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57–026 2010

RECREATION THERAPY AND 

HEALING OUR WOUNDED WARRIORS 

FIELD HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JUNE 8, 2010 

FIELD HEARING HELD IN NEW PORT RICHEY, FL 

Serial No. 111–82 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

( 


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COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS 

BOB FILNER, California, Chairman 

CORRINE BROWN, Florida 

VIC SNYDER, Arkansas 

MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine 

STEPHANIE HERSETH SANDLIN, South 

Dakota 

HARRY E. MITCHELL, Arizona 

JOHN J. HALL, New York 

DEBORAH L. HALVORSON, Illinois 

THOMAS S.P. PERRIELLO, Virginia 

HARRY TEAGUE, New Mexico 

CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas 

JOE DONNELLY, Indiana 

JERRY MCNERNEY, California 

ZACHARY T. SPACE, Ohio 

TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota 

JOHN H. ADLER, New Jersey 

ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona 

GLENN C. NYE, Virginia 

STEVE BUYER, Indiana, Ranking 

CLIFF STEARNS, Florida 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

HENRY E. BROWN, JR., South Carolina 

JEFF MILLER, Florida 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

BRIAN P. BILBRAY, California 

DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

VERN BUCHANAN, Florida 

DAVID P. ROE, Tennessee 

Malcom A. Shorter, Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH

MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine, Chairman 

CORRINE BROWN, Florida 

VIC SNYDER, Arkansas 

HARRY TEAGUE, New Mexico 

CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas 

JOE DONNELLY, Indiana 

JERRY MCNERNEY, California 

GLENN C. NYE, Virginia 

DEBORAH L. HALVORSON, Illinois 

THOMAS S.P. PERRIELLO, Virginia 

HENRY E. BROWN, JR., South Carolina, 

Ranking 

CLIFF STEARNS, Florida 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

VERN BUCHANAN, Florida 

Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public hearing records 

of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs are also published in electronic form. The printed 

hearing record remains the official version. Because electronic submissions are used to 

prepare both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process of converting 

between various electronic formats may introduce unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the current publication process and should diminish as the process 

is further refined. 


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C O N T E N T S 

June 8, 2010 

Page 

Recreation Therapy and Healing our Wounded Warriors .................................... 1 

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Hon. Corrine Brown ................................................................................................ 1 

Prepared statement of Congresswoman Brown ............................................. 42 

Hon. Gus M. Bilirakis ............................................................................................. 2 

Prepared statement of Congressman Bilirakis .............................................. 42 

Hon. Jeff Miller ........................................................................................................ 4 

Prepared statement of Congressman Miller ................................................... 43 

WITNESSES 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: 

Cathy Chiovitti Williams, CTRS, Supervisor, Recreation Therapy Section, 

James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, Tampa, FL, Veterans Health Administration ................................................................................................... 32 

Prepared statement of Ms. Williams ....................................................... 56 

Steven G. Scott, D.O., Chief, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, Tampa, FL, Veterans Health 

Administration .............................................................................................. 34 

Prepared statement of Dr. Scott .............................................................. 57 

Hillsborough County, FL, Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department, 

and Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay, FL, Melinda Wheatley, 

Senior Recreation Therapist ................................................................................ 20 

Prepared statement of Ms. Wheatley .............................................................. 48 

Keckler, Mary Ann, Spring Hill, FL ...................................................................... 5 

Prepared statement of Ms. Keckler ................................................................ 43 

Nelson, Lee, Land O’Lakes, FL .............................................................................. 8 

Prepared statement of Mr. Nelson .................................................................. 45 

Paralyzed Veterans of America, Florida Gulf Coast Chapter, Tampa, FL, 

Davis Celestine, Vice President .......................................................................... 7 

Prepared statement of Mr. Celestine .............................................................. 45 

Professional Golfers’ Association of America, Adaptive Golf Academy, Inc., 

David B. Windsor, Principal Instructor ............................................................. 24 

Prepared statement of Mr. Windsor ............................................................... 52 

Quantum Leap Farm, Inc., Odessa, FL, Edie E. Dopking, Ph.D., President 

and Founder ......................................................................................................... 17 

Prepared statement of Dr. Dopking ................................................................ 46 

Sailability Greater Tampa Bay, Inc., Clearwater, FL, Sandy Ackley, Programming and Events Coordinator ............................................................................. 22 

Prepared statement of Ms. Ackley .................................................................. 51 

SUBMISSION FOR THE RECORD 

Verax Technologies, Inc., Pensacola, FL, statement ............................................. 58 


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RECREATION THERAPY AND 

HEALING OUR WOUNDED WARRIORS 

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2010 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH, 

Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 8:30 a.m., in the 

New Port Richey City Hall, 5919 Main Street, New Port Richey, 

Florida, Hon. Corrine Brown presiding. 

Present: Representatives Brown of Florida and Bilirakis. 

Also Present: Representative Miller of Florida. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CORRINE BROWN 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Good morning. The House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs scheduled this hearing and 

will now officially come to order. 

I’m going to change the outline slightly. Before we bring up our 

first panel, I would like my ex-colleague, Mr. Bilirakis, who represented this area for many years, to come and bring us greetings. 

Come up, Mr. Bilirakis. Yes, the Chair says come up. 

Mr. MICHAEL BILIRAKIS. Madam Chairwoman, you used to order 

me around up there. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Come on up. 

Mr. MICHAEL BILIRAKIS. I’m here with my fellow veterans. I’d 

rather be here with my fellow veterans. I appreciate that very 

much. 

It was wonderful working with you. You were on the Veterans’ 

Committee all through the years from the time you came up there 

until the time I retired, which shows an awful lot of dedication on 

your part. 

And I very much appreciate, on behalf of us, all that you’ve done, 

the Veterans’ Committee, down here, and you’re taking care of my 

little boy up there. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you. 

Will the first panel come up, please? I would like to thank everyone for attending this hearing. 

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the city of 

New Port Richey and Congressman Bilirakis for hosting us today. 

Thank you. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. My pleasure. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. And I certainly want to thank Mr. Miller for joining us also. 


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Modern medical advances have increased the survival rate of our 

soldiers who sustain injuries while serving this country, but those 

soldiers are also left with serious and complex wounds, which require continuous care once they return home. 

One of the key challenges facing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today is the ability to meet the rehabilitation 

needs of our veterans by providing a broad and varied menu of 

therapy and treatment. 

There is a clear need for high quality rehabilitative care for all 

of our veterans, both the old generation and those now returning 

from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi 

Freedom (OIF). 

Today’s hearing offers us the opportunity to examine a particularly exciting rehabilitation method. Recreational therapy is an 

ideal component of the rehabilitation regime because it allows veterans to be active by engaging in their favorite sports and recreational activities, while simultaneously sustaining the healing of 

the mental and physical wounds of war. 

Recreational therapists can use a variety of techniques, including 

sports, games, art, dance, crafts, animals, drama, music, and community outings to help reduce depression, stress and anxiety; enhance basic motor functioning; and build confidence among the program participants. 

In other words, servicemembers and veterans have opportunities 

to engage in their communities and participate in sports and other 

activities that they may have enjoyed prior to sustaining their war 

injuries. 

Today, I look forward to hearing from the veterans on our first 

panel about their personal testimony on how recreational therapy 

has benefited them. 

I am also eager to learn from our second and third panels about 

the different types of recreational therapies that are available to 

our veterans, and how VA and private organizations are working 

together to offer this valuable treatment option to wounded warriors in the Tampa region and across the country. 

I now want to recognize Mr. Bilirakis for any opening remarks 

that he may have. 

Thank you again, Mr. Bilirakis. 

[The prepared statement of Congresswoman Brown appears on 

p. 42.] 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. GUS M. BILIRAKIS 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I really 

appreciate it very much. 

I’m so pleased to be here today in the heart of the 9th Congressional District and want to thank my fellow Floridian colleagues, 

Corrine Brown and Jeff Miller, for taking the time out of their busy 

schedules to be here today. 

As a matter of fact, ladies and gentlemen, we have votes this 

afternoon. If it were not for these two, we would not be having this 

hearing this morning. So they really made a special effort. 

As you know, Corrine is from the Jacksonville area, and Jeff is 

from the Panama City/Pensacola area, and they really went out of 


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their way to be here; that’s how much they care about this issue. 

So we really appreciate them very much. 

It’s a pleasure to serve this great State with two individuals so 

committed to championing the best interest of our servicemembers, 

veterans, and all the residents of Florida. I’m grateful to both of 

you again. 

I also want to recognize the representative from Ginny BrownWaite’s office, Shirley Anderson. 

Is she here? I know she’s on her way. 

Oh, hey, Shirley. 

Ms. ANDERSON. Hi. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thanks for being here. 

Most importantly, I’m happy this morning to see my constituents 

from the 9th Congressional District. 

Whether here as a witness or an interested participant, seeing so 

many that have gathered so early and are willing to spend their 

Tuesday morning exploring the role of recreation therapy in healing our wounded warriors is a testament to the depth of patriotism 

and caring in this community. I thank you. It’s an honor to represent you in Congress. 

Throughout my career, honoring the service and sacrifices of our 

veterans has been among my highest priorities—as a matter of 

fact, it’s been my top priority. Ensuring the men and women who 

fought so bravely for our freedoms are given access to the highest 

quality care and services is a commitment I take seriously. That’s 

why I specifically requested a seat on the Veterans’ Committee 

when I was elected to serve in Congress in 2006. 

Since then, I’ve introduced numerous bills, many of which were 

incorporated into law, aiming at improving veterans’ care and benefits. I was pleased to lead the effort to bring a VA outpatient 

health clinic to Hillsborough County, and to work with local and 

national VA officials to expand the Pasco County Outpatient Clinic 

and bring additional services such as dental care to the 9th Congressional District. 

I’m very appreciative of the fact that we have a world-class medical and polytrauma center, as well as the Michael Bilirakis Spinal 

Cord Unit—I’m very proud of that—nearby at the James A. Haley 

VA Medical Center. 

The dedicated medical staff at Haley is second to none, in my 

opinion. However, it’s always important that we strive to enhance 

the care and services provided to our brave veteran patients. We 

have to keep working and keep fighting. 

And, today, I anticipate learning from those of you gathered here 

about the important topic of recreation therapy. 

Recreation therapy is a therapeutic endeavor that improves an 

injured veteran’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health 

through activities aimed at increasing independence and quality of 

life. It doesn’t surprise me that Florida is a national leader in 

recreation therapy. 

I look forward to taking the ideas we discuss today back to 

Washington to improve the lives of veterans, not only in our State, 

but in every VA facility throughout the Nation. 


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In closing, I would like us to take a moment to recognize and 

honor those veterans in the room. As always, I’m humbled by your 

bravery. 

Please raise your hand or stand up, if you’d like, all of our heroes. Thank you very much. 

As always, I’m humbled by your bravery and your dedication to 

a cause bigger than yourselves. Because of your efforts, we are able 

to gather this morning freely, safely, and democratically. 

On behalf of our grateful Nation, I thank you for your service. 

I yield back my time. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

[The prepared statement of Congressman Bilirakis appears on 

p. 42.] 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. I’m going to yield to Mr. Miller for his 

opening statement. And also I want to thank him in particular for 

coming because he’s from Pensacola, Florida, and I know he’s 

struggling with challenges there with oil problems. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JEFF MILLER 

Mr. MILLER. Thank you very much, Madam Chairwoman. It is 

indeed a pleasure for me to be here with each and every one of you 

today. 

I do have a written statement that I would like to enter into the 

record, but it is a pleasure to join both the Chairwoman, Ms. 

Brown, and Gus Bilirakis here in New Port Richey. 

I have the great honor of representing the 1st Congressional District. We like to say that it is the western gate to the Sunshine 

State where thousands live like millions wish they could. 

Interestingly enough, I was born in Pinellas County and I’m a 

McMullen by birth, so our roots go pretty deep around here. And 

I can remember very clearly driving up and down U.S. 19 when it 

was just two lanes. So that tells you how far back it was. 

And it’s great to see both Mike and Evelyn here. Mike thinks I 

used to listen to him. It was actually Evelyn that would tell me 

what to do. 

But I just—one thing that somebody had put in my opening 

statement—and I think it’s very important—an old sergeant once 

said that morale is what makes your body do what your mind 

knows ain’t possible. And that is very, very true. 

And all of us on the VA Committee do what we can to make sure 

that the Administration has the tools that it needs to be able to 

provide the services for our veterans. 

Again, northwest Florida is home to many veterans and, of 

course, quite a few military installations, as well. 

So I ask that my full statement be entered into the record. And 

I look forward to hearing from the panelists that are here. Thank 

you for coming today. 

[The prepared statement of Congressman Miller appears on p. 43.] 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you. 

And Mr. Bilirakis will introduce the first panel. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

And, Mr. Miller, there is a little road connecting Pasco and 

Pinellas named after you, McMullen-Booth Road. 

All right. It’s my pleasure and honor to introduce the first panel. 

Mary Ann Keckler, a veteran from Spring Hill, Florida. Welcome. 


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Davis Celestine, Vice President of the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). Welcome, sir. 

Thanks for being here. 

And then Lee Nelson, a veteran from Land O’Lakes. Thank you 

so much for being here. 

I’m so excited about this hearing. We’re going to learn so much. 

And I’m really happy that there are members of the media here, 

as well, because we really need to get the word out. 

Thank you. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you. 

We’re going to start with Mary Ann Keckler, who I’ve seen in 

many of our hearings around the State. 

STATEMENTS OF MARY ANN KECKLER, SPRING HILL, FL; 

DAVIS CELESTINE, VICE PRESIDENT, PARALYZED VETERANS 

OF AMERICA, FLORIDA GULF COAST CHAPTER, TAMPA, FL; 

AND LEE NELSON, LAND O’LAKES, FL 

STATEMENT OF MARY ANN KECKLER 

Ms. KECKLER. Thank you very much, Congresswoman Brown. 

And good morning, Congressman Miller, Congressman Bilirakis, 

and Congresswoman Brown. Thank you very much for allowing me 

to testify today. It is my pleasure to be able to help in any way I 

can where our veterans are concerned. 

My testimony this morning will be to let you know that I’m a 

veteran enrolled in the James A. Haley VA Medical Center since 

1992. I have been both an inpatient and an outpatient. I am also 

the VAVS representative for the Disabled American Veterans 

(DAV) at this facility, as well as I have a son that is enrolled in 

this facility in the spinal cord unit, 100 percent service-connected, 

total permanent. 

As an inpatient for 3 weeks in September of 1996, in the pain 

management program, I have had the opportunity afforded to me 

to deal with the many aspects of therapy to help with my pain 

problem. The one that stood out the most, and the one that worked 

on the mental release of my pain was recreation therapy. 

All therapies, i.e., physical, mental, all just enhanced the pain as 

your mind on these two is constantly on the issues of the body. Not 

that they were not helpful—they were—but recreational therapy 

kept my mind off the problems it was dealing with. 

When I went into the pain program, I was in a great deal of depression. Getting up every day was a major chore for me. I was encountering muscle spasms, and living off Flexeril to counteract 

them. This put me into an extreme lethargic state. 

While in the pain program, I was interacting with others with 

similar problems. Recreation therapy kept my mind off my problems. I was able to show my creative side and also had socialization with others. We not only worked with our hands, but we went 

out on outings as a group. I then forgot I was suffering from chronic pain; mind over matter. 

Suicide is a definite relation to depression. Pills that mask the 

pain—Flexeril, Valium, Morphine, Halcion, Demerol—can cause 

major depression leading to suicide, which from these I am a survivor, until I could feel myself going down that path again. I then 


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took measures to correct this effort. I am pill-free since 1996, and 

deal with my pain in other ways. 

While in the hospital, I had the opportunity to clearly take hold 

of my problems. Recreational therapy played a major role in this. 

Not only did I have an hour a day with the therapist, I also took 

projects back to my room to work on later on. If I had a problem 

at any time working on a project, a therapist was always available. 

The present Chief of Recreation Therapy, Cathy Williams, was 

one of my therapists. She always was willing to work with me on 

projects. This eliminated any thoughts of my physical aspects of 

pain. Again, mind over matter. It beats all pain medication, helps 

with my thoughts of depression or suicide. This is the best medicine yet. 

Not only have I been successful with it, as a volunteer, I have 

seen this work on many occasions. By the way, this is why I became a volunteer, to make a difference and help other veterans. 

Here is the story of another veteran. This young man has been 

in the hospital in the spinal cord injury center for several years. 

He is now in the long-term care facility in spinal cord. When I first 

met him he would not speak hardly to anyone. As an amputee, he 

also was on pain meds. Depression had set in on him and he was 

feeling sorry for himself. He was pretty well bedridden. 

The DAV had sponsored a pitcher from the Detroit Tigers 

through recreation therapy. This veteran loved baseball. This was 

the highlight of his stay. 

I would then visit him on a regular basis and also spoke to recreation therapy about programs to the bedside. This was done. A 

smile appeared. He is now in a wheelchair and is all over the hospital, and he looks forward to the outings that recreation therapy 

sponsors. He is the first outside waiting to be loaded into the van. 

I am working with another spinal cord veteran that is indeed— 

indeed tried to commit—tried to commit suicide. He and I have had 

some discussions on this matter. He also is now in recreation therapy daily and has a smile on his face, as he also goes on the outings. And that makes his day. Happiness goes a long way. 

The present Chief of Recreation Therapy has worked very hard 

on programs that make a difference for our veterans, both in and 

out. 

Winter sports clinic, wheelchair games, golden age games, disability golf, horseback riding, sports venues—there is no time to 

feel sorry for yourself. 

This has all been put together in the last few years. Three years 

ago I went to the past chief to put together the winter sports clinic 

program, which is sponsored by the DAV. The answer was: This is 

Florida. People do not ski or participate in cold weather activities. 

My answer was that we were all mostly transients from other 

areas of the country and have at some time or another experienced 

winter sports. 

Under the new chief this is a reality and many are participating. 

My son, a spinal cord patient, when he was in the hospital, his 

forte was computers. Recreation therapy helped set up a computer 

for them to use or hooked up the one they brought in. Again, the 

outside world is available to them. 


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Bedside programs are available, football pools, and they all look 

forward to the pizza parties sponsored by organizations and run by 

recreation therapy, dinners sponsored by organizations through 

recreation therapy. Someone from the department needs to be on 

board when these are taking place. And, believe me, we have 

many. Ice cream socials. The list goes on and on. Without the 

recreation therapy department, this would not be possible. 

I, as a volunteer, have the opportunity to work with recreation 

therapy in many aspects and areas of the hospital. They do make 

a major difference. 

My life has taken a turn because of their efforts. As a volunteer, 

I also have the opportunity to go out on the outings and help them. 

When on the outings, they also have to act as a therapist and 

nurse’s assistant. Their training goes beyond just fun and games. 

If I was not—if it was not for recreation therapy and the staff 

that we have now, we veterans would not be able to participate in 

as many functions as made possible for the amount of veterans and 

active duty, both inpatients and outpatients, that we presently 

serve. 

In summary, with regard to the above, recreation therapy is a 

must along with health care, to address the medical needs of our 

patients on both a mental and physical aspect. They are trained 

professionals in this respect and deserve to be noted as such. 

Respectfully submitted, Mary Ann Keckler. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Keckler appears on p. 43.] 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. 

