BOSTON, Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital announced today that both its Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Program and Burn Injury Rehabilitation Program have been selected as Model System sites by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). These selections combined with last year's selection of Spaulding as a Spinal Cord Injury Model System Site make Spaulding one of only two providers nationally to be selected as a Model System in all three specialties at the same time.

These grants are awarded in five year cycles by NIDRR through an extremely selective process with only 21 national sites for TBI and only 5 for Burn Injury. NIDRR awards Model Systems grants to institutions that are national leaders in medical research and patient care. Each site provides the highest level of comprehensive specialty services, from the point of injury through rehabilitation and community reentry. Dr. Joe Giacino will serve as Program Director for the TBI Model System Site and Dr. Jeffrey Schneider will serve as Program Director for the Burn Injury Model System site. Dr. Ross Zafonte will serve as Administrative Co-Director for both.

"Our selection by NIDRR as only the second provider in the nation to serve as a Model Systems Site in Burn Injury, TBI and SCI at the same time is a tremendous recognition for Spaulding and the Harvard Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. These grants will have an important impact on the communities Spaulding serves by allowing our talented clinicians to explore new avenues of research and care," said Dr. Ross Zafonte, VP of Research, Education and Medical Affairs, Spaulding Rehabilitation Network and Chairman of the Harvard Medical School Department of PM&R at Spaulding.

This funding will allow Spaulding clinicians and researchers to improve both regional and national understanding of TBI and Burn Injury treatment models. Each Model Systems site contributes to the national Model Systems Database for a better understanding of long-term health outcomes. Spaulding will also expand its participation in collaborative research and education as well as outreach efforts to inform individuals with TBI and Burn Injuries, their families and care givers, health care professionals and the general public about its work.

"These Model Systems recognitions by NIDRR are another acknowledgment of Spaulding's standing as a national leader in rehabilitative care and research. Most importantly for those recovering from or caring for someone with a traumatic brain injury or burn injury, these grants will greatly enhance the chance to improve their daily lives by empowering our researchers and clinicians with significant resources and support," said David Storto, President, Spaulding Rehabilitation Network.

About the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network

A member of Partners HealthCare, The SpauldingRehabilitation Network includes Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital-Boston (main campus), a 196-bed facility, as well as Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Cape Cod. Additional locations include the two long-term care facilities Spaulding Hospital Cambridge and Spaulding Hospital North Shore andtwo skilled nursing facilities, as well as twenty-three outpatient sites throughout the Greater Boston area. Spaulding is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School as well as the official rehabilitation hospital of the New England Patriots. Spaulding is the only rehabilitation hospital in New England continually ranked since 1995 by U.S. News and World Report in its Best Hospitals survey with a #5 ranking in 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.spauldingrehab.org.

SOURCE Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

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Spaulding Selected by NIDRR as both TBI and Burn Injury Model System Sites

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