[2] The two organizations had been working toward similar goals for decades prior to the formal merger, and they were funded by some of the same sources such as March of Dimes and the United Way,[3][4] as well as grassroots fund-raising campaigns that progressed into medical philanthropy.
[6][7][8][9] Some, like Lloyd Zeise (Olympic Athlete), was treated at Sister Kenny Institute as a child and used the services of the Courage Center as an adult due to contracting polio at age 3.
[11][12][13] Managed-care health plans and other systemic changes in the US had impacts on both organizations, as their network situations and their service provisions continued to be updated.
She spent decades in her career investigating and experimenting with treatments involving heat (to relax the muscles) and movement (to help heal the entire body).
[17] Her therapeutic treatment for polio survivors resulted in less severe deformities and reduced hospital stays, and led to today’s innovative rehabilitation therapy methods.
[24] Her clinic brought people from around the world who sought her expertise in curing the paralysis caused by polio prior to the existence of the vaccine.
Her method, opposite of standard practice of splints to immobilize the limbs, was to apply heat to soothe the muscles and then encourage movement through an early form of physical therapy.
[26][27] In addition to established sources such as March of Dimes and United Way, the institute received funds from private groups such as Crippled Child Relief, Inc., a Minnesota nonprofit which sprang from a single short advertisement in the newspaper.
[note 1][3][4] In 1945 a $5 million national drive was launched, chaired by Bing Crosby, to open additional locations and provide training for nurses in these treatment methods.
[32] After widespread adoption of the Polio vaccine in the mid-1950s reduced the number of cases nationwide, the clinic switched its focus to rehabilitation medicine more broadly defined.
Cerebral Palsy and other birth defects as well as conditions caused by accidents all became included in the work of the Kenny Institute.
Some of those first campers had been affected by a variety of diseases including polio, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, rheumatoid arthritis.
[1][39] In the Twin Cities Three Rivers Park system has been one of Courage Kenny's main program partners since 2010, providing opportunities for cross-country skiing, mountain biking, kayaking, archery, geocaching, ice fishing and maple sugaring.
It is part of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation NeuroRecovery Network (NRN), focused on people with spinal cord injuries.
[42][43][38] Courage Center has held events such as competitive wheelchair basketball tournaments since the 1980s, with the participation and support of various organizations including the Sister Kenny Institute.
The Institute’s care team provides physician, therapy, community and mental health services in more than 40 locations in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.