CRAIG INSIDER THE
Transforming Hope into Homecomings
At Craig Hospital, we’re embarking on a bold journey to revolutionize neurorehabilitation. We are expanding our reach, advancing research, and transforming the future of recovery for those living with brain and spinal cord injuries.
Through the Hope & Homecomings Campaign, our community is coming together to raise $100 million to build that future. This investment will fund an 86,000-squarefoot expansion of Craig’s East Building—adding patient rooms, advanced research facilities, and new spaces designed for healing and innovation.
Because there is not a moment to waste for people who are waiting for Craig’s expertise, our bold vision will take Craig’s time-tested rehabilitation model and expand access and accelerate innovation in the following ways:
EXPAND ACCESS TO OUR EXPERT CARE
Craig’s inpatient waitlist holds 50 to 70 individuals. Half of them are ready to start rehab now if a bed opens up. The rest are being treated for complications at hospitals that do not have the same expertise as Craig. As a result, we are tackling this urgent need by expanding Craig’s world-class SCI/BI rehabilitation, reaching more people who need it most and giving them the best chance at recovery.
We will add at least 26 new patient rooms to:
Create Craig’s first-ever Neuromedical Unit to help mitigate medical complications and serve patients sooner
Increase inpatient capacity to serve 13% to 15% more patients annually
Grow and strengthen Craig’s existing holistic programs not funded by insurance
ACCELERATE INNOVATION
We will continue our leadership position in the spinal cord and brain injury communities to serve the broader community by translating research into clinical practice in the following ways:
Expand translational research at Craig to bridge the gap between research and real-world therapies and move faster from science to solutions
Build our first-ever, state-of-the-art Human Movement Lab, an 8,500-squarefoot “living laboratory” designed to provide real-time feedback and translate research findings quickly to our patients
Increase collaborative capacity to disseminate our learning to the broader spinal cord and brain injury community
Grow and Strengthen Craig’s Holistic Programs
In addition, the space in several hospital departments will be expanded to meet various needs. This includes the following:
Training and Development will be expanded to invest in our talented and compassionate staff. Classroom space will be added to allow for scalable training for larger groups, accommodate more staff, develop a robust onboarding process, and enable additional refresher classes and specialized sessions. In addition, the expansion will create the opportunity for more interactive and hands-on learning opportunities and foster collaborative and creative training.
The space in Community Reintegration and Adaptive Transportation will be increased to maximize independence through driving and skill-building. Changes include creating a business center featuring various ergonomic setups and adaptive office equipment, trade workstation spaces to allow handson practice with various skills-related work, and a new climate-controlled covered drive for testing transportation options, which will be shared with Therapeutic Recreation.
Therapeutic Recreation will grow to help people lead active and full lives. Some of the project features include expanding the program’s footprint with flexible new spaces for enhanced patient and family activities and therapeutic co-treatments, a new north garden and on-site greenhouse, and more individualized treatment areas.
A Groundbreaking Celebration
On October 10, 2025, the Craig community came together to celebrate the groundbreaking of our transformational Hope & Homecomings Campaign and 86,000-square-foot campus expansion. Joined by hundreds of community members, donors, volunteers, staff, and dignitaries, we gathered to mark this exciting milestone and the official start to construction on this project.
“Craig is a very special place focused on courage and optimism,” explains Jim Johnson, Hope & Homecomings Campaign chair. “To fully embrace our vision of expanding access and accelerating innovation, we must increase our physical space.”
Adds Serena Bruzgo, Foundation president, “The goals of this campaign are bold and full of hope. Together, we’re expanding Craig’s programs — and spaces — to power breakthroughs that help more people return home with hope, strength and independence.”
Every gift is a powerful vote of confidence in Craig’s mission—and in the future of those we serve. Your generosity fuels a future where more patients and families can find hope, recovery, and homecomings of their own.
As we celebrate this milestone, we also look ahead with optimism. Together, we’re working to raise the remaining $36 million to expand Craig’s reach, welcome more patients sooner, and advance research that changes lives after brain and spinal cord injury.
Thanks to generous supporters like you, more than $64 million has already been committed toward our $100 million goal.
Take an inside look at our bold effort to expand access to expert neurorehabilitation care and accelerate innovation in spinal cord and brain injury research.