We are—the testimony should be 5 minutes and—to give us time 

to ask questions at the end. 

Mr. Celestine. 

Mr. CELESTINE. Mine is going to be short. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. No, no. Take your time. It’s your time. 

STATEMENT OF DAVIS CELESTINE 

Mr. CELESTINE. Good morning. My name is Davis Celestine. I 

was injured in 2001 in a training accident going over to Afghanistan for our yearly detachment. After my accident, I woke up in a 

hospital bed with several doctors around me. At first I thought it 

was a dream until I came to reality and it was not a dream. One 

of the doctors turned and said to me that you might never walk 

again, but miracles happen every day. 

So with that said to me, I decided to do whatever it takes to stay 

active in my daily life. However, I was shipped off to the James A. 

Haley Hospital Rehab and that’s when I was introduced to Cathy 

Williams and Jennifer Day. 

From there on they got me started with simple stuff such as the 

game ‘‘Trouble’’ and playing cards. They paired me up with a paraplegic named Max and he told me, ‘‘If your fingers are not working 

as well, use your mouth to make a pair of moccasins for your wife.’’ 

So with that type of motivation in their clinic, it was an inspiration 

to be there. 

Now their programs have grown so well they have pushed me 

into the world of—the Paralympic world to compete in handcycling 

and swimming. 


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Also, I have a good family support that really helps. My wife, 

Deborah, and my twins keep me going to be the best that I can be. 

In my spare time, I volunteer at my local chapter where I am the 

Vice President and fundraising chairman. I give back to the local 

hospital by trying to get the newly injured involved in the great 

sports program. And that concludes my testimony. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Celestine appears on p. 45.] 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you. And thank you so very 

much for your service. 

Mr. CELESTINE. You’re welcome. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. And we’re going to have questions when 

the last witness finishes. Mr. Nelson. 

STATEMENT OF LEE NELSON 

Mr. NELSON. Good morning, Madam Chairwoman, Mr. Bilirakis, 

Mr. Miller, and council members. Thank you for having us here 

today. And it’s an honor to be here addressing each one of you. 

My name is Lee Nelson and I am a Chaplain in the United 

States Army on active duty. 

Last summer when I was driving to work stationed in Italy, I got 

tangled up with a semi-tractor trailer and received a spinal cord injury from that. There was some other injuries that they worked on 

as well—collapsed lung, different things like that—but I received 

a surgery and treatment there in Italy from the civilian hospital 

and was transferred to Walter Reed in Washington, DC, and then 

here to the Tampa VA Center, James A. Haley, because of the spinal cord injury work that the VA hospital in Tampa has done. 

When I realized where I was here in the VA, they had a number 

of therapies that was set up for me: physical therapy, occupational 

therapy, speech therapy, and, of course, recreational therapy. 

And when the recreation therapist talked with me about doing 

different things and we went and did some track and field events 

and some of the other things like swimming or things like that, but 

she talked with me about horseback riding. And I had been horseback riding before and been on trail rides and doing different 

things while on vacation or whatever. And I was familiar with the 

concept of riding a horse. 

But because I was not an equestrian and didn’t really know a lot 

about it—I had some experience of sitting on a horse—I knew that 

in order to stay on the horse I would wrap my legs around the 

horse and hang on with my legs and I wouldn’t fall off. And if 

something were to happen, you had the saddle horn there to hang 

on to; but, otherwise, my stability was my legs. Well, because I’m 

a paraplegic now, that ability to hang onto the horse with my legs 

is gone. 

And so I told her, the recreation therapist, that that’s just a silly 

idea, get on a horse and fall off. And she said, ‘‘Well, there’d always 

be someone there to help stabilize you and everything.’’ I said, 

‘‘Well, you know, I’ll just be falling around in people’s arms all 

day.’’ 

But after talking with her and some of the patients that had 

been involved in the horseback riding, realizing that it was an ongoing program and other people did it who were paraplegics, so 

there must be another way to sit on a horse besides wrapping your 


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legs around it, I got involved on Tuesdays. I go to the Quantum 

Leap stables, which actually is in this part of the State, not too far 

from here, and ride the horses. 

And as I think about recreation therapy, recreation in a sense— 

of course, you can break down the word and think about recreation 

and how it works—but I always thought about it just as off-time 

and time to relax, time to goof-off, and didn’t really think about it 

as being productive. 

Now, I’ve ridden horses before. In order to help my physical abilities, I did physical training in the military to do that, and riding 

the horse was for fun. 

But as I have ridden the horses here at the Quantum Leap stables I’ve learned that there are certain core muscles that I had that 

were weaker than what I was thinking. And that was just simply 

because I had to balance myself on the horse—and even though 

there were a couple of people walking along on either side of me, 

somebody else guiding the horse—I thought it would be best if I 

tried to stay on the horse instead of just falling into their loving 

arms waiting for me there, but—so as I managed to do that. 

And for the past several weeks, going each Tuesday, horseback 

riding has increased my core stability significantly. And I didn’t realize how that had gotten weaker over this past year. It was last 

August I received my injury. 

The core stability muscles had increased in such a way where it’s 

easier for me to sit up in a chair long-term and—or throughout the 

day—instead of just a few hours and then lay back down exhausted 

and not being able to do anything else. I’m able to do more. 

And so the horseback riding events has significantly strengthened up my core muscles enabling me to do other things and to be 

able to go and work with people. 

And as I said before, being able to just simply maintain the day 

of being able to do things instead of having to stop and rest and 

lay down and everything in the middle of the day. 

In fact, there was a moment one time, a few weeks ago, and, apparently, there were some flies bothering the horse, and the horse 

is trying to get rid of the flies. But their ability to reach up with 

their hooves and flick a fly off is—they don’t have the dexterity 

that we do, so they just kick. 

And as I was trying to get the horse to go around a barrel to the 

left, he decided to kick and throw me in that direction a little bit 

more than what I was planning on going. But because of the 

strength of my core stability muscles, I didn’t fall off the horse. I 

just fell over to the side. And, of course, the young lady that was 

walking alongside me was able to straighten me back up. 

But if I did not have that strength that I had received from several weeks of horseback riding, I probably would have just simply 

fallen on the ground very quickly and not been able to stay up on 

the horse. 

But the important thing is not that I’m striving to be an equestrian or my ability to ride horses better, it is how it affects me in 

other areas of life: Being able to sit up in the wheelchair long-term, 

being able to go different places to sit and talk with people as a 

Chaplain. 


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I’m a counselor. And doing that counseling and talking with people is—in my mind it seems like, well, that’s a very simple thing, 

you just go and talk to people. But because of my injury it’s not 

so simple anymore or hadn’t been. 

But now, with the recreation therapy, I’m able to maintain my 

daily routine in being able to sit down and talk with people and 

have an extended conversation with them and help them through 

counseling, and as was mentioned before, sometimes suicidal 

thoughts and different things. 

Just what I was doing when I was stationed in the military base 

talking with our soldiers, oftentimes marriage counseling is the 

topic. But suicidal thoughts, unfortunately, are common enough 

with our young soldiers. 

And dealing with those issues and talking with them has been 

a requirement that I have the ability to stay alert and talk with 

them and not be exhausted in the middle of the conversation and 

distracting them and me from being able to give them a well 

thought out conversation and counseling. And the recreation therapy has enabled me to do that. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Nelson appears on p. 45.] 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you very much. Thank you for 

your testimony. And for sharing that with us. 

I’ve learned a lot just from listening to you, and I just want you 

to know, I also have experience riding horses. And it’s wonderful. 

The horses that I’ve been on in the past, they tried to throw me, 

so I’m glad you’ve been able to stay on. 

But this is very educational, so thank you. And thank you all 

three of you, for your service. 

I have a couple questions that I want to ask you. You all evidently went to the same service center, the James A. Haley Center. 

And, obviously, they’re doing a very good job with their recreational 

therapy program. 

How do you think we can improve the program to ensure that 

veterans nationwide enjoy the benefits of recreational therapy? 

And we can start with you, Ms. Keckler. 

Ms. KECKLER. Well, yes, it is something that’s needed. We are 

number 1 in recreation therapy. We have a leader that has really 

taken the bull by the horns and moved with it. And it’s something 

that probably should be experienced around the Nation in our VA 

hospitals, because it does make a major difference. 

And what can we do to make it better? That is appropriated 

funding to be able to get out. Not every hospital can get the donations that we have been successful in getting. 

And, of course, you know, with the economical situation in this 

country today, the donations are not as great as they were in the 

past. 

Appropriated funding is the most important thing we can do for 

recreation therapy to be able to help our veterans get on their feet. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Mr. Celestine, what kind of activities do 

you participate in? 

Mr. CELESTINE. I participate in handcycling, swimming. I do 

archery. I do field events, that is put on also by recreation therapy, 

which includes javelin, shot put, and a couple others. 


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But the program is so well put together. But it’s just more or less 

having like participation from the individuals to come out and see 

exactly what people, like myself and others, can do so they could 

get enjoyment and get more involved. 

That’s when you can become an athlete by going on to the 

Paralympics and getting picked up by those guys and doing more 

extensive training and—well, it’s pushing you forward, pushing 

yourself every day so you can know that there is a life out there 

after you get injured and just don’t feel sorry for yourself. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. I watched a group yesterday play water 

basketball. Do you do that also? Not yet? 

Mr. CELESTINE. No, not yet. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. I mean, they were just doing it. And I 

was like okay. All right. 

Mr. Nelson, do you want to add anything to that? 

Mr. NELSON. Well, I think that, as you mentioned, it would be 

an excellent opportunity for our hospital patients across the country to be able to have facilities like this, because it’s a dual role 

in that there’s the physical aspect of just working on your balance 

and core stability to be able to sit on a horse. But as the side walkers would and the leader there would take the horse out into the 

fields and around through the woods, it’s, of course, a different 

training when the horse is moving a little bit differently than just 

simply walking around in the stable area. And, of course, that requires a little bit more balance and a little bit more focus to stay 

on the horse. 

But more than just the physical aspect of it, it’s just simply being 

out in the outdoors and the connection with the animal. 

The horses are different than horses that I had ridden before, 

which, in some cases, I had a hard time hanging on with my legs 

and my arms and everything else in some cases because the horse 

is—not to the extreme of trying to buck me off, but at the same 

time were not careful. 

But these horses are very much trained and used to having people with some type of a handicap ability. And there seems to be a 

connection that’s there. 

And being able to connect with that large animal, even small 

horses are much larger than we are, and being able to bond with 

that animal and have some kind of a therapy, there is simply a 

connection between humans and animals that is beneficial, as well. 

And, of course, being able to get outdoors and not just working 

out with weights in the gym and different things like that, which 

is excellent, as well. But there’s a place for that. And then getting 

outside and feeling like you’re alive— 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Yes, sir. 

Mr. NELSON [continuing]. Is very useful. 

And the mental aspect of having some type of handicap ability 

is extreme and it can be overwhelming. 

And being able to do things like this brings the soldiers back to 

the thought that they’re still alive, they’re still here on planet 

Earth, and they can be—well, having a sense of normalcy to them. 

And realizing that whatever the case may be, whatever their 

handicap is, they still have that particular loss, but they’ve not lost 

their ability to be alive and experience things in the world. 


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So this is an excellent program that I would recommend for all 

the VA hospitals across the Nation. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you. 

Mr. Bilirakis. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Lee, you’ve actually addressed this issue. 

But, Davis, can you elaborate on how recreation therapy has improved your quality of life? 

Mr. CELESTINE. Recreation therapy has improved my life whereas I can get up and go. They gave me—they instituted a lot of stuff 

into me where you never—like, for instance, like I started off playing a game ‘‘Trouble.’’ I could have never picked up the little game 

piece to move it along, but with—with the patience and the therapists, they allowed me to grow. 

And then with that said, it’s like—it gives you more or less an 

introduction to doing stuff. It’s like if you can’t figure it out, take 

a minute, understand your situation, and then go forward. Because 

sometimes you have to step back and look at the bigger picture before you start trying to apply yourself. 

And that’s one of the things they really instituted into me, that 

you look at the big picture first before you start jumping into the 

water and knowing that you can’t swim and it’s too late then. 

So with that said, that’s the feeling I got from this program. And 

that’s why I’m so adamant about trying to get other people to understand the logic and the ability of these therapists to instill stuff 

into us that’s going to be beneficial to us in the lifelong—in the life 

that we have. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thank you very much. 

Mr. CELESTINE. You’re welcome, sir. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thank you. 

Next question for the entire panel: What other recreation therapy would you like to see offered that’s not being offered? 

We’ll just start with you, Mary, if you’d like. 

Ms. KECKLER. Well, you know, that’s a good question. And I’m 

trying to think in my mind, because we have a vast amount of recreational programs going on in our hospital, probably more than 

any other VA—I know more than any other VA in the country— 

and I can’t honestly think of anything right off the top of my head 

because we have so many programs. 

We’re constantly—we’re not just 24/7. We’re 48/7 with programs 

in our hospital. 

We now have instituted a lot of the programs such as the wheelchair basketball games—or wheelchair games we’re doing through 

the PVA, there’s the winter sports clinic in the DAV, we’re doing 

the golden age games, which has been done for a long time. We’re 

really moving on. We do the swimming. 

Oh, there’s so much going on in recreation therapy. I can’t think 

of another thing, unless something new comes on the block that we 

don’t know about, except putting volleyball courts out there, but 

with the spinal cords—unless we train the spinal cords to be 

equipped to play volleyball. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Lee, would you like to add? 


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Mr. NELSON. Well, again, I would have to repeat what Ms. 

Keckler was saying is that there’s so much there that it is difficult 

to think of something that’s not happening right now. 

And I am new to the paraplegic world and so I’m not real familiar with what all is out there, what all can we do. 

But I think that the only thing that I can say as far as getting 

something that we don’t have, I can’t think of anything. 

Possibly improving or expanding on some of the things that we 

do, such as the bicycling, the handcycling. I’ve gotten involved with 

that some. But the areas where you can handcycle—and for inpatients you have to be kind of careful with them and what they can 

do and everything—but you might expand the program some. But 

it’s there and people are able to—and they take patients out to go 

through the parks and handcycle through that area in a safe environment and everything. But that would be the only thing I can 

think of is to expand some programs that are there. 

And, of course, obviously, we talk about other hospitals, they 

don’t have some of these therapies, so to put them there would certainly be an improvement for them and for those veterans that are 

there. 

But the only thing I can think of is to expand some of the things 

that they have going on right now. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Very good. 

Davis, do you have anything? What would you like to see offered 

that’s not being offered today? 

I know we’re very fortunate in this area, but this will be very 

helpful to the other Members of Congress throughout the United 

States. 

Mr. CELESTINE. I was going to say we need to implement football. 

But they already have that, and that’s called quad rugby. 

Basically, like I said, there’s nothing I could see unless we look 

at certain programs that will be beneficial to certain areas. Because depending on the terrain that you’re at, it might be beneficial 

to them. Like I think next week they’re putting on a ski clinic. 

So they have different stuff going on, but at the same time you 

need to know what’s right for that area or the type of crowd that 

you’re more or less pertaining to. 

So I’m going to have to say I don’t know what else we can add 

to the curriculum. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thank you. 

Mr. CELESTINE. You’re welcome. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. In the interest of time, I’ll ask one more 

question, even though I have a few more, because we have two 

more panels. 

I think this is very important. What would you say to those who 

might question whether, in such economic times, recreational therapy, even in a therapeutic setting, is a necessary component of rehabilitation? What would you say to those who question this type 

of therapy whether it’s feasible economically? 

Ms. KECKLER. My answer to that is it is the ultimate of necessity 

in the VA hospital. 

As I explained in my testimony, it takes the mind off of the problems that you’re experiencing while you’re in there. It gives you an 

outlook on life. It brings your life up. It lifts you up. It makes a 


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difference. You’re not looking at four walls. Recreation therapy 

doesn’t allow you to do that. You don’t have the thoughts of depression. 

And, yes, we need to go forth and we need to use the VA at 

James A. Haley as an example nationwide to get this moving. 

It is—I can’t think of anything more important in our hospital 

than our recreation therapy department. 

And even what I experienced with our veterans, as well as myself, and those who are in and out, that’s all I hear is recreation 

therapy, recreation therapy, recreation therapy. It’s a very important factor for them. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. You would say it’s essential, correct? 

Ms. KECKLER. Essential. Above essential. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Okay. Very good. 

Lee. 

Mr. NELSON. I would have to agree with Ms. Keckler that it is 

essential. 

When I first arrived in the hospital and was involved in therapies and I was told about recreation therapy I was thinking, okay, 

well, that’s our day off, that’s the time to goof off and not do anything productive. 

But as the weeks and months have gone by, I realized how essential it is. I do go to the gym. I work out with weights. I do some 

different things like that there in the hospital with therapists that 

are there. 

And as necessary as that is, there’s an obvious practicality to 

that aspect. You work out with weights, you increase your 

strength, and there’s that direct correlation; whereas, with the— 

and you might get with like the swimming—in recreation therapy 

see a little bit more of the connection is there rather than horseback riding or some of the other—playing basketball. You’re using 

muscles and balance that you would not otherwise use. 

And simply being involved in a game or a sports event pushes 

you just to finish the game, just to keep up with the person that’s 

next to you. And it pushes you mentally to be able to push yourself 

and do a little bit more than you would normally do. Not more than 

you could do, because if you can’t do it, you can’t do it, but you 

don’t think you can do it, you don’t realize you can do it. And so 

you learn from that aspect of—there’s certain moves or certain balance or certain strength that I do have that I didn’t realize I had 

it; and by doing that then it would increase that strength and that 

balance and that coordination and all those things. 

And so simply going to the gym, working out with weights—as 

essential as that is—by itself, is incomplete. 

And so the recreation therapy completes the therapeutic work for 

the wounded veterans that are dealing with certain handicaps that 

simply going to the gym, working out with weights, or other aspects of calisthenics, different things like that we do in the gym by 

itself, would be far short of what they could achieve through recreation and sports and games and pushing themselves to a higher 

level. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Davis, on a scale of 1 to 10, a 10 being 

the highest, what would you rate recreation therapy? 

Mr. CELESTINE. I’d say 11. 


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Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. It’s good enough for me. 

Mr. CELESTINE. As I said, the thing about recreation therapy is 

just trying to get you to do some stuff. 

And the other thing I asked was—you know, usually, when you 

come through the door, the words that you can’t really say in recreation therapy is ‘‘I can’t,’’ because that’s not in their vocabulary. So 

they actually excluded those words. So they give you, more or less, 

a more positive outlook and like to move forward. 

And, like I said, with that said, recreation is definitely needed 

within our hospitals and our way of life. That’s it. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. All right. Thank you. Thank you for your 

service to our country. 

Ms. KECKLER. One of the things I would like to add to that, one 

of the things that recreation therapy does in our hospital—we have 

a lot of catastrophic injury, i.e., the spinal cord, the polytrauma, 

and we have a lot of caregivers because of this. 

Recreation therapy—we have the outpatients that come in that 

are catastrophically injured, the caregivers drop them off, and they 

work with them to be able to get them to get their motor skills 

back together. And it gives the caregiver a break while they’re 

there for an hour or two. That’s a very important aspect of recreation therapy. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Good point. Good point. Thank you very 

much for your service. Thank you for your testimony. 

I yield back to Madam Chair. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Congressman Miller. 

