Craig Hospital Foundation | Winter 2024 Newsletter

CRAIG HOSPITAL FOUNDATION WINTER 2024 NEWSLETTER

Dear Craig Community, The impact of philanthropy at Craig is found in every inch of the Craig campus and is imprinted in the lives of more than 35,000 graduates and countless members of their families and communities.

Philanthropy is germane to Craig—from cash donations in the early 1900’s when Frank Craig was tending to the suffering of his neighbors with tuberculosis—to the donation of land that is now considered the “Craig Campus” in Englewood, Colorado.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Craig Foundation, the formalization of philanthropy at Craig and a milestone that led me to reflect on the profound impact that compounds decade after decade of strategic alignment with the hospital’s most important goals.

Donors who give to Craig make a tangible difference in the lives of others and every dollar generously given to Craig is carefully tracked and quickly used to support life-changing outcomes, worldclass patient care, industry-leading spinal cord and brain injury research, and transformational rehabilitation programs that serve patients with extreme injuries. The costs of many of our innovative programs are not reimbursed by insurance companies, and the programs would simply not exist without philanthropic support.

Thank you for choosing to invest in Craig families. You inspire us to work harder, dream bigger, and make a lasting impact in the lives of those we are blessed to serve.

Yours in shared service,

Serena P.S. 2024 also celebrates 50 years of research at Craig! I hope you enjoy reading our research highlight in this newsletter.

Craig in the Community NORTH AMERICAN BRAIN INJURY SOCIETY Craig’s former Brain Injury Medical Director, Dr. Alan Weintraub, will be a keynote speaker at the NABIS conference on brain injury in Las Vegas on March 27-30th.

He is sharing his 37 years of experience in Brain Injury Medicine. A number of Craig staff are presenting as well, including our Executive Director of Research and Evaluation, Dr. Candy Tefertiller, Brain Injury Medical Director, Dr. Eric T. Spier, and Director of Speech-Language Pathology, Kim Frey to name just a few. CLICK FOR DETAILS.

DOCTOR’S DAY IS COMING UP ON MARCH 30TH Make their day by sharing your gratitude! SHARE YOUR LOVE with our Craig CNS doctors.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME Three months after 22-year-old Jacob Smetak sustained a serious brain injury in a truck accident, he arrived at Craig Hospital.

“Before getting to Craig, Jacob spent several months at a trauma hospital near our home in Olympia, Washington,” recalls his mother, Jody. His progress was slow and the Smetak family didn’t have a lot of hope. “However, once we got to Craig, everything began to change.”

Jacob arrived at Craig unaroused, nonverbal, and needing total care. But thanks to consistent therapeutic recreational activities and daily therapy sessions, including PT, OT, speech, animal-assisted therapy, and aquatic therapy—he soon began to make impressive progress during his four-month stay.

NEVER GIVING UP “The first thing I noticed was Jacob’s amazing care team. They constantly incorporated our family into all of Jacob’s therapy and urged us to learn how to care for him,” Jody explains. “As as soon as we arrived in Colorado, the team quickly got to work and didn’t stop. We owe Craig so much.”

Prior to Jacob’s accident, he worked as a carpenter for a construction company. As a member of the carpenter’s union, Jacob had to adhere to specific insurance rules, which didn’t allow for rehab at Craig.

“But the staff never ever gave up on us,” Jody explains.

“They supported our family as we navigated the complicated insurance maze, and helped Jacob get to Craig for the care he desperately needed.”

Jody states that she learned so much from Jacob’s time in Colorado.

In addition, Jody tried to take advantage of Craig’s endless support: “While you may not think you need the help, the reality is you do. It’s easy to let yourself feel isolated but it’s not healthy to do so. Instead, try to engage with others by sharing your experiences and letting your emotions flow. Craig’s support groups and strong connections consistently helped us feel less alone during a very stressful time.”

Jody adds, “And learn how to accept assistance because it can be vital for your entire family. One of our neighbors generously helped modify our home for Jacob, while Craig Foundation donors helped with family housing, meal cards, plane tickets to get home to Washington, an iPad for communication, and home equipment not covered by insurance. We would have been completely lost without this amazing support.”

STARTING A NEW CHAPTER In February 2023, with his family and care team cheering him on, Jacob achieved his goal of independently walking out of Craig. He is currently living at home in Olympia, where he continues his recovery.

“We did not know how far Jacob would get—especially after his doctors didn’t think he would survive the accident,” Jody says. “Physically, he’s doing great, and cognitively, he’s still working hard on his speech and executive functioning skills. There is no question that we wouldn’t be where we are today without Craig and the unwavering support we received.”

RESEARCH STUDY EXAMINES WALKING AFTER A SPINAL CORD INJURY The Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy recently published the article, “Predicting Outdoor Walking 1 Year After Spinal Cord Injury: A Retrospective, Multisite External Validation Study,” authored by several Craig Hospital staff, including Craig’s Executive Director of Research and Evaluation, Candy Tefertiller, PT, DPT, PhD, NCS. Predicting future walking ability after a spinal cord injury is very important because recovering walking function is a goal for many patients, as well as a regular focus behind physical therapy rehabilitation.

As a result, the team of researchers studied the data of more than 3,700 study participants to predict walking after a spinal cord injury.

“Our goal with this study was to externally validate a clinical prediction rule for outdoor walking,” explains Dr. Tefertiller. “This is an algorithm that can be used by each clinical team for patients to help predict whether or not they are likely to return to walking in the community.”

She adds, “It’s important to be able to predict who will be able to walk in the community to best guide an individual’s rehabilitation program, as well as future planning in regards to equipment, home modifications, and many other implications.”

The Craig research team was excited to be able to validate the clinical prediction rule with a very large data set.

“This has important clinical implications as it can help clinicians and patients make appropriate decisions about their future mobility,” Dr. Tefertiller says.

With the research complete and published, Dr. Tefertiller is eager to apply the findings to patients at Craig: “We are educating our clinical teams regarding the benefits of using this clinical prediction rule to help guide decision making for individuals with SCI.”

CLICK TO LISTEN

RESILIENCE AND GENEROSITY: DAVE LINIGER’S JOURNEY When resilience meets healing, extraordinary stories emerge. This episode unfolds the riveting journey of Dave Liniger, the real estate giant who founded RE/MAX. His physical therapist from Craig Hospital, Stephanie Beinecke, joins the narrative, sharing her perspective on the power of therapy and resilience. Together, their testimonies celebrate the transformative encounters at Craig, where patients and staff alike forge an unbreakable bond, channeling unwavering support into every step of recovery.

This episode does not merely capture recovery milestones; it’s a celebration of life’s unwritten chapters that are redefined through the compassionate lens of Craig Hospital staff. The tales shared here serve as a poignant reminder of the human spirit’s capacity to overcome adversity while underscoring the simple yet profound truth that to give is truly to receive. Join us for a journey through pain, perseverance, and the ultimate triumph of the human heart.

Joy was in full bloom at Craig this Valentine’s Day! Our patients, family members, staff and volunteers were given the opportunity to send notes of encouragement and appreciation to each other for Valentine’s Day, and that kindness was delivered across the hospital through 1,000 Valograms distributed to the Craig community.

We’re so grateful to all of the people who made our Valentine’s Day joy possible, including Craig’s Horticulture Therapy staff, patient groups CHILL and Project Group, Craig Foundation donors, grads, family members, staff, and volunteers!