No images? Click here September 2020 VA General PM&ROver the past year, the VA PM&R General Rehab team has had sustained growth for which we are grateful. The PM&R providers have been resilient to adapt to the constant whirlwind of operational changes at the VA due to COVID-19. All PM&R providers quickly became VA Video Connect (VVC) capable, which has allowed veterans to continue to receive their care through the challenging times of the pandemic. The expansion of virtual care delivery included the capability to perform virtual care with interdisciplinary teams such as in our interdisciplinary Polytrauma/TBI and Amputation Prosthetic clinics, and the multidisciplinary Functional Restoration Group program. Now that the VA is doing a slow transition to normalcy, veterans can choose from their preference of a video visit, phone visit, or a face-to-face visit. Our inpatient rehabilitation program was surveyed by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) in February 2020. We received a three-year CARF reaccreditation with ZERO deficiencies based on the CARF standards. We are grateful that this survey was completed during pre-COVID times -- the CARF survey timing could not have been any better. Based on CARF recommendations, we plan to pursue additional CARF certification for our stroke program. The VA PM&R team is thankful for the addition of members to our PM&R family over this past year. Dr. Jeffrey Cheng, who completed his residency training at Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, joined our team in August 2019. There is so much more that we are grateful for that cannot be captured within a short newsletter update. That being said, there is one thing that we do miss -- we miss seeing all of the friendly smiles that are being hidden behind face masks, and we cannot wait until the time comes when we can see them again! - Congratulations to Dr. Kotsonis for his outstanding leadership as the Co-Director of the VAMC Pain Management Team. - Congratulations to Dr. Yacub Martin for completion of the MCW/UWM Leadership Academy Program. - Congratulations to Dr. Connelly for completing the MCW Kern Institute Faculty Development Program. - Kudos to Dr. England for successfully completing another 50-mile marathon! - Dr. Kosasih earned the Fitbit Earth badge of 7,900 lifetime miles in part due to her recent discovery of wonderful hiking trails in Wisconsin state parks. - Drs. Yacub Martin and Cheng as PM&R members of the newly formed hospital wide stroke committee. - Finally, wish list granted: VA PM&R will be adopting a new Sonosite X-Porte ultrasound machine into their outpatient clinics soon! Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Grant for SCI EducationThe Craig H Neilsen Foundation was established in 2002 as a private foundation dedicated to supporting both programs and scientific research to improve the quality of life for those affected by and living with spinal cord Injury. The foundation’s funding decisions are driven by core values: Excellence, Leadership, Accountability, Innovation, and Collaboration. Grants are available for spinal cord injury research, psychosocial research, and spinal cord injury medicine fellowships along with other worthwhile endeavors to progress the missions of the foundation. Grants offered by the Neilsen Foundation are competitive. This year we are pleased to announce the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation has awarded the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation a 3-year grant funding one full-time Spinal Cord Injury Medicine fellow each year. The funds from this grant will allow revamping of our Spinal Cord Injury Medicine fellowship to incorporate more time at Froedtert Hospital and Children’s Hospital in partnership with our Zablocki VA Medical Center Spinal Cord Center where historically our fellows would train. By offering a more comprehensive training program incorporating the strengths of all three institutions, we hope to increase the competitiveness and desirability of our training opportunity. Applications are open, and we are actively recruiting/interviewing for a fellow to start July 2021. Thanks to all our Spinal Cord Injury Faculty who have helped make spinal cord injury education a goal for improvement within our departments educational offerings. Congratulations Dr. White and Sue Abrahms for their outstanding job on the application! Welcoming Josie Martin!In February 2020 we welcomed Josie Martin (Dr. Yacub Martin’s daughter) into our PM&R family. @MCW_PMR - Our Department Enters the World of Social MediaThe way information is shared, and how we keep in touch, has changed dramatically over the last few years, even more so throughout the pandemic. Social media not only helps keep family and friends connected over distance, but it is now increasingly used in academic circles to disseminate journal articles, clinical information, residency program specifics for recruitment, and for networking among colleagues across the globe. It has also become an effective and rapid way to interact and engage with our community. At our professional meetings, you will often see Twitter profiles advertised as a quick and easy way to reach out to presenters, making even conferences feel more "connected." If you have a Twitter account, please follow @MCW_PMR. If there is information, accolades, pictures, articles, etc., you would like to share, please feel free to reach out. If you don't have a Twitter account, please consider signing up for one to help progress our department's footprint digitally! Have news to share with your PM&R colleagues? We would love to hear from you for our next issue, so please email any recent publications, awards, presentations, shout-outs, etc. to Beatriz Envila at benvila@mcw.edu. Medical College of Wisconsin | 8701 Watertown Plank Road | Milwaukee, WI 53226 Connect to MCW on Social |