FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 13, 2008

Washington, DC - On February 20 the VA Medical Center will host a Symposium on Spinal Cord Injury, bringing together veterans and leaders in the field of paralysis and brain injury, for an open discussion of treatment, resources, and health care delivery issues.

The event, co-sponsored by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation's Paralysis Resource Center (PRC), will be held from 10 a.m. to until 12 p.m. (noon) in the Medical Center's 4th floor auditorium.

Symposium speakers will include LTC Paul Pasquina, Chief, Integrated Department Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, National Naval Medical Center and Walter Reed Army Medical Center; Mr. Joseph Canose, Vice President, Quality of Life, Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation; Dr. Steven Fish, Neurologist with the VA Medical Center and celebrity actor/rapper, Mr. Daryl "Chill" Mitchell.

The Paralysis Resource Center (PRC), a program of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, formed through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Cooperative Agreement number U10/CCU220379), provides information services to people and their families nationwide who are living with paralysis.

The PRC is launching a Military Outreach Campaign to help all active and retired military with mobility impairment from a spinal cord injury or a traumatic brain injury. The PRC has two locations and an extensive website to help those living with paralysis make more informed decisions about their treatment.

The Washington DC VA Medical Center (DCVAMC) is the VISN 5 Network Polytrauma Center, serving veterans in the District of Columbia, parts of Maryland and Northern Virginia. Through its polytrauma unit, DCVAMC provides coordinated services to veterans with one or more severe and lasting injuries.

Health care professionals, medical students, veterans and their family members, and caregivers are invited to attend. Light refreshments will be served.

For further information, contact the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 745-8000 ext. 5710 or visit our website at www.washingtondc.va.gov. For more information on the PRC, please visit www.paralysis.org