Consistent with MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute of Ohio's dedication to the highest quality patient care is our commitment to medical education, research, and community service. MetroHealth has been affiliated for nearly a century with Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine. MetroHealth Medical Center is a major teaching hospital for CWRU, and all MetroHealth physicians hold CWRU faculty appointments.

Through this affiliation and others, MetroHealth researchers continually seek ways of helping people with disabilities lead healthier, more independent lives. Research funding comes from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES)
The MetroHealth FES Center is internationally known for its research and achievements in functional electrical stimulation. Pioneered in partnership with CWRU and Cleveland's Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, FES can return function to paralyzed muscles and relieve certain kinds of pain. MetroHealth researchers are also investigating FES as a means of helping people with paralysis regain bladder and bowel control, and as a way to relieve chronic arm pain in stroke survivors.

Tendon Transfer
MetroHealth surgeons have been international leaders in tendon transfer, a procedure that allows normal muscles to take over the function of paralyzed muscles. Tendon transfer can improve hand function and the performance of daily activities, such as eating, grooming, and even writing and using a computer.