C.B.R.C. TORCH

Spring/Summer 2017

A publication of the Central Blind Rehabilitation Center

Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital

Mission

The mission of the Hines

Blind Rehabilitation Center

is to provide High-Quality

Blind Rehabilitation Service

through the provision of a

broad range of programs.

“A Blind Center is where

faith is strongest that blind

people deserve hope,

respect and freedom. These

are accorded first, followed

by the means of achieving

them. Our civilization

permits wholesome living

when blind and here one

learns how.”

Russell C. Williams

WWII Veteran

First Chief of the Hines VA

Blind Rehabilitation Center

1948

PROUDLY SERVING THE CENTRAL AREA REGION

CBRC TORCH NEWSLETTER TEAM The following Blind Center Staff members are responsible for bringing you the TORCH Newsletter: Sean Johnson, Manual Skills Shop Talk with Sean Susan Knauff , Visual Skills Eye Conditions Jamie Ogarek, Manual Skills Resources Emily Traylor, Computer Access Training Technology Today Melissa Winter, RT Recreation at the Blind Rehab Center Mike Dugan, Computer Access Training Accessibility Review Ann Suchie, Communications Specialist /Editor Blind Rehab Center Administration Denise Van Koevering Chief, Blind Rehabilitation Service

Table of Contents In our efforts to ensure accessibility of the TORCH newsletter for our visually impaired audience, hyperlinks have been incorporated in the list below. This feature allows e-readers to float the curser over the list of articles and use the commands “control and click” to quickly link to the article within the publication without having to scroll along line for line, page for page until you locate it. Happy reading!

CBRC_TORCH_NEWSLETTER_Team Table_of_Contents Chiefs_Message Meet_The_Staff WWII_Vets_at_the_BRC Veteran_Spotlight Recreation_Therapy CHOW_Call Eye_Conditions RESOURCES Shop_Talk_with_Sean Technology_Talk Illinois_AMVETS_Engagement_Grant Message_from_the_HBCA Performance_Improvement Tales_From_Andy Service_Dog_Etiquette Know_Your_VIST Contact_Us CBRC_TORCH_Produced_By

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Chief’s Message

Half-way through the year and we are meeting or exceeding goals and working to improve where we can. It is a marathon most of the time, but we are up to the challenge!

We are happy to report that we are improving access to care for admission to the inpatient Blind Rehabilitation Program. Current statistics indicate we are running under 60 days for all of our inpatient programs. This is exceptionally good news. Ensuring that we are able to offer state of the art blind rehabilitation at the right time means we are doing our job, improving Veteran quality of life in short order. Check out the rest of our stats on page 14.

The BVA (Blinded Veterans Association) celebrated their 72nd Birthday on March 28th. The BVA was founded in 1945 by a group of WWII Veterans at an Army convalescent hospital. The BVA’s advocacy has helped VA Blind Rehabilitation greatly over the years. We are grateful for their support. Happy Birthday BVA!

We are excited to report that we are on schedule to update our floors at the Blind Rehabilitation Center. We moved into the new facility in 2005. Twelve years of Veterans, their family members, staff, and visitors, has taken a toll on our floor surfaces. In

efforts to keep our space looking good and safe for traveling, we are on contract to install new flooring this summer. So, if you happen to be here when the floors are being replaced you will be met with some real life mobility challenges to practice on while you are here. Sections of the Center will be closed off as removal and installation occurs. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you in advance for your patience while we update.

This Spring-Summer Issue of the TORCH has lots of information and resources for recreational activities and hobbies: Adaptive Gardening and our Hines Blind Center Alumni (HBCA) Biennial reunion, to name a few. So, stay active this summer, we have lots of ideas on how to do that.

We are looking forward to seeing our former students at the HBCA Biennial Reunion this June. We welcome the opportunity to visit and catch up. See details about the Reunion events in our Message from the HBCA on page 13. Hope to see you there!

