This has been a busy and exciting few months at Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation (BSWIR). As life slowly but steadily resumed a more normal cadence, we continued to address the rehabilitation needs of patients and their families from across the region. Like many of you, we are seeing individuals with increasingly complex diagnoses and rehabilitation needs, which has reinforced our commitment to advancing research, driving innovation and further improving outcomes.
We are deeply honored to have been awarded a five-year, $2.2 million spinal cord injury model system (SCIMS) grant by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). BSWIR, in collaboration Baylor Scott & White Research Institute and Baylor University Medical Center - Trauma, now comprise one of only 14 SCIMS centers in the country. With this award, we become one of only six centers nationwide to hold both the spinal cord and traumatic brain injury model system designations.
Ann Marie Warren, PhD, ABPP, director, Trauma Research Consortium, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, and I will serve as co-directors of the SCIMS. We will oversee several projects, most significantly an investigative study to determine whether early intervention of a treatment known as “brief prolonged exposure therapy” can reduce or prevent post-traumatic stress following traumatic SCI – a condition that impacts up to 60 percent of the SCI population.
We also opened a specialized Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center at BSWIR-Lakeway, offering leading-edge treatment to help heal chronic wounds and improve the quality of life for patients across central Texas. Diabetic and pressure ulcers, infections, radiation injuries to soft tissue and bone, and skin grafts and flaps are among the conditions treated.
I previously shared how honored we were for our BSWIR-Dallas hospital to be ranked #13 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. To top off this “awards season,” Newsweek recently named Dallas the #1 physical rehabilitation center in the state of Texas and our Frisco hospital came in at #13. We are incredibly proud to be recognized by these organizations and our colleagues across the country for the work we do.
With the year winding down, I want to thank you for your support, trust and shared commitment to changing the lives of those we serve. Together, we really can make a difference. On behalf of our entire BSWIR family, I wish you and yours a happy, healthy and safe holiday season and all good things in the New Year.
Rita Hamilton, DO
Chief Medical Officer
Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation