CRAIG INSIDER
Craig’s Research Department is celebrating 50 years of research! The Research Department is recognized as a national and international leader in spinal cord and traumatic brain injury research, exemplifying this distinction over the past 50 years. Read more about our research program as we celebrate this golden anniversary!
SNAPSHOT:
Craig Hospital Awards & Recognition
Dr. Christina Draganich, Dr. Jeffery Berliner, Dr. Mitch Sevigny, Dr. Candace Tefertiller and Dr. Andrew Smith of Craig Hospital won the coveted Golden Synapse award for their article “Predicting Outdoor Walking 1 Year After Spinal Cord Injury: A Retrospective, Multisite External Validation Study” released in Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy (JNPT) 2023.
Dr. Jennifer Coker named ASIA 2023 Fellow of the American Spinal Injury Association. She has worked in the field of traumatic SCI since 1997. She has been at Craig Hospital since April 2012 and is the Co-Project Director of the SCI Model Systems and PI for several other projects.
Susan Charlifue, PhD of Craig Hospital took the position as president of ASIA. The presidential handoff went from Suzanne Groah, MD, to our Susan Charlifue, PhD of Craig Hospital marking the first time in ASIA’s history that an acting female president has handed the torch to an incoming female president.
Improving Upper Extremity Function and Trunk Stability After
Cervical SCI
Spinal cord injury often results in immediate and catastrophic loss of upright mobility and functional independence. Specifically, those who experience cervical-level injuries lose function in their arms, hands, and trunk, as well as in their lower extremities. They often report that improving upper extremity function and trunk stability improves their quality of life.
Craig Hospital’s five-year study “Improving Upper Extremity Function and Trunk Stability after Cervical SCI: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Three Different Interventions” explores the efficacy of three different interventions to improve upper extremity strength, function, and trunk stability. The study began in 2021 and will end in 2026.
“This study evaluates three different therapeutic approaches to synergistically retrain functional movement patterns of the upper extremities, in combination with trunk stabilization, to promote neurologic and functional recovery after spinal cord injury,” explains R.J. Tuchscherer, an occupational therapist on Craig’s research team.
He adds, “In a randomized controlled trial of three interventions, the first treatment utilizes the most traditional retraining approach through functional task practice (FTP). FTP involves the repeated performance of activities designed to improve patterns of gross and fine upper body movement
required for activities of daily living.”
The other two treatment approaches add functional electrical stimulation (FES) to augment FTP training. FES is a type of electrical stimulation that elicits coordinated muscle contractions to facilitate functional movement by placing electrodes on the skin over peripheral nerves and timing the muscle groups being stimulated with the function being performed.
One of the treatment approaches that combine FES with FTP will use conventional FES, while the other group will have electrical stimulation delivered with a wide pulse and a higher frequency than typically used in rehabilitation.
The study has three objectives. The first is to investigate efficacy of FES combined with FTP, relative to FTP alone, on outcomes of UE function, UE strength, trunk stability, and patients’ perceived improvement immediately after completing the eightweek intervention.
The second objective is to determine the sustained efficacy of FES combined with FTP on outcomes of UE function, UE strength, trunk stability, and patients’ perceived improvement four weeks after completing the intervention.
The third objective is to examine the moderating effect of injury severity on the efficacy of FES on UE function and trunk stability.
Individuals enrolled in the study are asked to engage in a 12-week enrollment period, which includes eight weeks of study sessions (five times/week) in addition to a series of evaluations to document upper extremity and trunk outcome changes.
Enrolled participants are randomized to one of the following three groups: upper extremity training alone; upper extremity training + conventional FES; or upper extremity training + wide pulse/high-frequency FES.
This study is a great example of Craig’s investment in accelerating innovation via translational research discoveries. In fact, the Craig Foundation is currently raising money to build a state-of-the-art human movement lab designed to answer the clinical questions that are most important to patients and families affected by neurological injuries. Thanks to those who have already invested in this important work!
For more information on this study or to learn more about participating in research, visit craighospital. org/research/studies
Behind the Wheel
For 33-year-old Ellie Shepard, driving is an extremely liberating experience. “When I’m behind the wheel of my Ford Explorer, I feel completely free. I am able to get anywhere that anyone else can, given the constraints of driving.”
