Tedy’s Team Cuts the Ribbon on New Center of Excellence in Stroke Recovery

Earlier this month, Tedy and Heidi Bruschi, joined friends, stroke survivors, Tedy’s Team runners, researchers, and MGH Institute of Health Professions (IHP) community members, to officially open the Tedy’s Team Center of Excellence in Stroke Recovery at the IHP.

The event, which was held on the second floor of the Sanders IMPACT Practice Center at the IHP, celebrated Tedy’s Team’s new partnership with the IHP that will help stroke survivors, and their families, on their comeback journeys.

The Center will bring together the IHP’s three existing clinical centers (the Aphasia Center, the Ionta Physical Therapy Center, and the Tabor/Connor Occupational Therapy Center) to address the highly complex issues of stroke rehabilitation that cannot be solved by one discipline alone.

“We chose to partner with the IHP because I wanted to continue stroke care. I have never heard of a place like this, where you can come and receive free care,” Tedy explained. “There have been a lot of times that I have heard from survivors that, ‘my insurance ran out and I had to stop my rehab process.’ Well, you can come here, and you are not only getting your rehabilitation, but you are also helping someone in their education.”

Our three main objectives of the Center of Excellence are:

• To support the advancement of research in the science of stroke recovery and work to disseminate that science to the clinicians who provide care to stroke survivors.
• To educate the community of Greater Boston about the warning signs of stroke through targeted community outreach and integrating BE FAST education into the clinical visits at our pro bono health center.
• To provide rehabilitative care consisting of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy to stroke survivors who are no longer eligible for insurance covered therapy services; we will support their continued progress toward recovery.

This Center aims to improve the quality of life for stroke survivors through advances in inter-professional clinical practice and education, clinical research and scholarship, implementation science and advocacy.

“It’s a win-win for everybody. For the students, for the faculty, and for the stroke survivors,” Heidi said.

The Center of Excellence will also advance the community’s knowledge of the warning signs of stroke through community outreach and education.

To learn more about the Tedy’s Team Center of Excellence in Stroke Recovery, please visit the center’s landing page on the MGH IHP website.