Queen Rania Rehabilitation Center Inaugurated in Cologne

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department – Cologne) Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah inaugurated the new Queen Rania Rehabilitation Center at the University of Cologne in Germany, where a memorandum of understanding was signed between the university and the Royal Medical Services (RMS) in Jordan.

According to the agreement, the center will offer training programs for Jordanian physiotherapists and physicians. This will include both short-term and long-term practical training at the rehabilitation center.

Physiotherapists and physicians from the rehabilitation center will also be making visits to Jordan to provide on-the-job training to their Jordanian counterparts at the Pediatric Rehabilitation Medical Clinic, part of the Queen Rania Children's Hospital. The Queen Rania Children's Hospital is expected to open in Jordan in 2008.

The rehabilitation center will also provide technical assistance, advice, and equipment for the planning of the clinic.

Queen Rania, who is the Chairperson of the Royal Health Awareness Society in Jordan, advocates the exchange of expertise and noted her enthusiasm in the signing of this MoU. "With the signing of this agreement today, I am delighted that many of these benefits are set to extend beyond the walls of this clinic to Jordan’s children, where we look forward to collaborative training for our doctors and physiotherapists; to sharing knowledge and know-how; and to building a sister center that will continue this pioneering work," she said.

The rehabilitation center specializes in the treatment for children with mobility difficulties; it houses highly qualified doctors, physiotherapists, sport-therapists and nurses.

"[The] center offers a prescription of hope for those children, and their families, who have missed out on some of the twists and turns that make the journey of childhood so exciting," said Queen Rania. "Combining compassion and care with cutting-edge technology and medical expertise, your clinic enables children to stand tall, and regain their mobility one step at a time."

The center offers treatment for different diseases affecting motor function, including treatment for patients affected with severe bone diseases (brittle bone disease), as well as treatment for children affected with infantile cerebral paralysis or primary diseases of the muscular function.

After the memorandum was signed, Queen Rania toured the center with Head of State Chancellery of Northern Rhine Westphalia Karsten Beneke; Mayor Fritz Schramma; Dr. Eckhard Schönau, Director of the rehabilitation center; as well as Professor Axel Freimuth, President of the university and other university representatives.

The rehabilitation program involves two weeks of in-patient treatment followed by out-patient rehabilitation. The patient is introduced to the Galileo machine to stimulate muscles and response, and then is encouraged to further development by means of the machines and exercises. The machine is a special device used to improve the limited mobility of patients and protect the skeletal system from osteoporosis, which is often associated with limited physical activity. The Galileo-system is an internationally recommended scientific concept for the improvement of physical activity in handicapped individuals.

Her Majesty observed the therapy techniques used by the center and checked in on a few children who along with their mothers, pediatricians, and physiotherapists were being treated with special muscle and vibration therapy.

The Children's Hospital of the University of Cologne is a University Hospital specializing in all pediatric disciplines. It treats metabolic bone diseases in children and adolescents.