In 1990, Charlotte Rehabilitation hospital became the Charlotte Institute of Rehabilitation. The institution became Carolinas Rehabilitation on January 1, 2006. The residency program in PM&R welcomed its first set of residents in July 1992. The program continues to flourish, receiving the maximum number of years allowable (5) of ACGME accreditation for the last two 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. Dr. Vu Nguyen took over as program director on January 1, 2006. The 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. Inpatient and outpatient programs successfully provide for the rehabilitation needs of adults and children with brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, cancer, orthopedic and musculoskeletal injuries from the Carolinas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia and beyond.