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Banner Wheelchair Suns, Banner Good Samaritan Rehab Institute team up on and off the court

February 12, 2014
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PHOENIX (January 30, 2014) – For more than 20 years, Banner Health and the Phoenix Suns have been proud sponsors of the Banner Wheelchair Suns, an extraordinarily successful team in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. 

This partnership dates to the mid-1980s when the Banner Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Institute and the Phoenix Suns founded the Samaritan Wheelchair Suns.

The Wheelchair Suns now encompasses four teams – the Men’s Division I and Division II; the Banner Wheelchair Mercury for women; and the Banner Junior Suns for kids, which started their first season in 2006.

In addition to playing a full schedule of 25 games a year, the team makes more than 30 appearances, participating in fundraisers and visiting local school and youth groups to raise awareness of disability issues. The team created a Drive Safe Campaign that features TV and radio public service announcements, posers and school assemblies geared toward educating young drivers.

At school gatherings, the team challenges teachers, staff, students and administrators to a short game of wheelchair basketball. Because of their skill and experience, they handily defeat the school team letting kids know that “it’s OK to be Different.”

The newest members of the wheelchair teams, the Banner Junior Suns, includes players ages 12 to 18 years old. Junior team members develop more confidence about their abilities, and adults get the benefits of mentoring.

In partnership with the Banner Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Institute, the Banner Wheelchair Suns also work with adults in wheelchairs in clinics designed to promote confidence and independence by helping them learn important wheelchair skills. Whether it’s learning new skills or brushing up on old ones, the clinics provide tools to handle everyday situations such as transferring in and out of your chair, drinking at water fountains or even traveling on a plane.

For more information on these wheelchair clinics, please call the Banner Good Samaritan Rehab Institute at (602)-839-2317.

Banner Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Institute offers inpatient and outpatient therapy services for all levels of need,â ¨from minor deficits to severe conditions impacting an individual’s ability to live and function independently. Common rehabilitation services include occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy. The Rehab Institute also provides a wide range of highly specialized inpatient rehabilitation programs. For more information, visit www.bannerhealth.com or call (602) 839-2361. The Rehab Institute is located at 1012 E. Willetta Road in Phoenix.


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