Even Without the Ride, Your Generosity Goes the Distance
Mother Nature had other plans for Pedal 4 Possible this year, with the high winds posing safety concerns and preventing riders from hitting the track. While the ride couldn’t take place, the generosity of our sponsors and supporters continues to make a powerful impact.
Thank You Sponsors
Presenting Sponsor
FirstBank
Inspire to Ride Sponsor
Syntrinsic
Pit Stop Sponsor
DPR Construction
Patient Ride Ready Sponsor
Empower
Team Craig Patient Sponsor
FirstBank
Cheer Squad Sponsors
Cumming Group
KeyBank
Plante Moran
Champion Sponsors
Jandel Allen-Davis, M.D. & Anthony Davis
CNS Medical Group
KPMG
Maribeth & Chris Younger
Community Safety Sponsor
Encore Electric
Rider Safety Sponsor
Fuicelli & Lee
Leader Sponsors
Matt Crowe
Gary Leimer Inc.
Pennell Venture Partners
Colorado Springs Scheels
US Foods
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 303-789-8817 or jkelley@craighospital.org to confirm details.
Saturday, Nov 8 | 10am
Thursday, Nov 13 | 4 pm
Tuesday, Nov 25 | 10 am
Saturday, Dec 6 | 10 am
Thursday, Dec 11 | 4 pm Tuesday, Dec 16 | 10 am
Thursday, Jan 16 | 4 pm
Saturday, Jan 25 | 10 am Wednesday, Jan 29 | 10 am
A Life-Changing Journey
When Dan Dye thinks back to the afternoon of Jan. 7, 2017, he takes a deep breath. “Looking back, our faith is stronger today, our family is closer, our friendships are deeper and our lives are richer because a terrible thing happened. However, that terrible thing has brought a lot of good,” Dye says. “And we owe so much to Craig Hospital.”
He adds, “Our lives were forever changed in a matter of seconds on that day. But Alea miraculously survived her accident and is thriving today. We feel so grateful for the amazing care she received. Miracles really do happen at Craig.”
FIGHTING FOR LIFE
On a Saturday afternoon in early January 2017, Dye and his wife, Alea, were enjoying the mountains outside Leadville, Colorado, with some friends.
Getting ready to try a snowmobile for the first time, Alea was cautiously trying to engage the throttle when the snowmobile suddenly lurched forward. Her instinct was to squeeze the brake but instead she pushed the throttle fully open and the snowmobile launched at full acceleration across the driveway, hitting a tree and sending her headfirst into the tree.
“I ran to Alea and pulled her out of the deep snow where she landed after hitting the tree,” Dye recalls. “We were able to get her breathing again until the ambulance made it up the mountain about 45 minutes later.”
The ambulance raced Alea to a Flight for Life helicopter that was waiting to fly her to a Level One trauma hospital in Denver.
There, she spent 17 days in the intensive care unit before moving to Craig Hospital to begin her neurorehabilitation journey. Diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), Alea was also managing fluid buildup and blood clots in her lungs, which ultimately required surgery.
“Craig was nothing short of remarkable. They knew exactly what Alea needed and how to treat her,” Dye says. “Her care team was an extraordinary group, each uniquely gifted to provide the specific guidance, support and encouragement that Alea needed. They literally became an extension of our family.”
He adds, “Craig’s team approach was so effective because her therapists and doctors all worked together across every area — with Alea’s overall recovery as the overarching goal.”
After two and a half months at Craig, Alea was discharged in late March. She continued her rehabilitation as an outpatient at Craig for the next six months.
GIVING BACK
Today, Alea is achieving her goal of living a full life, packed with lots of playtime with her beloved grandchildren. Her lingering effect from the accident is a narrow airway, due to scar tissue in her throat.
“That means she can never run a marathon, but Alea is fine with that,” Dye says with a laugh.
“Considering she was close to death back in early 2017, we feel very thankful today.”
Since Alea’s time at Craig, Dye joined the Craig Hospital Foundation Board and the Dye family has become committed donors, generously supporting the Hope & Homecomings Campaign. To honor Alea, they developed the Dye Family Brain Injury Endowment in 2022, which supports Craig’s cutting-edge brain injury research.
