Allied Services Marks 50 Years of National Rehabilitation Week

This year, Allied Services is celebrating National Rehabilitation Week from September 14-20, and will also celebrate 50 years of the observance.

Allied Services in Scranton organized what would become Rehabilitation Week in 1976 as an opportunity to celebrate patient success stories and recognize the professionals helping individuals recover and rehabilitate from serious injuries and illnesses. The local observance continued each September and gradually expanded beyond northeastern Pennsylvania.

Through the advocacy of Allied Services leadership and the formation of the National Rehabilitation Awareness Foundation, the effort reached a national audience. The foundation helped recognize individuals who had benefited from rehabilitation while educating medical organizations and the public about the value of physical rehabilitation at a national scale.

A major milestone came in 1993, when President Bill Clinton issued a presidential proclamation designating September 19–25 as National Rehabilitation Week, helping establish the observance on a national stage.

From celebrating at the 1996 Paralympic Games to recognizing honorary national champions from Presidents Bush and Clinton to the first-ever hearing-impaired Miss America, Heather Whitestone, National Rehabilitation Awareness Week, founded by Allied Services, has always embraced overcoming disabilities and achievements through physical rehabilitation.

Fifty years after its beginnings in Scranton, NRW continues to highlight rehabilitation’s ability to restore function, independence and quality of life for individuals recovering from stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, limb loss and other complex conditions.