VA Boosts Spinal Cord Care

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VA Boosts Services and Research in Spinal Cord Injury
Nicholson Breaks Ground at State-of-Art Milwaukee Facility
MILWAUKEE (June 19, 2007) - During a ground-breaking ceremony today for
a world-class facility for spinal cord injuries, Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Jim Nicholson committed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
to expand programs and open new facilities for seriously disabled
veterans with spinal cord injuries.

"VA's health care facilities provide world-class health care for
America's veterans," said Nicholson. "Especially for our most seriously
disabled veterans, VA is committed to continuing its role as a world
leader in treatment and research."

The new spinal cord injury center at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center is
a $32.5 million building and will open by 2010 to replace an existing
converted ward in the hospital. It comes on the heels of another
ground-breaking by Nicholson just a month ago for a new $20 million
spinal cord injury center attached to the VA medical center in
Minneapolis.

"VA is the only -- and best -- resource for a veteran with a spinal
cord
injury," said Randy L. Pleva Sr., national president of Paralyzed
Veterans of America (PVA). "We are proud of the accomplishments of the
VA in health care."

This week, PVA is co-sponsoring with the Milwaukee VA Medical Center
the
27th National Veterans Wheelchair Games, an athletic showcase open to
veterans with spinal cord injuries and other mobility impairments that
celebrates the value of sports in rehabilitation therapy and fosters
better health through sports competition.

VA is a leader in spinal cord injury health care research and
rehabilitation, providing a coordinated lifelong continuum of services
for eligible veterans with spinal cord injuries of all ages. VA's
expertise in this area ranges from emergency care and surgical
stabilization to rehabilitation, preventive care, and long-term care.

The department's investment in spinal cord injury research is yielding
practical medical applications such as reducing pressure ulcers and
increasing the use of annual influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations.

VA research on spinal cord injuries is exploring new frontiers such as
nerve regeneration, activity-based therapies that target recovery of
standing and walking skills and developing prosthetics that have a
direct connection to the nervous system. Last year, VA spent nearly
$19
million on 186 research projects relating to central nervous system
injury and associated disorders.

Responding to the needs of the latest generation of combat veterans, VA
has developed a network of polytrauma rehabilitation centers that bring
together specialists in spinal cord injury and other experts into
multidisciplinary teams that aid injured troops with other severe
disabilities such as traumatic brain injury, amputation, blindness, and
complex orthopedic injuries, auditory disorders and mental health
concerns.

About 80 percent of veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders
are
at least 50 years of age. However, many of the approximately 450 newly
injured veterans and active-duty members who received rehabilitation at
VA's spinal cord injury centers last year are young adults.

Treatment and technology have improved so that veterans with spinal
cord
injuries have increasingly longer life expectancies. Maintaining
health, preventive medicine and early treatment of new conditions are
important parts of VA's lifelong care.

Last year, VA provided a full range of care to nearly 26,000 veterans
with spinal cord injuries and diseases.

VA's specialized services are delivered through 135 primary care teams
or support clinics for spinal cord injuries at VA medical centers and
through 23 regional spinal cord injury centers.