the effectiveness of BADER Consortium activities. Finally,
we present a discussion containing insights gained to date.
Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Research Efforts
A review of related research programs is needed to provide
context for best understanding the BADER Consortium
’s
central role in developing these critical research infrastruc-
tures. In 2001, following an assessment of the Army Medical
Department
’s ability to care for large populations of combat
amputees, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, now Walter
Reed National Military Medical Center, was established as
the
first specialized amputee care center.
In 2007, three DoD Advanced Rehabilitation Centers
(ARCs) were established for military amputees with special-
ized clinical programs in orthopaedics and orthopaedic reha-
bilitation. These centers are the Military Advanced Training
Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center; the
Center for the Intrepid and the San Antonio Military Medi-
cal Center at the Brook Army Medical Center; and the Com-
prehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care (C5) Program
at Naval Medical Center San Diego. In concert with DoD
efforts, the VA established an Amputee System of Care
across the United States with regional amputation centers
and polytrauma amputation network sites.
1,4
The ARCs implemented advanced motivational and thera-
peutic rehabilitation care models that utilized intensive rehabili-
tation, peer dynamics, and advanced rehabilitation technologies
with the goal of obtaining unprecedented outcomes and quality
of life (QoL) following rehabilitation. As a result, service
members with salvaged and amputated limbs began returning
to active duty, including redeployment to combat zones.
5
Efforts of the ARCs to obtain high functional and QoL
outcomes have led to a series of orthopaedic technology devel-
opment initiatives. The Telemedicine and Advanced Technol-
ogy Research Center, a component of the U.S. Army Medical
Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), expanded
their Advanced Prosthetics and Neural Engineering Program
to include a Lower Extremity Gait Systems
–integrated
research team. In addition, the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA) established the Revolutionizing
Prosthetics Program in 2006. The Revolutionizing Prosthetics
Program developed
“two anthropomorphic advanced modular
prototype prosthetic arm systems, including sockets, which
offer increased range of motion, dexterity and control options.
”
6
Stemming from a joint agreement involving multiple gov-
ernment agencies, the Armed Forces Institute of Regenera-
tive Medicine (AFIRM) was launched in 2007 to accelerate
research and the delivery of regenerative medicine therapies
to treat the most severely injured service members. The pri-
mary focus of AFIRM research has been seeking fundamen-
tal breakthroughs in basic scienti
fic domains at the cellular
and tissue levels.
7
As a natural extension of the AFIRM Consortium, the
Major Extremity Trauma Research Consortium (METRC) was
established in September 2009. METRC consists of a national
network of clinical centers and one data-coordinating center
that work together with the DoD to conduct multicenter clin-
ical research studies relevant to the treatment and outcomes
of orthopaedic trauma sustained in the military. The overall
goal of the METRC is to
“produce the evidence needed to
establish treatment guidelines for the optimal care of the
wounded warrior and ultimately improve the clinical, func-
tional, and QoL outcomes of both service members and civil-
ians who sustain high-energy trauma to their extremities.
”
8
Also in 2009, the Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center
of Excellence (EACE) was legislated by Congress as a collab-
orative organization to enhance research partnerships between
the DoD, VA, academia, and industry. One unique aspect of
the EACE is a congressional mandate to
“conduct research to
develop scienti
fic information aimed at saving injured extrem-
ities, avoiding amputations, and preserving and restoring the
function of injured extremities.
”
4
The primary mission of the
EACE is to coordinate multidisciplinary teams to conduct sci-
enti
fic research at the ARCs and VA sites that improves
clinical outcomes and returns patients to the highest possible
level of physical, psychological, and emotional functions.
The scope of the EACE mission includes treatment, research,
education and training, and mitigation following traumatic
extremity injury and/or amputation.
4
With the burgeoning increase in clinical research and
advanced patient care activities, the need soon became appar-
ent for specialized
“infrastructures” that would enhance the
capacity to conduct and sustain world-class orthopaedic reha-
bilitation research. In 2010, the DoD Congressionally Directed
Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) Peer Reviewed Ortho-
paedic Research Program established the Orthopaedic Reha-
bilitation Clinical Consortium Award (ORCCA). The goal of
the ORCCA was to
“establish a strong infrastructure for con-
tinuing clinical studies on combat-relevant musculoskeletal
injuries and products that result in changes to, or validation
of, current clinical practices that lead to better outcomes for
our injured warriors.
”
9
Following that, the Center for Rehabilitation Sciences
Research (CRSR) was established in 2011 to advance the
rehabilitative care for service members with combat-related
injuries through synergistic research projects that promote
successful return to duty and community reintegration. Housed
in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences,
CRSR is an academic arm of rehabilitation activities within
the DoD and well positioned to expedite the translation of
advancements into patient care settings via the education and
training of future health care providers within the military
healthcare system.
10
The BADER Consortium
In September 2011, the BADER Consortium, based at the
University of Delaware (UD), received the ORCCA award.
11
A partnership was formed with four MTFs (the three ARCs
and the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth), the EACE, VA
Centers, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), academia,
MILITARY MEDICINE, Vol. 181, November/December Supplement 2016
14
BADER Consortium: Partnering for Optimal Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Outcomes