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Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana's Adaptive Sports Program Garners Second $230,000 Federal Grant

New Funding Increasing Outreach, Offerings

INDIANAPOLIS, IN, UNITED STATES, June 23, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana (RHI) has been awarded a second $230,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to continue to expand its adaptive sports programs for veterans. The first grant, awarded in 2019, allowed RHI to nearly double its offerings and offer new activities suggested by veterans.

RHI’s Adaptive Sport Program specializes in working with those with spinal cord, orthopedic, neuromuscular, and visual impairment. The program currently supports more than 300 athletes and their families participating in adaptive sports each year.

“There are a lot of organizations similar to RHI that offer adaptive sports,” said Karen Lawrence, RHI Adaptive Sports Program Director. “What makes RHI unique is that we have lots of teams, broad offerings, a wide selection of clinics to let people test out different sports, and most importantly, our participants get a voice in what we offer.”

Thanks to input from veterans, RHI now offers adaptive hunting, fishing, air rifle, laser shooting, and archery. When COVID-19 restrictions limited some of the usual clinics and teams, RHI added virtual classes in yoga, art, boxing, and general fitness, which were well received and helped increase the geographic reach of the program.

“Word of mouth and social media have really drawn a lot of people into these programs,” said Lawrence. “Our partnership with Veterans Health Indiana and the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis is helping us reach more and more people who can benefit from these activities.”

RHI offers a wide variety of adaptive sports. Among their many options are pickleball, wheelchair lacrosse, sled hockey, wheelchair basketball, power soccer, beep baseball, blind hockey, and wheelchair and adaptive standing tennis. Horseback riding classes will be starting soon, and clinics let athletes try new things including rock climbing, axe throwing, and water skiing, to name just a few.

Daniel Reed, a paraplegic elite athlete, first tried water skiing at an RHI Adaptive Sports daylong clinic on Morse Reservoir in June 2001. An avid water skier since age 5, he quickly advanced as an adaptive skier and is now a four-time member of the U.S. Disabled Water Ski Team, competing in the World Championship three times and earning three gold medals.

“RHI has been helping disabled athletes since 1996,” Dr. Dan Woloszyn, CEO of RHI. “This grant marks the start of a new era for our program, growing an already strong program and reaching more people who can benefit from adaptive sports. It also brings us new opportunities to pursue its long-standing dream of building our own adaptive sports center.”

In addition to competitive sports, RHI Foundation will continue to provide more than 20 monthly recreational activity clinics including snow skiing, water skiing, kayaking, scuba diving, track & field, hand cycling, sit volleyball, boccia ball, pickleball, zip lining, horseback riding, and many more. Find a complete list online.

About Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana
Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana (RHI), incorporated on September 27, 1989, opened as a joint venture between Methodist Hospital of Indiana and St. Vincent Hospital and Health Care Center. The first patients were admitted on January 7, 1992.
RHI has five locations to serve patients, offering a full range of acute inpatient, outpatient, and vocational rehabilitation services for adults with life-changing illness and injuries due to brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, amputation, organ transplant, orthopedic conditions, neuromuscular disease, burns and related disabilities. For more information on RHI contact 317-329-2000, visit the RHI website at www.rhin.com, or follow RHI on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Contact:
Karen Lawrence
RHI Sports Program Director
Off: 317-329-2020
Cell: 317-282-7218
Email: Karen.lawrence@rhin.com

Stephanie S. Hale
Marketing & Public Relations Associate
Off: 317-329-2106
Cell: 317-626-2910
Email: Stephanie.hale@rhin.com

Christy Denault
+1 317-417-6322
email us here
Springmill Communications

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