VIST NEWSLETTER
Robley Rex VA Medical Center
VIST
Coordinator/Newsletter Editor:
Brenda
Hibberd, M. Ed., CRC
Phone: (800) 376-8387 ext 55049 or (502) 287-5049
WINTER
2013
The VIST Program provides service to
veterans with legal blindness or severe visual impairment. Please contact the VIST Coordinator if
would like this newsletter by email or in audio format.
Greetings
from your VIST Coordinator . . .
Welcome
to the Winter 2013 issue of the VIST Newsletter from the Robley Rex VA Medical
Center!
The VIST program at the Robley Rex VA Medical
Center was fast moving and exciting in fiscal year 2012 with over 200 blinded Veterans referred for assessment
and/or training. This includes 25
Veterans referred for comprehensive inpatient services at the VA Blind Rehabilitation Centers, and I congratulate all those who completed the
regular program or additional training.
Many Veterans received low vision optometry at the VISOR clinic in
Lexington, and 117 were referred to our Blind Rehabilitation
Outpatient Specialist (BROS), Ms. Julie Kennedy. Julie has “hit the ground running” and her in
home assessment and training services are greatly appreciated by our blinded
Veterans.
VIST
NEWSLETTER WINTER
2013 Page 2
Julie
and I believe that 2013 will offer expanded services for blinded Veterans at
the Robley Rex VA Medical Center! Although
currently vacant, we hope to have the
very important Low Vision Optometrist position filled in early 2013. In
March I plan to offer a Support Group
for blinded Veterans as an additional source of
encouragement, education, and shared ideas. I want to thank the Blinded Veterans Association for inviting me
to its Christmas party, and I look
forward to working with the BVA in the coming year! Please see an article by the new President,
Ken Perry, in this issue! As always
feel free to phone me toll free at 1-800-376-8387, ext. 55049 or directly at
502-287-5049 to talk about your blind rehabilitation needs/services or to make
an appointment to meet with me.
Inside
this issue:
News
from Birmingham
TEE
Tournament 2013
HealtheVet
Program
BVA
News: Meet the new President!
New
VIST Support Group
Ticket
to Independence
In
closing . . .
VIST
NEWSLETTER WINTER
2013 Page 3
News from Birmingham
The Southeastern Blind Rehabilitation
Center is now using a team approach to rehabilitation. When a Veteran is admitted to SBRC he/she is
assigned to a team. This enhances the seamless
provision of services and communication among all who work with the Veteran.
The Veteran’s team works together to guide him/her to achieving rehabilitation
goals.
TEE Tournament UPDATE
The 2013 National Veterans TEE
Tournament (Training, Exposure, Experience) will again be in Iowa City on 09/09/13 through 09/12/13.
The TEE Tournament is a
rehabilitation program including golf, bowling, and other activities for Veterans who are legally blind, or Veterans with other disabilities such as
traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries. Lodging is at the Riverside Casino
& Gold Resort in Iowa City. The TEE
Tournament is hosted by the Iowa City VA Medical Center with support from many
volunteers. Veterans come back excited - talking about new skills, new friends, and
lots of fun!
Applications will be available around
mid January and the deadline for return is July 1, 2013. For more information or to request an
application phone: Kirt Sickels, NVTT
Director, (319) 358-5963. Also
visit the National Veterans TEE
Tournament web site – www.tee.va.gov.
VIST NEWSLETTER WINTER 2013 Page 4
My HealtheVet
My HealtheVet is
the VA's Personal Health Record. It was designed for Veterans, active duty
Service members, their dependents and caregivers. My HealtheVet helps you partner with your
health care team. It provides you opportunities and tools to make informed
decisions.
Specific features in My HealtheVet
are available to you based on your account type. All users who have a Basic account are able to view their self-entered information.
If you are a VA patient, you can upgrade your account to Advanced or Premium*. These account types may allow you to refill your VA
prescriptions online, view VA lab results and appointments online, communicate
with your VA Healthcare teams and view parts of your VA health record.
Use My HealtheVet
and become an active partner in your health care. Remember, by working with
your health care team and knowing your health conditions, you can learn to make
healthy choices and better manage your health. Take time to Register Today at www.myhealth.va.gov and then
get your upgraded account the next time you visit your VA facility.
Kesha Dewalt
HealtheVet Coordinator
Robley Rex VAMC
502-287-4726
VIST NEWSLETTER WINTER 2013 Page 5
Note from the New
BVA PResident
Happy New Year! The 13
in the year 2013 made me think of the
Apollo 13 launch the year of my birth. Ken Mattingly was originally slated to be the Command Module pilot but was exposed to German measles and had not been
previously immunized. His backup, John L. Swigert, was thrust into the position of command pilot
due to this unforeseen human
frailty. Now it’s my turn.
Our BVA chapter
in the last year has risen to new heights under the leadership of President
Bill Simpson. I am a computer programmer
for the American Printing House and have filled the position as Vice President of
the local BVA until now. My name is Ken Perry, and I am 100% blind. I am married to a lovely lady named Kathy and
have three grown children, 3 dogs, and a cat.
