REHABILITATION OUTCOMES RESEARCH CENTER
FOR VETERANS WITH NEUROLOGICAL IMPAIRMENT
(RORC)

RORC Welcomes New Director

William Mann, PhD, OTR/L

The Rehabilitation Outcomes Research Center (RORC) Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System (NF/SGVHS) is pleased to welcome aboard our new Center Director, William C. Mann, PhD, OTR/L. Dr. Mann’s expertise in tele-health and tele-homecare, as well as older driver assessment and rehabilitation, are a perfect fit with the primary focus of the RORC -- evaluating rehabilitation programs and interventions that result in optimal patient outcomes.

Dr. Mann's research interests are centered on promoting independence with technology, including driving and smart technology for persons with disabilities. He has been a member of the RORC's Focus 2 Workgroup since 2008, where he shared his passion for home monitoring and communications technologies and his extensive experience in rehabilitation and community-based programs. Under Dr. Mann’s direction, additional research topics to be addressed by RORC investigators will include rural rehabilitation service and service delivery, and Veterans’ transportation challenges.

“It is of the greatest importance to provide evidence-based rehabilitation services for Veterans of past wars and for those returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Our RORC research will advance evidence-based rehabilitation practice,” Mann said.

In addition to his leadership of the RORC, Dr. Mann will remain in his position as Distinguished Professor and Chair of Occupational Therapy at the University of Florida and will continue to direct the Rehabilitation Science Ph.D. Program. Dr. Mann has served as the Principal Investigator for the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Aging since 1991 (funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research) and was instrumental in establishing the University of Florida Gator-Tech Smart House. He also directs the National Older Drivers Research and Training Center.

Before joining the faculty of the University of Florida, Dr. Mann was a professor at the University at Buffalo for 25 years. He has authored more than 125 articles and book chapters on aging and independence in the past 15 years, authored four books, and served as founder and co-editor of the journal Technology and Disability from 1990 to 2000. He has served as the Conference Chair for the 1999, 2003, 2006 and 2008 International Conference on Aging, Disability and Independence (ICADI). Dr. Mann serves on the boards of the American Society on Aging and the Florida Council on Aging. His work extends internationally to projects in Brazil and he is an honorary professor at the University of Sydney.

RORC Targets Rural Health Issues

The Rehabilitation Outcomes Research Center (RORC) Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System (NF/SGVHS) has been selected as the Southeastern Site for one of three Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Rural Health Resource Centers. As a satellite of the Veterans Rural Health Resource Center, Eastern Region (VRHRC-ER) in Togus, Maine/White River Junction, Vermont, the multi-disciplinary team of local investigators from the RORC will work to develop and implement innovations, such as tele-health technology and mobile clinics, to improve the accessibility and quality of healthcare to veterans throughout rural America.

Paul M. Hoffman, MD, Southeastern Site Leader and RORC Principal Investigator stated that “The Gainesville and Lake City VA Medical Centers serve the largest number of rural veterans in our region, so this is a great opportunity to better understand the health issues of our veterans living in remote areas.” The primary areas of interest that will be studied in Gainesville and Lake City are access to and delivery of comprehensive care to disabled patients in rural areas, and rehabilitation of motor, cognitive, and visual disabilities.

Some current rural health initiatives already underway at the Lake City VA Medical Center, include:

• the new Mobility Evaluation Clinic, which will help maximize Veterans’ independence and safety in the home and community; provide care at one facility during one visit; and grant referrals to VA specialty providers closest to a Veterans’ home;
• the Veterans Impairment Center to Optimize Remaining Sight (VICTORS) program, which provides low vision rehabilitation to help veterans maximize their functional vision and increase their independence
; and
• the Comprehensive Care Clinic for Veterans with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), which is evaluating exercise for veterans with MS utilizing video transmission to rural sites and home tele-health monitoring and prevention of skin breakdown and pressure ulcers.

The Lake City VA Medical Center and rural NF/SGVHS Outpatient Clinics will also be sites participating in a Rural Health Training Program with students from the University of Florida and the Florida State University.

Future clinical demonstration projects to be conducted in the NF/SGVHS will evaluate the video transmission of specialty care and rehabilitation training for caregivers of veterans in rural areas. RORC investigators will analyze the cost-effectiveness and quality of care of these programs, as well as patient satisfaction, and will make recommendations about how these services can be provided for veterans in rural areas across the United States and Puerto Rico.

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