TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | j u n e 2 0 1 6 17 Hermann, director of the NRRC and professor and chairman of the PM&R at McGovern Medical School. "With the collaborations that we have with other hospitals and other institutions of higher learning, like the University of Houston and Rice University, it would be a sin not to take advantage of those resources and see how we can serve as a medium for collaboration so that the strengths of the different institutions can add up to something that will really enhance our patients' recovery." Since Carl Josehart, senior vice president and chief executive officer of TIRR Memorial Hermann, assumed the mantle in 2006, the reha- bilitation hospital jumped from being the fifth top rehabilitation center in the country to no. 2 on U.S. News and World Report's List of Best Hospitals, on the heels of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. But it's the leadership team's commit- ment and the clinical staff's focus on their patients that galvanized the formation of the center and its eight independent laboratories: Neuromodulation, Neurorehabilitation, Neuro-Myo Engineering for Rehabilitation, Motor Recovery, Spinal Cord Medicine, Robotics and Rehabilitation Engineering, Human Machine Interface Systems and the Center for Wearable Exoskeletons. "This building, this research center, was really part of the dream I had when I first arrived: to create a state-of-the-art facility to really launch our research initiatives to an even higher level," Josehart said. "Part of what makes us a national leader in rehabilitation is not just doing rehabili- tation effectively with the current knowledge that exists, but it's creating new knowledge. Research is part of the investment in pushing the frontiers of clinical rehabilitation even further." With seven Ph.D. researchers and five physi- cians working under the same roof to combine academic research and clinical application, the NRRC is the epitome of what cross-collaboration between disciplines can achieve with a shared vision and goal. It's a symbiotic relationship in which the physicians who are not trained in research work closely with researchers who have great ideas but need the physicians' expertise in patient care. "TIRR Memorial Hermann has a history of providing the best rehabilitation care and the quest for, 'How do we make the best even better?'" Francisco said. "These are people who work at different levels—clinicians, physicians, therapists, nurses, administrators—and everyone has a com- mon goal of giving our patients the best possible chance at recovery. When that passion comes together, there's only one way to go, and that's to be more creative and think of ways of how things that have been known to work successfully can [be applied to our patients]." * * * * * The NRRC is currently conducting about 20 independent and joint clinical trials and studies with that specific goal in mind, including a unique study out of the center's Motor Recovery Laboratory that uses an array of wearable exoskel- etons to evaluate how it could benefit people with multiple sclerosis and improve their quality of life. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MS is a chronic and disabling immune-mediated disease that affects an esti- mated 2.3 million people worldwide. Because MS can present a variety of symptoms—including fatigue, muscle weakness, disorientation, vision impairments, spasticity and trouble walking—the disease can be difficult to diagnose. Although there is currently no known cure for the disease, the NRRC is conducting an ongoing clinical trial in an effort to help people with MS regain their mobility and strengthen their lower limbs. For 45-year-old Pearland resident Kelly Davis, who was an avid dancer prior to her MS diagnosis in April 2005, participating in the clinical trial gives her the opportunity to do what she hasn't been able to do since she was 34. Approximately 1 . 7 M I L L I O N P E O P L E in the country sustain a traumatic brain injury each year. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Cover