Miller-Dwan Rehabilitation Center

Spinal cord injury/diseases

Miller-Dwan Rehabilitation Center at SMDC Medical Center offers inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation for people of all ages who have a spinal cord injury or a disease resulting in weakness or paralysis. Each patient’s treatment plan and services are based on his or her unique needs. Our goal is to help each individual reach his or her highest level of functioning and live at home or within the community.

Our rehabilitation center offers the only Spinal Cord System of Care program north of the Twin Cities that’s accredited by the highly respected Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). Both our adult program and our program for adolescents and children are accredited. Our spine program has been accredited since 1992.

We offer:

  • Highly qualified team of professionals with extensive experience
  • At least three hours of daily therapy on Monday through Saturday; Sunday sessions are also available as part of an individual’s treatment plan. We also schedule additional time in recreational therapy and psychological counseling, important services not offered by all rehab programs.
  • Regular care planning conferences for patients and their families with the treatment team
  • Comprehensive education for patients and families
  • Visits from spinal cord injury survivors who make peer-counseling visits to patients and families
  • Robomedica, a body weight support system that helps patients learn how to walk again
  • XSenors Pressure Mapping System, a medical seating system that helps clinicians assess pressure on a patient’s weight-bearing areas
  • Environmental Control System, a computer-assisted system that allows people to control their environment -- turn on the lights, adjust the TV’s volume or answer the phone -- with a head movement or voice command
  • Ventilator management and/or weaning
  • Urodynamic studies to assess bladder function and then plan treatment
  • Comprehensive continence program
  • Expertise in treating spasticity, including intrathecal baclofen pump therapy (ITB) and BOTOX
  • Pool therapy
  • Help from an assistive technology practitioner who is certified to assess patients and help them choose the right equipment
  • A variety of specialty wheelchairs for patients to try before ordering
  • Health Portfolio, which compiles health information into a notebook designed to help a patient and caregivers manage ongoing health-care needs and resources in their community
  • Home assessments for accessibility and necessary modifications
  • Education and referral for sexuality and sexual function and impairment
  • Referrals to community agencies that can help the transition back into the community
502 E. 2nd Street, Duluth, MN 55805 | 218-727-8762