Mr. MILLER. I’m probably one of the most tight-fisted fiscal conservatives in the House. 

But, Davis, I will tell you, that if anybody asks in regards to 

where we spend our money, you’re the perfect shining example of 

where money is being spent appropriately; to think that you went 

from playing a simple board game ‘‘Trouble’’ to hand bicycling and 

those types of things. There’s no question. 

Quickly—because I want to try to help the Chairwoman get back 

on schedule—how did you guys find out that these services existed? 

A lot of your fellow soldiers and veterans may not be aware of it. 

So how do we get the word out to them and encourage them that 

it works? 

Ms. KECKLER. To me, like you have to introduce them to something they actually like or something they actually had in the past, 

then it kind of re-sparks their interest in getting themselves involved. 

And that’s what recreation does. It sparks your interest in—you 

know what, actually, I did it this way when I was an able body. 

Well, let me try it their way. And that’s when they introduce a different way of doing stuff. 

And, I mean, it’s just—like I said, it goes back to basic stuff, just 

getting a better understanding of how to take your time, look at 

the big picture, and then apply yourself. 

Mr. NELSON. Well, one of the things that has happened there in 

the hospital is that they sign you up. They don’t wait for you to 

ask. They don’t ask you if you want to do it. They just tell you this 

is what you’re doing to do. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. I like that. 


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Mr. NELSON. Now, I’m a soldier in the Army and I know how to 

follow orders. And so my nurses would come in and say, ‘‘Okay, 

Major Nelson, you’re going to go and do this.’’ And I’d just say, 

‘‘Yes, ma’am,’’ and go do it, including the recreation therapy. 

Now, physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, all 

of those fell in the same category of they wrote out my schedule. 

And my schedule was at this time I’m going to recreation therapy, 

at this time I’m doing physical therapy, and that’s what I did. I got 

up in the morning and I did the schedule that they set up for me. 

Now, when I got to recreational therapy, they did have a wide 

variety of things where each week when I would go there they 

would have something different. 

And some of the things really wouldn’t be of interest to certain— 

to some people. But others, they find it was much more interesting 

than they thought it would be just thinking about what would you 

like to do, this event. And the answer would be, well, I don’t know 

if I want to do that. 

But they don’t ask would you like to do it. You just do it. And 

you learn, oh, this is—this is something—when we went to some 

track and field events, we were doing shot puts and discus and different things, and they were asking, ‘‘Well, how many times have 

you thrown a discus?’’ And that’s an easy answer. I can keep up 

with that. It was zero. 

And they showed us how to throw the discus and the shot put, 

which I’m thinking is a big, heavy softball. So I guess you fling it 

over just like a softball. But, no, this is too heavy to do that. You 

can injure yourself. Anybody can injure themselves, their shoulders, whatever else, taking a shot put and throwing it like a softball. 

And so in doing that, I was using different muscles and different 

coordination. And it’s not something that I would have signed up 

for if it was just on the wall saying, oh, sign up for what you want 

to do. I mean, I may not have signed up for half of what I’ve done 

over the last year that they said, okay, this week, this is what 

we’re going to do and go. And doing that particular outing turned 

out to be very beneficial. 

I wasn’t much of a basketball player previously. When I’m standing up, I’m really not all that tall. I played football, not basketball. 

So when they said, well, we’re going to play basketball today, I’m 

thinking, well, I wasn’t good at that before, I’m certainly not going 

to be good at it now. But we went out to play it anyway. And it 

was fun. I enjoyed it. 

But more importantly, again, it’s moving the wheelchair at a 

faster rate of speed than you normally do. And not just simply 

cones on an obstacle course, but you’re having to get in a certain 

position to throw the basketball up through the hoop and different 

things like that that can cause people to find out what they’re interested in. 

Because once I did that for about an hour then—for some people 

that would really spark a deeper interest, then they could continue 

on with it. And for other people it’s like, well, that was fun, but 

I’m not going to do that again. 

But, again, depending on the particular recreation, the particular 

game, then some people would be interested in it, it would click for 


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them, and be beneficial to their physical disability in finding out 

that it’s not so much of a disability as they thought it was, and 

being able to do more than they thought they could do. 

So this hospital has the word out. You know, like I said, not just 

a poster on the wall, signing up for it that everybody can see, but 

it is: This is what you’re going to do today. And no questions. No 

options. Just as one guy said, ‘‘No highway options.’’ Just this is 

what you’re going to do today, and you go and do it. And it’s a good 

opportunity to find out that you can do more than what you 

thought you could. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thanks. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you. I’m going to thank all three 

of you. It’s been very educational for all of us and we learned a lot. 

And you all, your experience is amazing. You have a program 

that’s a 10 and what we need to do is pass that on. 

And on behalf of a very grateful Nation, we want to thank you 

so very much for your service, and also for your testimony. 

We’re going to stand in informal recess for 5 minutes, because I 

think the media wants to interview you all. And then would the 

second panel get ready to come up? We’ll come back at 9:35. 

Thank you. 

[Recess.] 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Okay. We will officially come back to 

order. 

Now, the second panel consists of Dr. Edie Dopking, Melinda 

Wheatley, Sandy Ackley, and David Windsor. 

We will start with Dr. Edie E. Dopking. 

STATEMENTS OF EDIE E. DOPKING, PH.D., PRESIDENT AND 

FOUNDER, QUANTUM LEAP FARM, INC., ODESSA, FL; 

MELINDA WHEATLEY, SENIOR RECREATION THERAPIST, 

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL, PARKS, RECREATION AND 

CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT, AND PARALYMPIC SPORT 

TAMPA BAY, TAMPA BAY, FL; SANDY ACKLEY, PROGRAMMING AND EVENTS COORDINATOR, SAILABILITY GREATER 

TAMPA BAY, INC., CLEARWATER, FL; AND DAVID B. WINDSOR, 

PRINCIPAL INSTRUCTOR, PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS’ ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, ADAPTIVE GOLF ACADEMY, INC. 

STATEMENT OF EDIE E. DOPKING, PH.D. 

Dr. DOPKING. I want to start out by thanking all of you for having me and having the rest of us here to talk about this today. It 

is a very important subject. 

I’m the President and Founder of Quantum Leap Farm. We’re a 

10-year-old non-profit veterans’ service organization located here in 

Tampa, Florida. 

Please accept my sincerest thanks, again, for the opportunity to 

present my testimony today. 

Quantum Leap Farm serves current and former military servicemembers and their families from the current conflicts all the way 

back to World War II. 

We provide exercise therapy, cognitive/behavioral counseling, 

family reintegration days, and personal and professional growth 


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workshops for military servicemembers, families and groups. We 

use horses as a therapeutic tool and catalyst for positive change. 

We’ve worked closely with the therapists at James A. Haley VA 

Hospital’s recreation therapy department for just over 10 years. 

Through word-of-mouth referrals from our friends in recreation 

therapy, we also receive referrals from a list of other departments 

at James A. Haley VA: mental health intensive case management, 

social rehab, polytrauma, and spinal cord injury, as well as others. 

In addition, we receive referrals from Bay Pines Medical Center 

and from family services centers located on MacDill Air Force Base: 

The Airmen and Families Services Center, CENTCOM Family 

Services Center and SOCOM Family Services Center, and from 

other veterans’ service organizations. 

This fiscal year alone, our organization will provide services to 

over 850 unique military servicemembers and their families at a 

cost of over $469,000 to our organization. 

Up until 2 years ago, our friends in recreation therapy were judicious with their referrals as they understood we didn’t have funding to do this work and were donating our services entirely. In fact, 

we have never charged veterans of any conflict for any of the services we offer here at the Farm. 

During our 10 years of working together, only two small recreation therapy grants became available through the general post 

fund. Our friends in recreation therapy applied for and received 

small amounts of funding for us—approximately $2,500 in 2005, 

and $2,900 in 2008—to help cover the costs of services we were 

providing their patients. 

On several occasions, recreation therapists have made personal 

donations to the Farm to help cover the costs of their referrals. 

Recently, though, we were awarded a one-time-only privately 

funded grant provided by the Florida BrAIve Fund and administered by The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice. BrAIve 

Fund monies are earmarked per the original donor for services supporting OEF and OIF servicemembers and their families. This 

grant of $618,566 enabled us to expand the types of services we 

offer, the amount of services we provide, and the number of military servicemembers we provide services to by 1,200 percent in 

barely 2 years: from 32 unique servicemembers in 2008 to 850 in 

2010. 

Unfortunately, our BrAIve grant funding expires September 30, 

2010. We are currently seeking alternative sources of funding, both 

private and governmental, and are exploring the possibility of establishing a contractual fee-for-service relationship with the VA 

and/or the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). 

This increase in military referrals we’ve experienced reflects a 

great and increasing need on the part of military servicemembers 

and their families. 

Likewise, it also reflects the great and increasing degree to which 

VA hospitals are depending upon civilian organizations, like ours, 

to assist in healing visible and invisible wounds of war that our 

veterans and their families are so bravely enduring. The current 

conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are generating more catastrophically injured combat survivors than any other conflict to date 


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thanks to great improvements in field medicine. The ramifications 

are good and bad, big and small, focal and widespread. 

VA health care workers are handling rapidly expanding caseloads of seriously injured patients; both the number and medical 

complexity exceed the caseloads VA medical professionals have 

managed before. 

In fact, our friends at James Haley Recreation Therapy tell us 

that each of their therapists are serving over 130 beds, many of 

their occupants with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), amputations, 

spinal cord injuries and burns. And those are merely the physical 

injuries. Many of them also suffer depression, post-traumatic stress 

disorder (PTSD) and have emotional and family issues to manage, 

as well. Young families are facing a lifetime of caregiving for seriously injured family members as they struggle to raise children, 

work, maintain households and marriages. Not surprisingly, divorce and suicide rates are high in this population. 

Recreation therapists are instrumental in assisting injured 

servicemembers and families to successfully navigate the numerous 

and significant challenges they face post-injury. 

Recreation therapists help injured veterans and families discover 

the new ‘‘normal’’: helping injured veterans reintegrate into civilian 

life; reacquainting family members with each other after extended 

separations and functional changes; helping families learn to recreate together focusing on strengths, abilities and resources; and promoting healthy relationships and engaged, active lifestyles. 

Likewise, civilian veterans’ service organizations, like Quantum 

Leap Farm, are instrumental in helping recreation therapists do 

their jobs, helping a large and diverse population of injured servicemembers and their families rebuild and recover from war-related 

trauma. 

Recently our attendance at the Conference on Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans (CIAV) in Washington, DC, was sponsored by our 

military grantor, The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice. 

Presenters included Brigadier General Loree Sutton, M.D., Director 

of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and 

Traumatic Brain Injury. There were also panels of veterans, caregivers, and service providers. Some of the Nation’s most intelligent 

and well-informed lecturers spoke with legislators, met various department heads within the VA, and networked with other service 

providers sharing our experiences working with injured veterans. 

Most relevant among several over-arching conclusions of the 

CIAV Conference: Although there is much great legislation currently being passed to help our Nation’s wounded warriors recover 

physically, emotionally, socially and financially, it seems very little 

funding is trickling down to the community level where it would do 

the most good. If we’re willing to award multi-million dollar contracts to defense and other governmental contractors, why are we 

not willing to award similar contracts to organizations that help 

fulfill our Nation’s promise of caring for those willing to lay down 

their very lives for our freedom? 

As a Nation, we are in unchartered territory. The number of profoundly disabled veterans needing long-term care and services is 

rising rapidly and won’t peak for years to come. The effects on our 

health care system, our economy and our American culture remain 


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to be seen. However, one thing is certain: We, all of us, owe these 

veterans and their families our unfailing support and gratitude for 

their inestimable sacrifices. 

It is my pleasure to submit this testimony to you today. Thank 

you again for your time and your consideration. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Dopking appears on p. 46.] 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you. And I will remind the panel 

to please keep this testimony to 5 minutes so that we can get to 

the questions. 

Thank you for your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF MELINDA WHEATLEY 

Ms. WHEATLEY. I’ll try to keep it short. My name is Melinda 

Wheatley. I’m a Senior Recreation Therapist with Hillsborough 

County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department. And I do 

work closely with Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay (PSTB). 

And I’m here today to tell you about Paralympic Sport and what 

we do in conjunction with James A. Haley VA Hospital. 

The mission of Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay is to promote health 

and independence and personal growth to people with physical disabilities—mainly, physical disabilities. 

For a long time—talking about getting the education, Chairwoman Brown—for a long time people with physical disabilities 

had to participate in things like Special Olympics, which pretty 

much everybody is very familiar with Special Olympics. But Special 

Olympics is mainly for people with cognitive deficiencies. 

But Paralympic Sports programs were developed nationally to 

emphasize the importance of sports and recreational activities for 

people whose primary diagnosis was a physical impairment. 

The Paralympic Sport program works with people with cerebral 

palsy, spinal cord injuries, amputation, visual impairments, dwarfism, and then other problems like head injuries, muscular dystrophy, muscular sclerosis, etc. 

Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay offers year-round seasonal programs like track and field, archery, wheelchair tennis, swimming, 

wheelchair soccer, wheelchair basketball, among others. And then 

we also offer 1-day clinics in close conjunction with the VA staff. 

Next weekend—as one of the panelists said—we’re doing a water 

ski clinic at Lake Wales, which will be the sit-ski clinic where all 

people can participate regardless of their abilities. 

Hand cycling—we just had a strength and conditioning physical 

clinic last week which exposes the participants to different recreational activities, and then those skills can be enjoyed throughout their life. And they’re enjoyed by adults and youth, as well. 

They provide—the clinic provides the fundamentals of a sport, 

which can be pursued through team activities or individual activities. 

Now, our program has traditionally catered to youth. It was 

originally called Blaze Sports, if anybody has ever heard of that. 

But through the involvement with James A. Haley VA Hospital, 

we’ve grown to serve more adults. 

We now have a Division 3 wheelchair basketball team, which is 

ranked 16th nationally, and an adult wheelchair softball team that 

is co-sponsored by the Tampa Bay Rays baseball organization. 


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Reviewed by many across the Nation as a program that should 

be modeled by all communities that have VA hospitals, the partnership between James A. Haley VA Hospital and Paralympic 

Sport Tampa Bay is a wonderful marriage. And I like to call it that 

because it’s just that: We fit well together. 

Not only, as many people have said, do sports and activities promote self-esteem and positive image of the participants, but they 

help release stress and depression as well. 

Reintegration into the community after an injury is one of the 

most important aspects of rehabilitation. And the relationship is 

developed when our adult veterans and the children that we already serve participate in programs together. They’re just unique 

and just so refreshing. 

The adults become mentors to the youth, young athletes. And 

then they have similar disabilities so they share stories. And the 

adults tend to give advice about life situations that they’ve had to 

deal with and how they’ve dealt with them. 

But at the same time, the adults are motivated by the youth because kids—our kids especially—are fearless and they’ll try anything, which really inspires the adults to try new things, too. 

So now I’d like to tell you a little bit about our office facilities 

in Hillsborough County, which have really, I think, benefited us in 

Hillsborough County, and not only in Hillsborough, but regionally, 

especially in this district, Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough. People 

come from all over to join in, veterans and youth alike. 

Our facility is called the All People’s Life Center. It is a wonderfully accessible place for people to recreate and play. It is a 44,000- 

square-foot facility. It’s a community center which everybody can 

use, able body and disabled, but people with disabilities have priority usage on the facility. 

We offer such amenities as a fitness center, which is fully accessible, gymnasium, double gymnasium, a dance room, beautiful outdoor trails, and an accessible playground for people to enjoy. 

And I have to add to that that sometimes, you know, especially 

our veterans, they come back, they have families that if they go to 

a playground and it’s not accessible, then the families can’t play— 

the disabled can’t play with their able-bodied kids. So accessibility 

is important from both aspects. 

The place was designed for people with disabilities in mind. So 

everything down to the showers, down to the sinks, down to the 

way the floor was built, the signage, everything about it is totally 

accessible. It was a pleasure being able to help design it. 

So as you can see, our viable relationship with James A. Haley 

Hospital is mutually successful. The veterans have a great place to 

come, and we have successful participants in our program. 

I can’t say enough about the awesome recreation therapy staff 

both organizations have. We have a team of 10 through Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation that offer not only sports but 

community outreach programs, after-school summer camp programs for kids. We’re offering specialty camps for adults and kids 

this summer. 

But the therapists at the VA hospital have always been so wonderful with planning things that they know they will like. And they 

plan that so kids might join and jump in, too. 


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And, you know, some things are just for adults and some things 

are just for kids, but we work very well together. 

And even if it’s a VA-sponsored event, our staff will come join in. 

If it’s a PSTB event, then the VA staff joins in. So, like I said, it’s 

kind of a unique marriage. I hope that we can continue to work 

real closely with the VA hospitals and develop some new exciting 

things that everybody can enjoy. 

And I thank you very much for your time in speaking about 

something that’s very, very close to my heart. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Wheatley appears on p. 48.] 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you. 

Ms. Ackley. 

STATEMENT OF SANDY ACKLEY 

Ms. ACKLEY. Yes. Hi. My name is Sandy Ackley. I work for 

Sailability Greater Tampa Bay, which is a non-profit operating out 

of Pinellas County. The services are provided to the Greater Tampa 

Bay area. 

Our mission is to provide affordable, accessible sailing activities 

and education to children and adults of all ages and abilities, focusing on community integration to improve the quality of life for all 

involved. 

The concept of our program was born in March of 2001. It was 

at that time a small group of people envisioned and implemented 

an opportunity within their community. 

The challenged individuals that we take out sailing quickly realized that the only limitations they faced were those in their mind, 

and that whatever one might set their mind to do can be accomplished. This I know because my husband is also a veteran who is 

disabled, and recreation therapy is what kept my family strong. 

Sailability is 9 years old now and has built a fleet of 13 access 

boats, 3 catamarans and a motor boat. 

Grants, fundraising and local supporters made it possible for us 

to purchase our first 303 servo assist boat that has adaptive equipment which includes a ‘‘sip and puff,’’ chin control, electronic 

joysticks and adaptive seating, which a ventilator dependent quadriplegic would be able to sail independently. 

In fact, after training provided by Sailability Greater Tampa 

Bay, Lynn, from James A. Haley, a ventilator dependent quadriplegic, set a record here in Clearwater—well, there in Clearwater—to be the first ventilator dependent quad to sail independently in the United States on an access dinghy. 

Lynn and other veterans come out to our community sails, which 

are held four times a year, to lead the way demonstrating the opportunities our waters can provide to veterans while he navigates 

the Clearwater Intercoastal Waterway. 

We have wheelchair-bound veterans from our community, recreational rehab and spinal cord programs, various veteran support 

groups, as well as Paralyzed Veterans, James A. Haley, Bay Pines 

Hospital, returning Iraqi veterans accompanied by their families 

and friends and therapists, watch in awe from the top of The Miss 

Beverly, which is known—it’s a 24-foot pontoon boat that we borrow from the Bay. This is when I know that what I do gives our 


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vets a sense of worth, confidence, assurance and belief while building on self-esteem reaching their goals and drives, as they wave 

their arms—screaming words of joy and triumph with happy tears 

running down their faces. I know this because Sailability is what 

empowers people and kept my family strong. 

