Center for the Intrepid
Dr. Becky Hooper, a retired Army Physical Therapist, leads a tour group of residents, medical students and health care professionals through the Center for the Intrepid. She shows various technologies, including the motion analysis lab, a s...
Dr. Becky Hooper, Supervisory Program Manager, leads a tour group through the Center for the Intrepid.
This is a facility for those who have been intrepid in the defense of our country. If you look up that word in the dictionary, it means fearless and courageous.
My name is Becky Hooper. I'm a retired Army Physical Therapist. My connection with the Center for the Intrepid is that this is a rehab facility. It was built by over 600,000 Americans who donated to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
Out patients are here sometimes up to seven hours a day. They might do OT in the morning, PT in the afternoon. That's an advantage that we have in our system. We aren't constrained by the requirements, the Medicare kind of thing.
This is our motion analysis lab. We have 26 infrared cameras spread out through the hall and three different areas where we can track patient movements. The main pathway is for running and walking – and if I was standing on this and it was turned on, it would know how much I weigh.
This is a system called the CAREN, which stands for computer-assisted rehab environment. We have an immersive type of environment, where a patient can experience a snowboarding scene at the top of a mountain and then have to adjust as the platform pitches forward. This is one of a kind. You will not see this domed system anywhere else in the world.
(Shows car.) The most important thing is all of the technology we can add to the vehicle, whether it is hand controls on the column or console, or special adaptations for driving. The simulation adds to the realism of getting back behind the wheel.
You see pictures behind you of what patients can do on the FlowRider. They work on balance, agility, coordination, core strength, upper body strength, endurance. And probably, most importantly, confidence.
Patients and families come in here for the first time and they realize, "Hey, good things are coming." I think you'll agree with me that they set us up for success.
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