Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Programs
Rehabilitation Services and Research
The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) was founded in 1951 as, an Illinois not-for-profit corporation. In 2017 RIC with 182 beds, began doing business as the Shirley Ryan Abilitylab (SRAlab) and moved to a new building with 242 licensed beds. This move brought not only a physical change of address but a whole new model to the field of rehabilitation. Upon opening the 1.2-million-square-foot SRAlab became the first-ever "translational" rehabilitation research hospital in which clinicians, scientists, innovators and technologists work together in the same space, surrounding patients, discovering new approaches and applying (or "translating") research in real time. SRAlab's vision is to advance human ability through science and research. The organization has earned the distinction of being named the nation's #1-ranked provider of comprehensive physical medicine and rehabilitation care to patients from around the world every year since the designation's inception in 1992 by U.S. News World Report - a record for any U.S. hospital. In addition to being a large rehabilitation hospital SRAlab is the nation's largest rehabilitation research enterprise, advancing the field globally through innovation of the most advanced treatments and technologies. For FY 2022 SRAlab's system of care included a 262-bed hospital and numerous outpatient programs, located at 355 East Erie Street in Chicago, Illinois, as well as several other facilities and partnerships throughout the Chicagoland area. The Corporation offers a comprehensive range of inpatient, day rehabilitation and outpatient rehabilitation services. Inpatient rehabilitation services are provided using an interdisciplinary approach with a team bringing unique skills and knowledge to get patients the best possible outcome. Day rehabilitation therapy program is similar to inpatient in that it consists of an interdisciplinary approach for individuals. However, patients in DayRehab no longer require the 24-hour nursing services provided in an inpatient setting. Outpatient care is typically a singular discipline (e.g., physical therapy) and offers various levels of therapeutic intensity, depending on the patient's needs and goals. In FY 2022 we continued to serve patients safely through the ongoing pandemic. Inpatient admissions remained consistent with the prior year. Both the outpatient and DayRehab program grew well over 10%. We continue to serve patients from all around the country and world. Since inception SRAlab's has work relentlessly to develop and implement interventions that drive the very best outcomes. SRAlab serves patients with the most complex conditions with multiple medical and rehabilitation issues. This year we launched a ventilator weaning program for patients with a Spinal Cord Injury. We successfully weaned 90% of the patients eligible for the program and decreased the number of days from onset of injury to onset of rehabilitation services by half, resulting in far better outcomes, fewer complications, and an overall lower cost of total care. We also launched a number of novel interventions including incorporating neuro stimulation or hypoxemia combined with exercise. The results have been very promising. Today SRAlab offers the ability for patients to participate in clinical trials at the same time they are receiving their established treatment plan. It is the mission of SRAlab to not only focus on our patients but to also elevate the entire rehabilitation field. In FY 2022 SRAlab clinicians, physicians and researchers shared over 120 presentations to various professional audiences as well as published over 50 papers on scientific and clinical advancements. SRAlab continues to focus on providing a number of unreimbursed services improving the quality of life for our patients including vocational rehabilitation, virtual education and resources available to all members of the disabled community around the world, and adaptive sports and fitness services for children and adults. Finally, SRAlab continued efforts related to Diversity, Inclusion and Equity initiative by developing steering committee representing the diverse nature of our patients and staff. Some completed activities include ongoing education for our staff, broadening recruitment efforts to reach a more diverse audience and developing and implementing a career path for entry level employees to advance their careersGeographiesNot indicatedDatesSep 1, 2021 – Aug 31, 2022Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$270.7MResearch Program
Research Program: SRAlab's Research Program is the world's largest physical rehabilitation research enterprise in pursuit of clinical advancement through scientific discovery. In Fiscal Year 2022, the Research Program had approximately 150 research projects underway, funded by more than $152 million in grants and donations from both private and public sources. Its experts regularly publish research in the world's foremost medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and its European equivalent, The Lancet, and it is home to six federal research designations to develop cutting-edge solutions for patients. Biologics Lab and Aphasia Research Integration: We have begun to integrate our biologics laboratory with the rest of the hospital in the aphasia research program. We are now genetically sequencing patients in the stroke rehabilitation program to understand the genetic basis (if any) for response to therapy. This work was funded by NIDILRR. The NIDILRR-funded center is especially for patients with hemispheric stroke - the most debilitating kind. Manipulation and Mobility Technologies: A NIDILRR-funded Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center award to fund six new projects researching innovations that are directly useful for patients, especially those who have experienced limb-loss or stroke. Projects include body-powered hand prostheses, use of powered exoskeleton for after-stroke patients, and a new wheelchair to allow both sitting and standing. Research will include both technology development and clinical testing. Health and Function in Physical Disability: This Rehabilitation and Training Center, funded by NIDILRR, was created to develop, evaluate, and implement