Awards & Accreditations | MedStar NRH | MedStar Health

Awards and recognition

The quality of MedStar NRH has been tested again and again by the nation’s most important accreditation organizations—and by physicians across the county. And year after year, the hospital has proven to be one of the most respected rehabilitation facilities in the country. Even though we are honored to receive the accomplishments listed below, we are most proud of our outcomes and the difference we make in each person’s life we treat.

  • MedStar NRH is consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s best hospitals for medical rehabilitation.
  • MedStar NRH physicians are named among the area’s “Best Doctors” in the Washingtonian magazine annual poll.
  • Yellow and blue CARF (Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) Aspire to Excellence LogoThe hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission and CARF, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.
  • We also offer multiple CARF-Accredited Specialty Programs, including Amputation, Brain Injury, Pediatrics, Stroke Recovery, and Spinal Cord Injury.
  • Our Spinal Cord program is also one of only 18 Model Spinal Cord Systems in the country, designated by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) through a highly competitive five-year grant.
  • The MedStar NRH Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency program is consistently ranked amongst the top residency programs in the nation by Doximity.

The John W. Goldschmidt Award

This award should be given to an individual who reflects the attributes of Dr. John W. Goldschmidt in terms of voluntary and tireless efforts, enhancement of interdisciplinary multi-specialty team development and approach to patient care, the advancement of facility to care for individuals with physical disabilities as well as intellectual, emotional, and academic commitment to the precepts and the intimate intricacies of rehabilitation as a specialty field. Each of these actions must also be performed to the highest professional and ethical standards which emulate the man for which this award has been named.

Awardees Include:

  • 2018 - Suzanne Groah, MD
  • 2017 - Randall L. Braddom, MD, MS, FAAPMR
  • 2016 - Barbara Bregman, PT, PhD
  • 2015 - Paul F. Pasquina, MD
  • 2014 - Alexander Dromerick, MD
  • 2013 - Bruce Gans, MD
  • 2012 - Kristjian T. Ragnarsson, MD
  • 2011 - John N. Aseff, MD
  • 2010 - Brendan Conroy, MD
  • 2009 - Alan M. Jette, PT, PhD, FAPTA

Susan Carter Lectureship

The endowment for the Susan Carter Lectureship comes from the generous contributions of Susan A. Carter’s family and friends. Carter, a former MedStar NRH polio patient, the lecture series created in her name underwrites the annual lecture series where recognized rehabilitation researchers and physicians provide professionals and consumers with the latest information about Post-Polio and related rehabilitation issues.

Previous Visiting Scholars Include:

  • 2017 - Kenneth J. Ottenbacher, PhD, OTR
  • 2016 - Suzanne Groah, MD
  • 2014 - Gary Ulicny, PhD
  • 2013 - Paul R. Rao, PhD, FACHE
  • 2012 - Lauro S. Halsted, MD, MPH
  • 2011 - W. Dalton Dietrich, III, PhD
  • 2010 - David Cifu, MD
  • 2008- Michael E. Selzer, MD, PhD, FRC
  • 2006- Mary Ann Keenan, MD
  • 2005- Lauro S. Halstead, MD
  • 2004- Megan Cole, actress
  • 2003- Alexa Stuifbergen, PhD, RN, FAAN
  • 2002- Julie K. Silver, MD
  • 2000- Augusta S. Alba, MD
  • 1999- Rhoda Olkin, PhD
  • 1998- Ernest W. Johnson, MD
  • 1997- Judith Heumann, disability rights activist
  • 1996- Hugh Gallagher, disability rights activist

Accreditations

As part of our mission to empower individuals with information, we encourage you to contact our accreditation and licensing partners if you have any questions or concerns regarding the quality of care at MedStar NRH.


CARF logo

CARF is a private, not-for-profit organization that promotes quality rehabilitation services. Their standards are reviewed annually and new ones are developed to keep pace with changing conditions and current consumer needs.

MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital has been awarded a three-year accreditation for its Inpatient Rehabilitation Program (Adults, Adolescents, and Children), its Amputee Program, its Brain Injury Program, its Stroke Specialty Program and its Spinal Cord System of Care (Adults, Adolescents and Children). This accreditation is valid through November 2016.

Joint Commission

The Joint Commission is the nation's predominant standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. The Joint Commission maintains state-of-the-art standards that focus on improving the quality and safety of care provided by health care organizations. MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital has met the requirements of the Joint Commission's Hospital Accreditation Program. This accreditation is valid through July 2016.

Search the Joint Commission's Quality Check website to find MedStar Health Physical Therapy sites that are accredited under the same licensure as the hospital. Under Find a Health Care Organization by Organization Name, type in "National Rehabilitation Hospital" and click Search. The Accreditation Quality Report is available as well as all of the locations of care that meet the same set of standards.

Learn more about The Joint Commission

CMS logo

CMS develops Conditions of Participation and Conditions for Coverage that health care organizations must meet in order to begin and continue participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. CMS also ensures that the standards of accrediting organizations recognized by CMS meet or exceed the Medicare standards set forth in these Conditions.