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Meet the Staff

Our Medical Team is an integral part of the Rehab-ilitation Process. They respond to health care needs, from simple to complex. This team includes three shifts of Nursing Staff, a Medical Support Assistant (MSA), a Nurse Practitioner, and Physician. We are forever grateful for their expertise and support in day-to-day operations. Depending on when you arrive, you may be greeted by the Day Shift or the Evening Shift Nursing Team.

Our Day Shift includes a team whose combined years of Nursing practice brings over 80 years of Nursing experience to meet your needs.

Felicia Freeman, RN, CRRN (20Years Nursing experience)

Lea Malabanan, LPN(35 years Nursing experience)

Sara Mohan, RN(27 years Nursing experience)

Our (MSA) is Brian Ragsdale. Brian, also a Veteran, coordinates and

facilitates many administrative actions for Nursing, Patients, and Staff.

Our Evening (2nd Shift) Nursing Team assists with late day admissions, medication, and health care education.

Theresa Roberts, RN (Not pictured)

(30 Years Nursing Experience)

Stacey Taylor, LPN(26 Years Nursing Experience)

Leena Xavier, RN(17 Years Nursing Experience)

The Night Shift is responsible for ‘keeping the peace’ so patients get a restful night’s sleep in order to tackle a day of rehabilitation come morning. They manage wake up calls, morning meds, and announce the breakfast chow call to get the day started.

Chrisrose Vadakara, RN, MSN( 7 Years Nursing Experience)

Yvette Johnson-Ingram, LPN( 23 Years Nursing Experience)

Gloria Villa, LPN(10 Years Nursing Experience)

From Left; Sara Mohan,

Brian Ragsdale, Lea Malabanan

From Left; Stacey Taylor,

Leena Xavier

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One of the newest members of our Medical Team is our Nurse Practitioner, Karen Berhinig, APN. Karen practices under the direction of our Staff Physician, Dr. Querbin, ensuring all of our patients are well enough to participate in the Blind Rehabilitation Program.

WWII Vets at the Blind Rehabilitation Center

Photo above from Left: Warren Heyer,

Eve VanPuyvelde, Anthony Santucci,

James Steveson, (the late) Everett Hamilton.

Not pictured; Clayton Sloat, Harold Marley,

Abraham Bohrer.)

According to VA statistics, there are approximately only 620,000 veterans remaining of the 16 million who served our nation in World War II (WW II). While the Blind Rehabilitation Center sees Veterans from many conflicts, as well as peace-time, WW II Veterans are dwindling to a precious few. We were fortunate to have several spend some time with us this spring 2017.

In 2016 we served the following: Period Number of Vets WWII 20 Korean 36 Pre-Korean 2 Post-Korean 20 Vietnam 135 Post-Vietnam 43 Persian Gulf* 46 *Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation New Dawn

From Left; Chrisrose Vadakara,

Yvette Johnson-Ingram,

Gloria Villa

From Left; Karen Berhinig,

Felicia Freeman

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Veteran Spotlight

This issue’s “Veteran Spotlight” features a Veteran

whose love for painting was not hindered by his visual impairment. Meet, Mr. Ken Dobratz.

Hello, I am Ken Dobratz, a Veteran of the Vietnam War. When I lost my sight, like all my brothers and sisters who have experienced a life altering event due to injury or illness, we must pass through a period of mourning, anger and acceptance before we can move forward. A difficult process at best, many of my brothers and sisters are not able to set themselves free. I was an artist when I lost my sight. I gave all my paintings I had to family and tossed my painting materials away because that part of me was dead. Later when I crawled out of the rabbit hole, and with the help of the VISOR (low vision) and Mental Health departments at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis, decided to make an attempt to train myself to paint with the little sight I was left with. This painting (see photo upper right) is one of many I have completed.

I sincerely hope my own experience will inspire you to press forward to achieve your own goals. Please check out my paintings on my Facebook page entitled “Blurred Palette”.

