| At a recent summit in Washington, DC, 19 national organizations and institutions working to improve the lives of individuals with spinal cord injuries or disorders joined together to establish the Spinal Cord Leaders Council. The purpose of the Leaders Council is to advance federal legislative and regulatory policies that would empower persons with SCI/D to lead more active and productive lives. |
| Participating organizations in the Spinal Cord Leaders Council include: |
- Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
- Kennedy Krieger Institute
- National Spinal Cord Injury Association
- Paralyzed Veterans of America
- Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation
- Miami Project to Cure Paralysis
- Craig Hospital
- Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
- National Rehabilitation Hospital
- Shepherd Center
- United Spinal Association
- University of Utah-Rehabilitation Services
- Rehabilitation Institute of Indianapolis
- Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience
- Craig H. Neilsen Foundation
- ITEM Coalition
- New Mobility magazine
- American Association of SCI Nurses
- American Association of SCI Psychologists and Social Workers
- American Paraplegia Society and the American Spinal Injury Association.
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| Launched during a 2006 summit on spinal cord injury, hosted by the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, the Spinal Cord Leaders Council was formalized by the leaders of the 19 active organizations in November 2007. The New York City-based United Spinal Association was elected secretariat of the Council, and its president, Paul J. Tobin, was elected the Council’s first chairperson. Tobin noted, “the formation of the Council is a unique opportunity to pool resources and grass roots voices of people with SCI/D in our nation to achieve breakthroughs on issues too long neglected.” |
| The Council selected three major issues for its 2007-2008 Policy Agenda: first, to abolish the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “in the home” policy, which allows issuance of a power-operated wheelchair or scooter to a beneficiary only if it is needed to move within the home, but bans this type of wheelchair if needed to move within the community; second, enactment by the Congress of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act to promote spinal cord paralysis research and to improve SCI/D rehabilitation; and third, ensure that critical issues facing Americans with spinal cord injuries and dysfunction are clearly articulated in the platforms of the 2008 presidential candidates. |
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