The Drucker Brain Injury Center at MossRehab has been designated by the federal government as a Traumatic Brain Injury Model System (TBIMS) since 1997.

Directed by Tessa Hart, PhD, and John Whyte, MD, PhD, the Moss TBIMS provides state-of-the-art, research and potentially lifelong treatments for persons with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and their families in the Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey. Innovative treatments are provided in a comprehensive inpatient and transitional outpatient rehabilitation program; community re-entry programs including a full complement of vocational services; two brain injury Clubhouses; a residential treatment facility; and an affirmative business providing competitive employment for persons with disability due to TBI. The TBIMS program exemplifies a culture of clinical research integration in which patients across the continuum of care are provided an opportunity to participate in cutting-edge studies to help advance scientific and clinical knowledge.

For more information about TBI research at MRRI, visit Dr. Hart's lab page, Traumatic Brain Injury Clinical Research Laboratory and Dr. Whyte's lab page, TBI Rehabilitation Research Laboratory.

What is a Model System?

A Model System is a center of excellence for both treatment and research related to a particular disability. It is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)

How does a TBI center become a TBI Model System?

NIDRR gives Model System awards to centers with:

• A strong track record of excellent clinical care and treatment. The Drucker Brain Injury Center at MossRehab provides a full continuum of care to persons with TBI and was one of the first centers of its kind on the East Coast.
• The ability to carry out a program of research on outcome prediction and treatment. The Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI) runs the Model System research program, which includes projects run locally as well as projects that represent collaborations between Moss and other Model System centers. In addition, information on MossRehab TBI Model System patients is added to the national database that contains data from thousands of people with TBI. This database is used to study the factors that predict recovery and outcomes of TBI. More information on the national database, including a full listing and syllabus describing all the data elements, may be found at the website of the TBI Model System National Data and Statistical Center at Craig Hospital: www.tbindsc.org
• A superior record of publications, presentations and other knowledge dissemination and teaching on TBI rehabilitation. The leaders and collaborators in the Moss TBIMS are nationally and internationally recognized for their professional and consumer outreach efforts. For more information on knowledge generated in the TBI Model System program, see the website of the Model System Knowledge Translation Center at the University of Washington and the TBI Model System Research Publication Database.

What does the Moss TBIMS do?

Research activities:

The Moss TBIMS conducts longitudinal research in collaboration with other premier centers across the nation, and local research designed to improve TBI treatments and outcomes. For the 2007 through 2012 grant cycle, the Moss TBIMS is investigating the effects of dextroamphetamine (DEX) on attention, engagement in therapy, cognitive and motor speed, and the overall rate of recovery. We are also comparing our patient outcomes to those of a collaborating hospital in Denmark which has longer and more intensive care than hospitals in the United States. The 2007-2012 Moss TBIMS also collaborates with other centers on studies of the natural history of headache after TBI, vocational treatments, and the effects of neighborhood characteristics on TBI outcomes.

The Moss TBIMS includes patients with moderate to severe TBI, either penetrating or non-penetrating, who receive inpatient rehabilitation care at Moss and acute care at one of 7 local Trauma Centers. Participants receive on-going longitudinal follow-up and special opportunities for research participation. Patients with TBI who are not eligible for the TBIMS may also be invited to participate in research. Of course, the clinical continuum of care at the Drucker Center is available to all patients with TBI regardless of research participation.

Consumer activities:

In addition to its treatment and research activities, our Model System includes:

• An Advisory Council made up of treatment staff, former patients and members of their families, and community members who are helping us improve our clinical services, research efforts, and educational/outreach activities.
• Extra follow-up services to help us keep better track of patients who are out of the hospital, to make sure they get the services they need.
• Conferences for persons with brain injury, their families, and professionals in the field, run by our TBIMS in collaboration with other rehabilitation facilities and the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania. (www.biapa.org)
• TBI Fact Sheets: The consumer materials listed below were produced through a collaboration between the MSKTC and the TBI Model Systems. This health information is based on research evidence and/or professional consensus and has been reviewed and approved by an editorial team of experts from the TBI Model Systems. The following topics are available:

  Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury: Four Part Series
     Part 1 - English (PDF: 230kb / 4 pages),  Spanish (PDF: 226kb / 4 pages)
     Part 2 - English (PDF: 237kb / 4 pages),  Spanish (PDF: 263kb / 4 pages)
     Part 3 - English (PDF: 202kb / 3 pages),  Spanish (PDF: 222kb / 3 pages)
     Part 4 - English (PDF: 220kb / 4 pages),  Spanish (PDF: 246kb / 4 pages)
  
  Alcohol Use After Traumatic Brain Injury
    English (PDF: 89kb / 4 pages)
  
  Balance Problems after TBI
    English (PDF: 344kb / 3 pages)
  
  Cognitive Problems after TBI
    English (PDF: 230kb / 4 pages)
    Spanish (PDF: 233kb / 4 pages)
  
  Depression after TBI
    English (PDF: 84kb / 3 pages
  
  Driving after TBI
    English (PDF: 168kb / 3 pages)
    Spanish (PDF: 215kb / 3 pages)
  
  Emotional Problems after TBI
   English (PDF: 220kb / 4 pages)
   Spanish (PDF: 238kb / 4 pages)
  
  Fatigue and TBI
    English (PDF: 183kb / 2 pages)
    Spanish (PDF: 220kb / 2 pages)
  
  Headaches after TBI
    English (PDF: 75kb / 3 pages)
  
  Returning to School After TBI
    English (PDF: 271kb / 4 pages)
    Spanish (PDF: 301kb / 4 pages)
  
  Seizures after TBI
    English (PDF: 305kb / 3 pages)
    Spanish (PDF: 224kb / 3 pages)
  
  Sexuality after Traumatic Brain Injury
    English (PDF: 364kb / 3 pages)
  
  Sleep and TBI
    English (PDF: 184kb / 4 pages)
    Spanish (PDF: 220kb / 4 pages)
  
  TBI and Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation
    English (PDF: 279kb / 4 pages)

Contact Our Clinical Program

For clinical information call 1-800-CALL MOSS (1-800-225-5667) or visit the Drucker Brain Injury Center at MossRehab.