The Miss Beverly, again, is a 24-foot wheelchair accessible pontoon that resides at MacDill. The Miss Beverly is borrowed to take 

Bay Pines, James A. Haley and community veterans out fishing or 

used as a spectator boat for the more ‘‘I have to challenge Sandy’’ 

veteran while others sail the bay. I get them all in a boat sooner 

or later. They learn to trust in, believe in themselves again, this 

I know with certainty. 

Since we are driven to get as many veterans out on the water 

as possible, we also strive to support those who would like to facilitate programs such as ours locally, regionally and nationally. 

Not only does this enhance awareness of all individuals, it facilitates the need to keep our waterways and environment not only 

eco-friendly and pristine but accessible to all. 

We are proud of the fact that since our inception we have been 

able to have a positive impact on many individuals. 

Our program has graduated a multitude of sailors, many of 

which were either mentally or physically challenged, as well as 

able-bodied children, adults, and seniors. Some of those physically 

challenged individuals include, but are not limited to, paraplegics, 

quadriplegics, amputees, stroke survivors, and those with neurological impairments such as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and 

head trauma injuries. 

Moreover, we’ve been able to introduce the experience of sailing 

and touch the lives of more than 500 individuals, along with their 

family members and caregivers. This I know because I’m the one 

who gets the tears of joy, the ‘‘thank you’’ cards for giving me my 

life back, the gratitude from recreation therapists, staff, and the 

appreciation from family and friends. These sailboat rides are more 

rewarding to me than I can describe. Men that have the wind 

taken out of their sails, from them I get my strength to make others strong. 

Sailability Greater Tampa Bay also has the ability to travel to 

outside counties and support other groups. Our presence at these 

travel events raise awareness in our community for the need to 

maintain community inclusion and accessibility for all, while giving 

our veterans what they need and deserve. 

We are obligated to do this for people who gave their souls in belief that we will stand by them. We feel that our presence and support within our community will fuel the acceleration of programs 

like ours. And this I know because my son is a third generation 

Marine, who volunteered since he was 10 years old putting veterans out on the water. These proud veterans taught my son loyalty, trust and gave him confidence and strength. 

We pride ourselves on the fact that all these accomplishments 

have been made through an extremely dedicated volunteer staff. 

And as we move into the next decade, we anticipate growing our 

program and touching more lives as we live through war. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Ackley appears on p. 51.] 


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Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Mr. Windsor. 

STATEMENT OF DAVID B. WINDSOR 

Mr. WINDSOR. Good morning. Thank you very much. It is an 

honor to be here. I really appreciate everyone on the same wavelength here today. 

For the record, my name is David Windsor. I’m a member of the 

Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of America. I’ve been a PGA 

member for 10 years, I’ve been a teaching professional for 20, and 

for the past 10 years I’ve been teaching adaptive golf. 

I represent the Adaptive Golf Academy, but most importantly, as 

a community supporter of the James A. Haley VA Adaptive Golf 

program every Friday morning at Terrace Hill Golf Club. 

As we heard from the first panel, we heard testimonies stating 

about how they felt, the way that they were thinking before they 

were involved with recreational therapy. 

Specifically, with adaptive golf, our participants, the therapists, 

the staff, the supporters, they’re helping change the way our veterans are thinking; a more positive track. 

It’s a noted fact that disability or injury can put veterans in a 

lonely place, both mentally and physically. The James A. Haley 

Adaptive Golf program introduces and involves these patients into 

a fail-proof athletic activity within the confines of a positive environment. And this method of combining personal and physical 

interaction takes their mind off of that therapy and allows their recovery process to be self-initiated. And we heard that quite a bit 

from panel one. 

In November of 2007, the program was just a couple months 

going, and I had the opportunity to meet a Humvee gunner. His 

name was Jim. He had survived an improvised explosive device 

roadside blast. He was badly burned, 53 percent of his body, both 

legs were broken; one, I remember, being shattered, which explained the rods and pins that were extending from his left leg. 

His first time out we remember him saying he didn’t even feel 

like swinging a golf club. He was just happy to get out of the hospital for a little while. That’s what he was looking forward to. 

Then he was introduced to the SoloRider golf cart. This golf cart 

is designed for wheelchair players to become more upright so they 

can swing the golf club better and get really complete access to the 

golf course. 

He said—he was quoted as saying, ‘‘You know, we have classes 

with therapists and they’re great, but we’re inside. For me, the best 

was being outdoors and having people like this to help crack a few 

balls . . . this is my best day of therapy! This is helping my body 

get going again, a great way to get out, get some fresh air and be 

with a bunch of people who love golf.’’ So this is really expanding 

the therapy that goes on outside of the hospital. 

I just want to make a quick note that I actually sent him an email. We’ve been staying in touch a little bit. And, I just want to 

confirm, he’s still playing golf. 

But just in a case like his, what started out to be a case of cabin 

fever, being inside those four walls, doing that traditional therapy, 

it just led Jim to experience that greater feeling, that better—that 


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good feeling that you get when you enjoy it. He’s around caring 

folks that empowered him for the future. 

And one thing I do remember, I remember how he had really 

drawn an audience. He was in that SoloRider golf cart, he’s in an 

upright position, he had rods coming out of his left leg, and he’s 

cracking balls out there and he’s drawing an audience. 

And you could just see how his chest started to bow up and he 

was feeling so proud of himself. And everybody started to clap. And 

it was just a feeling that was contagious among everyone. 

Just the simple act of getting outside and leaving that traditional 

therapy setting, it just encourages other patients to interact in a 

nonstressful situation in whatever organization. 

And they’re with their peers that are facing similar issues. 

They’re able to talk to other folks that had boots on the grounds. 

So a therapist or a staff or whatever, with that veteran, they’re on 

the equation and they’re doing their thing together. It’s a veteranshelping-veterans atmosphere. 

They’re there and they can trust a consistent form of therapy 

that they can pursue for the rest of their life. They focus on improved connection with their family, their friends and co-workers. 

I can’t tell you how many times being there helping instruct I 

had someone turn to me after hitting some shots right down the 

middle of the driving range or out on the course and they’d say, 

‘‘Hey, is this something I can do to bring my kids out or bring my 

wife?’’ You know, it’s just a great way for them to do something together in hometown U.S.A. and just get reconnected. 

They’re there and they focus on what we say; ‘‘fairways and 

greens’’ for you golfers in the room. And that’s their escape from 

their issues, just like any of us. Right? We all need an escape. 

I don’t have to really list and bullet point what the adaptive golf 

really serves, but to name just a few: brain injury, spinal cord injury, limb loss, all those that we’ve been aware of here today. 

And, again, we’ve heard from panel one, you know, how easy it 

is to become detached or disconnected from themselves, from their 

family and their communities. And that’s a challenge right here 

that the James A. Haley Adaptive Golf program faces and has 

taken head-on every Friday. 

Did you know that the James A. Haley VA Adaptive Golf program is now approaching its 3rd year? It began on September 28, 

2007, a Friday morning, and has continued every Friday right here 

in Tampa Bay. 

The program consists of the James A. Haley inpatients, brought 

by the therapists over to Terrace Hill Golf Club—it’s a nearby 

course off of Busch Boulevard—where they’re greeted by PGA professional Ken Juhn and members of AVAST, which is the Amputee 

VA support team; and it is a solid group of area outpatients and 

volunteers that are there every Friday morning. 

The golf program has been more than just a weekly golf outing, 

but rather a vital part of the rehabilitation process and community 

reintegration process that’s taking place. 

And for the record, as I stated, I’ve been involved with adaptive 

golf for 10 years, so this is not the very first program of its kind; 

rather, it’s an extension of a weekly program that I helped develop 

in 1999 in Sarasota, Florida. 


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I was a PGA professional. As a club professional I had a 27-hole 

golf course, and I was approached to have therapists bring out 

their clients as a golf outing at first. However, I soon realized that 

there was much more to the program than just helping them hit 

a few balls down the fairway. 

And this is the reason why our veterans are coming out week 

after week, playing additional rounds of golf with their friends, 

with their peers at area courses right here in Tampa Bay. 

So they are affirming that they want this positive environment. 

It’s a therapeutic outlet and it’s a nontraditional therapy setting. 

At the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital our active-duty soldiers and veterans who face physical challenges or complicated barriers with their PTSD, depression, traumatic brain injuries, are encouraged to reach functional independence so they can get back to 

their lives. The theme here: The quality of life. 

Of all recreational activities we favor the adaptive golf experience the most as it introduces the concept to help our patients 

maximize their potential. With adaptive golf this process of recovery is self-initiated. 

And in the words of Dr. Scott—What is more American than a 

game of golf? It’s the band of brothers coming together on Friday 

mornings. It is something that everyone can learn and do no matter where they end up, in hometown U.S.A. 

We have had our CTRS, Kathryn Bryant, not just bringing over 

and maintaining the program on Fridays, but she has accompanied 

a number—I think it’s the 2nd year they’re going to be going to the 

National Tee Tournament out in Iowa. It is an opportunity for veterans around the country to gather for such an event, and that’s 

going to continue. 

What’s next? We have golf now as part of the 2016 Olympics. 

That means Paralympics are on a lot of folks’ minds right now. 

To sum it up, the James A. Haley Adaptive Golf program has become a driving force for the rehabilitation process for which veterans, active military personnel with disabilities can relearn and 

develop skills which they thought were beyond their capabilities. 

Physically, adaptive golf improved their balance, coordination, 

endurance, functional ability for those daily activities, decreasing 

risk of falls and injuries and increasing overall quality of life. Mentally, it helps train individuals to focus on more positives and develop better, everyday life and judgmental skills. 

When you come out to the golf course there’s not too many people 

there saying, ‘‘Gee, I think I’m going to play worse today.’’ They’re 

there looking to improve their skills. And they’re around that positive environment, improving every time. And that just really leads 

to self-esteem, confidence, independence and a feeling of dignity, 

giving new hope to expand their horizons as they transition back 

into civilian life. 

And, in closing, there is one way to know that it’s Veteran’s Day 

at Terrace Hill. As for the golfers in the room, traditionally you 

would hear out on a golf course, ‘‘Fore!’’ if someone happens to hit 

their ball toward another group. But at Terrace Hill you’re going 

to hear, ‘‘Incoming!’’ And that’s when you know it’s Friday. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Windsor appears on p. 52.] 


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Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you. 

Thank you for all of your testimony, too. 

I have a couple of quick questions. This question is for the entire 

panel. 

Each of you uses a different recreational therapy: Sports, sailing, 

golf. Is there any particular therapy that’s better for a veteran depending on their ability, disability or—— 

Dr. DOPKING. I’ll jump in here. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Do you understand? 

Dr. DOPKING. Yeah, yeah. I think it depends on a person’s personal preferences and their history with a certain sport, their interest, their family’s interest. 

I think it’s important to have a wide variety of sports available 

because there’s such a wide variety of military servicemembers and 

their families, you know, there has to be something to appeal to everybody, but it’s so important to offer those things. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Well, I heard what Mr. Nelson said, and 

it was very interesting because when they first offered him horseback riding, he said, ‘‘Absolutely not. What’s wrong with you?’’ But 

he found he enjoyed it. 

Dr. DOPKING. That’s the thing about recreation therapy, though, 

is it introduces people to things that they didn’t really know they 

were going to like, you know. 

So it’s so important for them to be able to explore all those options in golf and sailing, you know, and all the different sports that 

you offer, horseback riding, hang-gliding and water-skiing. You 

know, it’s so good for them to be able to get out there and experience that new ‘‘normal’’ that I was talking about. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Well, what I hear you saying is more 

about getting them to do it. Because we can bring them to the 

baseball games and football games, but this is something that 

they’re physically participating in, which is good. 

Ms. WHEATLEY. Right. And it’s not only just about the physical 

aspect. 

I mean, when you were asking the panel about what other sports 

and things could be offered at the Veterans’ Hospital—you know, 

I have a lot of friends that have disabilities because I’ve done therapy with them for so long, I guess, and a lot of them are just not 

really into—they’re not into sports, they’re not into any physical activities, they’re more into things like woodworking or shooting 

sports, things like that. 

So you’re asking how to expand those programs; you might consider looking into things that are daily activities, but—things that 

we all do on a daily basis but just need a little modification in 

order to continue those activities when with a disability. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. I heard you all talking about the cost 

of funding the program. And I know that we’ve increased veteran 

funding. But for some reason we have not been able to get the VA 

to collaborate with community partners. 

I think none of the Members are happy with this. And that is 

the area that we’re continuing to work on because it is so important that as we expand the number of veterans, that we expand the 

community partners we work with as well. 


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And so can you talk about the unit cost for caring for the veterans? I know that you all are working well together, but we’re 

talking about funding, which is a little different than the program. 

Dr. DOPKING. I know for our organization our cost is $95 per ride 

or per half hour. But, you know, Quantum Leap, because we have 

horses there to care for, it’s a 24/7 sort of operation. 

So, you know, we have staff members that are directly involved 

with the program because they’re caring for the animals and the 

horses. And we also have a large number of volunteers that are 

very, very generous with their time that help us maintain the program, too. And even with that, our cost is $95 a half hour. 

I’m sure that these other programs have some similar costs, too. 

And, of course, you know, we—I’m sure we all get funding from numerous places and none of us I think are looking to one source to 

support our entire program. 

I think—I don’t want to put words in your mouths, but I think 

we’re looking to get paid for what we do, you know, like a fee-perperson that we work with or, you know, in a contractual relationship, rather than a grant or something like that. 

I don’t know. What are your thoughts? 

Mr. WINDSOR. Well, with the golf program, we established that 

as pretty much more of an internal coming from the James A. 

Haley program. 

It was my intention right along to develop this program, help 

them see that and adopt, in which—with the blessing of Dr. Scott 

and Cathy Williams and now Kathryn Bryant helping on every Friday—we’ve gotten to that. So now it’s part of their programs. 

There’s a general posting fund that’s set up to specifically help this 

adaptive golf program. 

And we’re just working on a very minimal budget right now. 

We’re working together for another year. But right now it’s a little 

over $1,000 a month for the services we provide locally. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. How many people participate in the program? 

Mr. WINDSOR. Inpatients could vary every Friday. Could be anywhere from three up to six to eight inpatients that come. And a 

large number of outpatients come, as well. And they pay their own 

fee to access the golf course. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. And sometimes you said they come with 

their family members. 

Mr. WINDSOR. Sure. You may have 20 to 30 outpatients from the 

Tampa Bay area that come. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. And sailing? 

Ms. ACKLEY. We—it usually costs $60 per hour to put a boat out, 

including staff. We try to put a little in the till for wear and tear 

on the boat. Boat parts are very expensive. 

But we only charge James A. Haley $10 per head. We do—— 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Do they just sail or fish or what do they 

do? 

Ms. ACKLEY. Well, for the first-timers that need to be reassured 

that it’s going to work for them, they want to see someone else do 

it first. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Yes. 


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Ms. ACKLEY. So the returning sailors we put in the boats pretty 

immediately. And then anyone else—spectator, family members, 

the therapists, we even give them a day out on the water—they’ll 

be fishing off of the pontoon, The Miss Beverly. And then they 

watch. 

And by the second month they’ll come out and they’ll get in a 

boat. And it just keeps on rotating out. They keep bringing their 

parents and their grandparents and their kids. And so it is a very 

large family. It’s a big family day. 

Mr. WINDSOR. And I’d like to add that, I mean, we do the same 

thing, you know, minimal cost for the inpatients to come. 

But to do any program properly, to train the staff, to have the 

right equipment, that’s where some of the cost can come in for— 

such as the accessible golf carts, some other equipment that needs 

to be welded and modified for that to happen. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Mrs. Wheatley. 

Ms. WHEATLEY. Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay staff is funded 

through Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners 

which consists of four full-time staff for that particular program. 

Everything else we do, you know, we get private donations, funding, we do fundraisers, grants, et cetera, et cetera. We try to never 

charge the participants, if at all possible, just because usually people with disabilities have a lot more personal costs and are many 

times unable to pay. 

I agree with everybody here that if you’ve never bought a wheelchair or anything like that, adaptive equipment is probably three 

to four times more expensive than anything that you and I would 

have to buy. 

Consider the cost of a vehicle, a van. You know, you can buy a vehicle for $15,000. And theirs is going to cost $60,000. So, I mean, 

it’s really—life with a disability is very costly for some things. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Congressman Bilirakis. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

You are all non-profits, correct? 

Dr. DOPKING. Yes. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. And you all participate in contracts with 

the local VA? 

Dr. DOPKING. Uh-huh. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Explain to us how older veterans can benefit from these programs. 

Dr. DOPKING. My Ph.D. is in aging study. It’s very similar to gerontology, only we study the process of aging rather than older folks 

themselves. And I would say the need for physical activity in older 

persons is just as great, maybe greater than for people who are 

younger, because really your body and your mind is a ‘‘use it’’ or 

‘‘lose it’’ proposition. 

So inactivity, and especially if there’s a disability, you know, people tend to be more inactive with a disability. 

So older veterans with disabilities need physical activity. They 

just—they really, really need to stay engaged and active and probably in a greater way than younger folks do. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. How many older veterans participate in 

your program? I’d like to ask you first. 

Dr. DOPKING. Oh, boy. 


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Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Approximately, percentage-wise. 

Dr. DOPKING. I’ll bet you—I don’t have those numbers right in 

front of me, but because we always focus on adults, our mission is 

to serve adults, I’ll bet 30 percent of our population is 50 or older. 

We’ve had several World War II veterans that were 92. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. How do you get the word out that the 

services are available? 

Dr. DOPKING. We don’t have a big budget for advertising—I’m 

guessing you guys don’t either—so most of it is word of mouth. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Word of mouth. 

Dr. DOPKING. Yeah. And the recreation therapists have done a 

great job of promoting, especially Quantum Leap, and, apparently, 

your programs, as well, and making it available to everybody that 

they touch. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Very good. Thank you. 

Anyone else? 

Mr. WINDSOR. Well, primarily, the Adaptive Golf program in its 

initial launch in September of 2007 was made up of Vietnam veteran era, and they continue to be there week in and week out as 

sort of the big brothers for the younger generation that appears on 

Fridays from the VA. 

We’ve had still a number of World War II veterans, Korean war, 

and they’re there. And they get just as much out of it as the younger generation. They actually have more of an appreciation of a lot 

of it because they’re there and they’re taking part in it, which gives 

them that good feeling, that, hey, this is—they call it the game of 

a lifetime. We have the tools, the resources, the staff training. They 

love that environment. That’s what keeps them coming. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Without the golf cart, it would be very difficult for veterans to participate in your program; is that correct? 

Mr. WINDSOR. For many. For many. If someone has had a recent 

limb loss and they’re working on endurance and balance and different issues there, the golf cart is very beneficial because it gets 

them in an upright position. It takes that weight-bearing off. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Maybe you can show a picture of the golf 

cart. I wanted to bring it in, but I guess it wasn’t practical. 

How much does that cost? 

Mr. WINDSOR. Don’t quote me. I believe they’re right around like $9,000, $10,000. 

And for the record, every military golf course and every military 

base should have two of these by now. Not specifically the one 

manufacturer, but I know it was made—maybe Mr. Miller would 

know more about that—but two accessible golf carts should be at 

every military golf course to provide accessibility. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. In the interest of time for the panel, how 

many vets do you have participating in the individual programs? 

