Children's of Alabama Receives $13,000 Quality of Life Grant from Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation for Virtual Reality Program

BIRMINGHAM – Children’s of Alabama has been awarded $13,010 as part of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation National Paralysis Resource Center (PRC) 2020 COVID-19: Addressing Social Isolation Quality of Life grants.

Eleven grants totaling $314,200 were awarded. The Quality of Life Grants Program supports nonprofit organizations that empower individuals living with paralysis. Since the Quality of Life Grants Program’s inception, more than 3,300 grants totaling over $32 million have been awarded. Funding for this new pilot program was made possible through a cooperative agreement with the Administration for Community Living (ACL grant #90PRRC0002-03-00).

The Reeve Foundation National Paralysis Resource Center has several grants under the Quality of Life program awarding grants in different category areas, varying in different amounts. The COVID-19: Addressing Social Isolation Quality of Life grants program funds one-year grants of up to $50,000 to nonprofits programs that address social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic with the goal of enhancing connectedness of people living with paralysis and their caregivers to their communities and preventing adverse health outcomes.

“Much of the research indicates that social isolation has had the number one negative impact on the lives of people living with disabilities relative to the COVID-19 pandemic and shows that social isolation and loneliness are linked to many physical and mental health problems,” said Mark Bogosian, director, Quality of Life Grants Program, Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. “The Reeve Foundation believes that this is a pioneering program and was impressed – if not downright awestruck – by the innovative and creative responses that these organizations presented in their awarded projects. These projects will truly make a considerable difference in the lives of people living with paralysis, their families, and their caretakers.”

Children’s will use the grant for funding a virtual reality program operated by its Physical and Occupational Therapy Department. The project, “Addressing Social Isolation and Inactivity for Alabama Children with Paralysis,” hopes to expand upon the department’s success with helping patients be active while increasing their heart and respiratory rates at home during rehabilitation. The grant will directly fund the headsets and monitoring equipment that is crucial to the program.

“Children’s is incredibly grateful for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation choosing our program as a grant recipient,” said Rhett Wheeler, Children’s director of physical and occupational therapy. “The equipment purchased through this program will help children continue their individual journeys towards improved function, health, and fitness in their own homes.  We’re always looking for new and effective technologies to engage and serve our children, and this grant will help our team do exactly that using fun and cutting-edge virtual gaming technology.”

About the Reeve Foundation:
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis. By uniting the brightest minds in the field, we are working tirelessly to accelerate scientific discovery across the field of spinal cord research by investing in labs across the globe. Additionally, through a cooperative agreement with the Administration for Community Living, the Reeve Foundation’s national Paralysis Resource Center (PRC) promotes the health, well-being, and independence of people living with paralysis, providing comprehensive information, resources, and referral services assisting over 100,000 individuals and families since its launch in 2002. The Reeve Foundation is committed to elevating our community’s voices and needs to achieve greater representation and independence. We meet all 20 of the Better Business Bureau’s standards for charity accountability and hold the BBB’s Charity Seal.  For more information, please visit our website at www.ChristopherReeve.org or call 800-225-0292.

About Children’s of Alabama: 
Since 1911, Children’s of Alabama has provided specialized medical care for ill and injured children, offering inpatient, outpatient and primary care throughout central Alabama. Ranked among the best children’s hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s serves patients from every county in Alabama and nearly every state. Children’s is a private, not-for-profit medical center that serves as the teaching hospital for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) pediatric medicine, surgery, psychiatry, research and residency programs. The medical staff consists of UAB faculty and Children’s full-time physicians as well as private practicing community physicians. For more information, visit www.childrensal.org or call 205-638-9100.

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Contact

Adam Kelley
Children’s of Alabama
205-638-2947
adam.kelley@childrensal.org

Rita Gentles
Reeve Foundation
(973) 379-2690 ext. 7123
media@ChristopherReeve.org