Painting by Ken Dobratz

Recreation Therapy

The Hines Blind Center can

never seem to get away from the sport of “golf,” even during the winter months. Recently, the Hines Blind Rehabilitation Center was contacted by the Freedom Golf Association and was invited to attend golf lessons from a PGA Pro, and practice at a local indoor

golf dome. The golf dome has easily become a place where Veterans who are new to the game of golf, fell in love with it, and Veterans who have experience with the game, worked on perfecting their

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techniques. The easy lessons from the Pro made it so Veterans

were able to work on their golf swing with ease. Veterans had lots of opportunities to practice golfing in time for visits to the local country clubs this summer.

Irish Fest at the BRC

We are very pleased with how diverse our Recreation Program is here at Hines VA Hospital Blind Rehabilitation Center. We are very thankful for the many Service Organizations that support our recreation program activities throughout the year.

These years’ St. Patrick’s Day celebrations brought Irish Fest to the Blind Center, with food and music.

The Italian War Veterans Service Organization always puts on a great event and has many volunteers who assist in facilitating whatever event they are sponsoring. Here are some memories from this year’s Italian War Vet’s Irish Fest.

The live band (photo above) brought a lot of atmosphere to the patient’s dining hall.

The patient’s dining hall was transformed into an Irish Pub (minus the beer).

Special Thanks to Donna Spinner of the Italian War Veterans for supplying the photo memories from this event.

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CHOW Call Low Vision BBQ Sauce Submitted by: Val Chavez

Previously featured in our Fall issue 2016, in the Veteran Success article, Mr. Val Chavez has graciously agreed to share his secret award winning BBQ Sauce recipe, now known as the Low Vision BBQ Sauce. (Spoiler alert; it has bourbon in it; how could you go wrong?!)

1 1/2 cups apple juice 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar 2 cups ketchup 2 1/2 Tbsp ground mustard 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp ground black pepper 2 tsp hot sauce 1 Tbsp paprika 2 tsp kosher salt 2 Tbsp honey

* Optional; to make sweeter add 2Tbsp molasses or more honey. Place in a small pot with burner on low to medium low. If the burner is higher, you risk scorching or burning the sauce. As you add ingredients stir well.

Turn burner to medium and continue to stir. Stir until sauce starts to boil then turn burner down to low and let

simmer for 20 minutes and stir occasionally.

After simmering add one ounce of whisky or bourbon (it gives the sauce a nice flavor, aroma, and mellow smooth taste.)

Southern Jiffy Corn Pudding Goes great with BBQ!

½ cup butter 1 egg 1 cup sour cream 1 8.5 oz box Jiffy cornbread mix 1 14.5 oz canned cream corn 1 14.5 oz can whole kernel corn drained

Melt butter in an 8” square casserole dish. Mix in egg and then all remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

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Eye Conditions

Seeing Things? Do you have low vision? Are you seeing polar bears in your garage? Or vibrant flowers blooming in your bathtub? Even though you know that these images are not real, it still makes you wonder if you are going a little bit crazy. This phenomenon of seeing visions that the person with low vision knows are not real is called Charles Bonnet Syndrome. With Charles Bonnet Syndrome, a part of the visual system becomes impaired and is not able to pass on the visual information to the brain, as a result the brain starts creating its own images.

Drs. Lylas Mogk and Marja Mogk have found in their research that 20% of their patients experienced these visions; this percentage may be higher, but some people may not be confiding to others that they are seeing these images. Charles Bonnet was an 18th-century Swiss naturalist and philosopher, whose grandfather had low vision from cataracts and would describe his experiences of seeing things that he knew were not there. Later in life, Charles Bonnet also experienced vision loss and experienced phantom visions as well. According to the Mogk’s book, there are six criteria that Charles Bonnet established to determine if the person is experiencing phantom vision:

1. They happen when fully alert andawake.

2. You know that they are not real.3. They happen in normal perception;

you can be looking out the windowand see a monkey sitting on theporch.

4. They are exclusively visual. Theyare not combined with sounds orsensations.

5. They appear and vanish without acause.

6. They can be funny or annoying, butnot scary or grotesque.

The Mogks found that there was no rhyme or reason behind how often the visions occur, the duration with which they occur, or how long the visions will continue throughout the person’s lifetime. So, the next time that you see a tiger in your living room or balloons floating in your bathroom, remember that this, although an annoying or confusing occurrence, is relatively common, related to your vision loss, and has a name – Charles Bonnet Syndrome.