Dr. DOPKING. Our number is as of—our fiscal year ends in June. 

And from July 1 through now, we’re over 850. 

Ms. WHEATLEY. We have, depending on the sport, up to 200. 

Ms. ACKLEY. Yeah, I have probably up to about 200, 250. 

Mr. WINDSOR. What was the question? I’m sorry. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. How many veterans participate in your 

program? 

Mr. WINDSOR. Inpatients? Outpatients? Everyone? 


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Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Everyone. 

Mr. WINDSOR. Well, if you imagine, I mean, at least 20 every Friday. And it’s every Friday. So 1,000 or more. If we do clinics, if we 

do some things for awareness in the community, you may have up 

to 100 that day, 200. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Okay. Very good. Thank you very much, 

Madam Chairwoman. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Mr. Miller. 

Mr. MILLER. Madam Chairwoman, I’ll pass. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Okay. Well, I wanted again to thank 

you all very much for your service. And I want to tell you all a secret. They’re going to be sorry they invited me here because now 

I’m jealous and we have to have these programs in my area. 

So thank you very much. In Jacksonville, we have some water. 

We have lots of golf courses. I’m going to get her to come over to 

Jacksonville and get my organizations going. 

Mr. WINDSOR. And, for the record, you had asked the question 

if all of us are non-profit. 

My entity, The Adaptive Golf Academy, is not. But the goal of 

that is to help non-profits as a service to develop Adaptive Golf programs to serve the needs of their clients. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Good. 

Mr. WINDSOR. And, really, the main objective is to develop a sustaining Adaptive Golf program with every possible VA hospital and 

community to enhance the physical, mental, social and emotional 

well-being of veterans and increase their participation around the 

great game of golf. 

[The following was subsequently received from Mr. Windsor:] 

July 13, 2010 

To: Diane Kirkland, Printing Clerk, Committee on Veteran’s Affairs 

From: David B. Windsor, PGA 

I would like to request that the below material be added to my testimony 

on Recreational Therapy and Healing on June 8. This briefly states our objective for VA hospitals to better serve wounded warriors/veterans and also 

our contact information. 

The objective of the Adaptive Golf Academy is to educate, train and inspire physical and recreational therapists and directors at VA hospitals 

around the country to develop their own adaptive golf program and ultimately ‘‘make a difference’’ in many veterans’ lives. 

Contact info: 

David Windsor, PGA (941) 650–5750 

Email: David@AdaptiveGolfAcademy.com 

Website: www.AdaptiveGolfAcademy.com 

Thank you, 

David 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. That sounds good. These are in all my 

areas, but we don’t have these programs, so thank you very much. 

Mr. WINDSOR. Thank you. 

Ms. WHEATLEY. We’d love to come up and help train folks. We 

can all share in that and go up and help people, you know, train 

people in recreation therapy and how to implement programs. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. That’s good. Thank you all very much. 

Mr. WINDSOR. And I’ll bring the golf clubs. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Yes. I have a set myself and I sent them 

away Sunday because they’re rusting from not being used. 


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Thank you all very much. 

Dr. DOPKING. Thank you. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. All right. The last panel, please. 

So this is the great center that everybody has been talking about 

all day. 

Ms. Cathy Williams, the James A. Haley VA Veterans’ Medical 

Center, VA Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans 

Affairs. You all are doing a tremendous job. 

And Dr. Steven G. Scott, D.O., Chief, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Center, James A. Haley VA Medical Center, Veterans 

Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Well, I’ll take the word back to Washington that you all are 

doing a good job. You all are getting 11s, not even 10s, on the scale. 

We’re going to start with you, Ms. Williams. Thank you very 

much. 

STATEMENTS OF CATHY CHIOVITTI WILLIAMS, CTRS, SUPERVISOR, RECREATION THERAPY SECTION, JAMES A. HALEY 

VETERANS’ HOSPITAL, TAMPA, FL, VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS; 

AND STEVEN G. SCOTT, D.O., CHIEF, PHYSICAL MEDICINE 

AND REHABILITATION SERVICE, JAMES A. HALEY VETERANS’ HOSPITAL, TAMPA, FL, VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

STATEMENT OF CATHY CHIOVITTI WILLIAMS, CTRS 

Ms. WILLIAMS. Good morning, Congresswoman Brown, Congressman Bilirakis, and Congressman Miller. Thank you for inviting us 

here today to discuss recreation therapy at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital. It is truly an honor for me to be here. 

The James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital provides recreation therapy to veterans and servicemembers within Veterans Integrated 

Service Network 8. The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service’s Recreational Therapy Section currently has 21 full-time employees, 17 of which are recreation therapists who possess specialized training, which is a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree in 

therapeutic recreation. Most of my staff are—currently hold certifications in—from the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation, 

and all of my recreational therapists are certified brain injury specialists. 

Our goal is to maximize each patient’s rehabilitation potential 

through active recreation, leisure and sport pursuits, which are designed to improve or maintain the physical, emotional, social and 

cognitive functioning for a better quality of life and increased independence. 

Recreation activities enhance physical health, psychosocial and 

cognitive status, and improve functional independence in the community. 

Recreation therapy provides resources and opportunities to improve overall health and well-being. It improves physical health by 

increasing mobility, range of motion, strength, motor skills coordination, vestibular balance, agility and athletic skills. 


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Recreational therapy also improves psychosocial communication, 

trust and cooperation while enhancing morale, life satisfaction, 

self-esteem, socialization and, of course, camaraderie. 

In addition, the program addresses cognitive deficiencies—because most of our active servicemembers have had brain injuries— 

through attention, memory and perception; increased alertness and 

awareness of surroundings; and reduced confusion and disorientation. 

VA clinical staff conducts a thorough assessment to ensure that 

we develop a treatment plan that best meets the needs of the individual patient. We work with the patient and his or her family to 

help develop this plan. Activities and programs are developed to be 

appropriate for each individual patient to facilitate the best possible outcome. 

In sum, we adopt the ‘‘whole person’’ view that considers the individual’s activity interests and patterns before injury, illness and 

disability, and we focus on returning the patient as much as possible to his or her previous functionality, ability and activity level 

to promote active community participation. 

The therapeutic recreation staff conducts leisure education counseling to provide a baseline of information for patients. This counseling enables patients to broaden their perspective of what activities are available to them. Patients are offered as many opportunities as possible to participate in community recreation resources 

and to improve their overall well-being through leisure. 

In Tampa, our recreation therapy programs include activities 

such as archery, animal-assisted activities—which is pet therapy— 

bowling, fishing, horseback riding, air gun and trap shooting, basketball, cycling, golf, power soccer, rowing, sled hockey, tennis, 

water skiing, sailing, track and field, and most of all, arts and 

crafts. 

The James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital Recreation Therapy program benefits considerably from our multiple community, government and university partnerships. We collaborate closely with external parties to provide recreational special events for inpatients 

such as trips to Kennedy Space Center shuttle launches, cultural 

and community events, and local sporting events such as basketball games, NASCAR events, and, of course, the Super Bowl. 

Veterans receiving treatment at our facility also participate in 

VA nationally sponsored events such as the National Veterans 

Summer Sports Clinic, the National Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, 

the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, the National Veterans 

Golden Age Games and the National Veterans TEE Tournament. 

The national training exposure and experience that these patients receive also—I’m sorry. We have patients that also participate in other national events that are often not necessarily sponsored by VA, which include Challenge Aspen, Lima Foxtrot, the 

Endeavor Games, and the Paralympics Military Sports Camps. 

Our program in Tampa continuously provides patient-centered 

recreation therapy services. This enhances current abilities and 

helps veterans develop new skills through recreation activities for 

daily living, community functioning and, of course, quality of life. 


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Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. 

My colleague and I are prepared to answer any questions that you 

may have. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Williams appears on p. 56.] 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Mr. Scott. 

STATEMENT OF STEVEN G. SCOTT, D.O. 

Dr. SCOTT. Congresswoman Brown, Congressman Bilirakis, and 

Congressman Miller, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the 

James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital Therapeutic Recreation Therapy program and its role in rehabilitation of those who serve our 

country. 

In my role—and I’ve always done rehabilitation medicine for over 

30 years—I’ve always emphasized the importance of recreation and 

sport activities in personal development and rehabilitation. 

My colleague, Cathy Williams, has presented an overview of our 

current program and its benefits as a patient-centered service. I’d 

like to focus today and discuss the importance of recreation therapy 

to the veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation 

Iraqi Freedom. 

We are in a new era of rehabilitation and recreation therapy. 

Our society values sports, recreation and leisure. Sports and recreation activities have been an important part of the lives of our newest veterans, and their identities are frequently linked to these activities, so that injuries that limit their ability to participate may 

have a significant impact on their sense of self. 

Changes in warfare and battlefield medicine have led to new injuries and new challenges in rehabilitation. Some of our newest 

veterans come to the Department of Veterans Affairs with brain injuries, ranging from minimal to the most profound that we have 

ever seen in the history of medicine; severe post-traumatic stress 

disorders; other mental health problems; and multiple injuries that 

often need prolonged rehabilitation that we’ve never seen in mankind. 

In this era of rehabilitation, recreation therapy success is possible through specific inclusion in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation 

team that includes physical, occupational and speech therapies. 

Recreation therapy provides an environment of adventure and 

discovery within which each veteran can practice and integrate the 

skills that they learn from other therapy team members. 

For our newest veterans, recreational therapy provides new hope, 

new opportunity to discover new goals and new dreams for the future. It is an integral part of our rehabilitation that our veterans 

are provided the opportunity to relearn the skills that they once 

had, to develop relationships, and find new meaning and purpose 

in life. 

In addition to this approach to care, new technology and new advances have opened up new opportunity for our veterans to participate in recreation activities and sports. New prosthetic devices and 

other assistive technology have allowed people like amputees to 

participate in competitions or sport events or in community events 

where previously they were not able. Wheelchair technology has allowed family members to transport the most severely injured vetVerDate Nov 24 2008 08:01 Dec 13, 2010 Jkt 057026 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 I:\VA\57026.XXX APPS06 PsN: 57026

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erans to community activities, allowing them to participate in a 

wide range of public affairs. 

The Internet and video games have opened new possibilities for 

connecting through social networking. And recreational activities 

such as hunting and sailing, as you heard, that were once not possible, are now available. 

The newest veterans have greater interest in extreme sports and 

recreational activities. These include a wide range of activities that 

we’ve never seen before. We just talked about horseback riding, 

adaptive golf. But we’ve also seen hot air ballooning, we’ve seen 

blimps, we’ve seen flying, we’ve seen kayaking, we’ve seen water 

skiing, we’ve seen hockey, we’ve seen scuba diving. You name the 

sport and they have participated in all of those. 

We have observed severely injured veterans run marathons, compete in 20-mile bike races, catch a 100-pound fish. We have observed a very severely injured, blind individual who’s an amputee 

record a song, composing it in his room on a tape-recorder at night. 

The joy to see these experiences is really beyond words and beyond 

what makes us great as a country to observe these things. 

Recreational therapy does give a freedom to those who fought for 

our freedom: freedom to run when they couldn’t stand, freedom to 

think when they could not remember their name, freedom to be 

successful when they felt lost, and a feeling of hope for a new 

meaningful life at home. 

Thank you for this opportunity to appear before you. And my colleague and I are prepared to answer any questions you might have. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Scott appears on p. 57.] 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you. Thank you both for your testimony. 

Dr. Scott, let me ask you this question. Well, let me just make 

a statement first. 

There are 30,000 suicides in the U.S. every year, 20 percent of 

which are veterans. That’s about 6,000 a year. Suicide rates are up 

26 percent from 2005 to 2007 for young veterans age 18 to 29. Veterans who used to be in a health care system were less likely to 

commit suicide than those who were not. 

What role do you think what we’re doing with recreation therapy 

at your center can play in helping to combat the number of young 

veterans committing suicide? 

Dr. SCOTT. There’s actually documented studies that show that 

recreational therapy and adaptive sports do reduce suicide rates. 

And this should be emphasized and done more frequently, to help 

maybe to reach out to those who we haven’t reached. 

And this is an opportunity that we can do that and do it in a 

positive way. And as you mentioned, reduce that terrible statistic 

so that we can give at least an opportunity that we can—in some 

type of healthy environment. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Yes. 

Dr. SCOTT. And we can tell them what’s right and not what’s 

wrong, and what’s good and not what’s bad, and what’s well and 

not what’s sick. And I think with that approach we’ll have a better 

outcome. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you very much. 


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Ms. Williams, as you heard in the earlier testimony, one of the 

questions had to do with funding. And I think it was a comment 

about fee-for-service or how we can get additional resources to 

some of your stakeholders. The VA has been very slow to collaborate with community groups that help us with our veterans. 

Ms. WILLIAMS. Well, basically, where we’re at is we function off 

what’s called a general post fund, which is donate a dollar. So at 

our VA we have to connect the dots with the community. So when 

we saw the service and we saw the need we were able to reach out 

to the community and kind of connect the dots. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. So these are not taxpayer dollars. 

Ms. WILLIAMS. These are all donated funds. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Okay. And what kind of budget do you 

have for the donated funds? I know it varies, and it’s probably 

down this year. 

Ms. WILLIAMS. Yes, ma’am. With those in kind donations, which 

are non, you know, cash donations for equipment and other things, 

I brought in almost $500,000 last year. 

But, again, it takes a lot of money to run as many patients as 

we are running through our program. So it takes a large amount 

of money to have that outcome. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. I see. 

Mr. Bilirakis. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thank you. Question for both witnesses: 

Has it been proven that a veteran may take less medication due 

to these recreational programs? 

Dr. SCOTT. Absolutely. One of the things is as you get more active and as you start to develop a healthy lifestyle you become less 

in need of dependency on medication, less in need of dependency 

on being sedentary, less dependent on really health care in general, 

which is good, you know, because you’re out there and being productive. And so it has those positive benefits. It’s a hidden cost 

value that we need to probably emphasize more. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thank you. 

Ms. WILLIAMS. As you can tell from the first panel, when you actually talk to the patients, as they become more involved, they’re— 

if they were taking medicine for depression, they’ll tell you that 

they’re still taking it, but they now have better quality. 

So I can’t necessarily say that it’s decreased. I just know what 

our successes are, that we see patients that have severe PTSD and 

they’re wandering around and they don’t really know what to do. 

You know, we can guide them, we can kind of contain them back 

into their life. 

And, you know, I can’t answer the question: Does it actually decrease medicine? I don’t know. Can I tell you that it helps with 

quality? Absolutely. And we have testimony on that. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Appreciate it. Doctor. 

Dr. SCOTT. I just want to add your first witness today stated she 

was in a chronic pain program and was able to reduce medications. 

And what we see is they come home with a whole smorgasbord of 

medications, tons of them, and too many of them, they can’t even 

remember what they’re taking. 


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And one of the first things we do is get them active and get them 

in recreation, get some fun back into their life, fill them with selfesteem, and reduce their medications. 

And in our pain program, recreational therapy is an integral part 

of that. And almost everyone gets off narcotics, reduces their medications dramatically, improves their function, improves their quality of life and has all the positive outcomes. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. That’s vitally important as far as I’m concerned. 

And how much Federal funding do you receive? How much does 

Haley receive for the recreation program? 

Dr. SCOTT. I will have to actually get back to you on that, because they don’t really fence in the money specifically for it. So we 

can do our best to put that together and get back to you on that 

answer. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thank you. 

[The VA subsequently provided the following information:] 

In fiscal year 2010, the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, FL, 

received $29,719 to support the various National Games (such as the 

Wheelchair Games, the Golden Age Games, etc.), and received $1,566,076 

for staffing expenditures. The total recreational therapy budget allocation 

for this facility is $1,595,795. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Because I’m just wondering—you’re telling me that not any of the Federal funds that come to the medical 

facility are used for recreational therapy. 

Dr. SCOTT. Well, funding generally comes from the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation model system, which is based on average cost. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Right, right. 

Dr. SCOTT. From the DoD appropriations if they’re active duty. 

Or sometimes you get third-party. 

But, specifically, recreation therapy, it’s not fenced in. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Well, I think we really need to take a 

look at this area, because I think the therapy you all are providing 

shows benefits in quality of life, suicide prevention and incorporating the family in what we’re doing. I think it’s really important. 

And, of course, I want all of these partners that you all have 

gone out and gathered, but I think these are programs that should 

be instituted in all of the programs, really. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. I’m with you, Madam Chair. I don’t think 

there is a line item—— 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Yes. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS [continuing]. Specifically in the budget for 

recreation therapy, so I want to work with you on that. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. I think we should look at it. And we’ll 

look at it because we have a conservative Member on the panel 

also. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. I’m pretty conservative, too, but I consider 

this a priority. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. That’s right. I am quoting the first 

President of the United States, George Washington: ‘‘The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, 

no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how 


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they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.’’ 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. One more question. Dr. Scott, I understand that last July the VA Central Office approved your proposal 

to hold an East Coast National Veterans Sports Clinic in 2010. 

Congratulations. This will complement the West Coast program in 

San Diego. 

What is the status of the funding for that particular program? 

Dr. SCOTT. Well, we were planning to move it ahead 1 year and 

the funding stopped so we weren’t able to hold it this year. 

We’re supportive 100 percent behind the idea. We had some 

great concepts of having the flag come down from Washington and 

have all the service organizations along the East Coast join them 

all the way down and participate in that. And I think it would have 

been a great event. 

And more importantly, I think Florida and the East Coast having 

a yearly type of summer event would be important because of 

reaching the media, and also all the veterans that we have here. 

And then also, as you mentioned, all the benefits you heard this 

morning, which would be important. 

And we can do it here in Tampa with minimal cost. We thought 

it would not be that costly either. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Approximately how much would you say 

it would cost? 

Dr. SCOTT. About $100,000. 

I said I’d do it for nothing because it’s part of our rehabilitation 

program. 

I feel it’s so essential that they have an opportunity—that they 

get an opportunity to compete, that they have an opportunity that 

their families could come together, communities come together, and 

that they can be recognized with achievement that I thought that 

we could probably do it for nothing. It would be worth it as part 

of rehabilitation care. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. If you did it for nothing, it would take 

away from other programs; is that correct? 

Dr. SCOTT. That’s correct. Without the support that we would 

need from the Central Office, we couldn’t host the national event. 

We had to have some support higher up. 

Is that right? 

Ms. WILLIAMS. Yes. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Chairwoman Brown, will you join me in 

writing a letter to the Secretary? 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Yes. I have a couple of questions for 

him. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Okay. Yeah. You go ahead. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. You said that it would cost $100,000. 

When was the program planned? When would they have the East 

Coast—— 

Dr. SCOTT. We were thinking April. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. It would have been April. 

Ms. WILLIAMS. Because of the heat. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. It is Florida. 


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Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Apparently, there’s only one in the U.S. 

on the West Coast and it’s extremely successful, is that correct, in 

San Diego? 

Dr. SCOTT. I don’t know. Well, we didn’t feel it would be as successful as we could do. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Now he’s messing with the Chairwoman. 

But my question to you is: How long does it take to plan such 

an event? Because I’m sure—— 

Ms. WILLIAMS. I can answer. I think if we were actually going 

to do it correctly that we would need at least 6 months’ preparation, because you have to find venues, you have to be able to move 

these patients, these outpatients, from place to place; and they’re 

all disabled, so, therefore, you have transportation cost and—— 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. But do you think you could do it for $100,000? 

