Veterans with spinal cord injuries gain jobs, sense of purpose

TAMPA Troy Webb rolled his wheelchair back from a wall of screens showing the busy hallways of the James A. Haley VA Medical Center. He can see into a million square feet of the center through more than 100 cameras from his work space, a room the size of an average bedroom.

He picked up a ringing phone. A Mercedes was involved in an accident in the parking garage. It was turning out to be a quiet morning, but more than 10,000 people would filter through the center by the end of the day.

"It will be just like this and then someone starts yelling; someone hits the panic alarm and it goes crazy," Webb said. The Veterans Affairs police officers flow through the room regularly, and sometimes use an evidence locker and a small holding cell to control suspects.

Webb, 37, is one of 280 participants in a national five-year program that started in 2010 to help veterans with spinal cord injuries get jobs. In June, he was hired as a dispatcher for the medical center's police, his first job in 15 years.

He says it gives him a sense of purpose and structure to his day.

"There's a lot of research about the positive effects of employment," said Lisa Ottomanelli, a clinical psychologist and the lead researcher for the program. She coordinates the program at seven spinal cord injury centers throughout the country from Tampa. Integrating vocational services alongside health care is key, she said. So far, about 40 percent of participants in the program have started working.

The supported employment model she uses has worked for veterans with mental illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder, Ottomanelli said. Her program is the first to apply the same model to people with physical disabilities.

Rachel Ahumada, an employment specialist, works closely with 18 participants who live near Haley, including Webb. Working with their medical treatment teams, she says, allows her to be proactive about employers' concerns.

"I really get to know these vets and their preferences and strengths," Ahumada said.

She has placed one worker at a deli counter and another in customer service at a football stadium. One is teaching crochet at a fabric store; another is teaching at a community college.

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Veterans with spinal cord injuries gain jobs, sense of purpose