About the Rehabilitation Institute

The MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute is an integral component of The MetroHealth System and the top rehabilitation hospital in OH and #24 in the nation according to the US News and World Report (2022-2023).  

The Institute is the only academic rehabilitation facility in northeast Ohio fully integrated into a level I trauma center, a comprehensive stroke center, and a federally designated spinal cord injury model systems, one of only 14 in the nation. We are also the only rehabilitation facility in northern Ohio with dedicated units for stroke, brain injury and spinal cord injury (SCI)/major trauma rehabilitation.

We receive referrals from our primary care colleagues as the first line “non-operative” musculoskeletal specialists; we complete the diagnostic work-up, deliver the treatment and, as appropriate, make referrals to our operative colleagues.

We are committed to helping all our patients reintegrate back into their communities and vocations; to this end, we are proud to be the region’s only CARF accredited Comprehensive Vocational Rehabilitation Program.

We are committed to training the next generation of rehabilitation clinicians. Since 1958, the Institute has trained over 230 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) resident physicians — more than 100 since 2000. We also have fellowship training programs in SCI Medicine, Brain Injury Medicine and Pain Medicine. And in 2021, we started a Neurotherapy Residency Training Program for physical therapists.

In partnership with Case Western Reserve University and The Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, we are the global leader in the development and implementation of functional electrical stimulation (FES) technologies for motor restoration for persons with central nervous system paralysis. With over $83 million in extramural funding, the department of PM&R is currently ranked #1 in the nation in NIH funding among U.S. medical school PM&R departments (Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research).

Exceptional leadership is exemplified today by two members of the National Academies who serve as co-directors of the Institute, John Chae, MD, of the National Academy of Medicine and P. Hunter Peckham, PhD, of the National Academy of Engineering. Our transdisciplinary approach leverages the expertise of multiple clinical and scientific disciplines, creating a culture of collaboration and learning.