rehabilitation, and de
finitive care to improve outcomes,
restore function, return to duty, and improve QoL for injured
service members.
12,13
Currently, research sponsored by the
JPC-8/CRMRP ($180 million FY 2015) is focused on the
following key areas: Neuromusculoskeletal Injury Rehabilita-
tion, Pain Management, Regenerative Medicine, and Sensory
Systems Traumatic Injury.
13
JPC-8/CRMRP funding comes from Army and Defense
Health Program core dollars as well as Congressional Spe-
cial Interest (CSI) program monies that are appropriated by
Congress and executed by the CDMRP. Three CSI-af
filiated
research programs closely align with the mission of the EACE
and include the Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes Research
Program (OPORP) ($10 million FY 2016),
14
Peer Reviewed
Orthopaedic Research Program (PRORP) ($30 million FY
2016),
15
and Reconstructive Transplant Research Program
(RTRP) ($12 million FY 2016).
16
VA Research Support
In parallel to the DoD research programs, the VA Of
fice of
Research and Development (ORD) is an intramural, veteran-
centric research program conducted throughout the VA
health care system. For more than 90 years, ORD has had
the mission
“to discover knowledge and create innovations
that advance health care for Veterans and the Nation.
” In
support of this mission, ORD
’s Rehabilitation Research and
Development (RR&D) Service supports and integrates pre-
clinical, clinical, and applied rehabilitation research and
seeks to translate research results into practice.
RR&D program areas most relevant to the EACE mission
include regenerative medicine ($26 million FY 2015), muscu-
loskeletal/orthopedic rehabilitation ($141 million FY 2015),
and rehabilitation engineering prosthetics/orthotics ($80 million
FY 2015). Supported clinical and preclinical studies span
research domains ranging from improvements in foundational
science techniques and systems to prevention and screening,
treatment, and follow-up care. These programs within DoD
and VA are some of the past and current funding streams
for studies worked on by the EACE researchers.
THE EXTREMITY TRAUMA AND AMPUTATION
CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
Over the past decade, DoD and VA realized a need to
strengthen clinical and research ties between the two depart-
ments to reduce redundancy and maximize the impact of
collective efforts. Pursuant to these complementary efforts,
Congress directed the establishment of the EACE in 2008.
Governance is jointly provided by the Army Surgeon General
as the DoD lead component and the Director of the Rehabili-
tation and Prosthetics Service within the Veterans Health
Administration
’s (VHA) Office of Patient Care Services. At
the time of writing, 41 EACE-funded staff members (37 DoD
and 4 VA) are structured across 4 divisions of effort. These
divisions include Clinical Affairs, Clinical Informatics and
Technology, Global Outreach, and Research and Surveillance
(R&S; Fig. 1).
The Clinical Affairs Division provides many deliverables
and functions, including continuing medical education and
training, assistance with the translation of current research
findings into clinical practice through clinical practice guide-
lines,
17,18
and clinical policies for DoD and VA.
Through the Clinical Informatics and Technology Division,
the EACE is developing the Defense and Veterans Extremity
Trauma and Amputation Registry (DVEAR), an integrated health
registry to support clinical care and research. The DVEAR will
support the management of data and information reporting
throughout DoD and integrate data from VA
’s existing ampu-
tation repository. The DVEAR will capture and quantify key
demographic, socioeconomic, and polymorbid characteristics,
as well as outcomes of service members and veterans affected
by traumatic extremity injury and amputation.
The Global Outreach Division strengthens international
relationships through the DoD Secretarial Designation Pro-
gram, which authorizes provision of amputation care for
non-DoD bene
ficiaries. The EACE also serves as a resource
for coalition nations desiring to enhance their extremity
trauma and amputation care capability by providing patient
consultation and developing plans for facilities and services.
Research and Surveillance Division
The EACE R&S Division implemented a comprehensive
plan to conduct clinically relevant research, including the
hiring of clinical researchers, the establishment of collabora-
tions and partnerships, and the identi
fication of clinical
research gaps. The EACE R&S Division consists of 26 core
team members embedded at point of care within the three
ARCs; the Navy Health Research Center, San Diego; and the
James A. Haley Veterans
’ Hospital, Tampa (Fig. 2). The
EACE core and af
filiated researchers (e.g., those from aca-
demic and industrial settings) work collaboratively to identify
and answer clinically relevant questions through externally
funded research projects (Fig. 3). Together, they have been
successful in receiving support from aforementioned research
programs like CDMRP, JPC-8/CRMRP, and RR&D. In addi-
tion, the EACE core and af
filiated researchers have conducted
research projects with support from the National Institutes of
Health, the Of
fice of Naval Research, the U.S. Navy Bureau
of Medicine and Surgery, the Center for Rehabilitation Sci-
ences Research, and the Bridging Advanced Developments
for Exceptional Rehabilitation (BADER) Consortium.
The EACE R&S Division embraces an evidence-based
framework for clinical decision-making
19,20
by gathering
information from clinicians, patients, and research literature to
identify high-priority areas for investigation. An initial clinical
needs assessment conducted in 2012 by the EACE leadership
identi
fied four key research focus areas for investigations
relevant to extremity trauma and amputation: (1) Novel
MILITARY MEDICINE, Vol. 181, November/December Supplement 2016
5
EACE: Overview of the Research and Surveillance Division