Skip Navigation | Change Text Size: 

New York Vision Rehabilitation Association

Updated

NYS SENATE PASSES
LICENSURE – 62- 0

At 6:01pm on July 16, 2008 the NYS Senate passed the bill that creates licensure for vision rehabilitation professionals, S.5308A with a vote of 62-0.

NYVRA is thankful for the commitment and support of long time champion, Senator Carl Marcellino, for all of his efforts. Last year, Senator Marcellino held the very first roundtable on licensure. That meeting was instrumental in finally generating a real dialog on the subject. In addition, he and his staff worked very hard this year with Senate Higher Education Chair, Ken LaValle, and his staff to move this bill to the floor of the Senate.

A big thanks also goes to Senate co-sponsor Joe Griffo, a great supporter of this legislation and we are thrilled with his efforts and commitment to VRT/O&M licensure.

NYVRA is as strong as its supporters. We salute those who attended Lobby Day, those who have made the phone calls, in-district visits, sent faxes and letters also deserve huge credit for letting their representatives know that this is an issue that affects many New Yorkers. We salute our Donors without whom these efforts would stall.

This was a milestone year for licensure in the Legislature. Passing the bill in the Senate makes it clear that we can accomplish this goal. These are exciting times and we look forward to continuing our efforts.

Join NYVRA Today – Become an Individual Member

United we Stand Divided we Fall

A Big Day for Licensure in Albany
A Brief Report on Assembly Member Bing’s Roundtable Discussion
July 10, 2008

Assembly Member Jonathan Bing (D, Manhattan) is the sponsor of the New York State Assembly version of the legislation to license vision rehabilitation professionals, A 8471. From the beginning, he has been a great champion for our cause and is working hard to help us achieve our goal of licensure in New York.

On May 19th, Assembly Member Bing held a roundtable discussion in Albany to discuss A 8471 and try to find some common ground. In attendance were representatives from supporters, detractors and neutral parties. Among them included representatives from the New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH), various offices of assembly members, NFB, the Jewish Guild, The Medical Society and the ophthalmologists and the optometrists associations. The event was a great success for NYVRA. In fact, it is vital to note that none of the detractors denounced the goals of licensure. The following is a brief summary of some of the comments made during the round table discussion.

After Assembly Member Bing opened the meeting with a brief support statement for his bill, NYVRA President Nancy Miller spoke at length on the need for licensure.

Peter Crowley, Assistant Commissioner of New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH), stated that the position of Brian Daniels, CBVH Commissioner, is that “CBVH remains neutral”. Mr. Crowley also stated that he was “hopeful a bill that licensed vision rehabilitation professionals could be passed one day”.

In response to Nancy Miller’s summary of published research on licensure that indicated “licensure is a boon to any field that becomes licensed (e.g., more people are attracted to the profession once licensure is enacted) and licensure is what the general public wants in their professionals”; Carl Jacobson, Affiliate President of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), stated that “given the opportunity to choose between a licensed and unlicensed professional, he would choose licensed every time.”

Alan Morse, President and CEO of The Jewish Guild for the Blind, stated that he believed the licensure bill would “increase numbers of professionals in the field in the future, would benefit the Jewish Guild for the Blind, and benefit individuals who are blind and visually impaired, but that passing licensure this session would not make an immediate impact, instead it would be many years before the positive impact of the bill would be felt” to which Assembly Member Bing responded “all the more reason to pass the bill as soon as possible”.

Unquestionably, the day was a great day for our cause. Those of us who attended in favor of licensure for vision rehabilitation professionals were well-prepared and fully anticipated heated protests against licensure. But, much to our delight and surprise, such rancor never materialized. Instead, Carl Jacobson said he was willing to send suggested changes to make the bill something NFB could support including a request for additional public members to the licensure board. Even though no formal changes were sent, Assembly Member Bing still made this change to the bills. The bill will be reintroduced for the new legislative session

Vision Rehabilitation Licensure Lobby Day
February 26, 2008

By
Grace Ambrose Zaken, Ed.D., COMS
Hunter College of The City University of New York

March 7, 2008

I often tell my Hunter VRT and O&M students “Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor dark of night shall stay vision rehabilitation professionals from our appointed rounds…because when we’re working in the snow and ice as part of a mobility lesson, I feel akin to the postmen of yore— our stamina as a profession was proven once again on February 26, 2008 – New York Vision Rehabilitation Professional (VRP) Licensure Lobby Day 2008—when, despite the rain, sleet and snow, VRP Licensure Lobby Day was a shining success.

