NRA Program Aids Disabled Veterans
An innovative NRA program that gained international recognition for its medical application of rifle shooting has begun serving the nation’s disabled veterans. On March 25, 2004, a NRA Rehabilitative Shooting Unit was accepted for use at the Brockton, Massachusetts, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, by Ralph Marche, Chief of Voluntary/ Recreation Services for the VA Boston Healthcare System.
The NRA Rehabilitative Shooting Unit was developed in 1994 by Dave Baskin, manager of NRA Disabled Shooting Services, for the purpose of using a precision air rifle as a tool for physical therapists to use in the rehabilitation of their patients. The unit was designed as a comprehensive package, so that each piece of equipment could be used to improve eye-hand coordination, finger function, trunk balance, breath control, concentration skills, and self-confidence.
In addition, the supervising therapist is able to exercise complete control over all safety components and the patient’s progress. The program has proven so safe and productive that in 2000 a unit was installed at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dublin, in the strict guncontrol nation of Ireland. This NRA program has not only established rifle shooting as a viable rehabilitation tool, but the in-service seminar conducted for the Brockton Medical Center staff added to the unit’s value.
A physical therapy class from nearby Northeastern University attended Baskin’s training session to learn the theoretical and practical applications of a rifle in the rehabilitation process. The students learned to operate the unit, and also came away from the session with the knowledge of how rifle shooting is able to make an important contribution to a disabled person’s quality of life.
The Brockton facility became the first VA Medical Center’and one of 16 hospitals in the United States’t o adopt this progressive program. This year will mark the 10th anniversary of the installation of the inaugural NRA Rehabilitative Shooting Unit at the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, Alabama. No more-fitting tribute could be paid this revolutionary concept than to have it serve the nation’s disabled veterans.
The NRA Rehabilitative Shooting Unit is provided through a matching grant to hospitals that meet all safety and participation requirements. For more information, call NRA Disabled Shooting Services at Editor Keith Lawrence Technical
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