Since 1982, Shepherd Center has been designated as a national leader in spinal cord injury care and research under the Model Systems of Care by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).
The Southeastern Regional SCI Model System at Shepherd Center is the largest of the country's 14 Model Systems of Care for spinal cord injury. The Center has the largest number of new admissions and outpatient visits of all NIDILRR funded facilities. During the last 10 years, Shepherd Center contributed the largest volume of new admission data to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC).
