WBRC FY15 Annual Review Mails Out

Photo: Nearly 200 FY 15 WBRC Reviews ready to mail

The Western Blind Rehabilitation Center is proudly mailing out the Annual 'Review' Newsletter for Fiscal Year 2015 to WBRC Alum who attended between October 1, 2014 to present.  The WBRC Review is published annually for stakeholders including former and current students, prospective students, family and caregivers, VA staff and volunteers, and anyone interested in learning about low vision and blind rehabilitation services available to Veterans and Active Duty Service Members through the VA Palo Alto Health Care System.  

If you are an Alumni who did not attend the WBRC from October 1, 2014 to present -OR- another stakeholder and would like a print copy mailed to you, please send an e-mail with your mailing address to summer.beasley@va.gov.

A PDF and a Text Only version of the FY15 WBRC Review is also available via these links:

PDF Version
Text Only Version

VA Palo Alto Notes WBRC for Low Vision Month

Photo: Visual Skills Supervisor Dave Patten demonstrates use of a CCTV

The VA Palo Alto website recently recognized the WBRC for Low Vision Awareness month on their internet page, check out the article below:

Low vision affects millions of Americans every year. When glasses, contacts, or surgery doesn’t help, this is usually a sign of low vision. Many factors contribute to low vision, including eye diseases and health conditions such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, diabetes, and glaucoma.

How do I know if I have low vision?
According to the National Eye Institute, if you suffer from any of the below symptoms even with glasses or contacts, you may be suffering from low vision.

• Recognizing the faces of family and friends
• Reading, cooking, sewing, or fixing things around the house
• Selecting and matching the color of your clothes
• Seeing clearly with the lights on or feeling like they are dimmer than normal
• Reading traffic signs or the names of stores

Where can I get help if I’m living with low vision?
VA Palo Alto Health Care System recognizes the importance of providing vision care and low vision rehabilitation care to Veterans. A regular visit to your Optometrist can help to detect any loss in vision.

For Veterans already experiencing low vision, the Western Blind Rehabilitation Center (WBRC), located at the VAPAHCS Menlo Park Division, is a 27-bed residential facility aimed at helping Veterans with low vision learn ways to adapt to vision loss and manage daily life.

Veterans can receive the necessary skills to Adjust to Sight Loss, or learn how to be more independent in their activities of daily living, computer skills, mobility, and other areas. There is even a program for Family Training.

The Western Blind Rehabilitation Center is an internationally recognized leader in comprehensive vision rehabilitation services by developing and implementing individualized treatment programs, education and research. It addresses the evolving needs of all of our visually impaired Veterans.

CLICK HERE Learn more about the WBRC and the services offered.

WBRC 2015 Annual Review Now Available

Photo: Cover of the 2015 WBRC Review Newsletter

The 2015 WBRC Review has just been published and is available online.  The 'WBRC Review' is a Fiscal Year (FY) review of the Western Blind Rehabilitation Center (WBRC) for stakeholders including former and current students, prospective students, family and caregivers, VA staff and volunteers, and anyone interested in learning about low vision and blind rehabilitation services available to Veterans and Active Duty Service Members through the VA Palo Alto Health Care System.  The FY 15 edition includes information about the WBRC including outcome measures and demographics as well as articles about our building construction, special programs, WBRC's new 4 week 'Matter of Balance' fall prevention inpatient program, WBRC's new faces, and how to stay up-to-date with WBRC news.  The WBRC Review will also be printed and mailed to WBRC students who attended the program during FY 15 as well as to prospective and scheduled students.  It will also be used for WBRC outreach and is available to all stake holders online on the WBRC Website and WBRC Blog.

CLICK HERE to view the PDF Version

CLICK HERE to view the TEXT only Version

CLICK HERE to view the WBRC Website