Who We Serve

Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) fall into two basic groups: traumatic spinal injuries, typically due to an accident, fall or violence such as gunshot or stab wound; and non-traumatic spinal injuries or illnesses, typically due to a tumor, infection, or vascular event affecting the spinal cord.

During the most recent fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, Madonna served 220 individuals with spinal cord injuries, including:

• 86 persons served on Inpatient Acute Rehabilitation.
• 42 persons served on Inpatient Long Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH).
• 8 persons served on Inpatient Transitional Care Unit.
• 84 persons served in Outpatient and Rehabilitation Day Program

Inpatient

Diagnosis: Of the 86 persons Madonna served on Acute Rehabilitation:

C5-7 Tetraplegia	C1-4 Tetraplegia	Paraplegia	Other
36	18	26	6

In addition to the type of injury, spinal injuries are also broken down into levels. The following are commonly referred to:

• Paraplegia — An injury to the thoracic or lumbar spine, resulting in paralysis and/or decreased sensation of the lower trunk and legs.

• Quadriplegia or Tetraplegia — An injury to the cervical spine, resulting in paralysis and/or decreased sensation of the neck, trunk as well as arms and legs. Tetraplegia is often distinguished between C1-4 and C5-8 because of the differences in abilities between those levels of injury.

• Spinal injuries also may be described as “complete” when the communication of nerve impulses are completely interrupted below the level of injury, or “incomplete” when some fibers remain intact, allowing some movement and/or sensation below the level of injury. Like many other rehabilitation providers, Madonna uses the ASIA scale to help set functional goals based on the injury level.

• A final group of individuals who are included with other spinal cord injurie patients include those with musculo-skelatal disease of the spine with associated nerve impingement. These conditions are often seen in rehabilitation hospitals after a patient undergoes a surgical procedure called a laminectomy. These patients are referred to as “Other SCI.”

• Madonna is one of the region’s only rehabilitation hospitals that serves patients with SCI who are ventilator-dependent. Madonna has an excellent track record for ventilator weaning, but also provides very effective programming for persons with high-level quadriplegia for whom ventilator weaning is not feasible.

Age

The average age was 46 years.

Age of Persons Served	Percentage
0-18 years old	11%
19-30 years old	22%
31-50 years old	29%
51-65 years old	20%
66+ years old	18%

Geographic Area

Madonna serves patients with SCI from multiple states, including Missouri, Iowa and Kansas. In fact, 51.5% of the patients admitted to Madonna’s inpatient SCI Program during the last fiscal year lived outside Lincoln, including 30 from out of state.

To assist our patients from out of town, Madonna offers affordable on-campus housing.