Reference: Mogk, Lylas and Mogk, Marja. Macular Degeneration The Complete Guide to Saving and Maximizing Your Sight. 1999, 2003.

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RESOURCES Adaptive Gardening

It is that wonderful time again, longer days, warm sun-shine, bring gardening season! There are a host of RESOURCES available to support gardeners with disabilities, including the visually impaired. Read on to learn some tips and techniques to consider to keep your garden going, or to start one!

Raised Beds & Container

Gardening

Traditional gardens are typically located in a plot of land in a yard where space is sectioned off, tilled, and maintained for flowers, herbs, or fruits and vegetables. This makes the garden stationary and requires a certain amount of physical stamina to reach plants for regular maintenance. Raised beds and/or containers can replace the stationary plot of land, and provide more accessibility to the plants, making maintenance easier for people of all abilities.

The beauty of container gardening means you can move pots if you want to. Bring them closer to the door, to a spot with more sun, or more shade. A container garden does not require a lot of time or space, however, a hot summer, may require more watering because plants in containers dry out quicker.

The Blind Rehabilitation Center utilizes the Center Courtyard for a raised bed container garden for Veterans each summer. It has several raised garden boxes; two purchased at Home Depot and one that was created by a Veteran out of two-by-fours without a front panel to make it even more accessible for Veterans in wheelchairs. Large pots of plants are placed on these beds with Garden Labels in both braille and large print on durable plastic laminated paper. Utilizing soil specially designed for container gardening will ensure success. These raised tables make it easier for everyone, no bending required.

Last year, Veterans selected the plants for the containers which included tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, lettuce, and an assortment of peppers. Plant selection is important to success because you will want to select plants that do well in containers. These selections all did very well. Veterans enjoyed a bounty of vegetables over the summer season and even used some in their Living Skills cooking assignments; nothing like a fresh picked tomato straight from the garden.

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Fragrance & Sensory Gardening

Incorporating fragrance and sensory aspects can be accomplished through the use of herbs. Herbs are another really good choice for container gardening. (A little known secret on herbs… many of them are perennial, in that they come back year after year, even in a container.) The fragrance of basil, oregano, thyme, or rosemary will stimulate the olfactory senses and taste good too!

Our Veteran container garden included one big pot of herbs, including parsley, chives, basil, and oregano, which can be used in cooking meals or maybe even your evening drink (mint for tea or even a mojito!).

Another option for integrating sensory features includes sounds. The careful placement of a wind-chime, or small water fountain in a pot, can stimulate the hearing sensory factor and also help a visually impaired person identify a location or certain part of the garden. Whatever you might choose to garden, vegetables, herbs, or flowers, it can be a pleasant recreational activity with extra benefits to enhance your meals or your kitchen table. Resources on adaptive gardening can be found at the sites below:

Hadley Institute for the Blind andVisually Impaired ContainerGardening class including a gardenseminar audio transcript by severalexperienced visually impairedgardeners.www.hadley.edu/seminardetails.asp?sid=20Or 1.800.323.4238.

Perkins School for the Blind atwww.perkinselearning.org whichincludes gardening tips for thevisually impaired.

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Shop Talk with Sean

Adaptive Options for Tuning your Guitar Whether you just picked up a guitar for the first time, or you’re a regular Jimmy Hendrix, tuning the guitar is the most basic and important skill for success. There are many methods and devices out there to help properly tune the guitar, ranging from tuning by ear to using a Bluetooth connected device and your smartphone. When determining the best method for you, there are several considerations. Consider your musical ear (or lack thereof), your technological savvy, your level of vision, and your budget.

When trying to identify the best solution, it’s usually best to start with the most basic and low tech option. Tuning by ear is the most basic method, requiring no additional devices and no additional cost. This method, however, is best saved for the experienced guitar player with an ear for pitch and who knows their way around the guitar. A quick internet search will bring up a description of this method for those looking for additional information.

