Southeastern Regional Spinal Cord Injury Model System

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).

Research Projects

As Lead Center

Title	Type	Start Date	End Date
Characterizing the Experience of Spasticity after Spinal Cord Injury	Collaborative	10/01/2016	09/30/2021
Enhancing Corticospinal Activation For Improved Walking Function	Independent	10/01/2016	09/30/2021
Emergency department visits, related hospitalizations, and reasons for utilization of the emergency department after SCI	Independent	10/01/2016	09/30/2021
Evaluation of an improved method to assess and follow the recovery of motor control in SCI	Independent	10/01/2011	09/30/2016
A longitudinal study of gainful employment 10 years after SCI onset: Comparisons of those who do and do not return to the pre-injury employer	Independent	10/01/2011	09/30/2016
Psychological Status During Inpatient Rehabilitation and One Year After Onset: Stress, Coping, and Expectation - Hope for Recovery	Independent	10/01/2006	09/30/2011
Development and Validation of a Clinical Measure of Wheelchair Seat Cushion Degradation	Independent	10/01/2006	09/30/2011
The Effect of Spinal Cord Injury on Labor Force Participation	Modular (Joint)	10/01/2006	09/30/2011

As Participating Center

Using a Health Technology Assessment Framework for Evaluating the Utilization and Efficiency of Wearable Exoskeletons for SCI Rehabilitation, is persons with SCI at the C7 to S1 level, designated AIS A to D.	Collaborative	10/01/2016	09/30/2021
Identifying upper extremity motor capabilities required to perform self-care and fine motor task	Collaborative	10/01/2016	09/30/2021
Long-term follow-up of patients with ventilatory dependent high tetraplegia managed with diaphragmatic pacing systems	Modular (Joint)	10/01/2011	09/30/2016
Extending the SCIRehab Project – Five Year Follow-up	Modular (Joint)	10/01/2011	09/30/2016
Improving Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Outcomes	Collaborative	10/01/2006	09/30/2011