The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) welcomed members of Merz Therapeutics North America for an official ribbon cutting ceremony at the state-of-the-art simulation training room in the new UAB Rehabilitation Pavilion.
Utilizing a grant from the U.S. subsidiary of global biopharmaceutical company Merz Therapeutics, through its employee-driven philanthropic arm Merz Cares, PM&R established a specialized simulation training room on the sixth floor of the UAB Rehabilitation Pavilion. The Department of PM&R hosted an event to celebrate the opening of the Merz Therapeutics Training Room focused on neuromuscular and musculoskeletal interventions. The afternoon included a welcome reception followed by a ribbon cutting with Vu Nguyen, M.D., endowed professor and PM&R chairman; Jeanette Ray, vice president of Spain Rehabilitation Center and Rehabilitation Services; Len Paolillo, president of Merz Therapeutics North America; Robert Brunner, M.D., PM&R vice chair of development and Spain Rehabilitation Center medical director; Dale Colorado, D.O., vice chair of education and program director for the PM&R residency and interventional spine and musculoskeletal medicine fellowship; and Danielle Powell, M.D., PM&R vice chair of clinical affairs.
The Rehabilitation Pavilion offers specialized neurorehabilitation care for patients recovering from life-altering conditions such as stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury and other conditions. As a leader in specialty neurology, Merz Therapeutics has extensive expertise in physical medicine and rehabilitation and understands the unique challenges patients face, making the company an excellent partner for this specialized training room at UAB.
“Persistence in innovation is a core value of Merz Therapeutics. By equipping our future healthcare providers with cutting-edge tools and resources, we can continue to deliver on our promise to provide the highest quality of care to more patients.” Len Paolillo, President, Merz Therapeutics, North America.
The training room provides a dedicated educational space to train medical students, residents, fellows, and other providers in advanced techniques for treating conditions such as spasticity, dystonia, and other disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system.
“Simulation-based training has been shown to be very effective in medical education. We would like to create a general approach to procedural training that follows a "See one, Sim one, Do one, Teach one" progression,” said Colorado. “This creates more comprehensive learning in a controlled environment. We are excited to incorporate the training room in our educational curriculum.”
The training room will include equipment such as diagnostic ultrasound technology, injection simulation models, EMG training tools, and audiovisual systems to enable live demonstrations, tele-education, and interactive group learning.
“This grant from Merz Therapeutics represents far more than an investment in equipment — it’s an investment in the future of rehabilitation medicine,” said Robert Brunner, M.D., PM&R vice chair of development and Spain Rehabilitation Center medical director.
UAB’s new 350,000-square-foot Rehabilitation Pavilion opened in mid-August, adjacent to the current 60-year-old Spain Rehabilitation Center and will extend state of the art inpatient rehabilitation care to all of Alabama and the Southeast. The 11-story building has 78 rehabilitation beds and 28 acute care beds, with each floor treating specific patient populations, which allows patients, families, and care team members to remain on the same floor. This provides a seamless provision of care and maintains the proper support for physical, cognitive, and emotional recovery.