War, Politics, and Philanthropy: The History of Rehabilitation Medicine

Richard Verville

Aug 2009 · University Press of America

About this ebook

War, Politics, and Philanthropy: The History of Rehabilitation Medicine describes the development of this remarkable field of medical care from its inception in WWI and WWII through its dramatic expansion during the 1980s, as stimulated by the Medicare program. The book vividly describes how the field developed in response to the need for care and rehabilitation of wounded soldiers, disabled veterans, and members of the workforce in the 1940s and 1950s. It focuses on the leadership and contributions of statesman Bernard Baruch, civil servant extraordinaire Mary Switzer, physicians Henry Kessler, Frank Krusen, and Howard Rusk, and the professional and disability associations with which they collaborated. The book ends with the crescendo of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which embodied the vision and goals of rehabilitation medicine since the 1960s.

About the author

Richard Verville is a lawyer at the firm of Powers Pyles Sutter and Verville and has represented health care and rehabilitation medicine organizations for thirty-five years. He received the AMA Citation of Distinguished Service in 2004, the Gold Key Award of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine in 1979, the Kessler Institute Henry Kessler Human Dignity Award in 1997, and the American Diabetes Association Charles H. Best Award for Distinguished Service in 1988. He is the author of many journal articles on rehabilitation laws, legislation, policy, and history.