Kessler Foundation's Event Highlights Care for Veterans

Steve Adubato goes on-location to the Kessler Foundation’s “Rebuilding Futures for our Nation’s Heroes” event to speak with Rodger DeRose, President & CEO, Kessler Foundation, and Christopher Scrufari, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and Kessler research participant. DeRose discusses the importance of research for veterans and people with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries and also shares how crucial it is to support our veterans. Scrufari talks about his service in the Persian Gulf War and how his time serving has caused him to suffer from severe symptoms of “Gulf War Illness”.

9/8/18 #3121

Excerpt:

"We're here at Kessler Foundation, Rodger DeRose is, in fact, the CEO. We've had many conversations on the air and off. Tonight, all these folks are gathered for a forum, a discussion that I'm honored, proud to moderate, on the research going on at the foundation, but its... more important... not more importantly, but its connection to veterans... quality of life issues for veterans, spinal cord injuries for veterans, and truthfully, employment. Why is this forum so important Rodger? You know Steve, when we think of our vets, this is one way for us to thank the service, thank them for the service that they provide to our country and, you know, it's expertise that we have, both in mobility related research, cognitive related research, and then importantly, the ability to help them transition back into the community, into the work life, and transition those military skills through employment. And so those are all there is that we have specialty in, and it's one of the reasons why we're holding tonight's event, to express, not only our gratitude to the veterans, but also tell major sponsors and donors about the work that we do everyday. You know, as we've talked... as I said, both on the air and off, one of the things that always strikes me is the desire to take very sophisticated research and apply it, if you will, to the lives of people who are dealing with spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, and really improve the quality of their life, but the employment issue here is huge. Why is it so challenging for so many veterans who have physical and cognitive challenges? You know, and it's not just veterans that have this issue, it's... most of the people with disabilities face the same type of issues, and in this particular case what we're trying to do is take all of those multiple skill sets that a veteran has learned while they were in the service. Such as? Well, they might have been involved in artificial intelligence, they might have been involved in computer based programming, they might have been involved in drone based programming. How about team building? And team building. Leadership? You and I talk about it all the time. Absolutely, leadership... the fact that they're mission driven, the fact that they know how to react in situations, they make the ideal..."