Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation partners with England’s National Health Service National Rehabilitation Centre
Top-ranked rehabilitation program and a new center at one of the United Kingdom’s largest teaching hospitals unite to advance patient outcomes, clinical strategies and more
CHARLOTTE, N.C./NOTTINGHAM, U.K. — Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation, which is part of Advocate Health, and the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) run by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust are collaborating to enhance rehabilitation services through education, training and research opportunities.
Together, the organizations will explore initiatives aimed at strengthening services and improving patient outcomes. The alliance is part of Atrium Health’s Global Health Services program, which connects with international partners to share best practices, develop innovative care solutions and improve clinical outcomes in communities worldwide.
NRC leaders this week joined colleagues from Carolinas Rehabilitation at its state-of-the-art David L. Conlan Center and The Pearl, Charlotte’s health innovation district — a public-private partnership led by Atrium Health, Wexford Science & Technology and Ventas, Inc. Meetings involved collaborating across several priority areas, including clinical services, education and workforce development, and research. The goal was to enhance quality and patient safety, advance academic partnerships and create new opportunities for collaborative research.
“This collaboration reflects our commitment to advancing rehabilitation care through global partnerships,” said Robert Larrison, president of Carolinas Rehabilitation and Enterprise Group vice president of Atrium Health Rehabilitation Network. “By working alongside leading organizations like Nottingham University Hospitals, we can share expertise and, ultimately, improve outcomes for patients in our communities and around the globe.”
With the busiest major trauma center in the country and among the largest NHS Trusts, NUH this year is expected to open the NRC, the first national rehabilitation facility for NHS patients who have experienced a life-changing illness or injury. The 70-bed, state-of-the-art specialist rehabilitation center is home to the most comprehensive robotics suite in the NHS and is co-located on the same country estate as the U.K. military’s Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC).
“Our ambition is to be among other world leading centers, including those in the United States. Programs such as Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation set the benchmark for high quality rehabilitation, and through close collaboration we have a real opportunity to learn from one another and help shape the future global standard for rehabilitation care,” said Dr. Javvad Haider, consultant and head of service for rehabilitation medicine at the NRC, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The visit from the NRC team began on International Nurses Day. Lucy Nankivell, lead nurse for the NRC, said: “This partnership is a timely reminder of the vital role rehabilitation nurses play in helping patients rebuild their lives. International collaboration with organizations such as Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation allows us to share best practices, strengthen nursing leadership and continue advancing rehabilitation care for patients in the NHS and around the world. We look forward to hosting the Carolinas Rehabilitation team for a return visit in the future to see our cutting-edge facilities at the NRC.”
As the only U.S. center selected by the World Health Organization to serve on the global World Rehabilitation Alliance, Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation is committed to improving access to rehabilitation services.
Additionally, Carolinas Rehabilitation is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in rehabilitation and consistently recognized among the top rehabilitation hospitals in the nation. In recent years, it has expanded its reach and influence internationally, beginning in 2022 with the establishment of its first-ever global partnership with Qatar Rehabilitation Institute (QRI) in Doha, Qatar, and continuing in 2024 with the announcement of a partnership with Ukraine’s National Rehabilitation Center UNBROKEN.
About Atrium Health
Atrium Health is advancing clinical care and research across the communities it serves by redefining care for all. The care network is anchored by Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, an academic medical center in Charlotte that includes Levine Children’s Hospital, Levine Cancer Institute and Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute, along with 11 hospitals, more than 900 care locations and over 1,400 physicians serving communities across the greater Charlotte region. It is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States. Advocate Health is a preeminent academic health system at the forefront of clinical excellence, innovation and research, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as its academic core. Nationally recognized for expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, Advocate Health is also a pioneer in the delivery of virtual health care. It’s accelerating discovery by making research participation part of the standard-of-care through its one-of-a-kind National Center for Clinical . Advocate Health has one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs, with an experiential learning focus and specialized residencies to help protect the long-term sustainability of rural health care in America. Each campus of the school of medicine has an affiliated life-sciences focused innovation district: The Pearl, in Charlotte, and Innovation Quarter, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. With more than 165,000 teammates serving patients at 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations across eight states, Advocate Health reinvests over $6 billion each year to improve community health, making it one of the nation’s largest providers of community benefit.
About Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) is a £105million programme which will create a 70-bed, purpose-built and highly energy efficient new facility as part of the UK Government’s New Hospital Programme. The specialist NHS facility will be built on the Stanford Hall Rehabilitation Estate near Loughborough, home to the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre which opened in 2018. The NRC is due to open later this year and will be run and staffed by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. In addition to providing excellent patient care, the NRC will also be a national hub for innovation, cutting-edge research and development, and training and education. Therefore, the NRC has a national consortium of 24 universities across the country, including Loughborough University and the University of Nottingham, to ensure the NRC remains at the forefront of rehabilitation research and expertise.