Following weeks of discussing long-term strategies that NorCal SCI should undertake, we are proud to share the future direction of our organization and what we plan to accomplish. This was a result of positioning the organization for continual growth in programs and services offered as well as the financial resources we would need to secure in order to meet the needs of the spinal cord injury community in Northern California.

In addition to continuing to support our existing programs, we have developed the following six strategic goals that human and financial resources would be devoted as long as our fundraising efforts continue to be robust.

1. Sponsor our first-ever SCI Symposium for the healthcare professionals to hear, learn and share best practices and experiences from their fellow peers, industry experts, patient advocates and service providers on how to provide better inpatient and outpatient care for those with SCI in order to have better patient outcomes.

2. Develop an extended outpatient rehab program for the newly-injured in order to help improve their outcomes following their discharge from their inpatient rehab stays. This would involve receiving 1-2 months of extensive therapy either at an out-of-state facility or develop an in-state program based on available local rehabilitation resources and facilities.

3. Expand our access to financial resources by hiring grant writers to assist us with applying for grants from other foundations or agencies.

4. Expand our partnerships with major rehab hospitals by offering support services that would enhance their programs. Part of this involves offering peer mentoring when needed, as well as making sure every patient has access to NorCal SCI’s Care Package.

5. Increase the size and diversity of our Board of Directors, Advisory Board and Volunteer staff. This would include identifying talent and experience in areas that could aid our growth and development.

6. Increase our digital media presence by investing in tools and resources that would enable us to reach more people that we can serve as well as more people who may want to help us with their time or financial resources.

While these represent our 2020 goals, work on several of them has already begun and we will be reporting periodically on our progress. At the same time, our Board of Directors developed a financial model that would allow us to meet the financial requirements of these goals while maintaining our existing programs and services. We’ve got our hands full but we ride into 2020 full of confidence and excitement to continually expand our goals and objectives.