Ms. WILLIAMS. Oh, absolutely. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. All right. 

Ms. WILLIAMS. I think we can—actually, you know, I think we 

can do it not only better than California—it’s just so expensive to 

fly people across the country to participate in something—we can 

do it better. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. We’re talking about the East Coast. 

Ms. WILLIAMS. Well, they’re currently doing it in California now. 

And this year they set the limit at 100. And our goal was when 

we’re planning it, we could actually do 100 people just in our region, just people in our own region that we’ve actually treated. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Well, let me see, how far is your region? 

Does it go to Jacksonville? 

Dr. SCOTT. Yes, it does. It covers the Panhandle. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Well, I think we could plan one for 6 

months. I’ll get with the Secretary and we’ll get the funds, we’ll 

raise it. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Congressman Miller, are you going to 

help us with that? 

Mr. MILLER. Yes, sir. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. All right. Sounds like a plan. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Thank you very much. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Mr. Miller. 

Mr. MILLER. Doctor, if you would, the significant injury in ongoing wars is TBI. How does recreational therapy assist with TBI? 

Dr. SCOTT. First, it’s raised the awareness of this impairment to 

the sports world and the recreational leisure world. 

We didn’t even know how to classify TBI at the beginning of the 

war. We had no classification. 

We did not even know how to classify the severity of the head 

injury so they could be in sports to compete. 

So we had to start from scratch just like we’ve learned to treat 

and medically rehabilitate them differently. We’ve had to start 

from scratch to start to learn new ways and new activities that 

they could participate in. 

And what we find is that many times the head injury population, 

especially the mild head injuries, they have behavioral, cognitive 

memory type disorders, and have interpersonal skills defects. And 


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what we find with the activities of sports and recreation, all those 

things are treated nonmedically, without drugs and in a non-institutionalized type setting. 

And, if I may add back to the Subcommittee, a lot of times you 

talk about costs, but this could be a cost avoidance if we could have 

them take less meds, if they don’t get institutionalized, if we can 

reduce the number of hospital visits for these mild head injuries 

and severe head injuries. 

So, in terms of head injuries, we don’t limit them based on a 

head injury. Maybe deep scuba diving because of the intracranial 

pressure. 

I remember when we did our balloon flying, the biggest scare we 

had was we took a couple of guys with seizure disorders. And when 

you are a couple hundred feet above the ground, you don’t want 

anybody to have a seizure from a head injury. And so we took some 

risks and that’s what it’s about many times. 

And by doing that, they learn they’re able to go out and be involved in the community without fear and without fear that something is going to happen to them. 

Mr. MILLER. Ms. Williams, have you had any problematic issues 

with any of the organizations that you’ve been involved with? If 

you have, how did you resolve them? 

Ms. WILLIAMS. You mean, for the community partners? Yes, VA 

we—what we do is we consider a memorandum of understanding. 

And it’s, basically, the agreement is like a handshake that says 

what the community can provide for us and what we can provide 

for the community. And I’ve just recently had a little bump in the 

road with one of our organizations. 

And, you know, the VA’s large and we have the support of legal 

counsel. And we went to legal and said, ‘‘What do we do? We need 

to terminate this partnership.’’ And they said okay. And so we 

mailed a letter and said, ‘‘Thank you for doing what you do; however, we don’t want to partner with you anymore.’’ 

I haven’t heard anything yet, so we’ll see what happens. But, 

yeah, we—it happens. 

I mean, if your focus—our focus might be different than the community. And we have to stay focused on what’s important for the 

veterans. 

Mr. MILLER. Thank you. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Thank you. Thank you all again for 

your service to our veterans. And thank you for doing such a great 

job. Mr. Bilirakis and Mr. Miller, do either of you have any further 

questions? 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. Well, I just wanted to thank everyone for 

attending. I want to thank the City Council for offering City Hall 

chambers this morning. 

And thank you, again, Madam Chair, for coming down from 

Jacksonville. 

And thank you, my good friend, Congressman Miller, for coming, 

as well. I appreciate your service to our country and God bless everyone. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Members have 5 legislative days to 

make any revisions to the record. 


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And this hearing is officially over. But if you all don’t mind, I 

want to do something very different. 

Will all participants come down front so we can take a picture? 

We’ll get ready for the letter we’re planning to send. 

Mr. GUS M. BILIRAKIS. You’re always thinking ahead. 

Ms. BROWN OF FLORIDA. Yes. So will all of the participants come 

down front? 

Thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 10:54 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] 


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A P P E N D I X 

Prepared Statement of Hon. Corrine Brown 

The Subcommittee on Health will now come to order. I would like to thank everyone for attending this hearing. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to 

the city of New Port Richey and Congressman Bilirakis for hosting us today. 

Modern medical advances have increased the survival rate of our soldiers who 

sustain injuries while serving this country, but these soldiers are often left with serious and complex wounds which require continued care once they return home. One 

of the key challenges facing VA today is the ability to meet the rehabilitative needs 

of our veterans by providing a broad and varied menu of therapies and treatments. 

There is a clear need for high quality rehabilitative care for all of our veterans, both 

of older generations and those now returning from Operation Enduring Freedom 

and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Today’s hearing offers us the opportunity to examine 

a particularly exciting rehabilitative method. 

Recreational therapy is an ideal component of the rehabilitative regimen because 

it allows veterans to be active by engaging in their favorite sports and recreational 

activities, while simultaneously healing the mental and physical wounds of war. 

Recreational therapists can use a variety of techniques, including sports, games, 

dance, arts and crafts, animals, drama, music, and community outings to help reduce depression, stress and anxiety; enhance basic motor functioning; and build confidence among the program participants. In other words, servicemembers and veterans have an opportunity to engage with their communities and participate in 

sports and other activities that they may have enjoyed prior to sustaining their war 

injuries. 

Today, I look forward to hearing from the veterans on our first panel about their 

personal testimonies on how recreational therapy has benefited them. I am also 

eager to learn from our second and third panels about the different types of recreational therapies that are available to our veterans, and how VA and private organizations are working together to offer this valuable treatment option to wounded 

warriors in the Tampa region and across the country. 

I now recognize Mr. Bilirakis for any opening statement that he may have. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Hon. Gus Bilirakis 

Good morning. I am so pleased to be here today in the heart of the 9th Congressional District and want to thank my fellow Floridian colleagues, Corrine Brown 

and Jeff Miller, for taking time out of their busy schedules to be here today. 

It is a pleasure to serve this great State with two individuals so committed to 

championing the best interests of our servicemembers, veterans, and all of the residents of Florida. I am grateful to both of you for being here. I am proud to call you 

colleagues and even prouder to call you friends. 

Most importantly, I am happy this morning to see my constituents from the Ninth 

District. Whether here as a witness or as an interested participant—seeing so many 

that have gathered so early and are willing to spend their Tuesday morning exploring the role of recreation therapy in healing our wounded warriors is a testament 

to the depth of patriotism and caring in this community. I thank you for being 

here—representing you is a true honor. 

Throughout my career, honoring the service and sacrifices of our veterans has 

been among my very highest priorities. Ensuring the men and women who fought 

so bravely for our freedoms are given access to the highest quality care and services 

is a commitment I take seriously. That is why I specifically requested a seat on the 

Veterans’ Affairs Committee when I was elected to serve in Congress in 2006. 

Since then, I have introduced numerous bills, many of which were incorporated 

into law, aimed at improving veterans’ care and benefits. I was pleased to lead the 

effort to bring a VA outpatient health clinic to Hillsborough County, to work with 


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local and national VA officials to expand the Pasco County Outpatient Clinic and 

bring additional services such as dental care to Ninth District veterans. 

I am very appreciative of the fact that we have a world-class medical and polytrauma center in the nearby James A. Haley VA Medical Center. The dedicated 

medical staff at Haley is second to none. However, it is always important that we 

strive to enhance the care and services provided to our brave veteran patients. And, 

today, I anticipate learning from those of us gathered here about the important 

topic of recreation therapy. 

Recreation therapy is a therapeutic endeavor that improves an injured veteran’s 

physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health through activities aimed at increasing independence and quality of life. 

It doesn’t surprise me that Florida is a national leader in recreation therapy. And, 

I look forward to taking the ideas we discuss today back to Washington to improve 

the lives of veterans not only in our State, but in every VA facility throughout the 

Nation. 

In closing, I would like us to take a moment to recognize and honor those veterans 

in the room. As always, I am humbled by your bravery and your dedication to a 

cause bigger than yourselves. Because of your efforts, we are able to gather this 

morning freely, safely, and democratically. On behalf of a grateful Nation, I thank 

you for your service. I yield back my time. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Hon. Jeff Miller 

Thank you and good morning. 

It is a pleasure for me to join my colleagues, Corrine Brown and Gus Bilirakis, 

in this historic city of New Port Richey to participate in this important hearing. 

Having worked together for several years on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, we 

have made great strides toward better serving those who served our country. 

I am honored to represent the Western Panhandle of our great State and to stand 

for our servicemembers, veterans and all Floridians with my two distinguished colleagues and friends. 

I want to welcome our witnesses and thank all of you for taking the time to be 

here today and to share your story, wisdom and expertise with all of us. 

For those veterans on our witness panels and in the audience, I salute you for 

your service to this great Nation. You exemplify the bravery and goodness inherent 

in our beloved State and all of Florida should be proud to call you their own. Your 

sacrifices will not be forgotten. 

A sergeant once said that ‘‘morale is what makes your feet do what your head 

knows just ain’t possible.’’ I am sure this sentiment resonates with all servicemembers and veterans who are accustomed to performing seemingly impossible 

tasks with courage, integrity, and ease. 

That is also the attitude that lays the groundwork to understanding the significance of our discussion today about the role of recreation therapy in the healing 

process. Maintaining a sense of self sufficiency and a high quality of life is vital as 

our wounded warriors move through the process of rehabilitation and reintegration. 

It is important for VA to provide guidance and support the allocation of funds for 

recreation therapy because recreation therapy supports wellness and provides the 

first opportunity to engage veterans in sports as a part of their rehabilitation. 

I very much look forward to our discussion about recreation therapy services in 

the VA and exploring how we can better design, expand, and maximize these programs to meet the individual needs and support the recovery and enrich the lives 

of every veteran patient. 

Again, I thank you all for being here and yield back. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Mary Ann Keckler, 

Spring Hill, FL (Veteran) 

I am a veteran enrolled in the James A. Haley Medical Center since 1992. I have 

been both an inpatient and outpatient. 

I am also the VAVS representative for the DAV at this facility, as well as I have 

a son who is also enrolled in this facility as a spinal cord patient, 100 percent total 

permanent injured on active duty. 

As an inpatient for 3 weeks in September 1996, in the pain management program, 

I have had the opportunity afforded me to deal with many aspects of therapy to help 

with my pain problem. The one that stood out the most, and the one that worked 


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on the mental release of my pain was recreation therapy. All other therapies, i.e., 

physical, mental, all just enhanced the pain, as your mind on these two is constantly on the issues of the body. Not that they were not helpful, they were. But, 

recreational therapy kept my mind off the problems I was dealing with. 

When I went into the pain program, I was in a great deal of depression. Getting 

up every day was a major chore for me. I was encountering muscle spasms and living on Flexeril to counteract them. This put me in an extreme lethargic state. 

While in the pain program, I was interacting with others with similar problems. 

Recreation therapy kept my mind off my problems. I was able to show my creative 

side and also had socialization with others. We not only worked with our hands, but 

we went out on outings as a group. I then forgot I was suffering from chronic pain 

(mind over matter). 

Suicide is a definite relation to depression. Pills that mask the pain (Flexeril, Valium, Morphine, Halcion, Demerol) can cause major depression leading to suicide, 

which from these I am a survivor and I could feel myself going down that path 

again. I then took measures to correct this effort. I am pill-free since 1996, and deal 

with my pain in other ways. 

While in the hospital I had the opportunity to clearly take hold of my problems. 

Recreational therapy played a major role in this. Not only did I have an hour a day 

with the therapist, I also took projects back to my room to work on later on. If I 

had a problem at any time working on a project, a therapist was always available. 

The present Chief of Recreation Therapy, Cathy Williams, was one of my therapists. She always was willing to work with me on projects. This eliminated any 

thoughts of my physical aspects of pain. Again, mind over matter. It beats all pain 

medications and helps with any thoughts of depression or suicide. This is the best 

medicine yet. 

Not only have I been successful with it, as a volunteer I have seen this work on 

many occasions. By the way, this is why I became a volunteer, to make a difference 

and help other veterans. 

Here is the story of another veteran. This young man has been in the hospital 

in the spinal cord injury center for several years. He is now in the long-term care 

facility in spinal cord. When I first met him, he would not speak hardly to anyone. 

As an amputee, he also was on pain meds. Depression had set in on him, and he 

was feeling sorry for himself. He was pretty well bedridden. The DAV had sponsored 

a pitcher from the Detroit Tigers through recreation therapy. This veteran loved 

baseball, this was the highlight of his stay. I would then visit him on a regular basis 

and also spoke to recreation therapy about programs to the bedside. This was done, 

a smile appeared. He is now in his wheelchair all over the hospital, and he looks 

forward to the outings that recreation therapy sponsors. He is the first one outside 

waiting to be loaded into the bus. 

I am again working with another spinal cord veteran that indeed tried to commit 

suicide lately. He and I have had some discussions on this matter. He also is now 

in recreation therapy daily and has a smile on his face, as he also goes on the outings. And this makes his day. Happiness goes a long way. 

The present Chief of Recreation Therapy has worked very hard on programs that 

make a difference for our veterans, both in and out. Winter sports clinic, wheelchair 

games, golden age games, disability golf, horseback riding, sports venues. There is 

no time to feel sorry for yourself. 

This has all been put together in the last few years. Three years ago I went to 

the past chief to put together the winter sports clinic program, which is sponsored 

by the DAV. The answer was this is Florida, people do not ski or participate in cold 

weather activities. My answer was that we are all mostly transients from other 

areas of the country and have at some time or another experienced winter sports. 

Under the new chief, this is a reality and many are participating. 

My son, a spinal cord patient, when he is hospitalized, his forte is computers. 

Recreation therapy helps set up a computer for them to use or hooks up the one 

they bring in. Again, the outside world is available to them. 

Bedside programs are available, football pools, and they all look forward to pizza 

parties sponsored by organizations and run by recreation therapy, dinners sponsored by organizations through recreation therapy. Someone from that department 

needs to be on board when these are taking place and, believe me, we have many. 

Ice cream socials. The list goes on and on. Without the recreation therapy department, this would not be possible. I, as a volunteer, have the opportunity to work 

with recreation therapy in many aspects and areas of the hospital. 

They do make a major difference. 

My life has taken a turn because of their efforts. As a volunteer, I also have the 

opportunity to go on the outings and help them. When on outings, they also have 


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to act as a therapist and nurse’s assistant. Their training goes beyond just fun and 

games. 

If it was not for recreation therapy and the staff that we have now, we (veterans) 

would not be able to participate in as many functions as made possible for the 

amount of veterans and active duty, both inpatients and outpatients, that we presently serve. 

In summary, with regard to the above, recreation therapy is a must along with 

health care, to address the medical needs of our patients on both a mental and 

physical aspect. 

They are trained professionals in this respect and deserve to be noted as such. 

Respectfully submitted. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Davis Celestine, Vice President, 

Paralyzed Veterans of America, Florida Gulf Coast Chapter, Tampa, FL 

My name is Davis Celestine and I was injured in 2001 in a training accident 

going over to Afghanistan for our yearly detachment. After my accident, I woke up 

in a hospital bed with several doctors around me. At first I thought it was a dream 

until I came to the reality that I was not in a dream. 

One of the doctors turned and said to me, ‘‘You might never walk again, but miracles happen every day.’’ So with that said to me, I decided to do whatever it takes 

to stay active in my daily life. However, I was shipped off to the James A. Haley 

Hospital for Rehab and that was when I was introduced to Cathy Williams and Jennifer Day. From there they got me started with simple stuff such as playing the 

game ‘‘TROUBLE’’ and card games. They paired me up with a paraplegic named 

‘‘Max’’ and he told me if your fingers are not working as well, use your mouth to 

make a pair of moccasins for your wife. So with that type of motivation in their clinic, it was an inspiration to be in there. Now, their program has grown so well, they 

have pushed me into the Paralympic world to compete in handcycling and swimming. 

Also, having good family support really helps. My wife, Deborah, and my twins 

keep me going and to be the best that I can be. In my spare time, I volunteer at 

the local chapter, where I’m the Vice President and fundraising chairman. I give 

back to my local hospital by trying to get the newly injured involved in the great 

sports program. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Lee Nelson, 

Land O’Lakes, FL (Veteran) 

My name is Lee Nelson. I am a Chaplain in the U.S. Army. I received a spinal 

cord injury in a traffic accident in Italy while traveling to work on the morning of 

11 August 1990. I got in a traffic accident with a Semi-tractor trailer. After receiving back surgery in Italy, I was transferred to the Tampa VA hospital in September 

1990 from the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC. While in the hospital in 

Tampa, I participated in different therapies such as physical therapy, occupational 

therapy, speech therapy, and recreational therapy. In recreational therapy, I participated in field events, basketball, and horseback riding. These different activities 

were designed to increase my strength, stability and coordination. The horseback 

riding took place at the Quantum Leap Stables in Odessa, FL. We would go to the 

stables on Tuesday morning and ride for about an hour each day. 

When the recreation therapist asked me about horseback riding, I thought that 

I would not be able to ride because when I rode in years past I would stay on the 

horse by wrapping my legs around the horse and holding on with my legs. Now that 

I am a paraplegic, that is impossible. But she encouraged me to try and there would 

be a person walking on either side of me and one leading the horse by the reins. 

I understood that this was an ongoing program that the hospital had and other 

paraplegics had participated so it must not be as impossible as it sounded to me. 

Upon arriving at the stables I took my wheelchair up a ramp, which the horse 

stood beside, and they had an apparatus that hung from the ceiling and went under 

my arms and held my legs up and carried me from my wheelchair to the saddle 

on the horse. I held on tightly to the saddle horn and relied on my ‘‘side-walkers’’ 

to catch me. As the horse began to walk, I held on to the saddle horn with a death 

grip and managed to balance myself on the horse, despite the movement. After 

about 15 minutes of walking around, my arms were exhausted from holding on with 

such a tight grip. So I loosened my grip and relaxed and relied on my balance to 

keep from falling off the horse. I have kept going to the stables each Tuesday for 


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the past 5 months. We have ridden around the fields in the area and I have guided 

the horse around obstacles. After several weeks of riding, one day the horse tried 

to kick a fly off his backside while I was trying to guide her to the left. I was already leaning to the left so when she kicked the momentum threw me in the direction that I was leaning and I fell over to the left side of the horse. Because of the 

increased stability in my trunk muscles from all the weeks of riding, I was able to 

stay on the horse and hang onto her neck and my ‘‘side-walker’’ managed to 

straighten me back up in the saddle and I could continue the ride. 

