Rozlie Townsend

Eva Pettemeridou

It is our pleasure to introduce our fourth annual International Networking Group newsletter! Each year, our Editors, Eva Pettemeridou from Cyprus and Rozlie Townsend from Ohio, compile highlights of the global participation by each of our members, as well as, informative updates regarding research and clinical practice guidelines which are internationally supported within the rehabilitation field. We are proud to have members who live and work in at least 25 different countries! Our goal is to collect and summarize the findings and experiences of our fellow researchers and clinicians to provide our readers a reliable resource for culturally appropriate and efficacious guidelines within the field of rehabilitation. We pride ourselves on promoting evidence-based research in health care, while simultaneously providing experiential clinical examples from diverse populations.

This year’s newsletter discusses our involvement in international collaborations through a new lens heavily influenced recently by COVID-19. Professionals in the rehabilitation medicine field will thrive on expanding cultural awareness through reaching out to like-minded colleagues around the world for innovative techniques, knowledge and unique experiences. We hope our readers will explore our task force initiatives and consider getting involved from a global perspective! Since the onset of COVID-19, rehabilitation medicine has been impacted significantly; we hope you will be empowered by the different success stories, on both research and clinical practices, shared by colleagues throughout the world.

A grand appreciation goes out to the Commission Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities International (CARF) for your consistent commitment to our maintenance of internationally recognized standards of care. We are forever grateful for our devoted leaders, Fofi Constantinidou and Kristine Kingsley, and ACRM Communications Manager, Cindy Robinson, for their commitment and guidance for the International Networking Group. We look forward to another year of staying connected with our members and meeting prospective members! Please contact us to share your remarks, ideas, concerns or questions via e-mail: ACRMinternational@gmail.com.

Respectfully submitted,

Eva Pettemeridou & Rozlie Townsend