“We feel so blessed to have benefited from Craig’s treatments, doctors and therapists. It feels easy for us to give back and support others in need,” Dye explains. “It’s a small way for us to say thank you and help ensure that Craig can help others. Nobody wants to be at Craig, but when you are there, you feel so grateful for everything the hospital provides.”
He adds, “Craig’s spirit is so encouraging, motivating and uplifting. They maintain a culture full of connections and care. Our family will never be the same after Alea’s accident, but we are better and stronger. Craig not only deepened our faith but the staff urged us to reimagine tomorrow, which is exactly what we did.”
Enhancing Recovery with Research
In November 2023, Ken White was playing in the living room with his 4-year-old daughter, Aria. The pair was jumping off the couch and doing somersaults when the Whites’ ottoman broke and Ken fell, sustaining a C6 burst fracture.
He was rushed on a Flight for Life from his home in Pueblo, Colorado, to Colorado Springs for an 11-hour surgery. “When I woke up, I could only move my right toe, and three days later, my left toe moved,” White recalls.
Several weeks later, he arrived at Craig Hospital for three months of inpatient and one month of outpatient rehab.
“I had no idea what to expect, but I was amazed every day,” White says. “At Craig, you can work as hard as you want and your care team will support you 100%. To be in a place where everybody wants to help you and believes in you is so uplifting. And when other patients make progress, there is no envy or jealousy. Instead, it’s all about support and compassion. The speed of my recovery is a true testament to Craig.”
And that recovery was enhanced by Craig’s research initiatives.
While at Craig, Ken participated in two different donor-supported research studies: Improving Upper Extremity Function and Trunk Stability after Cervical Spinal Cord Injury (SCI): A Randomized Controlled Trial of Three Interventions, as well as Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation To Promote Walking Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury.
Craig’s five-year upper extremity study explores the efficacy of three different interventions to improve upper extremity strength and function as well as trunk stability.
“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.
Tuchscherer adds, “In a randomized controlled trial of three interventions, the first treatment utilizes the most traditional retraining approach through functional task practice. FTP involves the repeated performance of activities designed to improve patterns of gross and fine upper body movement required for activities of daily living.”
Ken insists that participating in Craig’s research was one of the best decisions he made after his accident.
“When I first arrived at Craig, I couldn’t even reach my hands over my head, but thanks to these two studies, I can now hold both of my daughters,” Ken explains. “In fact, today I am months ahead of schedule—if not years—with my balance and walking ability. I am forever grateful to Craig for that.”
Why It’s So Important to Focus on Translational Research at Craig
Scientists have achieved enormous breakthroughs in basic research into spinal cord and brain injuries. More than ever before, they understand how these injuries work. But when it comes to improving the lives of real patients, basic science is just the first step.
Scientific findings must be investigated, tested and translated into therapies, products and solutions that result in improved health and long-term well-being. Unfortunately, many discoveries get stuck in the therapeutic development pipeline due to a lack of funding and technical expertise.
Since Craig became a research hospital 50 years ago, we have made discoveries that have transformed clinical approaches to rehabilitation. Thanks to our Hope & Homecomings Campaign, we will increase our impact as we bridge the gap between basic science and real-life applications. We will be able to put scientific knowledge to work now — benefiting individuals at Craig and beyond by:
Attracting and retain brilliant researchers
Attract and retain brilliant researchers, who will lead groundbreaking studies alongside our expert clinicians.
Expanding collaboration
Expand collaboration with other highlyrespected institutions to collaborate on critical questions, and to disseminate findings to the broader SCI/BI community.
Translating discoveries into clinical care
Translate discoveries directly into clinical care, ensuring patients benefit from the latest science in real time – from the earliest days after injury and throughout their lifetimes.
Enhancing the patient and family experience
Enhance the patient and family experience via an inviting, open, positive, and innovative environment – one that fosters healing while driving breakthroughs.
Integrating gold-standard clinical assessments
Integrate gold-standard clinical assessments with advanced biomechanical, neuroimaging, and blood-based biomarker measures to reveal recovery mechanisms, predict rehab responses, and improve outcomes.
Expanding scientific knowledge and advancements
Expand scientific knowledge and advancements, while always preserving patient safety, and autonomy as core values.