If that isn’t too much
information, I don’t know what is. Due to some medical issues, Bill has stepped
down as President, and I will be taking
over. Bill is not leaving us. He has agreed to stay on as my Vice President
to help me learn the ropes and, to continue to do what he can to help our Chapter
grow.
Like the
Astronaut John L. Swigert I cannot foresee the successes or failures we will
have. I don’t know if we will need duct tape or
Champagne. I know that the Executive Board
and I will continue to work for the
membership and hopefully with the membership.
We are all only as good as the team that supports us. The Astronauts of old and new could never
make it to new heights without the ground crew and the support of their
families, country, and faith in God.
VIST NEWSLETTER WINTER 2013 Page 6
Note from the New BVA President,
continued
Our group has
much easier goals to meet than the Astronauts, but we still need to work
together to achieve them. With that in
mind, I hope the membership and Board will work with me on new ideas and goals in
the coming years. Consider me a
President in training and make sure you let your needs and ideas be heard. I hope to see you all at the upcoming Support
Group that Brenda is announcing in this Newsletter. If you need to get in touch with me, my contact information is as follows: Phone: 502-432-3701
Email:
kperry@blinksoft.com
VIST SUPPORT GROUP
Veterans, you’re invited to a planning meeting
to start a VIST Support group here at the Robley Rex VAMC!
Time: Friday, March 29, 2013 from 10:00 until
11:30am
Place: Room D-101,
ground floor near the West entrance
This is a planning meeting for your input as
to future meeting dates and speakers/subjects that interest you. You
are welcome to bring your spouse or a friend.
I will lead the Group and,
depending on response, I am hoping to schedule
a meeting once/month. The primary focus of the group is education
via speakers on a topic of interest.
Examples of topics include: Caregiver Support, VA Audiologist on Tips
for better Hearing; Diabetes and
healthful eating ideas; MY HealtheVet program, Talking Books and
other free resources, Blinded Veterans Association . . .
VIST NEWSLETTER WINTER 2013 Page 7
VIST Support Group – Continued
The Support Group is to offer a place
for blinded Veterans to meet others with vision loss in an informal atmosphere which is informative and
supportive. Light refreshments may be
provided and a time to just socialize prior to and following the speaker.
******Veterans who are interested in
attending future meetings, please phone or email the VIST Coordinator so that I
can put you on a contact list. Meeting
times/dates may change.*****
Ticket to
Independence
By Jeanne Samitz, Rehabilitation Teacher
VA Medical Center, Lebanon, PA
Have
you noticed that you’ve stopped doing things for yourself because you cannot
see to do them? Do you find that when
you pour a glass of iced tea, more ends up on the kitchen counter than in the
glass? Do you have a collection of
shirts without buttons waiting for someone to sew them back on? Are you wearing white socks with every outfit
because you cannot distinguish black from navy blue? How do you know what is in the cans in the
cupboard, and can you open those cans after you have finally found the one you
wanted? Are you embarrassed to go out
for meals because you find that more food ends up in your lap than in your
mouth? Is someone else writing your
checks because you cannot see the lines to fill them out yourself? Is someone pouring you iced tea, sewing
buttons, and matching your socks or any of these things for you?
Rehabilitation
Teaching is a field dedicated to helping people with visual impairment to find
new ways to successfully accomplish tasks that were once automatic and easy for
them, including the ones listed above.
If you said, “YES!” to any of the
above, or if there are other areas of self-care with which you need assistance
because of your vision loss, call your VIST Coordinator. You would greatly benefit from going
to the VA’s Blind Rehabilitation Center.
VIST NEWSLETTER WINTER
2013 Page 8
In
Closing . . . As your VIST Coordinator, I will add that the VA Blind Rehabilitation Centers
also provide training far beyond basic self-care skills. Veterans can learn computer skills using
adaptive software which magnifies the text or actually reads the screen for the
Veteran. Thus he/she can send and receive emails and search the web. Veterans can learn hobbies in Manual
skills, cooking, and mobility cane
skills. Veterans frequently return to
learn how to use a GPS or the IPhone or IPad. If you want to expand your skills
and independence, consider training at the Southeastern Blind Rehabilitation Center
in Birmingham. You will also make new
friends!
As a final note, I want to thank each
and every Veteran for the opportunity to serve you. I have learned so much from my Veterans who
are courageous in the face of
Catastrophic Disability, patient, sincere, and always appreciative. I am so blessed to be your VIST
Coordinator. I hope 2013 will be a year
full of peace, joy, and new opportunity for each of you!
Your
comments, thoughts and ideas may be directed to Brenda Hibberd, VIST
Coordinator at (502)287-5049 or (800)376-8387 ext 55049. Please contact the
VIST office if you wish to receive this newsletter in an email or audio format.
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VIST NEWSLETTER
VIST Coordinator, A116
Robley Rex VA Medical Center FREE MATTER FOR THE BLIND
800 Zorn Avenue AND
VISUALLY IMPAIRED
Louisville, Kentucky 40206
ADDRESS
Department of Veterans
Affairs
