Craig Hospital

Craig Hospital is a rehabilitation hospital in Englewood, Colorado. It has been ranked in the Top Ten Rehabilitation Hospitals in the U.S. by U.S. News and World Report since it began ranking hospitals in 1989.

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History

In 1907, Frank Craig started the Tent Colony of Brotherly Love in Lakewood, Colorado to treat indigent men with tuberculosis. Craig himself died from tuberculosis in 1914 and the tent colony was renamed Craig Colony in his memory in 1919.

As the demand for tuberculosis treatment waned in the United States, Craig Colony began focusing on the diagnoses and treatment of multiple sclerosis, polio, muscular dystrophy, and spinal cord injury (SCI). The facility is renamed Craig Rehabilitation Center in 1958, followed by another renaming to Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in 1966 and a move to Englewood, Colorado in 1970 where an 80-bed rehabilitation hospital is built adjacent to the Swedish Medical Center to share ancillary services.

The 1970s brought a change to the facility's current name, Craig Hospital, in 1975 and the establishment of a separate Traumatic Brain Injury team. Research and building construction were seen throughout the next two decades.

Research

In 1973, Craig was designated a Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems Center by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) and begins enrolling patients in 1974. During the 1980s, intensified treatment and study of ventilator-dependent patients and high quadriplegia lead to the publication of the text The Management of High Quadriplegia in 1989. ^[2]

In 1990, Craig staff intensified study and treatment of aging in spinal cord injury, publishing the text Aging With Spinal Cord Injury ^[3] in 1993. Collaborative clinical trials the hospital has been involved in include the Parastep FES ambulation system pre-FDA approval trial (1991), an intrathecal baclofen pump for the treatment of spasticity trial (1996), and the Sygen Multicenter Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study (2004).

In 1998, Craig was designated a Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Center by NIDRR. An in-house Cell Center with a Class 10,000 (ISO 7) Cleanroom opened in 2003 and Craig became the first trial site in the U.S. for Proneuron's Phase II Activated Macrophage Clinical Trial. In 2006, Craig was named the National Data and Statistical Center for the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems and received a $3.1 million grant to research brain injury^[4], followed by a five-year, $5.8 million grant to study rehabilitation for patients with spinal cord injuries^[5].

Notable patients

• Following the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, four injured students received treatment at Craig Hospital.^[6]
• American football player and Detroit Lion Mike Utley, who was paralyzed during a game against the Los Angeles Rams.
• BMX dirt rider and Stephen Murray, who was paralyzed attempting a double back flip at the Dew Action Sports Tour BMX Dirt Finals in Baltimore, Maryland.

References

1. ^ usnews.com: Health: Directory of America's Hospitals: Craig Hospital -- At a Glance
2. ^ Whiteneck, Gale G.; Lammertse, Daniel P., Manley, Scott, Menter, Robert (1989). Aging with Spinal Cord Injury, Comprehensive Neurologic Rehabilitation. New York, NY: Demos, 384. ISBN 0939957191. OCLC 24247341. 
3. ^ Whiteneck, Gale G.; Charlifue, Susan W., Gerhart, Kenneth A. (1993). Aging with Spinal Cord Injury. New York, NY: Demos, 374. ISBN 9780939957484. OCLC 26768982. 
4. ^ Amy Fletcher (2006-09-29). Craig Hospital awarded $3.1M to fund study. Denver Business Journal. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
5. ^ Amy Fletcher (2006-11-03). Craig Hospital's $5.8M grant will study spinal cord injuries. Denver Business Journal. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
6. ^ Lynn Bartels (2004-04-19). A story of healing and hope. Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved on 2007-02-09. “After Swedish, she was transferred to Craig Hospital, which treats patients with spinal-cord and brain injuries. She joined three other wounded Columbine students, Richard Castaldo, Sean Graves and Patrick Ireland.”