Membership Growth Strong - First CM-Forensic joint conference on brain injury and affiliations with NORA and CMSA yield new CM members.

Over the past year the Section has grown tremendously and has started to become very active. The year began with a conference in Dallas, TX that we were able to share with the Forensic Section. This was the first conference the Case Management Section co-sponsored. The focus was brain injury. From there the Section grew quickly, and has over 400 members now, many through affiliations with CMSA (Case Management Society of America) and NORA (Neuro Optometrics Rehabilitation Association). Each affiliation has brought a new depth to NARPPS and the Case Management Section.

CM Board Anniversary - Three member board completes one year of service.

Welcome to the first CM Section Newsletter!
by Dianne Simmons-Grab, CM Chair
(from IARP CM NEWS - Spring 2000)

The Section has been guided over the past year by three individuals: Joseph Cannelongo MS., LPC, CRC (co-chair), William Padula OD, FAAO (co-chair), and Dianne Simmons-GRAB MA (executive chair). We think that now is the time to start a newsletter and a web site to gather your input and ideas to foster future growth for this Section. The board of the Case Management Section welcomes all ideas. To initiate the process, a bio of each chair follows, with areas of activities:

Joseph Cannelongo
Joe is the president of AdvoCare Incorporated, which is a disability management, managed care and consulting firm in Cleveland. He has a Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Administration from DePaul University of Chicago. He is a Licenced Professional Counselor and a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor. Joe has been in the field of disability management for 26 years, working in a variety of roles. His emphasis has been the vocational needs of persons with disabilities. He provides expert opinions and testimony on both medical and vocational cases for court. He has prepared vocational opinions in workers compensation cases for the Industrial Commission, employers, and for claimants. He has also chaired a committee offering assistance to the Industrial Commission on the guidelines for vocational experts.

William V. Padula
William V. Padula, O.D., is a graduate of Pennsylvania College of Optometry and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. He serves as Director of the Low Vision Clinic at the Rehabilitation Center in New Haven, CT, and was the Founding Chairman of the Low Vision Section for the American Optometric Association. He has served as National Consultant in Low Vision Services for the American Foundation for the Blind and Consultant to the National Institute of Human Development. He has consulted and developed a low vision clinic named in his honor at the Zhongshan Eye Research Hospital in Canton, China and regularly consults with the Centro de Aprendizaje de Cuernavaca, Mexico. He is on staff at the New Britain Memorial Hospital, consults with many programs for head-injured persons throughout the United States, and is a State Police Surgeon with the Connecticut State Police. Dr. Padula has written numerous publications and is in private practice in Guilford, CT.

Dianne Simmons-Grab
Dianne Simmons-Grab, M.A., is a regional resource specialist for Bancroft Neuro Health. She has been active for many years in the field of brain injury as a provider, through marketing and providing treatment. She was selected in 1993 to serve on the Brain Injury Association's National Ethics and Standards Committee, where she remains an active member. She also serves on the national board of NARPPS as Region II representative, and chairs the Case Management Section. In 1999 Dianne was asked to consult to the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association national board pertaining to rehabilitation case management. Dianne is published, and has presented regionally and nationally in the field of brain injury and ethics.

In closing, serving as the executive chair for the Case Management Section this year has been exciting. There has been so much growth, and the development of two new projects. I would like to extend a personal invitation to anyone who would like to get involved. Please contact through the list serve or contact us. We can be found in the NARPPS directory.