Kennedy Krieger Institute Receives Continued Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) Accreditation

BALTIMORE, April 15, 2020Kennedy Krieger Institute, internationally known for providing a wide range of services for children, adolescents and adults with diseases, disorders or injuries that impact the nervous system, is pleased to announce that the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) has accredited, for three years, the Institute’s inpatient units and outpatient spinal cord injury programs, the Specialized Transition Program and its Community Rehabilitation Program. Following the survey process, the Institute received a clean report, and for the first time, was among only three percent of organizations surveyed to receive no recommendations for improvement, which demonstrates substantial conformance with all applicable CARF rehabilitation standards.

“Our continued CARF accreditation highlights that our rehabilitation programs are recognized for advancing person-centered and outcome-driven services,” says Susan Katz, Kennedy Krieger’s director of planning and regulatory affairs.

By earning the distinction of CARF accreditation – the highest level of accreditation that can be given to an organization – Kennedy Krieger Institute has demonstrated excellent inpatient, home- and community-based, and outpatient rehabilitation for its patients.

“The organization’s accredited programs excel in several areas and are commended for employing several tenured staff members who continue to offer committed service to patients and other stakeholders in an environment that fosters respect, communication and compassion,” said CARF surveyors.

Surveyors added that the Institute exemplifies best practices, has “hard data and heart,” and “walks the talk.”

With CARF accreditation, Kennedy Krieger can continue to serve the state of Maryland and beyond as a top-level provider in pediatric rehabilitation, brain injury and spinal cord injury care.

In addition to CARF accreditation, Kennedy Krieger Institute is accredited by The Joint Commission and the College of American Pathologists. About Kenn

About Kennedy Krieger Institute:   
Internationally recognized for improving the lives of children and adolescents with disorders and injuries of the brain, spinal cord and musculoskeletal system, Kennedy Krieger Institute in the greater Baltimore/Washington, D.C. region serves 24,000 individuals a year through inpatient and outpatient clinics, home and community services, and school-based programs. Kennedy Krieger provides a wide range of services for children with neurological issues, from mild to severe, and is home to a team of investigators who are contributing to the understanding of how disorders develop, while at the same time pioneering new interventions and methods of early diagnosis.   

About the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF):
CARF is an independent, nonprofit accreditor of health and human services, enhancing the lives of persons served worldwide. The accreditation process applies CARF’s internationally recognized standards during an on-site survey conducted by peer surveyors. Accreditation, however, is an ongoing process that distinguishes a provider’s service delivery and signals to the public that the provider is committed to continuous performance improvement, responsive to feedback, and accountable to the community and its other stakeholders. CARF accreditation promotes providers’ demonstration of value and Quality Across the Lifespan® of millions of persons served through application of rigorous organizational and program standards organized around the ASPIRE to Excellence® continuous quality improvement framework. CARF accreditation has been the recognized benchmark of quality health and human services for more than 50 years. For more information or to contact CARF, please visit www.carf.org/contact-us.

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MEDIA CONTACT:  
Grace Clark
Grace@ProfilesPR.com
410-243-3790 (office)

BALTIMORE, April 13, 2020 – Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Stacy Suskauer, MD, co-director of the Center for Brain Injury Recovery and director of the Brain Injury Clinical Research Center, was selected as the recipient of the 2020 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) Mitchell Rosenthal Mid-Career Award, an honor given to a leader in rehabilitation science making significant contributions to the field through their current brain injury rehabilitation research.

Suskauer’s primary research focus is understanding and optimizing outcomes after childhood brain injury, including concussion. Her projects include investigating the use of neuroimaging and neurobehavioral assessments to improve understanding of brain-behavior relationships after traumatic brain injury, identifying the relationship between early physiological and functional variables and long-term outcome after brain injury and optimizing evaluation and treatment of children with disorders of consciousness after brain injury.

Suskauer was also a key member of a work group appointed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that developed new guidelines to treat traumatic brain injuries in children.

After completing her undergraduate and medical education at Duke University, Suskauer finished a combined residency program in pediatrics and physical medicine and rehabilitation at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati. Following her residency, she came to Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins for a pediatric rehabilitation research fellowship and subsequently joined the faculty of both of these institutions in 2007. Suskauer is board-certified in pediatrics and physical medicine and rehabilitation and holds subspecialty certification in pediatric rehabilitation medicine.

In addition to her roles at Kennedy Krieger, Suskauer is an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The Mitchell Rosenthal Mid-Career Award was established in 2013 to recognize clinician-scientists working in the spirit of Mitchell Rosenthal, PhD, ABPP, an early pioneer in the field of traumatic brain injury widely recognized for his contributions to the advancement of clinical exploration and therapeutic practice. ACRM members who are mid-career (within 6 -15 years of completion of training) are eligible. Recipients of this award are leaders in rehabilitation science making significant contributions to the field through their current brain injury rehabilitation research.

About Kennedy Krieger Institute:   
Internationally recognized for improving the lives of children and adolescents with disorders and injuries of the brain, spinal cord and musculoskeletal system, Kennedy Krieger Institute in the greater Baltimore/Washington, D.C. region serves 24,000 individuals a year through inpatient and outpatient clinics, home and community services, and school-based programs. Kennedy Krieger provides a wide range of services for children with neurological issues, from mild to severe, and is home to a team of investigators who are contributing to the understanding of how disorders develop, while at the same time pioneering new interventions and methods of early diagnosis.   

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MEDIA CONTACT:  
Grace Clark
Grace@ProfilesPR.com
410-243-3790 (office)