IRVING – For patients at the Centre for Neuro Skills, hospitalization is not the answer.

It’s only the first step of a long, difficult journey back to a productive life. Individuals who suffer from brain injuries often require months, sometimes years, of intensive therapy and rehabilitation to help recover the skills they have lost.

Irving-based Centre for Neuro  Skills offers help for that struggle. As a pioneer in the field of rehabilitation for people with brain injury, the CNS philosophy is that most survivors of head injuries given the right therapy at the right time by experienced, involved professionals, can do more.

“We accomplish things that I didn’t think were possible. We make a huge difference in people’s, lives,” said John Schultz, the facility’s vice president. “Our scope  of clients ranges all the way from the person who has sustained a mild concussion and is experiencing mild symptoms to the patient who has had a severe stroke or an aneurysm and is exhibiting severe behavioral disturbances.”

Funded in Texas in 1985, CNS has served more than 1,000 patients and currently has more than 130 health care professionals on staff. It offers a spectrum of rehabilitation services, including community reentry; physical, occupational and educational therapy; cognitive therapy (thinking skills); nursing; speech and language pathology; long-term residential care; vocational assessment and job placement assistance.

According to Schultz, few people realize that severe head injury usually results in profound lifestyle changes for everyone involved with the victim. The goal is to help clients gain as much independence as possible.

“We are no different from any other industry. We have the same business questions to answer and the same issues to face,” he said. “Can we continue to keep the edge in technical and staff expertise? Can we continue to maintain our high-quality standards to continue to attract and retain the most qualified people? Because of the dynamic nature of health care, we must constantly be on top of everything in the industry, as well as aware of what’s happening in all of the industries that impact us.”