Restoring abilities, independence and lives - Allina Health

Innovative programs and services restore abilities
and help patients return home
Gifts to the Sister Kenny Foundation have enhanced the quality and scope of Sister Kenny
Rehabilitation Institute (SKRI) programs and services. Care given by SKRI extends from critical
care to the community. Patients benefit from care in the intensive care unit, through their
hospitalization and on an outpatient basis upon their discharge. Expansion of outpatient services,
offering more services at multiple locations throughout the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota,
brings rehabilitation excellence to areas in which patients live and work.
SKRI’s programs and services continue to grow and develop in response to community need.
One such program is Cancer Rehabilitation that addresses the array of rehabilitative needs of
increasing numbers of people living with and surviving cancer.
“Cancer survivorship is on the rise and the demand for a range of rehabilitative services for
survivors is growing,” added Nancy Hutchison, MD, PT, LANA, medical director of the Cancer
Rehabilitation and Lymphedema Program. “People survive cancer, but the quality of their daily
lives may suffer. The program can have a profound impact on their quality of life.”
“For many individuals, cancer is a long-term disease,” explained Physician-in-chief Karl Sandin,
MD, MPH. “Improving fitness, strength, performance and function are each important for cancer
survivors. Our goal is to limit impairment or activity restriction through education, training and
exercise. We help patients do more than survive — we help them
thrive,” he added.
Thanks to a strong commitment by SKRI leaders and clinicians,
as well as Foundation support, the Sister Kenny Cancer Rehabilitation
and Lymphedema Program has gained international recognition for
innovation and quality.
Many patients helped by SKRI are dealing with existing conditions
or injuries. Yet, more so today, SKRI is focused on injury prevention.
In our communities, there is greater familiarity with injury risk to
young athletes. In the U.S. today, concussions are one of the most
commonly reported injuries in children and adolescents who participate
in sports or recreational activities. Concussions are serious
medical problems with potentially permanent consequences. Sister
Kenny Sports and Physical Therapy Center has partnered with area
high schools to bring the ImPACT Concussion Assessment to athletes, helping them, their parents,
coaches and doctors make better and safer decisions about the optimal time to return to play.
Through the support of the Foundation, SKRI expanded the Prevent Injury and Enhance
Performance Program, an evidence-based program designed to prevent tearing of the anterior cruciate
ligament in teenage female athletes. Making treatment and prevention programs accessible and
convenient helps patients preserve or more quickly and successfully restore abilities and independence.
“Sister Kenny Foundation is supportive and connected to nearly everything the Institute does,”
added Institute Director Pat Tarnowski, PT, MBA, SCS. “The Foundation gives us a bridge to
greater resources to help enhance prevention and treatment options — through new equipment or
protocols. The Foundation is instrumental in helping us achieve our mission of making lives work.”
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