almost immediately. During the early stages of an individual's stay at CORE's post-acute program, our case managers will refer residents to other placements and resources following discharge based on their individual needs and prognosis. One resource that our case managers often assist families with is signing up for medicaid waivers. These waivers are an extension of the general medicaid services and often can pay for long-term care placement, respite services and home health care. For more information: Medicaid Waivers

In addition, CORE provides long-term care, apartment living and outpatient day services for those leaving the post-acute facility. Our goal for families is education during and after their stay at CORE Health Care.

We have also developed the CORE Family Trainer as a resource to illustrate common problems families might encounter at home with their friends or loved ones who survived brain injuries. Viewers can watch less effective and more effective ways to respond to common behaviors, followed by a panel discussion with two rehab professionals and a neuropsychologist. CORE Family Trainer
The CORE Family Trainer DVD is available for free to all of our discharged residents' families.

QUESTION

What can we do at home to be prepared for our loved one's return from rehabilitation?

ANSWER

No family can ever adequately prepare for a loved one to suffer a brain injury. Once the initial medical crisis is over families can be faced with a myriad of behaviors and problems that can be difficult to understand and disruptive to everyday family life. CORE Health Care developed the CORE Family Trainer , an instructional DVD and manual, so that families can train like those personnel who work in the field of brian injury rehabilitation. This resource illustrates common problems families might encounter at home with their loved one's who survived brain injuries. CORE Family Trainer
The CORE Family Trainer DVD is available for free to all of our discharged residents' families.

QUESTION

Do you have licensed therapists? Are they salaried or on contract?

ANSWER

CORE employs licensed professionals for individual therapies on both a salaried and contractual basis. This arrangement allows us to provide the necessary amount of quality care at the most value to you. The team includes neuropsychologists, psychologists, social workers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, cognitive specialists and licensed professional counselors. The program supervisors are also certified assisted living managers.

QUESTION

We want our current physicians to stay on the case. Can they help with the treatment at CORE facilities? Can you provide information to keep them updated?

ANSWER

CORE operates with an open medical model, meaning we use a variety of local physicians and would welcome the experience of working with family doctors. William Loving, M.D., a psychiatrist with extensive brain injury and chemical dependency experience, has been affiliated with us since 1983. John Bertelson, M.D., a neurologist, joined the team in 2005.  Dr. Shelly Riley is the newest member of our medical team.

QUESTION

How often can we receive updates about our loved one's progress?

ANSWER

Treatment reviews are typically held every 30 days, with a written summary mailed to families following the review. For our long-term residents, treatment reviews may only be conducted every six months or annually, as needed. We always encourage families to visit their loved ones; CORE staff is happy to answer any questions you have during your visit.

QUESTION

Is there any way that we can communicate with our loved one via e-mail?

ANSWER

A number of our residents have their own computers and enjoy e-mailing with their families. We offer one public computer at each house and encourage residents to sign up with a free e-mail service, such as Yahoo or Hotmail. We offer wireless networking in many areas throughout the houses.

QUESTION

How is CORE Health Care different from other programs? Why should we choose to come here?

ANSWER

We hear time and again that families agree with our treatment approach, love the facilities and feel like partners in the treatment process. But, the most appealing characteristic of CORE is our people. It is a collaborative of individuals who view their jobs as vocations, not just work. CORE is fundamentally different from other programs because of our team's passion in helping individuals establish meaningful lives and interpersonal relationships through functional outcomes and maximal independence. This not only allows individuals to make the best possible progress but also enables families to unburden the guilt they so often feel as a result of their loved ones' situation. CORE has specialized therapeutic programs for each resident; highly-skilled and experienced staff; and a very quick response time due to our lack of corporate overhead. Family-owned and operated, CORE is honored to have provided a trusted source of residential care for more than 25 years.

See How To Choose A Healthcare Provider or Facility for more information.

QUESTION

Will my loved one be able to worship at the church of his or her choice? Do you encourage their spirituality?

ANSWER

Like all people, our residents come from many backgrounds and faiths. We are committed to ensuring each person have freedom of choice and expression when it come to their spirituality. We encourage our residents to attend services weekly or as frequently as possible at churches, synagogues, temples and mosques. The Austin area supports many faiths, denominations and beliefs. We can and often implement spirituality assessments to assist our resident in their quest for enlightenment and salvation.

QUESTION

How does CORE Heath Care demonstrate business responsibility according to basic human values?

ANSWER

CORE Health Care actively supports a variety of non-profit groups every year with direct financial support, in-kind donations and volunteer hours. Some groups are industry-related such at the Brain Injury Associations of Texas and America and Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance as well as career specific organizations like case management and life care planner groups. CORE also supports smaller organizations such as Dripping Springs schools, local churches and 4H Clubs. CORE also has established a non-profit organization called the CORE Foundation. Through public works and advocacy projects, the CORE Foundation mission is to advocate for people with disabilities in novel ways to hasten the removal of cultural and institutional biases in our society. Two of the first projects will include the construction of an accessible fishing pier in Austin and the creation of an on-line marketplace for artists with disabilities. To read more about the CORE Foundation, please visit the web site at www.corehealthfoundation.org.