Magee Rehabilitation Hospital Receives $300,000 Grant for Spinal Cord Injury

February 25, 2015

Philadelphia, PA – The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation has awarded Magee Rehabilitation Hospital a grant of $300,000 to support the creation of The Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Medical Home at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.

The SCI Medical Home at Magee will provide proactive clinical and support services to maximize the health outcomes for persons with SCI, after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. The primary goal is to reduce emergency room visits, readmissions, and medical complications, all while improving the quality of life of patients with SCI.

“Magee is truly honored to have received this generous grant from the Neilsen Foundation,” says Marci Ruediger, SCI Medical Home Project Director and Director of Performance Excellence at Magee. “This funding allows Magee to take its existing lifetime follow-up clinical care system to the next level, helping to ensure good health and the fullest possible life for our patients with spinal cord injury.”

A medical home, also referred to as a patient-centered medical home, is a team-based health care approach, led by a physician, that provides comprehensive and continuous medical care to patients, with the goal of maximizing health outcomes. Dr. Mendel Kupfer is the Medical Director for the SCI Medical Home. He is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine. Dr. Kupfer has been treating patients with SCI at Magee since 2006 and has published and lectured on many aspects of SCI care.

A partner with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to form one of only 14 model systems for SCI nationwide, Magee will provide specialized medical home services to outpatients with SCI over the three-year grant period. Priority for enrollment will be given to patients at highest risk for complications, due to medical complexity and/or socio-economic factors.

The SCI Medical Home will utilize internal medicine and primary care physicians to provide primary care alongside Magee physiatrists, who have specialized knowledge of the care of SCI patients. In addition to addressing medical needs, the SCI Medical Home will also problem-solve environmental barriers to care, such as transportation, accessibility, employment, financial issues, and other concerns.

For more information on the Spinal Cord Injury program at Magee, click here.

About Magee Rehabilitation Hospital
Magee Rehabilitation Hospital (www.mageerehab.org), a founding member of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s NeuroRecovery Network, is the Philadelphia region’s original provider of physical and cognitive rehabilitation. The not-for-profit hospital provides nationally-recognized lifetime rehabilitation and wellness programs for individuals with spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, orthopedic joint replacement, amputation, pain management, and work injury. Since 1978, Magee has partnered with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to form The Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center of the Delaware Valley, one of only 14 federally designated model systems of care in the country.

MEDIA CONTACT
Marissa Montenegro, Public Relations & Social Media Manager
Office: 215.587.3363
mmontenegro@mageerehab.org