Ithaca College

Dr. Deborah Nawoczenski, Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the Rochester Center and Dr. Linda Riek, adjunct faculty at Ithaca and PhD student at the University of Rochester School of Nursing were awarded a “Quality of Life Grant” from the Christopher and Dana Reeves Foundation.

The proposal included the “Shoulder Fitness Program” which is a healthy shoulder initiative developed for individuals with Spinal Cord Injury in association with the region's only wheelchair accessible community fitness facility located at the Pieters Family Life Center in Rochester, NY. The healthy “Shoulder Fitness Program “ will have an immediate benefit for the community as it will enable individuals with paralysis the ability to safely work out in a fitness program designed specifically for wheelchair users. This program will provide guidelines to trainers and therapists that can also be implemented in rehabilitation settings.