Minneapolis VA awarded funds for new rehabilitation R&D center to improve the lives of Veterans with amputations, spinal cord injuries and disorders
PRESS RELEASE
August 22, 2023
Minneapolis , MN — A research team at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System (MVAHCS) has been approved for over $6 million in funding to start the Rehabilitation & Engineering Center for Optimizing Veteran Engagement & Reintegration (RECOVER).
RECOVER will focus on improving activities and participation of Veterans with physical disabilities in important life roles and events through development and testing of new technologies and interventions. RECOVER will be led by Dr. Andrew Hansen, a Research Biomedical Engineer in the Rehabilitation and Extended Care Integrated Clinical Community at the MVAHCS, and Dr. Erin Krebs, a primary care physician researcher and Chief of General Internal Medicine at the MVAHCS.
RECOVER incorporates the successful Minneapolis Adaptive Design & Engineering (MADE) Program with other research and clinical care experts, including personnel from other existing Minneapolis VA centers (Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research (CCDOR), Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC)).
“We are delighted to start this new center aimed at improving community participation of Veterans with amputations and spinal cord injuries. RECOVER is about recovery after injuries, but also maintaining a healthy and fulfilling life as Veterans age,” said Minneapolis VA Health Care System Director Patrick Kelly.
RECOVER will focus on removing barriers to meaningful participation in life activities for Veterans with amputations and Veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders. Areas of emphasis will include (1) expanding our understanding of barriers and facilitators to participation, (2) improving participation through management of pain, discomfort, and secondary complications, and (3) maintaining participation of Veterans as they age and promoting Aging-in-Place. RECOVER will form a Veteran Engagement Panel to help guide center activities and to actively engage in research and development projects. The group will also seek to collaborate with other Veteran Research and Development Centers to work on impactful projects to improve health care for Veterans.
For more information about RECOVER, please call 612-467-3538 or email Chad.Gustafson@va.gov and for more information about the Minneapolis VA’s other research programs please visit: Minneapolis VA Health Care System Research Service Home
Funds awarded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Rehabilitation Research & Development Service.