The most common option amongst guitar players would be an electronic tuner. These tuners start at around ten dollars, and go up from there, and will fit easily in your guitar case or pocket. For those who have sufficient remaining vision, these tuners are

simple to use. They usually have an LCD display indicating the string played and an indication of whether the note plucked was sharp or flat. From there, the player can make their adjustments. The displays vary greatly, some more visible for low vision users, and some less. To check out these options, go to your local music store and try them out to find one that works best.

For smartphone users, there are many different applications apps for tuning the guitar. These apps range anywhere in price from “free” to a few dollars. One iPhone app that is excellent for blind or low vision guitar players is called “Talking Tuner.” This app will provide speech output indicating whether the note played is sharp or flat. Again, the player can make necessary adjustments based on this information until the proper tune is achieved.

For those gadget lovers, there are devices that connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth and fit over the tuning pegs. These devices will automatically make the adjustments needed to tune the guitar when a string is plucked. The device is around $100, and must be used in combination with a free app that corresponds with the device. Depending on the accessibility you are using on your smartphone, all functions of the app may not be accessible. An internet search for “Bluetooth guitar tuner” will bring up

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additional information on these products.

The important thing to remember when choosing the best method for tuning your guitar is to find one that fits your budget, vision, and abilities. Take a trip to your local music store and try various tuners “hands on” before making a decision. Most of all, have fun and continue learning!

Technology Talk

The Computer Access Training department has transitioned to IOS 10 for the Iphone. This new

software update has some positive and negatives as it relates to your experience with Zoom and VoiceOver.

Fingerprint ID As you might have noticed, the finger print ID feature to unlock your phone has improved. Recognition of your print seems faster and more forgiving of a slight positional change but uses a two- step process. First, one must rest a finger then press the home button to unlock it. It also now emits a sound and says “try again” if it doesn’t recognize your fingerprint.

Described photos?! Yes, the photos you take are now able to be described by the environment, number of faces, photo orientation, and if they are smiling. It will also say if the photo is sharp or blurry but will not always describe the

objects in the photograph. For instance, it recognized a baby in a photo but not a bar of soap. Apple Vis, a review site for assistive technology states, “…iOS performs eleven billion calculations per picture to determine what objects are in your photos. It cannot only detect objects, but also facial recognition which can then compare pictures in your lists of contacts to tag people automatically.”

Raise to wake up This feature is automatically turned on upon updating. It allows the phone to be woken up when lifted. This can be annoying with VoiceOver on, because it will start reading the date and time. It can be turned off under Settings>Display & Brightness.

New Voices Two voices have primarily been utilized for Siri until now. A total of six voices are available now: Fred, Tom, Allison, Ava, Victoria, and Susan. Try one of these out by downloading them. Check them out by navigating to Settings> General>Accessibility> Voice Over >Speech.

Some users might find these new features too disorienting and therefore not worth upgrading their software. Remember, your device is supposed to serve “YOU” well, not the person next to you. If you feel comfortable with operating your current software, then leave it alone.

Sources Cited: Scott Davert on 13 September 13, 2016 on www.applevis.com

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Illinois AMVETS Engagement Grant

Hines Blind Rehabilitation Center was the recipient of an Engagement Grant sponsored by the Illinois AMVETS Service Foundation this past Spring.

Illinois AMVETS Service Foundation is committed to supporting the Illinois Veteran Homes and VA Medical Centers. In an effort to support the unique needs of each facility, Illinois AMVETS Service Foundation offers a grant of up to $800 per facility to support a project or service for Veterans.

While Illinois Veterans Facilities included four Veteran’s Homes, and five Health Care Centers/Hospitals, the Hines Blind Rehabilitation Center

Chief, Denise Van Koevering, applied for and was awarded this grant for use at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital by our inpatient visually impaired Veterans participating in Blind Rehabilitation.

The grant funded a St. Patrick’s Day luncheon with all the fixin’s. Veterans were presented with an opportunity to use their newly developed mobility skills to travel to the buffet luncheon, make their way through the buffet line, and help themselves to the corned beef and cabbage banquet.

