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The 27th National Meeting of VA's Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D) will be held February 11-13, 2009 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, Baltimore, MD. HSR&D's Center for Clinical Management Research, located at the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Medical Center, will host the meeting. The theme of the 2009 meeting, "Defining Optimal Care: Balancing Quality, Cost, and Patient Preferences," was selected because of HSR&D's commitment to examining best practices in implementing state of the art health care for veterans. It is especially timely given the unique needs of our returning Operation Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans.
Investigators engaged in health services research focused on improving the health and health care of veterans are invited to submit abstracts for presentation at this meeting, in one of the subject areas below. Research on nursing, deployment health, informatics, and genomics is encouraged in all relevant subject areas.
- Chronic Disease
- Access and Equity
- Implementation, Management, and Interventions
- Quality Measurement and Quality Improvement
- Research and Statistical Methodology
- Geriatrics and Long-Term Care
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse
- Inpatient Care
- Other important topics
Selection criteria include quality, timeliness, and relevance to the conference theme and overall VA mission. Detailed instructions for electronic submission of abstracts are available at: www.hsrd.research.va.gov/meetings/2009.
For more information, please visit: http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/meetings/2009/call-for-abstracts.cfm
The RORC REAP would like to welcome Jeffrey Loomis, MHA, FACHE, former Associate Director and Research Coordinator of the University of Florida Center for Telehealth and Healthcare Communications. As Director of Clinical Informatics for the RORC REAP, Mr. Loomis will be involved with assisting center investigators with proposal development and implementation of new telehealth initiatives. His expertise in facilitating collaborative multidisciplinary research on distance approaches to healthcare research, service, and education fits perfectly with the RORC REAP mission to improve the health, function and community reintegration of post-deployed veterans and veterans with neurological impairments.
Mr. Loomis holds a Masters of Health Administration from the University of Florida, and has over 25 years experience in healthcare delivery. He came to the University of Florida after serving 20 years in the U.S. Navy as a Chief Hospital Corpsman. His primary responsibility was in the area of Laboratory Medicine, and Healthcare Operations and Administration. His last tour was at the National Naval Medical Center
as the Director of Telemedicine. The Navy Telemedicine Project was responsible for integrating the use of telemedicine into clinical practices, and to deliver healthcare to remote areas throughout the world. Mr. Loomis also serves as the Administrative Coordinator for the University of Florida AlzOnline, an e-health service providing health information, education and support to caregiver’s of elders with memory problems. As America's baby-boom generation grows older, the chronically ill will need increased access to more healthcare services. With this in mind, Mr. Loomis's interests include using his twenty-five years of healthcare experience to show how the use of telecommunications technology can increase access to healthcare, increase quality, and reduce cost.
RORC REAP Pre-doctoral Fellow Sergio Romero successfully defended his dissertation, "Minimal Detectable Change and Patient Reported Outcomes in Falls Rehabilitation," on July 2, 2008. Under the mentorship of RORC REAP Investigator Craig A. Velozo, PhD, the dissertation committee endorsed Mr. Romero's work and gave final clearance for him to receive his PhD in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Florida. The newly awarded Dr. Romero received both his Bachelor's and Master's degree in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Dr. Romero has accepted a position as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the RORC REAP and is currently developing his VA Career Development Award proposal to be submitted December 2008. His research focus will be in the area of rehabilitation outcomes related to geriatric patients with gait and balance disorders. Dr. Romero's future goals include receiving funding from VA Rehabilitation Research and Development as the Principal Investigator on his own study. His research focus is on gait and balance and reducing the impact of falls among elderly veterans in the community. One of his priorities is fostering the collaborative relationship between the North Florida/South Georgia Veteran Health System and the University of Florida McKnight Brain Institute Geriatric Gait and Balance Disorders Clinic.
Prior to receiving his PhD, Dr. Romero was an invited speaker at the American Geriatrics Society 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting. Co-authored by Drs. Kathye Light and Nicole Prieto-Lewis, his presentation, "Issues of Participation and Perception of Balance Control in Patients with Parkinson's Disease," explored the differences in endurance, strength, perception of activities and perception of balance control between patients with and without Parkinson's Disease, who had experienced a fall. A clinically relevant finding of this research was that clients with Parkinson's Disease who have significant falling problems demonstrate less confidence in their balance control than other clients who have falling problems. In addition, the low self-efficacy could impact motivation and interest in exercise and activities.
Combat Veterans who served in a theater of combat after November 11, 1998 (commonly referred to as OEF/OIF Veterans) and who are currently enrolled for VA health care benefits will have their enrollment period extended to 5 years from their most recent date of discharge.
For more detailed information, please visit: http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility/
For questions concerning Combat Veteran eligibility, visit Combat Veteran Frequently Asked Questions.
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