Welcome from the Chair

We have discovered the next miracle in medicine -- and it is you. The fields of Rehabilitation believe in using your whole body to improve your human performance. The department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado (which we affectionately call "CU PM&R") is at the forefront of using team science, regenerative medicine, and exercise treatments. It is uniquely situated in the state-of-the-art CU Anschutz Medical Campus, the first campus in the nation to be built from ground up to bring research, education, and patient care into one visionary collaboration. Like the Rocky Mountains that provide backdrop of our institutions, CU PM&R is on the rise! We combine the disciplines of rehabilitation medicine, physical therapy, psychology, speech/language therapy, and rehabilitation sciences into a singular department. The following video stories reinforce the mission of the department: "Growing the Value of Rehab." 

The stories of CU PM&R are countless, but here are a few. Joyce Oleszek, MD, a pediatric rehabilitation medicine physician at Children's Hospital Colorado, made an emotional appearance on the Dr. Oz Show describing medical miracles. She was part of the CHCO team that rehabilitated severely brain injured high schooler to later walk across the state at his high school graduation. The miracle of rehabilitation was clearly evident with this story. 

Our partners at UCHealth launched the "Live Extraordinary" campaign. One of the patient stories​, involved the rehabilitation of an individual who suffered Locked-In Syndrome. William Niehaus, MD, describes how this patient was able to walk with his daughter at her wedding. The efforts of physical therapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and rehabilitation physicians provided the substrate for that walk down the aisle.

Mike Bade, DPT, PhD, Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and faculty member of the Physical Therapy Program, has been instrumental in changing the lives of patient who do not adequately recover from major knee surgeries. He is part of the team of researchers at CU Restore, a research group led by Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, PT, PhD, who have been able to use individualized data to prescribed data to prescribe and direct exercise programs which get the disabled back to a highly quality of life. Watch the success story in this video.

As a new department chair, I have had the opportunity to do a deep scan of CU PM&R. It has flourished to #5 in NIH funding for PM&R departments across the country; houses a PT Program and PM&R residency program ranked in the top 15; some of the most experienced and largest cadres of physiatrists in pediatric rehabilitation medicine, pain medicine, sports medicine through a growing clinical footprint; and a remarkable, state of the art medical campus. CU PM&R supports faculty, research, and education in the best of all worlds at our core affiliate hospitals and Craig Hospital, representing university tertiary care, a safety net/Level 1 trauma hospitals, world-class specialty hospitals and thriving, independent rehabilitation facilities. We will use the escalator that Dr. Matthews built to get to the next level-University of Colorado PM&R will emerge as one of the very best Departments of PM&R in the world.