Shepherd Center is pleased to announce it has received a $19,768.72. grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). For the fourth consecutive year, Shepherd Center will continue utilizing the Safe System Approach, with its Rural Roads Seatbelt Safety Project. The grant year began on Oct.1, 2026, and will end on Sept. 30, 2027. 

The grant will help finance increasing seat belt compliance using a social norming campaign targeting rural Georgians. 

“Although seat belts are the best way to protect yourself in the event of a crash and have been well-documented to save lives and reduce injuries, seatbelt compliance continues to be a challenge,” said Emma Harrington, director of injury prevention at Shepherd Center. 

In the project’s third year, Harrington continued working on a renewed media push as well as several community events geared toward seat belt safety and ended the year with a compliance rate of 93.8% up from a starting point of 79.9% in 2024. 

“The Governor's Office of Highway Safety continues to work with state and local agencies to develop innovative projects and campaigns that are designed to save lives and protect everyone traveling on Georgia's roads and highways,” said Allen Poole, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. "We remind all drivers that following the rules of the road not only helps saves your life but also helps to make sure others make it home safely to their families as well." 

Shepherd Center and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety ask that drivers do their part to make the roads safer. 

The Governor's Office of Highway Safety's mission is to educate the public on safe driving behaviors and implement highway safety campaigns and programs designed to reduce crashes and eliminate fatalities and injuries on Georgia roads. For more information on this grant program, contact GOHS at 404-656-6996, and for more information on GOHS and its other highway safety programs, visit www.gahighwaysafety.org. 
 

Shepherd Center is pleased to announce it has received a $233,971.59 grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). For the third consecutive year, Shepherd Center will continue utilizing the Safe System Approach, with its Rural Roads Seatbelt Safety Project. The grant year began on Oct.1, 2025, and will end on Sept. 30, 2026. 

The grant will help finance increasing seat belt compliance using a social norming campaign targeting rural Georgians. 
 

“Although seat belts are the best way to protect yourself in the event of a crash and have been well-documented to save lives and reduce injuries, seatbelt compliance continues to be a challenge,” said Emma Harrington, director of injury prevention at Shepherd Center. 
 

In the project’s second year, Harrington continued working on a renewed media push as well as several community events geared toward seat belt safety. 
 

“The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and our partners continue to implement programs designed to save lives and promote safe driving behaviors,” said Allen Poole, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. 
 

Shepherd Center and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety ask that drivers do their part to make the roads safer. 
 

The Governor's Office of Highway Safety's mission is to educate the public on safe driving behaviors and implement highway safety campaigns and programs designed to reduce crashes and eliminate fatalities and injuries on Georgia roads. For more information on this grant program, contact GOHS at 404-656-6996, and for more information on GOHS and its other highway safety programs, visit www.gahighwaysafety.org. 


 

This is the third year in a row that Shepherd Center has received the grant, which enables the hospital to provide complimentary, round-trip airline tickets to families in need so they can travel to be with their loved one undergoing specialized spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation care at Shepherd Center.

Receiving world class medical attention is more attainable when the cost of travel is not an issue, according to Southwest Airlines, which is providing more than $3.2 million in free transportation to caregivers and patients seeking medical treatment, a 14 percent increase from the 2014 program. Shepherd Center will receive $60,000 worth of free travel for patients and families for 2015. For a full list of organizations receiving grants in 2015, click here.

“We care about the communities we serve and are honored to partner with like-minded hospitals and medical transportation organizations,” said Linda Rutherford, Southwest Airlines’ Vice President of Communication and Outreach. "We are proud to help fill the gap between where patients live and where the doctors they need practice so patients can receive the treatment that best supports them.”

Since the Southwest Airlines Medical Transportation Grant Program's inception eight years ago, more than $16.4 million in free transportation has been distributed to organizations in 26 states, making a positive impact on the lives of more than 41,000 individuals.

Former Shepherd Center patient Andy Fuhrmann, 25, of Burlington, Vt., and his family are one example of those impacted by the Medical Transportation Grant Program. In 2013, Andy sustained a C-4 to -5 incomplete spinal cord injury in a snow skiing accident that left him partially paralyzed. Andy traveled from his home in Vermont to Atlanta so he could receive treatment at Shepherd Center. Andy’s mom stayed with him to Atlanta. Through the Southwest Airlines Medical Transportation Grant Program, Andy's father, who lives in Holden, Mass., was able to balance work at home while also visiting Andy and his mom in Atlanta. Andy said his parents’ presence during his treatment was just as important as his physical therapy and medical treatment. Read more of Andy’s story by clicking here.

