Centre for Neuro Skills (CNS) Expands San Francisco Bay Area Facility Designed to Deliver Advanced Care to Brain Injury Patients

Tuesday, May 24, 2022 | 978 | 0

Centre for Neuro Skills (CNS) Expands San Francisco Bay Area Facility Designed to Deliver Advanced Care to Brain Injury Patients

Clinic in Emeryville opens in June

Bakersfield, Calif. (May 24, 2022) – Centre for Neuro Skills (CNS), a premier provider of treatment for traumatic and acquired brain injury, will expand its state-of-the-art clinic in the San Francisco Bay Area in June 2022. The 20,252 square ft. facility will serve up to 71 patients and is located in the East Bay at 2200 Powell Street, Suite 600, Emeryville. 

CNS opened its first Emeryville clinic in 2012. It is now expanding to occupy the entire 6th floor of The Towers office development. The easy-to-access clinic has unobstructed views of the San Francisco skyline, Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge and Oakland Hills. Emeryville is approximately 15 miles from San Francisco and is close to shopping, art events and natural beauty.

The expansion provides for a larger therapy space, more private offices, a large medical suite, additional therapy equipment, private treatment rooms, a therapy kitchen and lunchroom and technically advanced conference rooms.

CNS has three clinics in California and four in Texas. All CNS clinics offer rehabilitation therapies through inpatient, outpatient, day treatment, residential rehabilitation and telehealth technology. CNS also works with patients who suffer from brain injuries resulting from long-haul COVID such as such as stroke, heart attack, anoxic brain injury, Guillain Barre syndrome, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, etc., that occur in some patients because of COVID and its consequences.  

“Centre for Neuro Skills’ new clinic in Emeryville is designed to deliver high-quality, advanced care to patients and their families from all over the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond,” said CNS Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mark Ashley. “What sets us apart from other rehabilitation facilities is our focus on brain injury and individualized treatment for each patient. The CNS residential apartments for patients in Emeryville are modern and homelike, aiding the transition to life post discharge. Patients are taught to regain core capabilities, which are then practiced in the residential program or patient's home setting, with the end goal of maximizing independence and quality of life.”   

Key Personnel

Courtney Asbill, M.S., CCC-SLP, CBIS, is Director of Rehabilitation for the clinic.

Asbill has served in both the clinical and managerial realm at CNS, as a clinical case manager and speech language pathologist. She holds a master of arts degree in communicative disorders and sciences from San Jose State University and a bachelor’s of science degree in speech and hearing sciences from University of the Pacific.

Henry Koh, M.D., is the clinic Medical Director.

Dr. Koh received his M.D. degree at the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. He is an attending physician and rehabilitation medical director at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, and an attending physician at the Veterans Administration in Palo Alto, California. He completed a residency at Stanford University Hospital in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Koh is certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Emeryville Patient Case Study

Fremont native (Mission San Jose High School) Mingjia (rhymes with “ninja”) Wang was just 20 years old when he suffered a stroke last June. 

His story:

Mingjia Wang, 20, Fremont, CA

Stories: YouTube

CNS: Emeryville

At just 20 years old, Mingjia Wang had the shock of his life. It was on a June, 2021 morning, when he was lifting weights at the gym when his arm went numb, his face began to droop, and he couldn’t walk. “I also had the worst headache of my life,” he recalled. Within hours he was in surgery for a craniectomy.

Mingjia suffered a stroke, quite a jolt for this A-student who dreams of becoming a software engineer in Silicon Valley. As a sophomore at the University of California at Irvine, he was adept at writing code and deciphering algorithms. Suddenly his world imploded. “In the blink of an eye, I'd lost my friends, my school, and the life I had ahead of me,” he said.

His stroke caused hemiplegia (weakness on one side of the body), loss of peripheral vision, and physical injuries requiring a wheelchair. “It was so shocking, especially at my age,” he reflected. But now, after 150 days of intensive therapy at Centre for Neuro Skills’ San Francisco clinic, he’s walking, speaking, and conquering the code universe.

Mingjia was discharged on Feb. 11, 2022. “Those 150 days allowed the team to help him accomplish so many goals without having to worry about authorization and deadlines,” he said.

While in the inpatient program, Mingjia moved into a CNS apartment, where his journey began. “Thanks to the kindness of these people, my transition was smooth, but they kept me busy,” he recalled. Mingjia soon learned new life skills.

“I didn’t know there was an art to grocery shopping,” said the star programmer. In short order, meal planning and cooking became second nature. He calls them “adulting skills,” capabilities training that CNS offers to promote independence. His other deficits were addressed too: speech, cognition, and physical impairments. Counseling helped him understand stroke and the road ahead. As his treatment goals were met, he bonded with staff.

“They have fun teaching patients, so the patients have fun too,” he observed. “The months flew by, and I started to consider these people my family. It’s a tightly knit community.”

That community will be with him in spirit as he returns to college in the fall. “When I set foot on campus, I'm probably gonna burst into tears, you know?”

Patient-centered approach to treating brain injury

CNS, highly regarded for its expertise in stroke treatment and brain injury rehabilitation, will include state-of-the-art technology and advanced care systems at the Emeryville clinic:

• The ZeroG® Gait and Balance System, which helps patients relearn to walk, sit, stand, balance and improve gait.
• The Bioness Integrated Therapy System, which addresses vision, safety and motor balance training; the system supports returning to work and driving.
• Independent Living Scale tracking system to monitor patient progress.
• Tablets to record/integrate patient data in real time for analysis.
• Programs for vision, neurobehavior, cognitive retraining, speech, physical and occupational therapy provided by highly trained and certified clinical therapy staff.
• Patient web portal for 24/7 secure access.
• Dedicated physician space, including a medical exam room, secured medication room and a nursing suite.
• Dedicated area for behavior analysis, including a meditation/quiet room.
• Patient and staff kitchen; computer center and offices for case management and administration.

Brain injury and its devastating and costly effects

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), caused by traumatic forces to the brain, is most commonly caused by car crashes, falls, sports injuries, explosive blasts, objects falling on the head and sharp objects penetrating the skull.

Acquired brain injury (ABI) is classified as a non-traumatic brain injury or disease such as stroke, encephalitis or other infectious diseases, anoxic/hypoxic injury (lack of oxygen to the brain), aneurysms, seizure disorders, surgical procedures and toxic exposure.

• According to the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development:

• In 2015 alone, there were 32,627 TBI cases that led to hospitalization in California.
• Additionally, 210,910 TBI cases in 2015 led to emergency department visits (for treatment & release, or transfer to another facility).

• According to the Brain Injury Association of America, the annual national incidence of TBI is 2,617,000.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that more than 795,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year.
• The CDC reports that acute care and rehabilitation of brain injury patients in the United States costs $9 billion to $10 billion per year. This does not include indirect costs to society and families.

COVID-19 Safety                                                                                                                          Staff, patients and visitors are required to wear a mask at all times when in the clinic and common areas of residential homes. CNS clinics, homes and facilities observe CDC guidelines.

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About Centre for Neuro Skills                                                                                                   Centre for Neuro Skills is an experienced and respected world leader in providing intensive rehabilitation and medical programs for those recovering from all types of brain injury. CNS covers a full spectrum of advanced care from residential and assisted living to outpatient/day treatment. Founded by Dr. Mark Ashley in 1980, CNS has seven locations in California and Texas. For more information about Centre for Neuro Skills, visit: www.neuroskills.com, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube.

Media, please note: Visual assets, including photos, are available. To request an interview with CNS leadership, clinical staff or patients please contact Robin Carr at (415) 971-3991 or CNS@landispr.com.

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