Out of all the model spinal cord injury systems in the US, the Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Injury System near Denver, Colorado is one of the original Model Spinal Cord Injury Systems first approved by the Department of Education in 1974 and this SCI Model System is affiliated with the world-renowned Craig Hospital. Both the research and rehabilitation available at Craig are world-class.
The Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Injury System has become one of the busiest Model Spinal Cord Injury Systems in the country as well due to its location. To learn more about the Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Injury System, including its unique offerings to the SCI community, continue reading below.
Research
The Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Injury System has a research department that’s one of the largest found at any Model Spinal Cord Injury System. They have 27 staff members and a robust budget of $6.9 million a year, which is supplemented by multiple sources. They also utilize a critical research instrument called the “Craig Handicap Assessment and Recording Technique,” otherwise known as CHART. This survey measures the societal participation or community integration of their patients after they are discharged and follows them throughout their lives.
They also have several ongoing research projects and they are always looking for research participants. Some of their ongoing research projects include, "Simvastatin to Improve Bone Health in SCI," "Utilization of Complementary and Integrative Healthcare to Treat Pain in Persons with Spinal Cord Injury" and "A Comparison of High vs. Low Tidal Volumes in Ventilator Weaning for Individuals with Sub-Acute Cervical Spinal Cord Injuries."
They are currently looking for participants for a pain study and for their project looking to see if owning a pet improves the quality of life among individuals with spinal cord injuries. To see all of the current research opportunities at the Rocky Mountain Regional SCI System, click here: https://craighospital.org/programs/research/research-participation-opportunities
Resources and Education
The rehabilitation offered at the Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Cord Injury System through the Craig Hospital is exemplary. Craig attracts people from around the world. They offer some of the best physical and occupational therapy, as well as respiratory therapy, assistant technology assessments, and their School Program, designed for people in high school who become injured and want to stay on top of school work.
Craig also offers their incredibly popular support group for people with paralysis, which meets twice a week and has helped thousands of people, and they offer a caregiver support group. And a unique program at Craig that you won't find anywhere else is their Rehab Engineering Program, which offers people with spinal cord injuries a chance to get their hands dirty and create adaptive equipment or tools.
And lastly, Craig has family apartments on-site so that a patient’s family can be an integral part of the rehabilitation process, and the best part - they can stay as long as they like. There are also several stories about the past patient and how Craig has helped them. Click here to see the stories: https://craighospital.org/programs/spinal-cord-injury-rehabilitation
The Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Cord Injury System loves to help people with paralysis. To contact a representative of the Rocky Mountain Regional SCI System, reach out to Susie at susie@craighospital.org or you can call her at (303)-789-8306.
- Learn more: https://craighospital.org/programs/research/rocky-mountain-regional-spinal-injury-system-sci-model-system
