About the Center

The University of Pittsburgh Model Center on Spinal Cord Injury (UPMC-SCI) is one of 14 nationally recognized centers of excellence that provides comprehensive services to individuals with spinal cord injury.

Sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS) support innovative projects and research in the delivery, demonstration, and evaluation of medical, rehabilitation, vocational and other services to meet the needs of individuals with SCI.

NIDILRR awards SCI Model Systems Center grants to institutions that are national leaders in medical research and patient care and provide the highest level of comprehensive specialty services, from the point of injury through rehabilitation and re-entry into full community life. Each SCI Model Systems Center contributes to the SCI Model Systems Data Center, participates in independent and collaborative research, and provides information and resources to individuals with SCI, their family and care givers, health care professionals and the general public.

UPMC-SCI provides a continuum of care beginning with emergency response, continues with comprehensive acute medical treatment and rehabilitation, through utilization of assistive technology services and vocational rehabilitation. UPMC-SCI also contributes to the assessment of long-term outcomes of individuals with spinal cord injury through our enrollment of participants in the National Spinal Cord Injury Database. UPMC-research, which focuses on assistive technology and the prevention of upper limb pain related to over use, aims to improve the participation and quality of life of individuals with spinal cord injury.