International Rehabilitation Forum President Receives AAPMR's Distinguished Public Service Award
October 12, 2022
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation honors Vermont physician with Distinguished Public Service Award
Dr. Andrew J. Haig is co-principal investigator for Vermont RETAIN grant
MIDDLEBURY, Vermont - A Middlebury, Vermont physician, Andrew J. Haig, M.D., will be honored with a Distinguished Public Service award from the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation for his work helping those with physical disabilities in the United States and around the world.
Dr. Haig, a private-practice physician who is board-certified in PM&R, pain medicine, and electrodiagnostic medicine, will receive the award Saturday, October 22 during the AAMPR Annual Assembly in Baltimore. He is a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan and a volunteer professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Throughout his career, Haig has advanced the field of PM&R through research, teaching and advocacy. As co-principal investigator for the $21-million Vermont RETAIN grant, he is developing a national model for ensuring PM&R processes are included in return-to-work strategies. After his brother, author Tom Haig of Portland, Ore., suffered a spinal cord injury, they formed the not-for-profit International Rehabilitation Forum, which recently held its first world conference on disaster rehabilitation, leading to major international efforts advancing rehabilitation after natural and human-induced disasters.
As a scientist, Dr. Haig validated paraspinal mapping electromyography (EMG), performed the first blinded trials in electrodiagnostic medicine, and eventually showed that EMG is superior to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in diagnosing spinal nerve disorders in older people. Through a decade of National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research funding, he advanced the understanding of spinal biomechanics.
Haig founded the University of Michigan Spine Program and Cancer Rehabilitation program and has mentored leaders in PM&R in the U.S. and a dozen foreign countries. An AAMPR Fellow, Dr. Haig recently presented on findings that the number of PM&R doctors correlates with fewer opioid deaths across the United States. His remarks were voted the best oral presentation at the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine's 15th World Congress held July 3 - 7, 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal. Haig said the situation is especially critical in Vermont and New Hampshire, as healthcare systems in northern New England have very few PM&R physicians and extensive opioid use.
“An estimated 15 percent of people have a significant disability. When we build a sustainable approach to rehabilitation medicine, these people can live better lives and contribute to society. It’s critical to support this medical specialty focused on improving function and quality of life, in the United States and especially around the world,” Haig said.
About Andrew Haig, MD
A physician and active Emeritus Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Michigan, Dr. Haig is familiar to healthcare executives as the founder of the University of Michigan Spine Program and a member of Noel Tichy Ph.D.’s leadership training team. Andy Haig has worked in environments as diverse as rural Wisconsin, sub-Saharan Africa and Vienna, Austria. His work has been recognized with the top research, teaching, and patient care awards in his field. Dr. Haig has opened a clinical practice, Haig Physical Medicine PLC, www.haigmed.com, in Middlebury, Vermont, to be a demonstration model and home of an international second opinion program. He also is the co-founder of the International Rehabilitation Forum, www.rehabforum.org, a non-profit which brings together people and institutions that have the passion and expertise to build relevant rehabilitation medicine practices in low-resource and isolated regions, aiming at maximizing the independence and leadership of all persons with physical limitations.
About AAPMR
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) www.aapmr.org, is the national medical specialty society in the United States for physicians who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R). These physicians are called "physiatrists" or "rehabilitation physicians". Founded in 1938, AAPM&R also offers education, advocates for PM&R, and promotes PM&R research. AAPM&R has more than 10,000 members representing a majority of the physiatrists in the United States and 37 countries.
About the Distinguished Public Service Award
Established by the Academy in 1981, the award honors individuals who, in the course of their public service activities, have made significant contributions to enhance the quality of life for individuals with disabilities, and/or in vulnerable populations at risk for disabilities. As many as three awards may be given each year. The nominees have contributed significantly to enhancing quality of life for individuals with disabilities, and/or in vulnerable populations at risk for disabilities, through service activities on an international, national or community level.
About RETAIN
“RETAIN” stands for Retaining Employment After Injury/Illness Network. RETAIN provides support to people who live or work in Vermont and are at risk of work-disability to reduce or eliminate the number of days that person is out of work after an injury or illness. Working is a health outcome and staying at work positively affects that person, their family and community circles. The VT RETAIN study aims to reduce the negative impact work-disability could have on a person's life by studying the effects that direct support can have.