TLI Foundation and Mobility is Freedom Fund Finalize $1M Gift for Research at Johns Hopkins University
Thought Leadership & Innovation Foundation (TLI Foundation) and Mobility is Freedom Fund are pleased to make a $250,000 contribution to complete the $1 million funding of a new Rehabilitation Sciences Program. The Johns Hopkins Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation will use these funds to develop a Ph.D. program in Rehabilitation Sciences with a focus on limb loss and mobility issues. The generosity of an anonymous donor makes this possible.
Advances such as osseointegration, microprocessor controlled and “bionic limbs” give amputees hope, but for too many patients in the United States, such devices remain a distant dream. Underserved populations, even in the U.S., often receive no prosthesis or rehabilitation following amputation. Experts generally agree that providing multi-disciplinary care from surgeons, rehabilitation physicians, prosthetists, biomechanical engineers, and physical and occupational therapists collaborating in an integrated care plan for patients, produces the best outcomes.
However, professionals with skills across the spectrum are in short supply and research is lacking. Just one article has been published in the past 20 years on integrated amputee care (2007). While there are currently many active projects funded by the NIH, VA, CDC, and FDA, on limb loss, including a new Limb Loss and Preservation Registry supported by TLI, virtually none of the current research support is focused on integrated multi-disciplinary treatment protocols. Without quality research across multiple disciplines, advances in limb prostheses and rehabilitation will not be available to the community at large. The new Rehabilitation Sciences program at Johns Hopkins will help fill the research gap.
Reed Hartley, Executive Director of TLI, stated, “TLI and Mobility is Freedom Fund are pleased to fund the research in this Ph.D. program at Johns Hopkins with a $1 million donation. This will kick off a multi-disciplinary education and training approach for limb loss and mobility issues. These Ph.D. scholars will come from a range of backgrounds and during their graduate studies will be exposed to all the disciplines who have a role in limb loss rehabilitation. When they have completed their graduate education, they will become the researchers, educators, and leaders who will provide the science based, peer reviewed research necessary to help assure the long-term access of amputees to advanced, multi-disciplinary care. This integrated care approach will translate into better outcomes for their empowerment at work and at home.”
About TLI
Thought Leadership & Innovation Foundation (TLI) is a not-for-profit organization that works at the nexus of science, technology and public health, innovating for superior prevention, treatment and outcomes for those facing life-altering medical diagnoses. TLI helps patients across the country and around the world find better healthcare outcomes.