About Us
The UPMC Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (IRR) is a nationally recognized academic center of excellence. Each person who comes to the IRR receives the very best of what we represent through our three core areas of focus: patient care, research, and education.
Patient Care
At IRR, our primary focus will always be our patients and their families. We continuously enhance our programs by evaluating how we deliver care and adopting best practices. Program focuses include brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, and spasticity.
A team of experts comes from various rehabilitative fields to collaboratively address specific issues to help patients move toward their rehabilitation goals. These experts include physiatrists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and rehabilitation nurses.
Throughout the rehabilitation and recovery process, a patient’s needs will change. The ability to meet these needs at every phase of the process is what we call our continuum of care. Whether a patient requires inpatient acute rehabilitation, a skilled rehabilitation program, or outpatient or home-based services, the IRR has the facilities to match.
If a patient's needs call for outpatient services, they have access to physicians specializing iin physical rehabilitation, as well as abundant therapy services including physical, occupational and speech therapies.
Research
We focus our research in areas where there is the greatest need and the greatest potential to enhance our patients’ recovery and quality of life. The IRR, research, and patient care are uniquely tied together to more quickly benefit our patients.
Education
The IRR is committed to maintaining and expanding high-level teaching programs. Collaborating with other programs and departments within the University of Pittsburgh, we share knowledge to benefit patients now and into the future.
All of the IRR clinicians are highly skilled and have strong academic backgrounds. UPMC encourages providers to participate in continuing education programs and stay up-to-date with research, new technologies, and new therapies. This knowledge is used to help train the next generation of professionals and educate patients about their care.