Shepherd Center

After a month of hoping and praying for their son Brent to wake up following a traumatic brain injury, Butch and Debra Butler arrived at Shepherd Center feeling physically and emotionally drained. But as soon as they checked Brent in and headed to the Irene and George Woodruff Family Residence Center next door, they felt a weight lifted. For Butch, who has had paraplegia for 20 years, finding accessible family housing right next to his son’s care was more than convenient—it was a blessing. The next morning, they found Brent not in bed but upright in a wheelchair. ‘Oh, we don’t stay in bed at Shepherd Center,’ a nurse told them. That’s when they knew they were in the right place. Over time, the Butler family became fully engaged in Brent’s rehabilitation—learning together, preparing for the transition home, and building the foundation for their new life. Today, Brent lives with his family in North Carolina, active, engaged, and cracking jokes, with his sense of humor fully intact. ‘It all started with the housing,’ Butch says. ‘That took off so much worry and stress, and we were able to be engaged in the rehab process. That made all the difference in the world.’ Read their inspiring story and learn how family housing transforms lives by clicking the link below. https://bit.ly/42Fg6Gl #BrainInjuryRecovery #FamilySupport #ShepherdCenter #TraumaticBrainInjury #TBIRecovery

Shepherd Center is now a DIH Center of Excellence! The DIH Center of Excellence program recognizes strategic partners like Shepherd Center that showcase best practices in rehabilitation robotics, such as the Erigo®Pro, Lokomat®Pro, C-Mill VR+, and the Armeo® product family. "Being honored as a DIH Center of Excellence reflects our dedication to advancing neurorehabilitation through cutting-edge technology," says Dr. Deborah Backus, PT, Ph.D., FACRM, VP of Research & Innovation at Shepherd Center.  Together with DIH, we’re driving innovation and maximizing recovery and independence for our patients—today and in the future. 💙  #NeuroRehabInnovation #DIHCenterOfExcellence #ShepherdCenter #RehabilitationTech #Armeo

Welcome to Shepherd Center - rebuilding lives with hope, independence, and dignity since 1975. #Shepherd50 #Atlanta #50Anniversary #50YearsInTheMaking

At Shepherd Center, we are proud to celebrate Black History Month—a time to honor the incredible contributions, resilience, and achievements of Black leaders in disability rights, medicine, and beyond. Throughout February, we’ll be sharing stories, history, and voices that inspire us to continue fostering inclusivity, innovation, and excellence in care. Join us as we recognize the past, celebrate the present, and work toward a future of equity and empowerment. #BlackHistoryMonth #HonoringExcellence #ShepherdCenter

Last year, Clara McCoy took her daughter, Erina Tandy, on a trip to her homeland in Ireland. They visited with family members in County Cork, took a ferry to France, and even visited the Louvre. But the trip was about more than exploring family roots — it was a celebration of Erina’s progress in stroke recovery. Erina had a stroke when she was 44, living in Savannah, Georgia. Her mother was over 2,000 miles away in Sacramento, California. Luckily, Shepherd Center’s family housing allowed Erina’s mother, sister, and children to be by her side throughout her recovery. “I don’t know what we would have done otherwise,” Clara says. “We couldn’t go back and forth to California, and we didn’t have family in Atlanta. We were very thankful for those accommodations.” Now 48, Erina’s speech is still returning, but she’s living a vibrant life. She’s involved in her children’s lives, has taken up golf, loves Savannah Bananas baseball games, and attends the Savannah Film Festival. Erina has also participated in a pair of Adventure Skills Workshops through Shepherd Center, picking up a love of watersports. And she’s driving again with adaptive technology — including roundtrips between Savannah and Atlanta when she has follow-up appointments at Shepherd Center. “It’s amazing to see where she is now,” Clara says of her daughter. “When we first took Erina back to Savannah, I was always worried about her falling. She would tell me: ‘So what if I do? I’ll just get back up.’ That’s Erina. She’s going to make it work no matter what.” Click the link below to read more about Erina’s story https://lnkd.in/eUWq_b8S #ShepherdCenter #Atlanta #Savannah #AdaptiveTechnology #StrokeRecovery