About 100 volunteers gathered in Albany including; Mike Godino president American Council of the Blind of New York (ACBNY), Dr. Karen Gourgey, president New York City American Council of the Blind (NYC ACB), Jim Gandorf, Executive Director of AER, Suzanne Mullen, president NYSAER brought her daughter Megan, and John Kelly, President-Elect AER. Many traveled together in buses (one bus traveled from Upstate New York and one departed from Manhattan); others came by train and some by car. The buses were courtesy of New York State AER, ACBNY, several Central New York NYSUT (New York State United Teachers) locals and New York Vision Rehabilitation Association (NYVRA).

Upon arrival, each volunteer was given a black tee-shirt with bright yellow lettering that read “Support Safe Vision Rehabilitation Services” on the front. The back said “VRT/COMS Licensure Now!”. Some wore buttons from previous lobby trips that read “Licensure Now!” in the same black and yellow colors. The tee-shirts were courtesy of ACBNY.

Once we were all gathered in the 3rd floor atrium of the Legislative Office Building - Assemblyman Jonathon Bing (D) sponsor of the Bill A08471 to “Provide for the licensing of licensed orientation and mobility specialists and vision rehabilitation therapists” addressed the crowd. He told us of how his experience with temporary blindness through detached retinas helped him to better understand the implications of quality vision rehabilitation services. He wants to see this bill pass this legislative session, but he is with us for as long as it takes.

Much planning had transpired prior to Lobby Day. The Board Members of NYVRA (Nancy D. Miller, President, Rosemary Duda, Vice President, Gidget Hopf, Secretary, John Lynch, Treasurer, Betty Bird, Debra Chaiken, Michael Godino, Robert Hanye, Richard Healey, Donald LoGuidice, and Grace Ambrose Zaken) encouraged volunteers to come to Lobby Day. Steve Malito our amazing lobbyist and his assistant Lisa of Davidoff Malito & Hutcher LLP made 75 appointments with our State representatives. Deb Cleary, TVI/O&M and NYSAER Board member worked many hours to match volunteers with appointments and provide much needed organization to this large event. Her husband Phil Cleary was instrumental in creating documents that outlined important lobby tips and was himself there to lobby representatives on behalf of the initiative–though he is not in the vision rehabilitation field.

In addition to the above mentioned volunteers, here are some of the honorary postmen and women who also braved the weather to carry the message they support VRP Licensure.

Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired-Goodwill was represented by Sindy Cantor, Rene Latorre, Meghan O'Brien, and Sharon Schwalm; ACBNY was represented by Becky Barnes, Sherry DeFransisco, Maureen & Sal Moscato, Virginia Bass, Charles Cronin, Mary Ellen Cronin, Pattie Diamond, Karen Eisenstat, and Mary West; Aurora of Central New York was represented by Anne Costa, Central Association of the Blind and Visually impaired was represented by Jim Armstrong, Sharon Giovinazzo, Mitch Hansen, and Jim Marscher; Helen Keller Services for the Blind was represented by Mike Desposati, Marie Landais, and Lynne Luxton; Hunter College was represented by Lynne Anderson brought her PT friend, Jennifer Kranzle, Irma Martinez brought three of her four teenagers, Sarah Mota, Steven Mercedes and Julissa Mercedes, and Victoria Ruger; the New York City Department of Education was represented by Mike Gill and Carol Landry; New York Institute for Special Education was represented by Bernadette Kappen, Joe Catavero, Cheryl Palgon, Cheri Aumueller, Kim Benisatto, Lois Dougan, Edie Goldman, Maria Hayda, Lillian Ludwig, Cheryl Palgon, Tina Perretti, James Waters, Tom Yoder, Devin Bullock, Lashauna Cole, Paradise Morgan, and Nadreca Reid; A group of students, parents, COMS, teachers, teaching assistants and an occupational therapist from 5 Central New York school districts (Canastota, Liverpool, N. Syracuse, Syracuse City and OCM BOCES) came and included Ronnie Duncan, Dan McLaughlin, Lisa Mitchell, Suzanne and Megan Mullen, Hilary and Jonathon Rounds, Nicki and Zac Smith, Anthony, Dominick and Linda Spoto, and Kathy Williams; and VISIONS Services for the Blind was represented by Diane Weiss, Annalyn Barbier, Michael Cush, Jacqueline Hill, Deborah Kraut, Radoslaw Mazon, Grace Quinones and Jenny Santiago.

