MedStar National Rehabilitation Network (MedStar NRH) is located in Washington, D.C., and specializes in treating persons with physical disabilities. The National Rehabilitation Hospital was founded in 1986 by Edward A. Eckenhoff, and is a member of the MedStar Health system, the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore region's largest non-profit healthcare organization.
MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital has grown from a single hospital into MedStar National Rehabilitation Network, which provides inpatient, outpatient, and day treatment programs. The network provides more than 350,000 ambulatory visits annually in addition to the hospital's more than 2,200 inpatient admissions. Since its inception, MedStar NRH has admitted in excess of 35,000 inpatients and provided over 2 million outpatient visits.
History
Edward A. Eckenhoff
Eckenhoff founded the hospital in 1986 and is currently the President Emeritus of MedStar NRH. After suffering a spinal cord injury which left him paralyzed from the waist down Edward A. Eckenhoff founded the National Rehabilitation Hospital.
On February 6, 1986, MedStar NRH opened its doors with 230 staff members and one patient. MedStar NRH soon grew to be one of the most well recognized hospitals in the country. It has hosted guests like Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Queen Sofia of Spain, Bob Dole, and Stevie Wonder.
Eckenhoff has also received numerous awards including "Washingtonian of the year" by the Washingtonian magazine and was named “Alumnus of the Year” by Washington University School of Medicine. Eckenhoff played a major role in the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 with his visits to Capitol Hill and work around the community. MedStar NRH strongly supported Eckenhoff's venture and was a vital part in improving the lives of the disabled. The current president is John Rockwood who adopted the role in October 2010.
Reputation and Accreditation
Ranking
Physicians nationwide consistently rank MedStar NRH among “America’s Best Hospitals,” as reported by U.S. News & World Report. Since 1990, MedStar NRH has been consistently listed in the annual ranking as one of the nation's best hospitals for physical rehabilitation.
http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/rehabilitation?page=2
MedStar NRH is fully accredited by both the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations JCAHO, and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities CARF, earning an impressive fourteen CARF commendations in the 2007 accreditation survey. CARF is a private, not-for-profit organization that promotes quality rehabilitation services. Their standards are reviewed annually and new ones are developed to keep pace with changing conditions and current consumer needs. NRH has received a three-year accreditation from CARF, and its Spinal Cord Injury, Stroke and Brain Injury programs are the regions only CARF accredited specialty programs.
Types of Specialty Care: Inpatient, Outpatient, and Day Treatment
MedStar NRH's board-certified physicians, neuropsychologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, psychologists, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and other clinicians work in teams to meet the needs of patients with a wide range of neurological, and orthopedic conditions. The MedStar NRH provides highly specialized acute inpatient rehabilitative care at its Washington, D.C., location on a campus adjacent to its MedStar Health sister hospital, the MedStar Washington Hospital Center. NRH works in partnership not only with the MedStar Washington Hospital Center, but also with a number of other leading acute care facilities throughout the region. Acute rehab begins at onset of injury and illness, and continues after hospitalization through the NRH Rehabilitation Network – with over 50 outpatient sites located throughout the Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, and Maryland region.
(See https://web.archive.org/web/20121205130915/http://www.medstarnrh.org/Locations/default.aspx for a list of outpatient locations.)
In addition, for those needing more intense therapy following hospitalization, MedStar NRH offers unique Day Treatment programs for stroke, brain and spinal cord injury, which provide continued comprehensive care to maximize potential for recovery.