Frazier Rehab Institute Receives Grant from Kentucky Colonels Good Works Program - Archived

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Louisville, Ky. (Sept. 18, 2015)—Kentucky Colonels from all over the world are partnering with Frazier Rehab Institute, part of KentuckyOne Health, to provide tools and technology for patients in Louisville and beyond.

On September 9, 2015, Frazier Rehab received a grant from the Honorable Order of Kentucky during a ceremony at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville.  That grant will be used to help replace the robotic arm in Frazier Rehab’s Robotic Therapy Program and to fund the purchase of a new passenger vehicle with removable hand break for the facility’s driver education and training program.

The new robotic arm will be used to replace existing technology that is at the end of its life cycle. Frazier Rehab’s Robotic Therapy Program provides the latest rehabilitation for stroke and brain injury patients with wrist/hand impairment and upper limb spasticity. Robotic exercise allows patients to perform exercises that simulate the movement needed to complete activities of daily living such as dressing and eating, thus enhancing their quality of life.

The passenger vehicle and removable hand break funded in part through the grant will be used in the Frazier Rehab Driver Education and Training Program, which conducts an average of five driver evaluations and eight driver training sessions weekly. The vehicle currently used in the program experienced engine failure and is at the end of its life cycle.

“The new robotic arm and driver’s education vehicle will help us provide our patients with top notch care and services,” said Cathy Spalding, executive director of operations, Frazier Rehab Institute. “The Kentucky Colonels are a generous partner and we are grateful for their support of Frazier and our patients.”

The grant funding will be matched by the Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation, also part of KentuckyOne Health, using donor funds.

“The generosity of the Kentucky Colonels organization, combined with gifts from our donors is bringing the latest technology and resources to our hospitals,” said Leslie Buddeke Smart, vice president of development, KentuckyOne Health. “These tools are critical to KentuckyOne Health’s mission to bring wellness, healing and hope to all, including the underserved.”

Frazier Rehab is a regional health care system dedicated to rehab medicine. Through and expansive network of inpatient/outpatient facilities in Kentucky and southern Indiana, Frazier Rehab offers a wide array of services to help people with disabilities reach their fullest potential.

The Kentucky Colonels, through their Good Works Program, will distribute this year nearly $1.5 million to support over 143 worthy causes. In addition to Frazier Rehab, two other KentuckyOne Health facilities received support from the Kentucky Colonels this year.

The Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation received $22,980 to fund art for the Orthopedic and Spine Unit Meditation Room at Saint Joseph Hospital, which will be named after Honorable Order of the Kentucky Colonels. The Saint Joseph Berea Foundation received  $13,961 to purchase equipment to assist patients receiving physical and occupational therapies at Saint Joseph Berea's Outpatient Rehabilitation Center.

Members of The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels include some of the greatest achievers and people of influence in the world. Each member has received the title of “Kentucky Colonel.”  That is the highest civilian honor the Governor of the Commonwealth can bestow.

About KentuckyOne Health
KentuckyOne Health, the largest and most comprehensive health system in the Commonwealth, has more than 200 locations including, hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies in Kentucky and southern Indiana. KentuckyOne Health is dedicated to bringing wellness, healing and hope to all, including the underserved.  The system is made up of the former Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System, along with the University of Louisville Hospital and James Graham Brown Cancer Center. KentuckyOne Health is proud of and strengthened by its Catholic, Jewish and academic heritages.