The tee-shirts worked to bring attention to us as a group who stand together, united for the cause of high quality vision rehabilitation services. The impact of this day is that we gathered information about what our representatives know and think about the Senate and Assembly bills. Steve Malito and Nancy Miller and others will implement the next phase of follow-up and each of the attendees are writing thank you notes. These activities keep the bill active and aim to get the bills out of committee and onto the agenda of the whole senate and assembly.

The text of the bills can be found at www.nyvra.org in the Senate the bill sponsors are Senators Marcellino, Griffo, Larkin (Senate bill S5308) and in the Assembly our Sponsor is Assemblyman Bing and Co-Sponsors are Assembly Members Gottfried, Titus, Paulin, and Weisenberg (Assembly bill A08471). The bills have been referred to higher education committee.

This initiative continues to need support such as donations, attendance at future lobby days and contacts with New York representatives to let them know this bill is important. Citizen comment is an important part of the legislative process. Public opinion often affects the shape of a bill as well as its eventual success or failure. Remember, your input can play a crucial role in determining how a bill becomes a law.

I hope you will review the text of the bill at the above website. Supporters of this bill understand that we need to protect consumers and codify the field into a licensed profession so that all seniors – even those who are not legally blind, but do have a vision impairment due to aging, can still have access to vision rehabilitation services.

Our message is that it is urgent that we pass the bill. We feel our representatives heard us loud and clear. There is a little opposition out there and some of them happened to be in Albany on the same day. Our professionals are being blamed for the 70% unemployment rate of adults who are blind and visually impaired. Our appreciation for the actual causes of unemployment and underemployment of individuals who are blind and visually impaired were heard.

Some are also pushing to lower standards for entrée into the profession. We underscored that this would counteract the great efforts that our government has made to create and maintain these vision rehabilitation professions for the past 60 plus years. In the 1940s, WWII solders who returned from the war blind went to the VA. The people in charge of their rehabilitation at the Hines VA evaluated the current system of providing VRT and O&M services nationally and found it wanting. At that time, VRT and O&M services was a system dominated by getting people who were blind to teach newly blind and visually impaired individuals.

The Army concluded that this wasn't an effective method to meet the need of the returning soldiers who wanted to learn to travel as safely, efficiently, gracefully and as independently as possible and to return to work. The military put in place the standards and practices we use today. This did not occur until the late 1940s early 50s.

Like a wild fire, the news of the effective method for traveling by the newly designed, longer canes and travel training methods created by the Army spread across the US. Attempts were made to disseminate these training methods to vision rehabilitation agency personnel in short 2-week workshops, but soon it became clear that a complex understanding of physical, cognitive and affective domains was needed to be an effective practitioner. Thus, in the early 60s the federal government gave 34 grants for university programs to being preparing vision rehabilitation professionals.

Since that time, there has been a steady increase in the number of individuals who are blind and visually impaired in the workforce. The options and capabilities of those who are blind and visually impaired have improved significantly.

This legislation is simply fixing an error in timing. Unlike the professions of occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT), the VRT and O&M professions were created after the Medicare law had been enacted. This bill will remedy that situation. Passage of this legislation will mean that older adults with low vision will be able to obtain the services they need to stay out of nursing homes.

For we understand that 18% of all hip fractures are directly related to having a visual impairment – 1.4% of persons who are blind/visually impaired get VRP training. Fewer hip fractures would result from blindness/visual impairment if older adults received VRT/O&M.

The VRT evaluates the home environment for appropriate lighting and other tripping hazards, teaches organization, labeling, safe cooking and other vital daily living techniques, and reinforces the use of low vision devices. The O&M works with consumers who are blind and visually impaired to learn to travel safely in and out of the home. VRT/O&M training prevents accidents and reduces Medicare costs. It costs $35,000 per hip fracture plus time away from life activities, pain and suffering- costs that might be avoided with VRT/O&M instruction.

 VRT/O&M Licensure Now!
   To contact the author:    gambrose@hunter.cuny.edu

Back to top