Booklet provides information, hope for patients and families.
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, in collaboration with Shepherd Center, recently published “Restoring Hope: Preparing for Rehabilitation After Spinal Cord Injury.” The booklet aims to help patients and families learn about spinal cord injury, organize information, chart a path and choose a rehabilitation program.
“This project allowed us to develop a resource for families in their critical time of need and provide essential guidance for families making the most important decisions after their loved one is diagnosed with a spinal cord injury, which is: ‘where will they go for rehabilitation?’” said Diane Johnston, MSPT, director of professional education at Shepherd Center.
The 44-page booklet includes sections with education on spinal cord injuries, tips for getting organized for rehabilitation, information on how to compare and choose a rehabilitation center, and a glossary of commonly-used terms in spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Clinical experts, including physicians, nurses and physical therapists, among others, from the Reeve Foundation, Shepherd Center and Geisinger Health contributed and reviewed the booklet.
“Within the first day of a loved one sustaining a spinal cord injury, families are searching for information wherever they can find it,” said Bernadette Mauro, director of information and resource services at the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. “At the Reeve Foundation and Shepherd Center, we understand that families are overwhelmed, and we believe the result of this collaboration is an easily accessible resource with vital information centralized in one place.”The booklets are being distributed nationwide to case managers, social workers and others at trauma centers. The booklet is also available on Shepherd Center’s website here and on the Reeve Foundation’s website at christopherreeve.org.
Restoring Hope: Preparing for Rehabilitation After Spinal Cord Injury
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and Shepherd Center are both leading resources for patients and families dealing with spinal cord injuries. Based in Atlanta, Shepherd Center is a private, not-for-profit hospital specializing in medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, spine and chronic pain, and other neuromuscular conditions. With their cooperative agreement with the Administration for Community Living (ACL) the Reeve Foundation’s mission is deeply aligned with ACL’s goal of empowering people with disabilities to live independently and actively participate in their communities. The Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis.
“The more collaboration organizations like ours have, the more support the spinal cord injury community will have,” Mauro said. “It’s all about making sure patients and families have the information they need to explore their options and make the choices that are best for them.”
The booklet is dedicated in memory of James H. Shepherd, Jr., Shepherd Center co-founder and long-time chairman of the Board of Directors and chief of staff. Shepherd is remembered for his lifetime of advocacy and achievement in the spinal cord injury community.
“The opportunity to collaborate with the Reeve Foundation to develop the ‘Restoring Hope: Preparing for Rehabilitation After Spinal Cord Injury’ resource booklet was a perfect match for our mission,” Johnston said. “In many ways, the resource represents the past 45 years of Shepherd Center’s foundation, evolution and commitment to serve individuals with spinal cord injury, allowing us to provide support and guidance to families all over the country.”
The Paralysis Resource Center (PRC) is a program of the Reeve Foundation and is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Administration for Community Living (cooperative agreement number 90PRRC0002).
About the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis. We meet all 20 of the Better Business Bureau’s standards for charity accountability and hold the BBB’s Charity Seal. For more information, please visit our website at www.ChristopherReeve.org, follow the Reeve Foundation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or call 800-225-0292.
About Shepherd Center
Shepherd Center, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is a private, not-for-profit hospital specializing in medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, spine and chronic pain, and other neuromuscular conditions. Founded in 1975, Shepherd Center is ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the top 10 rehabilitation hospitals in the nation. In its more than four decades, Shepherd Center has grown from a six-bed rehabilitation unit to a world-renowned, 152-bed hospital that treats more than 935 inpatients, 541 day program patients and more than 7,300 outpatients each year.
** This post was originally published on https://spinalcordinjuryzone.com/news/54108/christopher-dana-reeve-foundation-and-shepherd-center-publish-new-resource-to-help-prepare-for-rehabilitation-after-spinal-cord-injury