Volunteers assisted where needed. Veterans were grateful for the opportunity to participate while practicing new skills just learned at the Blind Center in a real life- same time event.

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Hines VA Hospital and Blind Rehabilitation Staff are grateful for the generosity of the Illinois AMVETS for selecting Hines Blind Center for this GRANT and for sponsoring this event and supporting our Veterans in more ways than one.

Message from the Hines Blind Center Alumni (HBCA)

A Note from the HBCA President

REMINDER! The only requirement to becoming a HBCA member is that you are a Hines BRC graduate who has completed a registration form

(offered at your exit interview) and submitted it to the HBCA. If you are unsure of your status, send an email to Keith Heltsley, keith@heltsley.net

Election of Officers The nominations letters were mailed out. Board Members will be introduced at our June business meeting.

Business Meeting and Reunion A mailing was sent out in March which included details of the business meeting and alumni reunion which will occur from June 14-16, 2017. So, start planning and be sure to save the date!

HBCA June 14-16 Events All HBCA events will take place at the Holiday Inn William Tell Cornell Room. (All events open with exception of Business meeting; max. occupancy 50) Day 1 – Wednesday, June 14th Registration and Welcome Reception Day 2 – Thursday, June 15th Registration, Seminars and Business Meeting Day 3 – Friday, June16th 5K Run and Open House at the Blind Center

Farewell Reception at Cornell Room Holiday Inn William Tell

Final Thought…Any suggestions you may have are needed and welcome. This is your organization. Call me anytime, Terry Kebbel 575-323-4611.

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Performance Improvement

Half-way through our year and “on target” with a number of goals.

Access Over the past two quarters, we are averaging about a 37 day wait for admission to Blind Rehabilitation. We are meeting our target goal of 60 days or less wait time for admission.

All Employee Survey Results Staff Recognition and Praise continues to be a priority. Initiatives to address this included implementing a “Praise Board” located at the entrance of our Center. This has allowed anyone the opportunity to praise or thank any employee publically by posting a comment card on the board for all to read. This practice is quick, personal, and timely and has resulted in several positive comments for a number of staff posted by Center staff, patients and staff from around the hospital.

Satisfaction Consumer Satisfaction through the National uSPEQ Survey second quarter results were not yet tabulated, however, as of December 2016, we continued to maintain Consumer Satisfaction at 100%.

Virtual Care We continue to seek out new applications for Virtual Care through

Telehealth modalities. We have not yet reached our goal of five new clinical video telehealth encounters, but, are progressing toward that goal and have until the end of September 2017 to do it.

Safety We continue to maintain a 90%threshold for hand hygiene with direct patient care practices. Currently we are tracking at 100%.

Tales from Andy Brought to you by our virtual guide dog, “Andy.” Hope the following Jokes and Quotes bring a smile to your face or a chuckle to your day. Enjoy!

Jokes

I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any.

Slept like a log last night......Woke up in the fireplace.

I cleaned the attic with the wife the other day. Now I can't get the cobwebs out of her hair.

Quotes

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough!”

Mae West

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Service Dog Etiquette

You’re not dealing with just a dog. VA facilities welcome Service Dogs and their handlers on their campuses. The following points will help others understand the dog’s role and better interact when encountered with a Service Dog and their handler.

Do speak to the dog’s handler only.

Conversing with the person aboutthe Service dog or the person’sdisabilities is not recommended.Questions of a personal natureshould be avoided. If the personvolunteers information, you maydecide if you wish to continue theconversation. Don’t feel offended ifthe person declines to talk aboutthemselves or the Service Dog.

Don’t distract a Service Dog from

its duties by petting it, talking to it,

or touching it.

Don’t offer food or toys to the

Service Dog.

Do understand that Service Dogs

are authorized to be on Medical

Center grounds.

If you don’t like dogs or are afraid of dogs, place yourself away from the service dog. If you are a business person, discreetly arrange for someone else to wait on the person. You may ask the person to have the

Service Dog lie down if it does not interfere with its work.

