ABSTRACT
The Center for the Intrepid (CFI) is a unique facility among the three amputee care centers that comprise the Armed Forces Amputee Care Program. The mission of the CFI is threefold: (1) to provide the best possible patient care to the severely war-wounded, (2) to educate providers in the most advanced methods of rehabilitation for the severely wounded, and (3) to perform research to improve the care of these war-wounded patients. The center's program is based on three critical factors: (1) concentration of similarly injured patients as a cohort, (2) a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, and (3) the concentration of subspecialty skills that ensures the best possible care at an institutional level. The center's active training program benefits professional and ancillary personnel from military community hospitals that may subsequently treat the center's patients as they transition back to duty or retirement. The center's research may ultimately be generalized to amputees of various ages and etiologies, with the goal of returning these patients to productive, fulfilling lives.
Subject(s)
Amputees/rehabilitation , Blast Injuries/rehabilitation , Leg Injuries/rehabilitation , Military Medicine/organization & administration , Rehabilitation Centers/organization & administration , Warfare , Blast Injuries/complications , Blast Injuries/surgery , Female , Humans , Injury Severity Score , Leg Injuries/etiology , Leg Injuries/surgery , Male , Military Personnel , Patient Care/standards , Patient Care/trends , Program Development , Program Evaluation , Total Quality Management , United StatesABSTRACT
Rehabilitation serves a vital role in the care of multiply injured patients in the military, from diagnosis of occult injuries to gaining functional independence. Optimal rehabilitative care of the war casualties is predicated on diligent and rigorous training and evaluation of similar care during peacetime.