She adds, “In fact, when I was first injured and still coping with my ‘new’ life in a chair, driving was when I felt the closest to my pre-injury life. It’s when I am totally independent and can move about in life with relative normalcy. You never realize how ‘abnormal’ it feels when you can’t go out and do your own errands—until that ability is taken away from you.”
Making Her Way to Craig
Ellie entered Craig Hospital’s Adaptive Driving and Transportation Program in 2016, about one year after she was injured in a diving accident.
“At the time of my accident, I was a 24-year-old student, living on my own in an apartment in Santa Clara, California,” she recalls. “My apartment complex had a pool, and I dove in, only to find out that the pool had two shallow ends. I hit my head on the bottom and ended up with a C6 fracture.”
Ellie was taken to a Level One trauma center, where she stayed for several weeks.
“I was the youngest person there by more than
a decade,” she says. “It wasn’t the best place for me, and my dad was intent on finding a new rehab facility. After he toured Craig Hospital, he knew it was where I needed to be.”
In October 2015, Ellie transferred to Craig, where she spent the next year doing inpatient and outpatient rehab. It was during her outpatient stay that Ellie was medically cleared to drive.
“I was a C6-C7 quadriplegic in a wheelchair,” she says. “Not being able to walk was hard enough, but I needed the freedom that driving brings. I was tired of depending on my mom to drive me everywhere.”
So Ellie spent several months working with Barry Doyle—Craig’s adaptive transportation supervisor in the donor-supported Driving and Adaptive Transportation program—getting used to hand controls and navigating a car again. She returned to driving using a manual wheelchair, a smart drive, and a six-way transfer base in the driver position.
After about a year, Ellie realized the setup she was using was not the best fit for her. “The amount of energy you have per day is a finite resource, and I was using it up on things like transferring in and out of the driver’s seat. I wanted an easier way,” she says. “Worrying about transfers on top of my challenging personal care routine felt like too much. As a result, the barrier to transfer in and out of my car became high enough that it limited how much I would leave the house.”
She adds, “As an example, I enjoy cooking, but driving to the grocery store 10 minutes away took multiple hours round trip due to the transfers to and from my chair. It was overwhelming on top of everything else, and I felt like I was just surviving instead of thriving. Because I wanted to focus on improving my quality of life, I decided to change the way I was doing things.”
Ellie called Barry for help. “We met and completed an evaluation with a new option for Ellie: removing the car’s front seat and teaching Ellie to drive directly from her manual wheelchair,” he recalls.
Barry recommended that Ellie use the AMF-Bruns FutureSafe head and backrest mounted to the
vehicle’s floor and B-pillar. “This allows Ellie to access the driver position from her wheelchair. She can now flip a switch to rotate the head and backrest to be in position directly behind her and the wheelchair, keeping it very secure,” he explains. “In addition, Ellie can use an electronic lockdown for her manual wheelchair.”
He adds, “She now has the ability to quickly and easily get into the vehicle, start the ignition, apply the seat belt, and go. It’s way faster for her to take quick trips to the store.”
Ellie insists this change has provided her with a lot more independence. She still struggles a little when it’s wet outside because the vehicle’s steep ramp becomes slippery, but her solution is simple: “I just ask people to help me, and it has never been an issue.”
Giving Back
While working on her driving skills, Ellie also turned her attention to her career. Once interested in working in the medical arena, she realized she needed to find a career that did not require the use of her legs. So she decided on a career in social work. “I wanted to help others in need and entered the University of Denver’s Master of Social Work program in 2018,” she says.
After graduating, she took a job in the Clinical Case Care Management Department at Craig. Starting her career at the very place she had been a patient gave her the opportunity to feel safe and comfortable.
“It was a great way to start my career because I understood the recovery process as well as the grieving process,” she says. “I was able to use my firsthand experience to help others.”
She adds, “I also have been told by patients and families that it was helpful for patients at Craig to see me working in a fulfilling job with my service dog, Rudy. After a life-altering accident, it is common to feel like the world is ending, so seeing someone thriving postinjury can be very motivating and uplifting. It is helpful to see people choosing to be optimistic and living a full life.”
Never one to stop challenging herself, Ellie recently embarked on a new job opportunity in the mental health arena. “Craig was a great place to start my career, and I loved every single minute,” she explains. “But it was time to do something different and break away from the place I’ve called home these last few years. I am very excited about my new adventure.”
