How patients across the country benefit from PVA’s Healthcare Summit
By Robert L. Thomas Jr.
Where can you find more than 700 people all interested in continuing their knowledge in the field of spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D)?
I know exactly where — the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) 13th annual Healthcare Summit + Expo. The Summit is PVA’s biggest health care event, with clinicians attending from all across the country, including from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), as well as from outside the VA.
This year, the Summit is being held Aug. 24–27 in the great city of New Orleans. The Big Easy is the home of beignets, gumbo, crawdads and many other Creole-style foods.
We’ll have more than 60 sessions on a variety of topics covering spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Summit is the only conference in the U.S. to provide continuing education for all three diagnoses at one conference.
VA Secretary Doug Collins will provide the keynote address on Aug. 25. There will also be presentations from Andrew Hansen, PhD, a research biomedical engineer and the director of the Rehabilitation & Engineering Center for Optimizing Veteran Engagement & Reintegration at the Minneapolis VA; Nora Fritz, PhD, PT, DPT, NCS, associate professor in the physical therapy program at Wayne State University (Michigan) and Ileana Howard, MD, medical co-director of the ALS Center of Excellence at VA Puget Sound (Washington).
The expo is an important part of our Summit every year. For 2025, we’re expecting more than 75 exhibitors to attend, showcasing the newest technology, programs, services and other innovations in the fields of SCI, MS and ALS care.
As an individual living with a SCI, I’m so grateful that PVA had the mindset to begin hosting a conference that provides clinicians working in the field of SCI/D with the most
up-to-date research and technology.
This learning experience is incredibly important, and it’s another way PVA opens the door to make our lives better. We rely heavily on the doctors and nurses who treat our unique conditions, and it’s vital that we receive the best care possible to improve our longevity.
I hold great appreciation and pride for the strides this organization goes to help not only me, but all of our members live our lives to the fullest capacities. These events are mind-opening, and I’m excited to see where these will go in the future.
Technology is growing, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it helps our fellow veterans living with SCI, MS and ALS live fuller lives.
