Specialized outpatient clinics and advanced medical treatment. That’s what sets the Hospital, National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities apart. The National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities addresses disability as a whole. It is more than just a hospital. It integrates medical care, social welfare, and job assistance.
The National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities launched in 1979. It consolidated three Tokyo-based facilities. These were the National Rehabilitation Center for the Visually Disabled, the National Center of Speech and Hearing Disorders and the National Rehabilitation Center for the Physically Disabled.
Initially, it comprised a hospital. It also had a Research Institute, a College, and a Training Center. All departments have evolved and expanded over the years. In October 2008, the Center adopted its new name. It reorganized its functions to address all disabilities.
The Rehabilitation Services Bureau operates as a rehabilitation support organization. It provides consultation and assistance. It offers rehabilitation and independent living training. Massage, acupuncture and moxibustion training are available. This helps people obtain licenses as manipulative therapists, acupuncture therapists, or moxibustion therapists. The bureau also provides work preparation and job matching. Other employment support services are available here.
The hospital focuses on rehabilitation for functional recovery. It serves people with spinal cord injuries and stroke after-effects. People with higher brain dysfunction and amputees receive help here. It plays a leading role in medical rehabilitation. This includes high-level cervical spinal cord injuries and multiple limb amputations. People with higher brain dysfunction also benefit from its expertise.
The Research Institute engages in various research areas. It studies impairment of movement and sensory functions. It researches and develops assistive products, prosthetics, and orthotics. The institute also conducts basic and action-oriented research concerning welfare. It provides information nationwide through seven research departments. The Information Center for Persons with Developmental Disabilities also contributes.
The College develops specialists in several courses. These include Speech-Language-Hearing Therapy and Prosthetics and Orthotics. Rehabilitation for Persons with Visual Disabilities and Sign Language Interpretation are taught. The College also offers Rehabilitation Sport. It provides training for rehabilitation professionals and welfare service practitioners.
The National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities actively engages in international cooperation. It works as a Collaborating Centre. It participates in activities designated by the World Health Organization WHO. The center cooperates in projects by the Japan International Cooperation Agency JICA. Examples include creating rehabilitation manuals and organizing international seminars.
The center contributes to evidence-based measures. It provides advanced health, medical, and social welfare services. These services maintain and recover living functions. The National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities researches and develops rehabilitation technologies and assistive products. They develop rehabilitation professionals. They assess and analyze disability information. This includes clinical data. All departments work together. They aim to establish an epoch-making center. They provide user-oriented services and study disability structures. They research methodologies for reducing restrictions. They also develop abilities for people with disabilities.