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At NRH, spinal cord injury and disease patients benefit from a highly comprehensive continuum of care fostered by the hospital’s partnership with acute care hospitals and community resources throughout the region.
From onset of illness or injury through a successful transition to home, community and employment, NRH provides patients with a range of services delivered by a cadre of dedicated rehabilitation medicine experts. Physicians who are board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and who have additional SCI subspecialty certification lead the care team. Each also serves on the adjunct faculty at area universities. Patients benefit from the hospital’s role as a teaching facility with resident training in rehabilitation medicine, as well as internships in nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology.
The hospital’s Spinal Cord Program – with its comprehensive inpatient, day treatment and outpatient care components and robust research portfolio – is integral to its success. NRH is one of just 14 facilities nationwide designated as a Model Spinal Cord Injury System by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), a part of the U.S. Department of Education. In 2006, through this highly competitive five-year grant, NRH established the National Capital Spinal Cord Injury Model System (NCSCIMS) – a multifaceted program incorporating acute and rehabilitative clinical care, and research and training components, which are stimulating the development of dramatic therapeutic improvements and their rapid translation into clinical practice.
 Patient care at NRH is enhanced by the hospital’s very active SCI research program, which helps speed results from “bench to bedside,” as the program adapts and adopts effective new approaches to patient rehabilitation. And with more than $6 million in funded research investigations underway, including the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, NRH is a leading exponent of innovative approaches to SCI medical rehabilitation.
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