For those living in the New York City metro area and Long Island, the Mount Sinai Spinal Cord Injury Model System is the go-to facility for everything spinal cord injury-related. Established in 1986, this long-standing spinal cord injury model system offers a multi-disciplinary system of care to someone with a spinal cord injury.
This includes clinical care to people with paralysis, research projects focused on spinal cord injuries and they explain their research results in a clear way to SCI consumers and professionals. They also share important SCI information with the community in multiple formats. To learn more about this NYC-based spinal cord injury model system of care, please continue reading below.
Research
The research conducted at Mount Sinai's Spinal Cord Injury Model System has one goal- to improve the quality of life of spinal cord injury survivors. To that end, they always have several ongoing research projects. One of their largest independent ongoing studies is there, "Treatment of Post-Sic Hypotension: A Randomized Control Study of Usual Care vs. Anti-HypoTension Therapy."
This is a blood pressure-related study that evaluates the standard protocol used in inpatient rehabilitation and how it can be improved. Additionally, they are undertaking a study on a pain module that may one day be used in rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injuries. Titled, "Impact and treatment of pain and individuals with spinal cord injury," this study will be looking at modular joint pain.
And they’re conducting a study on how morphine sulfate be used to treat neuropathic pain using a modified-release formulation. Outside of physical health research, other current research studies include looking at the residential instability of people with chronic spinal cord injuries and the equality of the assistive technology world.
Clinical Care
The clinical care received at the Mount Sinai Spinal Cord Injury Model System is some of the best in the country. They offer their NYC emergency medical services and comprehensive SCI acute inpatient rehabilitation unit with 25 beds.
They offer every kind of therapy needed as well, from physical therapy and occupational therapy to use speech-language pathology, peer mentoring, outreach coordination, and vocational rehabilitation. They also offer recreational therapy and rehab psychology, as well as assisting patients in connecting with a social worker.
One of the most impressive things Mount Sinai Spinal Cord Injury Model System offers is a wide variety of SCI community programs for those people who have been discharged and are living their lives. They offer a Woman on Wheels program, group mentoring, a community reentry program, a spinal cord injury meditation group, and wheelchair mobility, classes.
Their most popular program is their Do-It! Program. Developed in 1995, this is a community integration program that helps people in a variety of ways with a focus on fitness from offering spin classes, FES training, weight training classes, a lecture series, and a mat class for upper body strengthening.
We recommend signing up for their monthly newsletter called The Spinal Connection, which updates people on the latest regarding their research, outreach programs and their dates and times, and anything new regarding care at spinal cord injury rehab hospital. You can sign up for this newsletter here https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/brycelab/newsletter-2/
And for those with spinal cord injuries living in the area, their "Useful Resources" page is excellent for finding links to anything someone with a spinal cord injury might need. These links include links to accessible transportation in the area, government programs sexuality, nursing homes, and sports and recreation. Check out the full list here https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/brycelab/educational-resources/
- Official site: https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/brycelab/clinical-trials/mount-sinai-spinal-cord-injury-core-program/