"As one can imagine, when you have a catastrophic injury, finances become tight," said Anna Elmers, M.D., a staff physiatrist at Shepherd Center. "Southwest Airlines' Medical Transportation Grant Program has been a wonderful way of allowing family members to see their loved ones who are undergoing rehabilitation at Shepherd Center. Having loved ones near provides the patient with important emotional support during their recovery. We are so thankful for our partnership with Southwest!"

“Shepherd Center already operates several health and wellness programs through ProMotion and Beyond Therapy^®,” says Shari McDowell, director of the Spinal Cord Injury Program at Shepherd Center. “These services have existed for a long time, but this grant allows us to look beyond our walls. When patients finish their time with Shepherd Center, we want to extend our support beyond that initial rehabilitation experience by helping them truly reintegrate into society and learn skills that will lead to healthier lifestyles.”

Unfortunately, McDowell says, there is often a lack of community-based health education, wellness programs and recreational activities for people with SCI. Yet these individuals show an increased risk for early cardiovascular disease, which is also the leading cause of death in this patient population.

This program’s tiered framework is designed to help mitigate this risk and overcome barriers to reintegration by educating individuals and communities on the importance of wellness programs tailored specifically to individuals with SCI.

Four components comprise “From Injury to Integration: Closing the Healthcare Gap”:

1. Health, wellness and leisure expo: This June 27, 2015 event at Shepherd Center will incorporate guest speakers, exhibit booths and demonstrations addressing topics such as nutrition and weight loss, blood pressure monitoring, exercise, women’s health, diabetes management, healthy skin care, emotional support, smoking cessation and respiratory health. It is open to the public, and the Neilsen Foundation grant will fund travel scholarships for 15 people with SCI who would benefit from participating in the expo.

1. Train-the-trainer community wellness program: Modeled after a successful Shepherd Center partnership with Delta Air Lines, this program component will engage other nonprofit organizations that promote health and fitness. Initial outreach will extend to local YMCA facilities, says Becky Washburn, Shepherd Center’s ProMotion and Beyond Therapy director. “Anyone who comes through Shepherd Center, we’re training them and their family members on what they need to do when they get back home to remain active and healthy,” Washburn explains. “What we haven’t been able to do is impact the larger community in this way. We can’t see everyone, but if people have the knowledge and the right tools, they’re better positioned to engage in an active lifestyle over the long term.”

Shepherd Center staff members will visit fitness facilities to educate staff members there on SCI and its effects on physical mobility, as well as provide them with information on hardware and technologies that can contribute to heathy living. An example is grasping cuffs for upper-body bikes. The first training session is slated for March.

1. Community-based health and wellness program: Shepherd Center will host six community-based and wellness events – three in Greater Atlanta and three in the Southeast – to promote exercise and long-term health. This third tier seeks to raise awareness of risks such as obesity and hypertension, and offer hands-on recreation opportunities to mitigate those risks. Those opportunities include handcycling, tennis, softball and other activities at local recreation centers. The first community-based program will be held at Shepherd Center in March with others to follow throughout 2015.

1. Community re-entry and accessibility assessment activities: This component of the program will work with current or former Shepherd Center SCI patients to help assess, then eliminate, barriers for becoming – and staying – active. Specific activities include:

• Visits to local fitness centers.
• Assistance in establishing an exercise program customized for the individual.
• Home visits that offer tailored home modification recommendations.
• Visits to college campuses, including dorm rooms, student centers and campus fitness facilities, to help prepare individuals for active lifestyles as part of their college experience.
• Work-site visits to improve existing work environments or to create new activities in which individuals can participate after returning to work.

For more information on the “From Injury to Integration: Closing the Healthcare Gap” program, contact Spinal Cord Injury Program director Shari McDowell at shari_mcdowell@shepherd.org or 404-350-7676. To sign up for any of the health and wellness clinics, visit shepherd.org/sci-clinics.

Written By Shawn Reeves