In 1990, Charlotte Rehabilitation hospital became the Charlotte Institute of Rehabilitation. The institution became Carolinas Rehabilitation in January 2006. The residency program in PM&R welcomed its first set of residents in July 1992. Today, the PM&R program continues to flourish, having received the maximum number of years allowable (five) of ACGME accreditation for the last three accreditation cycles.

Carolinas Rehabilitation and the Department of PM&R continue to grow both clinically and academically. William Bockenek, MD, was program director from 1991 until 2006, leading an exceptional faculty in the development one of the premier residency training programs in PM&R. Vu Nguyen, MD, took over as program director in January 2006. Our faculty includes practitioners in both academic and private practice settings. This balanced approach provides our residents a comprehensive knowledge base and a broad set of skills applicable to all facets of PM&R practice.

The research department continues to thrive in our Academic Center. Carolinas Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Research System, one of the nation's most successful Brain Injury Model Systems, enrolls the largest number of patients of any model system.

In addition to performing tertiary rehabilitation care and state of the art research, the department is the primary source for the PM&R educational needs of the regional professional community. Today, our inpatient and outpatient programs treat adults and children with brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, cancer, orthopaedic and musculoskeletal injuries from the Carolinas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia and beyond.