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A Lifetime of Excellence

Alberto Esquenazi, MD, the John Otto Haas Chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Chief Medical Officer at MossRehab, has been honored by the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) with the 2019 Frank H. Krusen, MD, Lifetime Achievement Award for his three decades of extraordinary contributions to the field.

His research, funded through federal government grants and industry support, focuses on gait analysis, limb prosthetics, spasticity management, and orthotics and technology in rehabilitation.

According to AAPM&R: "The Krusen Award is the Academy’s highest honor, and recipients of the gold medallion are selected on the basis of their outstanding and unique contributions to the specialty."

"It is an honor and privilege to be recognized by my peers with the highest honor from AAPMR, the Krusen Lifetime Achievement Award," said Dr. Esquenazi. "I am honored to have built a career of many firsts in the field over more than 30 years of work at MossRehab. It is a career that requires a team that can always move in the same direction and with one aim: provide excellent rehabilitation care to improve patients lives."

"The entire MossRehab family is deeply honored by Dr. Esquenazi's recognition by the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation," says MossRehab Chief Operating Officer Thomas Smith. "And, we are eager to continue to be a part of his groundbreaking work for many years to come."

Since joining MossRehab in 1986, Dr. Esquenazi has been a pioneer in pairing physical rehabilitation medicine and rehabilitation with cutting-edge technology.

As the director of the Sheer Gait & Motion Analysis Laboratory at MossRehab (the only lab of its kind in the Philadelphia region, and one of only 10 gait labs in the country to hold accreditation for best patient care available from a facility engaged in the evaluation of individuals with gait and motion challenges), Dr. Esquenazi ushered in the use of several forms of technology including; slow-motion video, which provides frame-by-frame analysis of walking or performing other activities; computerized, three-dimensional, quantitative measurements of joint movement; and computer simulation assessments of walking.

In 2009, Dr. Esquenazi led the U.S. clinical trials of ReWalk, a motorized exoskeleton suit that enables patients with lower limb disabilities, including complete paralysis, to independently stand, walk, and—in some cases—climb stairs. In 2014, the FDA approved ReWalk for use outside of the hospital.

Ultimately, Dr. Esquenazi's unending drive to enhance the skill and compassion of therapists and clinicians with technology has brought 19 robotic devices to MossRehab—more than any other rehab facility in the U.S—that are utilized by patients everyday.