The Henry B. Betts, MD, LIFE Center is a multimedia education center that provides opportunities for Learning, Innovation, Family and Empowerment for people living with a wide range of cognitive and physical impairments, chronic conditions or diseases affecting function — i.e., Ability.

Research was undertaken by physician-scientist Colin Franz, MD, PhD, and a team of researchers in the rehabilitation hospital’s Regenerative Neurorehabilitation Laboratory.

The Journal of Neurophysiology recently published a review by Adenike Adewuyi, MD PhD — a 2022 graduate of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) residency program — and her mentor, Colin Franz, MD, PhD, physician-scientist, at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. The review defines a clinical framework for evaluating patients with spinal cord injuries to determine their candidacy for nerve transfer surgery.

Recreational therapy utilizes recreation and leisure-based interventions to improve a patient’s physical, cognitive, and social functioning; increase independence; and reduce or eliminate the effects of illness and/or an impairment.

After a life-changing injury or illness, many people choose to continue their recovery in an inpatient rehabilitation hospital like Shirley Ryan AbilityLab — to restore function, recover lost abilities and regain independence.