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Community partners

The following community partnerships are presently involved in VCU-CERSE-related research and training activities or have the potential for future involvement. Each site offers a variety of clinical, training and research exposures that highlight the diversity of opportunity available within the VCU-CERSE network. Formal relationships exist for the majority of these partnerships.

Children's Hospital of Richmond
Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond
Partnership for People with Disabilities
Sheltering Arms Physical Rehabilitation Centers
VCU Rehabilitation and Research Center
Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services
Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center

Eugenio Monasterio, M.D., director of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Based in Richmond, Va., Children's Hospital of Richmond is a private, nonprofit hospital that serves children from birth through the age of 21. As a specialty pediatric facility, services center on the diagnosis and treatment of various medical conditions, including developmental disabilities, feeding disorders, chronic illness, recent injuries, orthopaedic problems, neurological disorders and associated behavioral disorders.

David Cifu, M.D., chief of Rehabilitation Medicine Services

The Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, located in Richmond, is a 427-bed facility offering primary, secondary and tertiary health care in medicine, surgery, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, intermediate care, spinal cord injury, skilled nursing and palliative care. Richmond is a national referral center for heart, lung and liver transplantations, and the medical center acts as a tertiary care referral center for subspecialty treatment, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, open-heart surgery, oncology and vascular diseases. The medical center has one outpatient clinic located in Fredericksburg, Va., and a strong and mutually beneficial affiliation with VCU Medical Center. Residency programs exist in virtually all general and specialty areas of medicine, rehabilitation, surgery, psychiatry and dentistry. The medical center is the host site for two major research, training and clinical specialty programs for the disabled, the Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center (PADRECC), one of six in the nation, and the Defense and Veterans Head Injury Rehabilitation Program (DVHIP), one of only four in the nation.

Fred Orelove, Ph.D., executive director

The Partnership for People with Disabilities is recognized by the federal Administration on Developmental Disabilities as a university center for excellence in developmental disabilities. Founded in 1985, the partnership operates more than 20 federal and state programs, staffed by more than 100 professionals and students supporting individuals with disabilities and their families. The partnership maintains an interdisciplinary approach to all of its activities, which allows it to explore a wide spectrum of professional services and community interests as it seeks to expand opportunities to individuals with disabilities. Partners include numerous disability service providers, K-12 schools and school divisions, universities and colleges, professional organizations, and state and local agencies.

Mike McDonnell, M.B.A., interim CEO

The mission of Sheltering Arms Physical Rehabilitation Centers is to provide comprehensive physical rehabilitation of the highest caliber with compassion and respect, to enhance the quality of life to those persons experiencing disabilities and to offer financial assistance to those in need. For more than 100 years, Sheltering Arms has helped thousands of people with a variety of conditions including sprains and strains, back injuries, postoperative physical recovery, post-polio syndrome, arthritis, and brain and spinal cord injuries. Sheltering Arms, with five locations in the Richmond area, has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of America's Best Hospitals for 2003.

Macon Sizemore, M.H.A., director

The Rehabilitation and Research Center is a collaborative effort between the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and VCU Medical Center. The goals of the RRC are to provide highly skilled, interdisciplinary, inpatient rehabilitative care to adults with complex needs; to be an advocate and educator for patients and people with disabilities; and to conduct research to advance the art and science of rehabilitation. The RRC is an intensive inpatient program focused on assessment and therapeutic intervention, as well as discharge planning and follow-up. Interventions address medical needs, self-care, mobility, behavior, cognition, communication and psychosocial skills. The general rehab unit has 27 beds and provides treatment for patients with neuromuscular or vascular accidents (stroke) and those with multiple trauma. A 14-patient brain injury rehab unit treats adult patients with traumatic brain injuries stemming from falls, gunshot wounds, assaults or car accidents, as well as those with nontraumatic injuries from causes such as aneurysms, hemorrhages or brain tumors. The RRCs specialized Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program serves Central Virginia as a part of MCV Hospitals designated treatment center for spinal cord injury. In addition, the spinal cord injury, brain injury and stroke programs are part of an interdisciplinary critical pathway, which coordinates and expedites care from initial injury through community re-entry. System of Care for both brain injury and spinal cord injury.

James A. Rothrock, commissioner

In partnership with people with disabilities and their families, the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services collaborates with the public and private sectors to provide and advocate for the highest quality services that empower individuals with disabilities to maximize their employment, independence and full inclusion into society.

Services to people with disabilities include employment, rehabilitation community-based services, independent living, assistive technology, devices and equipment, medical and psychological evaluations and services, disability benefits determinations, and other specialized services and programs. Services to employers include recruitment, assistance with accommodation issues and promoting diversity in the workplace.

Richard L. Sizemore, director

The Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services (James Rothrock, commissioner) and the Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (Marilyn Tavenner, secretary) have conveyed a strong commitment in the use of Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center as a full and active partner of CERSE. Founded in 1947, WWRC was the first state-owned comprehensive rehabilitation center in the country. WWRC is located on 230 acres in Fishersville, Va., 30 miles west of Charlottesville. WWRC features 500,000 square feet of dormitories, classrooms, dining and recreation facilities, libraries, computer centers, laboratories and treatment facilities. With an active daily census of nearly 275, WWRC conveys a dramatically increased potential for accelerating research and training funds for all aspects of rehabilitation. WWRC will provide VCU with a major presence in western Virginia.