VA Names New Rehab Director
Charles H. Crawford has been appointed as the National Program
Director of VA Blind Rehabilitation Service. The announcement
was made by the Rehabilitation Strategic Health Care Group, Office
of Patient Care Services, on May 24, 2004. He assumed his new
position on June 1.
Crawford most recently served as the Executive Director of the
American Council of the Blind in Washington, DC, for five years,
where he collaborated with BVA on a number of projects and initiatives
for the blind.
Prior to moving to the Nation’s Capital, he was the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts Commissioner for the Blind from 1984 to 1998.
He is an active volunteer and advocate for the blind and disabled,
and has received numerous awards in the area of technology development
for the blind and visually impaired. Crawford has served as the
President of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind.
Reporting directly to the Chief Consultant of the Rehabilitation
Strategic Healthcare Group, Crawford has oversight responsibilities
of VA’s comprehensive blind rehabilitation services to veterans.
He serves as the principal liaison with BVA concerning issues
related to blind rehabilitation. He also leads in guiding effective
rehabilitation criteria and standards, consults with field stations
in rehabilitation-related matters, and assesses general trends
and developments that could affect VA rehabilitation programs
for America’s blinded veterans.
Unfortunately, BVA learned on July 12 that Charlie Crawford had
suffered a cerebral aneurysm earlier that morning. He is presently
making a steady recovery and hopes to resume his duties in the
near future.
Bush Recognizes Charleen Szabo
A BVA friend and key pioneer of the VISOR (Visual Impairment
Service Outpatient Rehabilitation) Program at the Lebanon VA Medical
Center six years ago is a recipient of the 2003 Presidential Rank
Award for Meritorious Senior Professionals. A formal award ceremony
for those honored occurred in Washington, DC, in July.
Charleen R. Szabo, now Network Director of the Pittsburgh-based
VA Stars & Stripes Healthcare Network, was one of a small
group of career senior executives singled out for exceptional
long-term accomplishments. Winners are chosen through a rigorous
selection process, and must achieve results and consistently demonstrate
strength, integrity, industry, and a relentless commitment to
excellence in public service.
Szabo was nominated by her agency head, evaluated by boards of
private citizens, and approved for the award by the President.
She currently oversees a health care network that includes 10
VA medical centers and some 40 community-based outpatient clinics
in six states.
When the leaders of the BVA of Pennsylvania Regional Group sought
a home for 15 blind rehabilitation beds in the late summer of
1998, it was Szabo, then director of the Lebanon VA Medical Center,
who was most receptive to BVA’s idea of a Blind Rehabilitation
Center in Pennsylvania. Once it was evident that a full-blown
BRC was not financially feasible, Szabo enthusiastically supported
VIST Coordinator Nancy Strohm’s conception of VISOR, which
provided blind rehabilitation services on a more moderate scale.
Szabo spearheaded coalition building with many outside organizations,
and fostered an employee environment that resulted in the recognition
of the Lebanon VA Medical Center as a "best practice"
health care facility during her tenure.
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