NRH is dedicated to implementing initiatives that probe new rehabilitative interventions and address the health and rehabilitative needs of persons with disabilities.

High tech. High touch. Both are critical to quality medical care. And both approaches are under constant scrutiny. At NRH, technology is at the core of many research studies – everything from robotics to electrical neuromuscular stimulation. There’s no doubt that technological innovations dramatically improve accuracy and speed of evaluation of injury and disease, enhance delivery of rehabilitative care, and increase quality of life. At NRH, our Assistive Technology & Research Center works in partnership with NRH researchers to foster the development of better, more efficacious and useful technology.

It is also true that connecting human beings to one another is an increasingly important component to successful rehabilitation. The long proven value of patient navigation and peer mentoring are merging in rehabilitation – and NRH is on the cutting edge of proving their effectiveness. Patient navigation first emerged in the care of cancer patients, where outcomes greatly improved when patients had an advocate to guide them through treatment and recovery. The concept has been adopted elsewhere, but NRH is among the first rehabilitation facilities to prove its value in both spinal cord injury and stroke.

In stroke rehabilitation research, NRH is providing a wealth of critical information to improve outcomes for the millions of people who suffer stroke every year. Collaboration is an important ingredient to the success of these studies and we are delighted to work with our partners at Georgetown University, the Washington Hospital Center and the National Institutes of Health.