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RESOLUTION: 16-01
RESOLVED, that the Blinded Veterans Association,
in convention assembled in Las Vegas, Nevada, on this 1st
day of September 2001, urges the Under Secretary for Health to
instruct Host Network and Facility Directors to refrain from any
actions to reduce resources for the special disability programs
until sufficient functional outcome data is available to support
any such decisions, AND BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that VA Blind Rehabilitation Serve
develop national program guidelines for Residential Blind Rehabilitation
Specialist, Computer Access Training Programs that must be adhered
to by all networks and facilities providing such services.
VA is working hard in this area and generally agrees with the
intent of this resolution. The Performance Measurement Workgroup
has been working with the Blind Rehabilitation Service for several
years to develop outcome measures for the Blind Rehabilitation
Program. Currently, outcome measures for patient satisfaction
and functional ability are being reported for veterans discharged
from a Blind Rehabilitation Center. This effort is part of an
ongoing Rehabilitation Research and Development Study that included
the development of reliable and valid outcome measures. Research
results indicate that the outcome measures are reliable. As a
result, the Rehabilitation Strategic Health Care group and the
Blind Rehabilitation Program Office are working collaboratively
with the Performance Measurement Workgroup and expect to develop
these outcome measures into performance measures.
Currently, the FY 02 Network Plans include a measure for capacity
for special populations that includes Blind Rehabilitation. The
measure reports the number of individuals receiving treatment
in FY 02 and requires that VISNs maintain capacity at the levels
in FY 96 or FY 2000; whichever is higher at the Network level.
Since 1996, capacity has been measured and reported annually for
the Blind Rehabilitation Program using the number of patients
treated, cost of care, FTEE and operating beds in Blind Rehabilitation
Centers (information such as numbers of inpatients and outpatients
treated, although not mandated, is being included in the narrative
of the report).
There have been instances where Blind Rehabilitation staff has
been assigned other collateral duties depending on workload volume.
In these situations, the Blind Rehabilitation Program Office is
expected to consult with the field to assist in the resolution
of resource-related problems.
The Blind Rehabilitation Program Office and the Visual Impairment
Advisory Board have identified the development of national program
guidelines for Blind Rehabilitation specialists as an important
initiative. Task forces are currently working on clinical practice
guidelines and staffing standards that will provide the foundation
for improved national program guidelines. Networks will be encouraged,
as they have been in the past, to support the training programs
for Blind Rehabilitation specialists as well as other Blind Rehabilitation
care providers.
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