Early Intervention Program (EIP)

A spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-changing event for the individual injured and his or her family. The newly-injured and those around them must learn to cope with this dramatic change and adjust to post-injury life. The Greater Boston Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (GBC) works to reach, inspire, support and empower those affected by spinal cord injury. From the moment of injury, GBC offers critical support, one-on-one comprehensive services and access to resources that no other entity provides.

GBC knows from experience that early intervention can give the individual injured the confidence to lead a productive enriching life post-injury. GBC staff meets with family members in trauma centers, soon after an injury, to offer assistance and provide resources to them. Once a newly injured individual is transferred to a rehabilitation facility, GBC staff (who have SCI) meet in the facility with the individual on a daily, every other day or weekly basis depending upon the individual's needs. GBC staff members understand what it is like to sustain a life altering injury, they understand what rehab is like, and they know the medical, psychological, and social issues that affect those with spinal cord injury . . .they live with it everyday.

GBC provides these critical services through its Early Intervention Program designed to help people live long, healthy, productive and independent lives once they sustain an SCI. An SCI not only means a loss of one's ability to ambulate, it brings on a host of very specific health concerns that may include skin breakdown, chronic pain and Autonomic Dysreflexia to name just a few. Individuals with SCI are required to become medical experts on their own behalf. They need to understand a myriad of health warning signs and are often called upon to educate health care providers about their own health needs because there are so few providers well versed on SCI issues. GBC educates the newly injured and teaches them how to monitor their health and advocate on their behalf to healthcare providers.

GBC works to ensure that no newly injured individual is left to figure it out on his or her own. To learn more about the EIP program please contact the office at 781.933.8666.