February is Recreation Therapy Month! At Shepherd Center, we know that healing goes beyond medicine—it’s about a holistic, well-rounded lifestyle that reintegrates you into the community. That’s where our incredible recreation therapy team comes in! 💙 From adaptive sports and creative arts to community outings and game nights, our recreation therapists bring energy, innovation, and a good time to our patients' lives. They help individuals rediscover their passions, build confidence, and embrace life beyond injury. To our amazing rec therapists: Thank you for your dedication, creativity, and heart. You make a difference every single day, and we are so grateful for you! 💙 Drop a 💙 in the comments to show your appreciation! #RecreationTherapyMonth #ThankYouRecTherapists #ShepherdCenter #HealingThroughFun

Congrats to Graylyn Jones, OTR/L, an occupational therapist in the Access Technology Lab and Kelsey Shearman, MA, academic coordinator, for their incredible presentation at the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Their session highlighted the power of interprofessional collaboration between hospital teachers and assistive technology specialists in helping adolescents access education and successfully return to school. From inpatient evaluation to school reintegration, they showcased how Shepherd Center supports students every step of the way. Less than 10 minutes in, an audience member was already blown away by the access to resources our patients receive through donor support—a true testament to the impact of our work! Thank you, Graylyn and Kelsey, for sharing your expertise and championing education, accessibility, and independence** for our adolescent patients! #ATIA2025 #AssistiveTech #EducationForAll #ShepherdCenter #BackToSchool #AccessibilityMatters

In their continued coverage of spinal cord injuries and the release of Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, CNN and Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently reported on advances in spinal cord injury research and cutting-edge stimulation therapies. Edelle Field-Fote, PT, Ph.D., Shepherd Center’s director of spinal cord injury research, shared her expertise and research on the benefits of electrical stimulation for people with spinal cord injuries, while research participant Robbyn Washington demonstrated improvements in her hand function made possible as part of a study on electrical stimulation with research physical therapist Kelly Thatcher, PT, DPT. Dylan Wood, who sustained a spinal cord injury in a car crash, also shared his experience with a diaphragmatic pacing system that offers him greater independence and the ability to get back to the work he loves. We’re so proud to be able to lead and innovate in research that changes lives -- thanks to CNN and Dr. Sanjay Gupta for raising awareness of spinal cord injuries while also providing hope for further advances in research!

It’s that time of year again—Adventure Skills Workshop (ASW) is back! Join us for our biggest recreation therapy event of the year at Camp ASCCA on Lake Martin, Alabama, this May! Registration opens March 17, 2025—don’t miss out! Designed for and with people living with disabilities in mind, ASW gives participants the chance to experience adaptive water skiing, wall climbing, fishing, kayaking, scuba diving, and so much more! 📅Save the date & spread the word! Click the link below for details on cost, dates, and requirements. #ASW2025 #AdaptiveAdventure #RecreationTherapy #ShepherdCenter #OutdoorAdventure #DisabilityInclusion

Starting tomorrow, Shepherd Center will be accepting applications for our 2025-2026 Clinical Fellowship in Speech-Language Pathology! This 13-month, hands-on fellowship offers the chance to gain invaluable experience working across acquired brain injury (ABI), spinal cord injury (SCI), acute, and post-acute settings—all while being mentored by expert clinicians in the field. 📅 Application Window: February 1 – February 16, 2025 (11:59 PM EST) 📩 How to Apply: Submit your materials to shepherdcfyapplicant@gmail.com with the subject line: LastNameFirstNameCFYapplication" ⚠️ Late or incomplete applications will not be considered! Click the link below for more information Help us spread the word and tag an SLP grad who needs to see this! #SLPCF #SpeechLanguagePathology #ShepherdCenter