Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

Spinal cord injuries are among the most devastating injuries a person can sustain. For children and adolescents with spinal cord injuries, meeting developmental, social and educational needs appropriately is an essential facet of rehabilitation. Many young people with spinal cord injuries are treated in an environment that is expert in SCI rehabilitation or expert in pediatrics. Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago is expert at both.

The Shriners Hospital in Chicago offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care, all at no cost. The spinal cord injury rehabilitation program is well-established, with a solid, quarter-century track record that works to maximize the function of children and teens. Services include:

• Comprehensive rehabilitation, medical and surgical care in a teaching hospital
• Ongoing research projects in long-term outcomes in pediatric and adolescent spinal cord injuries, covering the medical, educational, employment, social, emotional, sexual and financial challenges presented to young people with spinal cord injuries.
• Innovative rehabilitation techniques, including activity-based rehabilitation, aquatherapy and pet therapy, sports programs, including scuba, adapted sailing, adapted cycling, wheelchair basketball, kayaking, rock climbing, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair softball and more
• Nutritional evaluation and assessments
• Fitness training
• Annual sports and conditioning camp
• Transition program to ease transition to college and adulthood
•  SCI Informer quarterly newsletter for current patients
•  Staying Connected annual magazine for alumni of the program

Lawrence C. Vogel, M.D., medical director of the spinal cord injury rehabilitation program at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago, is internationally respected for his work with young people with spinal cord injuries. Dr. Vogel is board certified in spinal cord injury rehabilitation, he is president of the American Paraplegia Society (APS) and has served as a member of the APS Board of Directors since 1998, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA). In 2005, the Illinois Department of Public Health recognized Dr. Vogel’s contributions with the Ron Lee Award for Clinical Excellence. Other members of the rehabilitation team serve on the Illinois Governor’s Council on Spinal Cord Injuries, the Spinal Cord Injury Association Board and other state and national advisory boards.

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