Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending - Construction - The rehabilitation project with the funding from HRSA addresses the need for rehabilitative therapy services for survivors of spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, cerebral palsy, and other neurological conditions, a historically underserved community, in New Hampshire. Approximately 15,000- 20,000 people in the state navigate some form of debilitating paralysis. The project addresses inequities in healthcare access for this special population, enables effective and efficient delivery of healthcare via advanced technology to promote reintegration, reducing dependence on care providers and family, and need for major home renovation and special transportation requirements while reducing long-term costs for paralysis survivors who gain independence, reducing falls/accidents and resulting complications post-discharge and re-hospitalization. Congressionally Directed Funding would provide much-needed HHS dollars that would typically miss a community like the Cheshire Medical Center (TCMC), which has the ability to grow and provide better care to these special populations in an accessible community setting but lacks the recurring resources to regularly write grant applications for very competitive state and federal programs tailored to big traditional healthcare institutions. The acquisition of FDA-approved medical devices will improve capacity and expand care options, including in-patient and out-patient services, helping people walk again and improve their quality of life. Approximately 3,225 people in TCMC’s service footprint suffer from paralysis and would benefit from this request. Of those, many individuals live in rural communities in key regions we serve. The Cheshire Medical Center currently serves approximately 67,955 patients in the State of New Hampshire. TCMC’s in-patient rehabilitative program currently serves over 178 patients per year with over 947 visits per month. Approximately half of those patients are adults with neurological, traumatic or physical disabilities, and chronic medical conditions; and the other half are senior citizens with various traumatic or physical disabilities or chronic conditions. TCMC’s out-patient rehabilitation program provides over 36,000 visits per year. New rehabilitative equipment will allow for new and more effective therapies to be delivered on-site which will increase TCMC’s capacity to service Granite Staters and make Cheshire more marketable. Therapies will include physical therapy, occupational therapy and recreational therapy utilizing FDA-approved powered lower limb exoskeleton devices for gait therapy and treatment of spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and other indications; and a FDA-approved tethered gait training system for neuromuscular re-education for more evidenced-based gait training. The project will deliver direct benefits to Granite Staters seeking specialized rehabilitative care in an accessible setting with effective therapies, using advance technologies, for paralysis and brain injury recovery.