If the Service dog barks, growls, or otherwise forgets its manners, find out what happened before taking action. Was the Service Dog stepped on, poked, asleep and dreaming, performing its job? (Some alert their owners to oncoming seizures by barking once or twice). If the dog’s behavior is disruptive or destructive, you may ask the person to remove it from the premises.

If other people complain about the dog being present, explain that the service dog is medically necessary and that federal law protects the right of the person to be accompanied by the service animal/service dog in public places.

This has been a public service message on behalf of our virtual guide dog Andy.

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Know your VIST (Visual Impairment Services Team Coordinators) The Visual Impairment Services Team Coordinators, better known as (VIST) are your case managers for Blind Rehabilitation care and services and your first contact when you need to enroll or apply for a program. Whether it be your first admission to the Blind Center, a special program to meet unique needs, or a refresher program, these representatives are key. The following is a current updated list for the Central area Region who refer Veterans to the Hines Central Blind Rehabilitation Center.

VIST Coordinator LOCATION PHONE

Gregory Manuel Lexington, KY (859) 281-3916

Julie Kennedy Louisville, KY (502) 287-4000 x55049

Brian Joos Cincinnati, OH (513) 559-3567

Karla Riste Dayton, OH (937) 268-6511 X3514

VACANT Chillicothe, OH

Matthew Page Columbus OPC (614) 257-5325

Beth Levine Youngstown OPC (330) 740-9200 X1580

Marianne Ryan Cleveland, OH (216) 791-3800 X2108

Jennifer Troyer Detroit, MI (313) 576-4888

Bill Bernhard Battle Creek, MI (269) 223-6607

Richard Alden Ann Arbor, MI (734) 845-3064

Deanna Austin Indianapolis, IN (317) 988-2576

Jeff Stroud Danville, IL (217) 554-5406

NovaLea Welch FT Wayne, IN (260) 426-5431 x72650

Leland Lewis Saginaw, MI (989) 497-2500 X11852

Helen Witt (Acting) North Chicago, IL (224) 610-5402

Pat Zeinstra Hines, IL (708) 202-2351

Melinda Dunlap Jesse Brown (Chicago, IL) (312) 569-7531

Leon Haith Milwaukee, WI (414) 384-2000 X41832

Kurt Brunner Madison, WI (608) 256-1901 x11960

Patricia Staller Iron Mountain, MI (906) 774-3300 X34515

Gina Chmelka Tomah, WI (608) 372-3971 x66440

Kevin Jacques St. Louis, MO (314) 652-4100 X54121

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Paul Clary-Archuleta Kansas City, MO (816) 861-4700 x56924

Erin Shaw Poplar Bluff, MO (573) 686-9784

Dawn M. Clouse Leavenworth, KS (913) 682-2000 x53825

Betty Howerton Marion, IL (618) 997-5311 X54815

Bob Hamilton Wichita, KS (316) 651-3682

Lauren Swift Columbia, MO (573) 814-6458

Anna Perry Sioux Falls, MI (605) 333-6891

Jennifer Points Minneapolis, MN (612) 467-1814

Lois Thesing St Cloud, MN (320) 255-6480 X7802

Wesley Hodgson Des Moines, IA (515) 699-5410

Jean Butler Omaha, NE (402) 995-3188

Keith Queen Iowa City, IA (319) 338-0581 x6889

Jody Schommer Fargo, ND (701) 232-3241 X3056

VACANT Black Hills, SD

Contact Us: For comments, questions, address updates, or readers who wish to be added to the e-mail distribution of this publication, please contact us at the address, phone, or e-mail below: HinesCentralBRC@va.gov C.B.R.C. Torch PO Box 5000 (124) Hines, IL 60141-5000 (708) 202-3668

CBRC TORCH Produced By: The Central Blind Rehabilitation Center, Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital. You can view online at the following link: http://www.hines.va.gov/services/blindrehab.asp Contents are not necessarily the official views of or endorsed by the

U.S. Government or Department of Veterans Affairs. Links may take you outside of the Department of VA web-site. Links will open in a new window. VA does not endorse nor is responsible for the content of the linked websites.

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