March 25, 2021
First-in-state program has scheduled more than 5,400 appointments since May 2019
MILWAUKEE — Thanks to a meaningful $1 million gift from an anonymous Marquette alumna, the university’s Neuro Recovery Clinic, located in the College of Health Sciences, now has additional resources to deliver life-changing therapeutic recovery for adults and children coping with spinal cord and brain injuries or degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis.
The Neuro Recovery Clinic provides intensive and long-term care services for patients with wide-ranging neural disorders — services not available elsewhere in the current health care marketplace due to insurance limitations.
“Marquette’s Neuro Recovery Clinic is a vibrant example of caring for the whole person and caring for our communities,” Marquette President Michael R. Lovell said. “We are grateful for donor support that helps us live our mission so directly. The impact of such generosity is reflected in the life-changing difference made for the clinic’s patients and their families.”
The donor, a 1977 graduate of Marquette’s College of Nursing, has experienced such impact personally. “We witnessed the incredible importance of personalized care in the neurological recovery of a family member,” she said. “Although the Neuro Recovery Clinic was not yet built when our son had his traumatic brain injury, the modalities that Marquette is providing allow patients’ neuroplasticity to flourish, leading them back to a life in the world, living independently and without assistance. In the course of our child's recovery, we witnessed similar challenges from stroke patients, spinal cord injury patients, and those with degenerative diseases.
“The Neuro Recovery Clinic allows patients to step outside the boxes of prognoses and statistics, and into the realms of hope, recovery and inspiration,” the donor said. “We are honored to support such an innovative and important facet of the university we love.”
Recovery from a severe traumatic brain injury requires a well-rounded approach, from physical therapy to occupational therapy to speech therapy and state-of-the art-equipment. All are essential to bringing a patient’s brain back online. Within the Neuro Recovery Clinic, expert faculty from Marquette’s Physical Therapy and Speech Pathology departments work alongside committed undergraduate and graduate students as specialized trainers. The clinic also is equipped with zero-gravity ambulation stations, vestibular virtual reality technology and upper-extremity robotics that can help patients through activation of surviving neurons in the nervous system.
“This gift provides hope in a profound way for patients of the Marquette Neuro Recovery Clinic,” said Dr. William E. Cullinan, dean of the College of Health Sciences. “At a time when the concept of hope carries added meaning, it allows us to deliver the science that heals by improving life-altering conditions through neural care that fully integrates physical, occupational and speech therapies.”
Since the clinic’s founding in 2019, staff, faculty and students have facilitated more than 5,000 appointments in person and remotely.
“This gift continues the strong philanthropic momentum both across the university and within our Neuro Recovery Clinic, which seeks to make a difference for patients and for the students and faculty who work alongside them,” said Tim McMahon, vice president for University Advancement. “We look forward to the upcoming public launch of our comprehensive campaign to continue to inspire our passionate base of alumni, parents and friends.”
Learn more about the Neuro Recovery Clinic during the upcoming March 31 Beyond MU program, The Science That Heals: An Inside Look at Marquette’s Neuro Recovery Clinic.
Kevin is the associate director for university communication in the Office of University Relations. Contact Kevin at (414) 288-4745 or kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu.
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