While my physical therapist works on my core muscles as part of my therapy, 

riding on the back of a horse has improved my core stability more than all my physical therapy combined. I am now able to sit straighter in my wheelchair and I am 

able to transfer from my wheelchair to other devices easier, such as my bed, my 

car, a couch or a La-Z-Boy chair as well as my stand-up machine that allows me 

to stand up and put my full weight on my legs, which strengthens the density of 

the bone mass in my legs. Because my core muscles are stronger I am able to stay 

in my wheelchair for longer periods of time. Now I can stay up in my chair all day 

rather than just a few hours at a time that I was doing last fall. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Edie E. Dopking, Ph.D., 

President and Founder, Quantum Leap Farm, Inc., Odessa, FL 

Good morning. I’m Dr. Edie Dopking, President and Founder of Quantum Leap 

Farm, a 10-year-old non-profit veterans’ service organization located here in Tampa, 

Florida. Please accept my sincerest thanks for the opportunity to present my testimony today. Quantum Leap Farm serves current and former military servicemembers and their families from the current conflicts all the way back to WWII. 

We provide exercise therapy, cognitive/behavioral counseling, family reintegration 

days, and personal and professional growth workshops for military servicemembers, 

families and groups. We use horses as a therapeutic tool and catalyst for positive 

change. 

We’ve worked closely with the therapists at James A. Haley VA Hospital’s recreation therapy department for just over 10 years now. Through word-of-mouth referrals from our friends in rec. therapy, we also receive referrals from a list of other 

departments at James A. Haley VA: mental health intensive case management, social rehabilitation, polytrauma, and spinal cord injury as well as others. In addition, 

we receive referrals from Bay Pines Medical Center and from family services centers 

located on MacDill Air Force Base: Airmen and Families Services Center, 

CENTCOM Family Services Center, SOCOM Family Services Center, and from various other local veterans’ service organizations. This fiscal year alone (July 1, 

2009—June 30, 2010) we will provide services to over 850 military servicemembers 

and their families, at a cost of over $469,000.00 to our organization (please see Attachment A). 

Up until 2 years ago, our friends in recreation therapy were judicious with their 

referrals as they understood we did not have funding to do this work and were donating our services entirely. In fact, we have never charged veterans of any conflict 

for any of the services we offer here at the Farm. During our 10 years of working 

together, only two small recreation therapy grants became available through the 

general post fund. Our friends in rec. therapy applied for and received small 

amounts of funding for us (approximately $2,500 in 2005, and $2,900 in 2008) to 

help cover the costs of services we were providing their patients. On several occasions rec. therapists have made personal donations to the Farm to help cover the 

costs of their referrals. Recently, though, we were awarded a one-time-only privately 

funded grant provided by the Florida BrAIve Fund and administrated by The Gulf 

Coast Community Foundation of Venice. BrAIve Fund monies are earmarked per 

the original donor for services supporting OEF/OIF servicemembers and their families. This grant of $618,566.80 enabled us to expand the types of services we offer, 

the amount of services we provide, and the number of military servicemembers we 

provide services to by 1,200 percent in barely 2 years: from 32 unique servicemembers in 2008, to 850 in 2010. Unfortunately, our BrAIve grant funding expires 

September 30, 2010. We are currently seeking alternative sources of funding, both 

private and governmental, and are exploring the possibility of establishing a contractual fee-for-service relationship with the VA and/or the DoD. 

This increase in military referrals we’ve experienced reflects a great and increasing need on the part of military servicemembers and their families. Likewise, it also 

reflects the great and increasing degree to which VA hospitals are depending upon 

civilian organizations like ours to assist in healing visible and invisible wounds of 


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war that our veterans and their families are so bravely enduring. The current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are generating more catastrophically injured combat 

survivors than any other conflict to date thanks to great improvements in field medicine. The ramifications are good and bad, big and small, focal and widespread. VA 

health care workers are handling rapidly expanding caseloads of seriously injured 

patients—both the number and medical complexity of these cases exceed caseloads 

VA medical professionals have managed before. In fact, our friends at James Haley 

Recreation Therapy tell us that each of their therapists are serving over 130 beds, 

many of their occupants with traumatic brain injuries (TBI), amputations, spinal 

cord injuries and burns. And those are merely the physical injuries. Many of them 

also suffer depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and have emotional 

and family issues to manage as well. Young families are facing a lifetime of 

caregiving for seriously injured family members as they struggle to raise children, 

work, maintain households and marriages. Not surprisingly, divorce and suicide 

rates are high in this population. Recreation therapists are instrumental in assisting injured servicemembers and families to successfully navigate the numerous and 

significant challenges they face post-injury. Rec. therapists help injured veterans 

and families discover the new ‘‘normal’’: helping injured veterans reintegrate into 

civilian life; reacquainting family members with each other after extended separations and functional changes; helping families learn to recreate together focusing on 

strengths, abilities and resources; and promoting healthy relationships and engaged, 

active lifestyles. Likewise, civilian veterans’ service organizations, like Quantum 

Leap Farm, are instrumental in helping recreation therapists do their jobs: helping 

a large and diverse population of injured servicemembers and their families rebuild 

and recover from war-related trauma. 

Recently our attendance at the Conference on Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans 

(CIAV) in Washington, DC, was sponsored by our military grantor, The Gulf Coast 

Community Foundation of Venice. Presenters included Brigadier General Loree Sutton, MD, Director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and 

Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE), and panels of veterans, caregivers, and service providers—some of the Nation’s most intelligent and well-informed experts on veterans’ 

issues. We participated in numerous workshops, attended informative lectures, 

spoke with legislators, met with various department heads within the VA, and 

networked with other service providers sharing our experiences working with injured veterans. Most relevant among several over-arching conclusions of the CIAV 

Conference: Although there is much great legislation currently being passed to help 

our Nation’s wounded warriors recover physically, emotionally, socially and financially, it seems very little funding is trickling down to the community level where 

it will do the most good. If we are willing to award multi-million dollar contracts 

to defense and other government contractors, why are we not willing to award similar contracts to organizations that help fulfill our Nation’s promise of caring for 

those willing to lay down their very lives for our freedom? 

As a Nation, we are in uncharted territory. The number of profoundly disabled 

veterans needing long-term care and services is rising rapidly and won’t peak for 

years to come. The effects on our health care system, our economy and our American culture remain to be seen. However, one thing is certain—we, all of us, owe 

these veterans and their families our unfailing support and gratitude for their inestimable sacrifices. 

It is my pleasure and an honor to submit this testimony to you today. Thank you 

again for your time and consideration. 

Military Statistics—May 2009 Through May 2010 

Bay Pines 

VA Hospital 

Recreational 

Therapy 

Department 

James A. Haley 

VA Hospital 

Recreational 

Therapy 

Department 

James A. Haley 

VA Hospital 

MICHAM 

Department 

Total of Military 

Individuals who 

came for service 

NOT Referred by 

a VA Hospital TOTALS 

Number of Individuals Served 51 297 24 477 849 

Number of Sessions Provided 224 1,725 516 2,474 4,939 

Dollar Amount 

of Sessions 

Provided $21,284.48 $163,909.50 $49,030.32 $235,079.48 

f 

$469,303.78 


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Prepared Statement of Melinda Wheatley, Senior Recreation Therapist, 

Hillsborough County, FL, Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department, 

and Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay, FL 

Overview of Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay and 

Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department’s 

Therapeutic Recreation Services 


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The mission of Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay is to promote health, independence, and personal growth for people with physical disabilities 

through sports. 

Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay (PSTB) is one of over 100 community based programs established by the Paralympic Division of the United States Olympic Committee. 

As a signature program of the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Department, PSTB provides year-round sports and recreation programs 

that promote physical activity, healthy lifestyles, and recreational and competitive 

sports opportunities for area children and adults with physical disabilities. 

Program Highlights: 

• Over 200 athletes participate in at least one PSTB program or event each year; 

• PSTB offers ongoing programs for athletes at all levels from recreational to 

competitive elite in multiple sports such as wheelchair basketball, track and 

field, adaptive tennis, swimming, archery, and wheelchair team handball; 

• PSTB offers periodic clinics in additional sports such as archery, adaptive golf, 

handcycling and water skiing; 

• PSTB has strong relationships with other community agencies such as Shriner’s 

Hospital for Children, James A. Haley VA Hospital, and the Tampa Bay Sports 

Commission. 

For additional information: 

Contact Andy Chasanoff, Sports Coordinator 

Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay, 6105 E. Sligh Ave., Tampa, FL 33617, 

(813) 744–5307, Fax (813) 744–5309, or dsportshcprd@aol.com. 


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All People’s Life Center 

The showcase facility and home base for the therapeutics program is the All People’s Life Center (APLC), which opened in 2007. The 45,000 sq. ft. center has won 

awards for its design and accessibility. APLC was recognized in 2008 by the National Association of County Parks and Recreation Officials (NACPRO) winning the 

Barrier Free Initiative Award. The facility was also recognized by the Hillsborough 

County Alliance for Citizens with Disabilities winning the Karen Jacobs Accessibility for All Award. The APLC not only serves as the home for the department’s 

therapeutic programs for people with special needs, it is also open to all persons 

with typical abilities. Every detail of the building exceeds ADA standards for accessibility, eliminating all barriers to participation for people with disabilities. The facility features a two-court full gymnasium, which can be divided by means of a curtain, two multi-purpose rooms, two classrooms, fully accessible playground, a dance 

room, a fitness center, a food-service grade kitchen, a paved walking trail, an outside basketball court and a multi-use field. The facility offers dance classes, martial 

arts, basketball leagues for residents at all levels of ability, plus community events 

and tournaments such as townhall meetings, wheelchair rugby and team handball. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Sandy Ackley, Programming and Events Coordinator, 

Sailability Greater Tampa Bay, Inc., Clearwater, FL 

Sailability Greater Tampa Bay, Inc., is a 501(c)3 operating out of Pinellas County, 

whose services are provided to the Greater Tampa Bay area. We pride ourselves on 

our mission, which is to provide affordable, accessible sailing activities and education to children and adults of all ages and abilities, focusing on community integration to improve the quality of life for all involved. 

The concept of our program was born in March of 2001. It was at that time that 

a small group of people envisioned and implemented an opportunity within their 

community. The challenged individuals, that we take sailing, quickly realized that 

the only limitations they faced were those of the mind, and that whatever one might 

set their mind to do can be accomplished; this I know because my husband is a veteran who is disabled and recreational therapy is what kept my family strong. 

Sailability is 9 years old now and has built a fleet of 13 Access Dinghy boats, 3 

catamarans and a motor boat. A grant, fundraising and local supporters made it 

possible for us to purchase our first 303 servo assist boat which has adaptive equipment which includes a ‘‘sip and puff,’’ chin control, electronic joysticks and adaptive 

seating, which a ventilator dependent quadriplegic would be able to sail independently. In fact, after training provided by Sailability Greater Tampa Bay, Inc., Lynn 

Moers, a ventilator dependent quadriplegic from James A. Haley Hospital, set a 

record here in Clearwater to be the first ventilator dependent quad to sail independently in the United States on an Access Dinghy. Lynn and other veterans come to 

our community sails, which are held four times a year, and lead the way demonstrating the opportunities our waters could provide to veterans while he navigates 

the Clearwater Intercoastal Waterway. Wheelchair-bound vets from our community, 


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recreational rehab and spinal cord programs, various veteran support groups, as 

well as the Paralyzed Veterans, James A. Haley, Bay Pines Hospital and returning 

Iraqi veterans accompanied by their families, friends and therapists, watch in awe 

from atop ‘‘The Miss Beverly.’’ This is when I know that what I do gives our vets 

a sense of worth, confidence, assurance and belief, while building on self-esteem 

reaching their goals and drives as I watch their arms in the air screaming out words 

of joy and triumph, and happy tears running down their faces. I know this because 

Sailability is what empowers people and kept my family strong. 

The Miss Beverly is a 24-foot wheelchair accessible pontoon boat that resides at 

MacDill. The Miss Beverly is borrowed to take Bay Pines, James A. Haley veterans 

and community veterans out fishing or used as a spectator boat for the more ‘‘I have 

to challenge Sandy’’ veteran while others sail the bay. I get them all in a boat sooner or later. They learn to trust and believe in themselves again, this I know with 

certainty. 

We serve over 500 people per year on an all volunteer staff. Since we are driven 

to get as many veterans out on the water as possible, we also strive to support those 

who would like to facilitate programs such as ours locally, regionally, and nationally. Not only does this enhance awareness of all individuals, it facilitates the need 

to keep our waterways and environment, not only eco-friendly and pristine, but accessible to all. 

We are proud of the fact that since our inception, we have been able to have a 

positive impact on many individuals. Our program has graduated a multitude of 

sailors; many of which were either mentally or physically challenged, as well as 

able-bodied children, adults, and seniors. Some of those physically challenged individuals include, but are not limited to, paraplegics, quadriplegics, amputees, stroke 

survivors, and those with neurological impairments such as cerebral palsy, multiple 

sclerosis and head trauma injuries. Moreover, we have been able to introduce the 

experience of sailing and touch the lives of more than 500 individuals, along with 

their family members and caregivers. This I know because I get the tears of joy, 

the ‘‘thank you for giving me my life back’’ cards, the gratitude from recreation 

therapists, the appreciation from family and friends. These sailboat rides are more 

rewarding to me than I can describe. Men that have the wind taken out of their 

sails, from them I get my strength to make others strong. 

Sailability GTB also has the ability to travel to outside counties and support other 

groups. Our presence at these travel events raise the awareness in our community 

for the need to maintain community inclusion and accessibility for all, while giving 

our veterans what they need and deserve. We are obligated to do this for people 

who gave their souls in belief that we will stand by them. We feel that our presence 

and support within our community will fuel the acceleration of programs like ours, 

and this I know because my son is a 3rd generation Marine who volunteered since 

he was 10 years old putting veterans out on the water. These proud veterans taught 

my son loyalty, trust, and gave him confidence and strength. 

We pride ourselves on the fact that all these accomplishments have been made 

through an EXTREMELY dedicated volunteer staff. And, as we move into this next 

decade, we anticipate growing our program and touching many more lives as we live 

through war. 

f 

Prepared Statement of David B. Windsor, Principal Instructor, 

Professional Golfers’ Association of America, Adaptive Golf Academy, Inc. 

Experience has shown that early intervention with active sports results in successful rehabilitation. Individuals in the recovery process, whether it’s brain or 

spine injury, speech or limb loss, poor awareness, impulsive behaviors, judgment or 

balance issues, are frequently detached or disconnected from their communities, and 

worse, their own families. This isolation only tallies up more problems resulting 

from their injuries. It’s a fact that a disability injury puts you in a lonely place mentally, socially. Introducing and involving patients into a ‘‘fail-proof’’ activity within 

a positive environment takes their minds off ‘‘therapy’’ and allows their recovery 

process to be self-initiated. The fact of getting outside, on the golf course, to network 

with their peers facing similar issues, provides our veterans and service men and 

women the consistent platform essential for their level of connection, hence, improved family and community relationships. 

The James A. Haley VA Adaptive Golf program was introduced on Friday, September 28, 2007 and has continued every Friday since (approaching 3 years). The 

program consists of JAH inpatients brought by therapists to Terrace Hill GC, a 

nearby course, where they are greeted by a PGA professional, Ken Juhn, and memVerDate Nov 24 2008 08:01 Dec 13, 2010 Jkt 057026 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6621 I:\VA\57026.XXX APPS06 PsN: 57026

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bers of AVAST, Amputee VA Support Team (a group of area outpatients and volunteers). The Friday JAH Adaptive Golf program has been more than just a weekly 

‘‘golf outing’’ but rather a vital part of their rehabilitation process and community 

reintegration practice. 

For the record, this is not the first program of it’s kind. This is an extension of 

a weekly program that developed in 1998 in Sarasota, FL with the involvement of 

myself as the PGA professional and therapists and clients from the community. As 

a club professional at the time, I first saw the program as just helping folks get better at hitting the golf ball. I soon realized there was more to it, much more to why 

folks were coming out week after week with their therapists and caregivers. Everyone participating experienced first-hand how the restorative properties of the game 

of golf positively enhanced their lives. Just on the practice tee, inherently positive 

essential life skills are applied and evaluated such as range of motion, balance, 

hand-eye coordination, depth perception and an array of fine motor skills. During 

the ‘‘on-course’’ portion of each weekly session, students learn about USGA rules, 

proper etiquette, team-oriented playing formats, making proper club selection and 

mapping their course strategies. These lessons require participants to use life skills 

such as judgment for decisionmaking, courtesy for others, honesty for scorekeeping, 

building a more confident individual through perseverance. These physical and cognitive skills are more often taken to new heights where experiences can go far beyond words for these veterans and staff. 

While many recreational therapy programs offer themselves as rehabilitation or 

performance enhancements, adaptive golf sets itself apart, offering many unique potentials for both clients and therapists. First, the golf swing is one of the most complicated movements in all sports. It requires stability in some joints and flexibility 

in others, creating multiple avenues for a therapist’s assessment of the client. A 

common testimony from therapists observing patients on the course: Apparent improvement in clients range of motion in trunk and/or shoulder rotations once they 

were handed a golf club and a ball was placed on a tee! Why? A thought re-direction, the mind shifts from, say, an injured hip (their primary concern) to another 

focal point, triggering an integration of other able functions/flexors such as feet, 

knees and opposite hip for overall increased rotation. 

Program participants who never thought golf was a viable recreational opportunity now have discovered its inherent values, both spiritual and physical. Even 

those suffering from severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) depart a Friday 

session with an entirely different outlook. ‘‘They come back to the hospital talking 

golf,’’ said Jim Switzer, the amputee case manager for James Haley Hospital. ‘‘Many 

can’t wait to get back out again.’’ 

‘‘At the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, FL, our active duty 

soldiers and veterans who face physical challenges or complicated barriers 

with their PTSD, depression, and/or traumatic brain injuries, are encouraged to reach functional independence so they can get back to their lives 

. . . of all recreational activities, we favor the adaptive golf experience the 

most as it introduces the concept to help our patients maximize their new 

potentials . . . with adaptive golf, this process of recovery is self initiated.’’ 

Kathryn Bryant, CTRS 

Real Stories: 

Capt. Mark—survived Blackhawk helicopter crash in N. Italy during training exercise in November 2007. One of five survivors of a crew of eleven. Grew up playing 

ice hockey near Cleveland and during his first visit to the golf course he stated to 

me from his wheelchair, ‘‘I can’t wait to ice skate again someday!’’ Comparison of 

the video clips of his swing on his first visit to those 3 months later was remarkable, 

would astound you. After just a little time around Mark, it was apparent that helping him hit better drives down the fairways was motivating his drive life! 

Gunner Jim—survived Humvee roadside blast. His first time out, he didn’t even 

think about swinging a club. ‘‘I was happy to just get out of the hospital for a little 

while,’’ he said. Then he was introduced to the SoloRider golf car, a golf car designed 

for wheelchair players to become more upright to swing the club better and complete access to the golf course. ‘‘You know, we have classes with therapists and 

they’re great, but we’re inside. For me, being outdoors and having people like this 

to help crack a few balls . . . this is my best day of therapy!’’ 

To sum it up, the JA Haley Adaptive Golf program has become a driving force 

in the rehabilitation process for which veterans, active military personnel with disabilities can relearn and develop skills which they thought were beyond their capabilities. Physically, adaptive golf improves individuals’ balance, coordination, endurance and functional ability to perform daily activities, decreasing risks of falls and 


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injuries and increasing overall quality of life. Mentally, it helps train individuals to 

focus on more positives and develop better everyday life and judgmental skills, selfesteem, confidence, independence and feeling of dignity, giving new hope to expand 

their horizons as they transition back into civilian life. 