Thanks to support from our generous donors, Craig patients and grads like Ellie are able to follow their dreams and live full lives.
Would you like an inside look at Craig Hospital? Come See Us!
Join us for a tour of our state-of-the-art facilities and experience our unique cheerful and positive campus atmosphere firsthand.
Choose from one of the upcoming tour dates below and contact Jan Kelley at jkelley@craighospital.org or 303-789-8817 to confirm details.
Wednesday, Mar 19 | 10 am Saturday, March 29 | 10 am
Wednesday, April 2 | 4 pm
Saturday, April 19 | 10 am
Wednesday, April 30 | 10 am
Saturday, May 10 | 10 am Tuesday, May 13 | 4 pm Thursday, May 29 | 10 am
Tuesday, June 10 | 10 am Saturday, June 21 | 10 am Thursday, June 26 | 4 pm
Pedal 4 Possible: At the Raceway, held on Saturday October 26 at High Plains Raceway was a ton of fun! Thanks to all who rode, fundraised, and sponsored at High Plains Raceway for this annual event benefiting Craig Hospital.
// Click here to watch a recap of the day!
$14,234,886* DOLLARS RAISED $9,746,461 DISTRIBUTED
9,158 Gifts | 3,881 Donors
HIGHLIGHT REEL FOUNDATION FINANCIALS
PATIENT ASSISTANCE
Offers a safety net for patients and families whose financial means (including insurance) are inadequate to meet the financial burdens associated with catastrophic injury.
$3M
Distributed to help more than 650 patients and families, including 135 outpatients
Areas of impact include, but not limited to: Durable Medical Equipment • Home Modifications • Scholarships • Air Ambulance • Caregiver Support • Housing Payment Assistance • Dental and Medical Assistance • Transportation Assistance
RESEARCH
Craig Hospital’s Research Task Force encourages researchers and clinical staff to propose ideas for pilot studies, which are refined through a collaborative process and awarded up to $15,000 in donor-contributed funds.
8 Research Projects Funded
$1,551,700 Funded by the Craig Foundation supporting SCI and TBI Research
PATIENTS TREATED
505 Inpatients** | 1,401 Outpatients
THERAPEUTIC RECREATION
Restores richness to lives of people with SCI/ BI by helping them engage in meaningful recreational activity.
975+
Participants
8+
Sessions per patient
84 Adventure Trips
Activities included one-on-one and group sessions at Craig, community outings, and adventure programming.
NEUROLOGIC MUSIC THERAPY
Restores non-musical functions through live-music interventions.
171
1,205
SCHOOL PROGRAM (2023-24 ACADEMIC YEAR)
Supports students during their rehabilitation.
45
Students
*Includes Gifts-in-kind **Inpatients admitted and/or discharged
41 Transitioned back to their schools
24
Graduated high school/earned GED
3425 S. Clarkson Street
Englewood, CO 80113
2025 SIGNATURE EVENTS
IMPACT CELEBRATION: ART AUCTION
THURSDAY, APRIL 3 I MOSS DENVER
Experience artwork by Craig patients, graduates, staff and donors, showcasing the incredible and innovative methods they use to create their pieces. This fundraiser celebrates resilience, creativity, and the transformative power of art.
IMPACT CELEBRATION: ADAPTIVE ATHLETICS
THURSDAY, JUNE 26 I LITTLETON
Join us for an inspiring evening featuring adaptive athletics with wheelchair tennis players and Craig grads, Grayson Fox and Jason Keatseangsilp. This event will feature an exhibition match and the athletes will share more about their journey and life as wheelchair athletes.
CRAIG HOSPITAL GOLF TOURNAMENT
PRESENTED BY RE/MAX, LLC
WEDNESDAY, JULY 9 I SANCTUARY GOLF COURSE
Join us for a day on the links for the Craig Hospital Sanctuary Golf Tournament presented by RE/MAX, LLC to support and assist Craig’s patients and programs.
PEDAL 4 POSSIBLE: AT THE RACEWAY
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18
P4P: At the Raceway offers riders of all abilities the exclusive opportunity to ride in this closed-course event where cycling meets fundraising for Craig Hospital’s patients and programs!
CONTACT US
foundation@craighospital.org
craighospital.org/foundation craighospital.org/blog