Shepherd Center

Shepherd Center is a private, non-profit hospital widely recognized for its comprehensive treatment and long-term support of individuals who experience catastrophic injuries. Founded in 1975, Shepherd Center is the largest free-standing specialty hospital in the United States, with comprehensive programs in SCI, brain injury, MS, ALS, spina bifida, post-polio syndrome, and other neuromuscular diseases. Since 1982, Shepherd Center has been designated by NIDILRR as an SCI Model System and was recently successful in retaining this designation through 2011.

The Virginia C. Crawford Research Institute (CRI) was established at the Shepherd Center in 1996 to promote the synthesis of research into clinical practice. CRI supports an integrated program of rehabilitation research, including clinical, health services, and outcomes research. Support personnel have expertise in clinical trials coordination, grants management and financial accounting, information technology, library sciences, and biostatistics. The Shepherd Center will be assisting the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and the VCU-RRTC with Research Study Two, Successful Employment and Quality Work Life after Severe Disability: Comparison of Predictive Models with Multiple Sclerosis and Spinal Cord Injury.