Join the Effort to Enhance NIH Rehabilitation Research!

The Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) is working with an alliance of 25 national organizations to raise the status of the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to an Institute or independent Center.  We need your help in getting your members of Congress to support this proposal.

BACKGROUND

Congress created the NCMRR in 1990 (P.L. 101-613) and placed it within the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).  Earlier versions of the authorizing legislation called for creating a rehabilitation Institute at NIH, but it had no budget, staff or leadership, so the Center was placed within the NICHD, although this Institute’s focus is on maternal and child health.  Since 1990, rehabilitation science has advanced to the point that the Center’s proposed independence is appropriate and the focus of medical rehabilitation is now primarily on adults, particularly seniors.  In 1997, a Congressionally sanctioned Institute of Medicine (IOM) Blue Ribbon Expert Committee recommended independent status for the Center.

Elevating the NCMRR to an Institute or independent Center would:

• Increase the responsiveness of rehabilitation research to the needs of people with disabilities and their healthcare providers
• Enhance the stature, emphasis and leadership at NIH on multidisciplinary medical rehabilitation and disability research across the human lifespan
• Increase the director’s authority to plan, prioritize and coordinate with other Institutes and Centers, including other agencies involved in medical rehabilitation and disability research.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

It is very important that our members contact their elected representatives and seek their support for this initiative.  We are focusing mainly on key members of the two relevant committees with jurisdiction over NIH issues, as well as members of Congress who are former healthcare providers. 

We respectfully request your participation in this important effort by calling or sending an e-mail to your Congressman and two Senators during the month of April and May, 2006.

To find your Congressional Representative, please visit www.house.gov and enter your ZIP code.  You may also call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202/224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative.

To find your Senator, please visit www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm, where you can search by name, state or political party.  You may also call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202/224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative.

Below is a sample letter for your use in communicating with your elected Congressmen and Senators.  Please cut and paste the letter into an e-mail, personalize it to fit your needs, and send it to your member of Congress.  Please also forward a copy of your e-mail to me at mgoins@amputee-coalition.org.

SAMPLE LETTER

I am writing to you as a member and supporter of the Amputee Coalition of America.  I request your support for a legislative proposal developed by an alliance of rehabilitation researchers, medical professional societies and disability organizations to elevate the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) to independent status within the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

NCMRR was created by Congress in 1990 and placed within the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) during its formative stages.  NCMRR’s mission is to plan and coordinate multidisciplinary rehabilitation research across the NIH’s Institutes and Centers for the benefit of people with disabilities.  Although NCMRR supports exciting and promising rehabilitation research, this activity has been limited by NICHD’s focus on maternal and child health. 

In a 1997 report on rehabilitation science, titled “Enabling America,” the Institute of Medicine recommended that NCMRR be elevated to independent status within NIH. This report, requested by then-Majority Leader Robert Dole of Kansas, noted that an independent agency within NIH could achieve NCMRR’s mission more efficiently. 

NCMRR has a current budget of about $75 million; approximately $225 million in rehabilitation research is performed by other NIH agencies.  Since 1990, NCMRR has developed to the point that it is ready to mature into either an Institute or an independent Center to capitalize on this initial investment in rehabilitation research. An independent agency at NIH would provide greater awareness of rehabilitation science within the NIH research community.  It would also enable a stronger leadership to enhance coordination of the federal investment in rehabilitation research to improve the functional status of people with disabilities.

There are at least 30 million Americans with some form of disability that severely limits their daily living activities who may benefit from this proposed action. As our nation’s population ages, and with improvements in medical care and technology, the proposed elevation of NCMRR to an independent agency could have a profound impact on people with disabling impairments such as stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury and paralysis, arthritis and major joint replacements, back pain, amputations, and other neurological and musculoskeletal conditions.

Your position in Congress is very important in the consideration of any legislation affecting rehabilitation science at the NIH.  For additional background information on this proposed action, please visit http://www.amputee-coalition.org/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=204&z=3 to download a PDF version of the NCMRR legislative proposal.  Please let me know if we can count on your support or if I can address any outstanding concerns you may have with this proposal.  Thank you for your interest in NIH issues and for your consideration of this proposal.