About Rehabilitation

After a brain injury, people can go through a number of different stages of medical treatment and care.

If the person requires hospitalization after a brain injury they will be admitted to an acute care or community hospital where the doctors take care of the urgent medical issues and the person begins the rehabilitation process.

Some people will be discharged relatively quickly from hospital. Others will need to participate in a rehabilitation program before they are able to go home. Some will continue rehabilitation after they return home.

It’s important to remember that rehabilitation is a process and is not the same for everyone.

The most common places someone receives rehabilitation are:

• In hospital – for people who are patients in a community, acute teaching or rehabilitation hospital.
  (see Family Guide to Acquired Brain Injury Inpatient Rehabilitation)
• Outpatient (also known as Day Hospital or Ambulatory Care) – for people who can travel to the hospital for each rehabilitation session.
• Home/community – for people who can travel to a community-based clinic to receive their rehabilitation. Or, the rehabilitation professional comes to the person’s home, usually because the person cannot travel.

As a person with ABI moves through the recovery process, their health care team will “make a referral” to the type of rehabilitation they need. In the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto ABI Network coordinates referrals to all publicly-funded services so that the process is smooth and efficient.

If you have any questions about what resources are available or appropriate, you can speak to the social worker in the hospital, a case manager or care coordinator in the community or call the Toronto ABI Network at 416-597-3057.