People with chronic health conditions and disabilities have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Limited access to healthcare, the need to avoid contracting COVID, and interruptions in VR services and labor force participation have been cited as major challenges for the disability community during this unprecedented public health crisis. When people with existing disabilities experience Long-COVID syndrome, they encounter additional barriers to overall well-being and employment. During this Lunch & Learn session, Dr. Rumrill will provide an overview of Long-COVID as an emerging disability, its employment impact, and strategies for service delivery across the phases of the VR process.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Phillip Rumrill, Ph.D., CRC, is a professor in the Department of Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education at the University of Kentucky (UK) in Lexington. He also serves as director of research in the UK Human Development Institute, which is Kentucky’s University Center on Disability. Dr. Rumrill is well known as one of the leading disability and employment researchers in the United States. He has authored or co-authored more than 450 professional publications including 16 commercially published books (e.g., Foundations of the Vocational Rehabilitation Process, Emerging Disabilities and Rehabilitation Counseling, Case management and Rehabilitation Counseling, Research in Rehabilitation Counseling) Dr. Rumrill has extensive experience administering funded research projects. He has had leadership roles on 44 grants with total budgets of more than $53 million. Dr. Rumrill has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including distinguished career awards from the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association and the National Council on Rehabilitation Education. Dr. Rumrill has lived experience with a significant disability (blindness), is a former state Vocational Rehabilitation. consumer, and was diagnosed with Long-COVID syndrome in 2021.
ABOUT THE ILLINOIS VR TRAINING LUNCH & LEARN SERIES
Hosted by the Illinois Institute for Rehabilitation and Employment Research in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Rehabilitation Services, these monthly online trainings feature a variety of key topics for vocational rehabilitation counselors and professionals.