methods to promote optimal health and function of people with physical disabilities. Through a variety of research, training and dissemination activities, we expect to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the efficacy and value of various interventions for achieving and maintaining health and function for people with a disability. Spinal Cord Injury Research: SRAlab operates the Midwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury Care System as designated by NIDILRR. One of only 14 SCI Model Systems nationwide, SRAlab advances spinal cord care through clinical research that identifies new standards of care for the industry. It leads multiple independent and collaborative research projects exploring walking therapy technologies that deliver the most effective treatment to advance ability. We have also added a sophisticated neurophysiological testing division that is dedicated to the measurement and treatment of our inpatient Spinal Cord Injured patients. Engineering Research: This project established a NIDILRR-funded Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center, Collaborative Machines Enhancing Therapies (COMET), focusing on advancing technologies that work in partnership with patients and clinicians to enhance gait and dexterity outcomes for individuals with stroke and spinal cord injury (SCI) and other people with disabilities in a real-life rehabilitation setting. This project is based at SRAlab and leads four other major research universities around the United States. Wearable and Mobile Sensors: This center established the, "Center for Smart Use of Technologies to Assess Real World Outcomes" known as (CSTAR). This center serves as a national resource for rehabilitation professionals attempting to measure patient function in objective manners outside of the traditional clinical environment. Our partnership allows us to leverage the collective experience of our clinicians, scientists, engineers, and patients to provide the expertise, instruction, and mentoring to support the smart use of technology. Rapid Non-Invasive Screening for Covid-19: Controlling the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic largely depends on scaling up the testing infrastructure for identifying infected individuals. This project establishes a novel paradigm based on recording the physiological responses elicited by a short (~2 minutes) sequence of activities (i.e. "snapshot"), to detect symptoms associated with COVID-19. We are employing a novel body-conforming soft wearable sensor placed on the suprasternal notch to capture data on physical activity, cardio-respiratory function, and cough sounds. Early results, although preliminary, suggest that a sensor-based snapshot paradigm may be a promising approach for non-invasive and repeatable testing to alert individuals that need further screening.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesSep 1, 2021 – Aug 31, 2022Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$27.8MMedical Education and Fellowships
Medical Education: The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine (Dept of PMR) is housed within SRAlab, which has one of the largest and most highly respected residency programs in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the country. Resident physicians spend three to four years rotating through the Dept of PMR, taught by SRAlab physicians who are experts in this special, In FY 2022 SRAlab trained 52 residents. The SRAlab medical education program also provides opportunities for fourth year medical students from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine to rotate in a rehabilitation setting to gain experience with spinal cord injury, brain injury, amputee rehabilitation, cancer rehabilitation, medically complex rehabilitation, and pediatric rehabilitation. There are approximately 180 medical students from Northwestern that rotate with us and additional 50 medical students from other medical school nationally that rotate with us. Fellowships: SRAlab offers 6 physician sub-specialty fellowships, funded primarily by donations, in Sports Medicine, Pain Medicine, Pediatric Rehabilitation, Brain Injury Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation and Parkinsons/Movement Disorders. In FY 2022, 14 physician fellows were named at SRAlab, 2 in spinal cord medicine, 4 in sports medicine, 3 in pediatric rehabilitation, 2 in Brain injury, 2 in pain medicine, and 1 in Parkinsons/Movement Disorders. SRAlab also supports residencies for therapists, nurses and other non-physicians. Prosthetics and Orthotics (PO) Residency: Each year, SRAlab's Prosthetics and Orthotics Clinical Center (POCC) selects three prosthetist and three orthotist residents for these highly sought after positions. The orthotics residency is a 12-month program and the prosthetics residency is an 18-month program to allow additional hands-on experience in research through our Center for Bionic Medicine. Through these training programs, PO residents are mentored by SRAlab's certified, licensed professionals and get exposure to a variety of clinical presentations and pathologies, clinical evaluation, prescription recommendation, documentation, the actual fabrication of devices, and formal research. The Academy has offered continuing education aimed at helping rehabilitation professionals stay at the forefront of their field since 1954. In FY 2022, over six thousand students participated in academy programs which are taught by interdisciplinary teams of recognized specialists from SRAlab and visiting experts from around the world. These programs were offered in a variety of formats including webinars, courses, and workshops, exclusively delivered online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we expanded our outreach to international participants who were able to participate in asynchronous and live programming that fit with their time zone. In 2021, we became a provider of AMA PRA Category 1 Credit (trademarked) which is the recognized accreditation for physicians, advanced practice nurses, and physician assistants. We offered over 15 activities with this new designation.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesSep 1, 2021 – Aug 31, 2022Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$9.8M
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