Employment after Spinal Cord Injury Conference Coming to Kessler

Experts and individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) will discuss strategies and assistive technologies to help individuals with SCI return to the workforce. Researchers will also present the latest research that improves the health and mobility of people with paralysis by a sudden injury or disease. According to the New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Injury Research, approximately 6,000 New Jersey residents have sustained damage to the spinal cord through traumatic injury or disease, and approximately 300 new injuries occur each year. Currently, more than 200,000 people are living with spinal cord injuries in the United States, according Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WHAT: Rising to the Challenge: Creating Employment Opportunity and Maximizing Success, an conference for individuals with SCI, their families, caregivers and healthcare professionals

WHEN: Thursday, October 2, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

WHERE: Kessler Conference Center at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation – 1199 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ

WHO:

• Charles Fleisher, author and motivational speaker, will deliver the keynote address: “The Secret of Difficulties: 4 Steps to Turn Tragedies into Opportunities,” based on his book. Fleisher, who was paralyzed in a car accident in 1988, learned to adapt to life in a wheelchair, while continuing to stay positive and active—even traveling the world independently. (12:45 p.m.-1:45 p.m.)
• Joe Entwisle, MS, CRC, senior policy analyst for Health & Disability Advocates, who has an SCI, will discuss the relationship between disability benefits and employment. He will also describe programs that encourage the hiring of individuals with disabilities. (10:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m.)
• Fred Tchang, RESNA Certified ATP, director of Assistive Technology Services at Advancing Opportunities, and Javier Robles, JD, president of Thisabled.com, will present technologies that can assist individuals with SCI in returning to work and discuss funding options. (11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.)
• Wise Young, M.D., Ph.D., and Steven Kirshblum, M.D., will share the latest updates in research and clinical trials that are designed to improve recovery and function after SCI. Dr. Young is founding director of the W. M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Richard H. Shindell Chair in Neuroscience and distinguished professor in the Department of Cell Biology & Neuroscience at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Dr. Kirshblum is medical director and director of Spinal Cord Injury Services at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, professor at Rutgers – New Jersey Medical School and co-director of NNJSCIS. (2:00 p.m.-3:15 p.m.)

WHY: “A spinal cord injury has a sudden impact on a person’s life and some feel that the lives they once knew are over,” said Jeanne Zanca, Ph.D., MPT, conference chair and senior research scientist at Kessler Foundation. “Through this conference, individuals will see that returning to work is possible and that they can overcome perceived barriers to employment.”

The conference is presented by the Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury System (NNJSCIS) and sponsored by Kessler Foundation, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation.

HOW: For more information, visit www.KesslerFoundation.org/SCIconference.

About Kessler Foundation

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility and long-term outcomes, including employment, for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visitKesslerFoundation.org; Facebook.com/KesslerFoundation; Tweet us @KesslerFdn.

About the Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury System

The Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury System (NNJSCIS) is federally funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research from the U.S. Department of Education (Grant #H133N110020). A comprehensive system of care, research, education and dissemination aimed at improving quality of life for people with SCI, NNJSCIS collects patient data from the time of injury through long-term follow-up. NNJSCIS is one of 14 SCI Model Systems in the nation. Trevor Dyson-Hudson, M.D., Director of SCI Research at Kessler Foundation co-directs NNJSCIS with Dr. Kirshblum. Kessler Foundation is one of eight centers in the U.S. with dual Model Systems in SCI and traumatic brain injury.

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