The next opportunity you have on a Friday morning to come visit the JA Haley 

Adaptive Golf program, I encourage you to do so and see for yourself why every Friday is Veterans Day at Terrace Hill Golf Club. 


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f 

Prepared Statement of Cathy Chiovitti Williams, CTRS Supervisor, 

Recreation Therapy Section, James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, Tampa, FL, 

Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 

Good morning, Congresswoman Brown, Congressman Bilirakis, and Congressman 

Miller. Thank you for inviting us here to discuss the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital Recreational Therapy program. 

The James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital provides recreation therapy to veterans 

and servicemembers within Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 8. The 

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service’s Recreational Therapy Section currently has 21 full-time employees. Seventeen (17) of the employees are recreational 

therapists who possess specialized training and a Bachelor of Science or a Master 

of Science degree in therapeutic recreation. Most of our staff is certified by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation. All Tampa recreational therapists are certified brain injury specialists. 

Our goal is to maximize each patient’s rehabilitation potential through active 

recreation, leisure and sport pursuits, which are designed to improve or maintain 

physical, emotional, social, and cognitive functioning for a better quality of life and 

increased independence. Recreation activities enhance physical health, psychosocial 

and cognitive status, and improve functional independence in the community. Recreation therapy provides resources and opportunities to improve overall health and 

well-being. It improves physical health by increasing mobility, range of motion, 

strength, motor skills coordination, vestibular balance, agility, and athletic skills. 

Recreational therapy also improves psychosocial communication, trust, and cooperation skills while enhancing morale, life satisfaction, self-esteem, socialization and camaraderie. In addition, the program addresses cognitive deficiencies through enhanced attention, memory and perception; increased alertness and awareness of surroundings; and reduced confusion and disorientation. 

VA clinical staff conducts a thorough assessment to ensure we develop a treatment plan that best meets the needs of the individual patient. We work with the 

patient and his or her family to develop this plan. Activities and programs are tailored to be appropriate for the individual patient to facilitate the best possible outcome. In sum, we adopt a ‘‘whole person’’ view that considers the individual’s activity interests and patterns before their injury, illness or disability and we focus on 


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returning the patient as much as possible to his or her previous functionality, ability and activity levels to promote active community participation. 

The therapeutic recreation staff conducts leisure education counseling to provide 

a baseline of information for patients. This counseling enables patients to broaden 

their perspective of what activities are available to them. Patients are offered as 

many opportunities as possible to participate in community recreation resources and 

to improve their overall well-being through leisure participation. In Tampa, our 

recreation therapy programs include activities such as archery, animal-assisted activities, bowling, fishing, horseback riding, air gun and trap shooting, basketball, cycling, golf, power soccer, rowing, sled hockey, tennis, water skiing, sailing, track and 

field, arts and crafts, among others. 

The James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital Therapeutic Recreation program benefits 

considerably from its multiple community, governmental and university partnerships. We collaborate closely with external parties to provide recreational special 

events for inpatients such as trips to Kennedy Space Center shuttle launches, cultural and community events, and local sporting events, such as baseball games, 

NASCAR events, and the Super Bowl. Veterans receiving treatment at our facility 

also participate in VA sponsored events like the National Veterans Summer Sports 

Clinic, the National Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, the National Veterans Golden Age Games, the National Veterans 

Training, Exposure and Experience (TEE) Tournament, and the National Creative 

Arts Festival. We have had patients also participate in other national events not 

sponsored by VA, including Challenge Aspen, Lima Foxtrot, Endeavor Games, and 

the Paralympics Military Sports Camps. 

Our program in Tampa continuously provides patient-centered recreation therapy 

services. This enhances current abilities and helps veterans develop new skills 

through recreation therapy activities for daily living, community functioning, and 

quality of life. Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. My 

colleagues and I are prepared to answer any questions you may have. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Steven G. Scott, D.O., 

Chief, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, 

James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, Tampa, FL, 

Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 

Congresswoman Brown, Congressman Bilirakis, and Congressman Miller, thank 

you for the opportunity to discuss the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital Therapeutic Recreation Therapy program and its role in the rehabilitation of those who 

serve our country. 

In my role, I have always emphasized the importance of recreation and sport activities in personal development and rehabilitation. My colleague, Cathy Williams, 

has presented an overview of the James A. Haley Recreation Therapy program and 

its benefits as a patient-centered service. I would like to focus and discuss the importance of recreation therapy to veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom and 

Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). 

We are in a new era of rehabilitation and recreation therapy. Our society values 

sports, recreation and leisure. Sports and recreation activities have been an important part of the lives of our newest veterans, and their identities have frequently 

been linked to these activities, so injuries that limit their ability to participate may 

have significant impacts on their sense of self. Changes in warfare and battlefield 

medicine have led to new injuries and new challenges in rehabilitation. Some of our 

newest veterans come to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with brain injuries, ranging from minimal to profound; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 

other mental health problems; and multiple injuries that often need prolonged rehabilitation. 

In this new era of rehabilitation, recreation therapy success is possible through 

specific inclusion in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team that includes physical, 

occupational and speech therapies. Recreation therapy provides an environment of 

adventure and discovery within which veterans can practice and integrate the skills 

learned from the other therapy team members. For our newest veterans, recreation 

therapy provides new hope and opportunity to discover new goals and dreams for 

the future; it is integral to the rehabilitation of our new veterans providing opportunities to relearn skills, develop relationships and find meaning and purpose. 

In addition to this new approach to care, technological advances have opened up 

new opportunities for veterans to participate in recreation activities and sports. New 

prosthetics for amputees allow veterans the opportunity to participate in competitive sport activities or in community events. Wheelchair technology has allowed 


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family members to transport severely injured veterans, allowing them to participate 

in a range of public activities. The Internet and video games have opened new possibilities for connecting through social networking. And recreational activities such as 

hunting and sailing, that were once not possible, are now available. 

The newest veterans have greater interest in extreme sport and recreation activities, adventure and competition. A wider variety of activities are available now than 

ever before. Horseback riding, adaptive golf, hot air balloon flying, kayaking, waterskiing, sled hockey and scuba diving are just a few of the possibilities. We have observed seriously injured veterans run a marathon, compete in a 20-mile bike ride, 

and catch a 100-pound fish. We also had a seriously injured, burned, and blinded 

servicemember record a song that he composed in his room on his tape-recorder. The 

joy and achievement of these experiences is beyond words. 

Recreation therapy gives new freedom to those who fought for our freedom: freedom to run when they could not stand, freedom to think when they could not remember their name, freedom to be successful when they felt lost, and a feeling of 

hope for a new meaningful life at home. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. My colleagues 

and I are prepared to answer any questions you may have. 

f 

Statement of Verax Technologies, Inc., Pensacola, FL 

MUSIC THERAPY PILOT PROGRAM 

1. INTRODUCTION 

Today’s audio technology derives from the early days of the industry when two 

channels were all that sound engineers had to work with. However, advances in digital signal processing (including low-cost, high-capacity computing power, distributed network architectures, and component miniaturization), mean that technology 

no longer has to be a limiting factor in sound reproduction, and in the last decade 

the number of audio innovations has exploded. Because Verax got there first, the 

company has been able to develop a rich portfolio of patents relating to audio capture, modeling and reproduction techniques, including sound source separation, 3D 

sound modeling and reproduction, all of which may be rapidly deployed using offthe-shelf components. By combining these technologies with others such as advanced EEG diagnostics, we can open up a world of new treatment possibilities for 

music therapists, patients and their families, who will be able to optimize the location, spatial direction, volume, tone and other characteristics of individual sound 

stimuli for maximum therapeutic effect. 

What makes this unprecedented level of control possible? The answer is ‘‘Sound 

Source Separation.’’ This means that individual sounds from an unlimited number 

of sources can each have their own loudspeaker, which other systems (e.g., surround 

sound) cannot replicate. Because each sound can be controlled separately without 

any special technical training, patients and/or family members can make the most 

imperceptible, yet highly meaningful adjustments to what is heard. This is a fundamentally new approach to sound reproduction, not the typical minor modification 

to existing sound reproduction techniques that add marginal improvement at significant cost. 

The following section provides an overview of how Verax solutions can add measurable value to standard music therapy interventions for PTSD and other disorders. 

2. DEFINITION 

Music Therapy is the use of music and/or its musical elements (sound, rhythm, 

melody and harmony) by a qualified music therapist, with a client or group, in a 

process designed to facilitate and promote communication, relationships, learning, 

mobilization, expression, organization and other relevant therapeutic objectives in 

order to meet physical, emotional, mental, social and cognitive needs. Music therapy 

aims to develop potentials and/or restore functions of the individual so that he or 

she can achieve better interpersonal and/or interpersonal integration and, consequently, a better quality of life, through prevention, rehabilitation or treatment. 

(Source: World Federation of Music Therapy, 1996). 

3. THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS 

Music therapists use various active and receptive intervention techniques according to the needs and preferences of the individuals with whom they work. Using 

Verax’s audio technologies in combination with medical and other technologies, 

therapists will be able to administer a range of therapeutic interventions, including 

but not limited to the following: 


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Listening. Listening to music has many therapeutic applications. Music reduces 

stress (Stratton, 1992) and anxiety levels (Mornhinweg, 1992). Music has improved 

mood according to self-report (Kenealy, 1988), and heart rate and systolic blood 

pressure have also been shown to improve (Pignatello, Camp, Elder, Thomas, & 

Rasar, 1989). Music helps to develop cognitive skills such as attention and memory. 

For example, for those facing surgical procedures, it allows the individual an opportunity to exert a sense of control over their unpredictable environment. In situations 

where cognitive perceptions are compromised, such as by PTSD, listening can provide a sense of the familiar, and increase orientation to reality. Music listening can 

facilitate increased openness to discussion by helping patients feel safe and provide 

motivation for engaging in social activity. Verax’s ‘‘object oriented’’ technology (enabling one or more sounds to have its own dedicated speaker) creates unprecedented 

opportunities to ‘‘break the sound barrier’’—to go beyond what is ordinarily possible 

with music. This is because of the unique ability to control not only the placement 

of individual sounds in 360 degree space (i.e., around the patient), but also their 

directionality—effects that may be accentuated through the use of speakers designed specifically for a given frequency band. In addition, music (and all sorts of 

special effects) can be played much louder because amplification is possible without 

distortion. 

Rhythmic based activities. These can be used to facilitate and improve an individual’s range of motion, joint mobility/agility/strength, balance, coordination, gait 

consistency and relaxation. Rhythm and beat are important in ‘‘priming’’ the motor 

areas of the brain, in regulating autonomic processes such as breathing and heart 

rate, and maintaining motivation or activity level following the removal of a musical 

stimulus. The use of rhythmic patterns can likewise assist those with receptive and 

expressive processing difficulties (i.e., aphasia, tinnitus) to improve their ability to 

tolerate and successfully process sensory information. Verax’s object oriented technology also creates unprecedented therapeutic opportunities using rhythmic based 

activities. For example, with a bedside user interface, patients and/or therapists can 

change the location and distribution of sound sources, ranging from a purely binaural (stereo) presentation to a more immersive distribution comprising multiple 

speakers arranged in 360-degree space. 

Singing. Singing is a therapeutic tool that assists in the development of articulation, rhythm, and breath control. Singing in a group setting can improve social skills 

and foster a greater awareness of others. Singing can encourage reminiscence and 

discussions of the past, while reducing anxiety and fear. For individuals with compromised breathing, singing can improve oxygen saturation rates. Music may stimulate the language centers in the brain promoting the ability to sing. One advantage 

of Verax’s technology is the ability to reproduce live events that are virtually indistinguishable from the original, allowing the patient to re-experience the event repeatedly on demand. 

Playing instruments. This can improve gross and fine motor coordination in individuals with motor impairments, neurological trauma and other conditions. Instrumental ensembles can enhance cooperation, attention, and provide opportunities 

for practicing various leadership-participant roles. Playing instruments may assist 

those with prior musical experience to revisit previously learned skills, thereby allowing the individual to experience a renewed sense of pleasure and enjoyment. It 

can also develop increased wellbeing and self-esteem in those who are learning to 

play an instrument for the first time. Again, the ability to reproduce live events that 

are virtually indistinguishable from the original will enable patients to learn at a 

faster pace. 

Improvising. Improvising offers a creative, nonverbal means of expressing 

thoughts and feelings. Improvisation is non-judgmental, easily approached, and requires no previous musical training. As such, it helps the therapist to establish a 

three-way relationship between the patient/family, themselves and the music. 

Where words fail or emotions are too hard to express, music can fill the void. Where 

trust and interaction with others has been compromised due to trauma, disorder or 

other causes, improvisation provides a safe opportunity for restoration of meaningful 

interpersonal contact. Where learning ability is limited, the opportunity to try different instruments, musical sounds, timbres and mediums may provide an opportunity for mastery of a new skill and increase life satisfaction. The flexibility of the 

Verax solution will make it possible to create customized solutions for each patient, 

enhancing the therapeutic effect of improvisation. 

Composing/Songwriting. This is utilized to facilitate the sharing of feelings, 

ideas and experiences. For example, with hospitalized veterans, writing songs is a 

means of expressing and understanding fears. It may also provide an opportunity 

for creating a legacy or a shared experience with a comrade. Lyric discussion and 

songwriting can help patients deal with painful memories, trauma, and express feelVerDate Nov 24 2008 08:01 Dec 13, 2010 Jkt 057026 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6621 I:\VA\57026.XXX APPS06 PsN: 57026

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ings and thoughts that are normally socially unacceptable, while fostering a sense 

of identification with a particular group. Verax’s technology provides unprecedented 

opportunities for musical expression, since the system is customizable to patient 

needs. (Source: adapted from Canadian Music Therapy Association, 2008). 

4. PERSONALIZED TREATMENT PROTOCOLS 

From the data harvested from multiple patients, evidence-based standards may 

be developed, along with highly calibrated treatment protocols to address disorders 

like PTSD with much greater efficacy. For example, by combining Verax technology 

with EEG and other medical imaging technologies, we will be able to analyze brain 

activity in real time, and through advanced diagnostics determine the optimal 

therapeutic intervention for each patient. We may then develop a spectrum of optimization templates, each suited for a given patient profile. 

The following chart compares the expanded diagnostic and treatment possibilities 

of the Verax approach to music therapy (outer circle corresponding to upper diagram) with the limited possibilities of the conventional stereophonic approach (inner 

circle corresponding to lower diagram). Verax’s approach may include stereophonic 

protocols, but then can do so much more since the number of points of intervention 

is limited only by the imagination of the therapist. 

ADVANCED MUSIC THERAPY SYSTEM 

APPENDIX A 

Music Therapy: The New Frontier 

According to a 2008 study of 1.65 million servicemembers by the Rand Corp, 20 

percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (over 300,000 individuals) suffer from depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Experts predict that the percentage could grow in coming years, because stress disorders often take months or years 

to appear, and also because of the upsurge in guerrilla tactics such as roadside 

bombings. Victims need help dealing with issues (including flashbacks, withdrawal 

symptoms, and heightened arousal) and resetting their pattern to ‘default.’ Left untreated, serious conditions such as PTSD can become chronic disabling disorders, so 

effective diagnosis and treatment must be given at the earliest opportunity. Music 

therapy first emerged to help victims develop compensatory mechanisms. But new 

field of Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) has demonstrated that music can achieve 

much more by actually restoring neurological function. Verax offers the prospect of 

raising the bar still further, by enabling music to be calibrated and optimized in 

ways that are not possible with existing technology. 

Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) 

With the rise of psychological ailments among Iraq and Afghanistan war vets, 

military and VA hospitals have begun to rethink how they deal with this age-old 

scourge of war. Music therapy in particular has shown great promise as a powerful 


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1 Baker F., Roth EA. (2004). Neuroplasticity and functional recovery: training models and compensatory strategies in music therapy. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy. 13(1): 20–32. 

non-invasive therapeutic tool. Furthermore, new research findings indicate that 

music therapy can not only help the patient develop compensatory behaviors, but 

also restore neurological function.1 The scientific, evidence-based field of Neurologic 

Music Therapy has emerged with the goal of treating patients with various 

neurologic issues (cognitive, speech/language, sensorimotor). NMT is based on the 

principle of leveraging the physiological mechanisms inherent in music perception 

and production. 

A common task of music therapists is to induce a meditative condition so as to 

influence brain neurophysiology. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to discover the most effective rhythmic and tonal parameters for each patient. Individualized music has superior healing properties to regular ‘‘relaxation music,’’ because 

everybody’s EEG (the pattern of electrical impulses produced by chemical reactions 

in brain cells) is as unique as their fingerprint. To demonstrate this, one study sponsored by the University of Toronto used computers to transform EEG traces into 

‘brain music.’ Sixteen EEG channels were employed, each channel providing a selection from 120 musical instruments. Researchers were able to create changes in 

tempo, vary the volume of each channel, transpose the music of each channel to different octaves, change musical parameters (e.g., legato or staccato), add major and 

minor chords, and analyze the note patterns of each channel. Through a process of 

optimization they were able to entrain and re-balance patients’ brains. However, 

this level of individualization is beyond the reach of practicing therapists, who have 

relatively few audio channels to work with, and limited opportunities for output control (master volume, left-right balance, control of frequencies across all channels). 

Verax Value Proposition 

Today’s audio technology derives from the early days of the industry when two 

channels were all that sound engineers had to work with. However, advances in digital signal processing (including low-cost, high-capacity computing power, distributed network architectures, and component miniaturization), mean that technology 

no longer has to be a limiting factor in sound reproduction. Using Verax’s patented 

audio technologies in conjunction with advanced EEG diagnostics, music therapists 

will be able to optimize the location, spatial direction, volume, tone and other characteristics of individual sound stimuli for maximum therapeutic effect. From the 

data harvested, evidence-based standards may be developed, along with highly calibrated treatment protocols to address disorders like PTSD with much greater efficacy. 

APPENDIX B 

Problem, Hypothesis and Military Relevance 

• Psychological health & traumatic brain injury 

• Advanced music therapy systems can build upon the proven success of traditional music therapy treatments and protocols 

• Next-generation music therapy systems can be deployed throughout the Military Health System (MHS) as a cost effective, non-invasive method to assist in 

the tasks of: 

• Chronic pain management 

• Diagnosis and treatment of PTSD 

• Diagnosis and treatment of deployment-related psychological health problems 

• Psychological resilience 

• Suicide prevention 

Proposed Solution 

• Music therapy has shown great promise as a powerful, non-invasive therapeutic 

tool 

• New research findings indicate that music therapy can help patients develop 

compensatory behaviors and restore neurological function 

• Individualized music has superior healing properties to regular relaxation 

music because EEG patterns are as unique as fingerprints 

• Today’s audio technology derives from the early days of the industry when two 

channels were all that sound engineers had to work with 


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• Verax’s patented audio technologies, in conjunction with advanced brain diagnostics, will enable music therapists to optimize sound stimuli for maximum 

therapeutic effect 

• From the data harvested, evidence-based standards may be developed along 

with highly calibrated treatment protocols to address an array of psychological 

disorders with much greater efficacy 

Æ 


dkrause on GSDDPC29PROD with HEARING