This study identified factors that lead to or impede competitive job placements for clients of a state blindness rehabilitation agency. The authors conducted focus groups with the agency's service providers and administered surveys to adults who are blind or visually impaired and to employers. The survey data analysis compared persons who were employed with persons who were not employed but were interested in working and with persons who were not working and were not interested in working. Also identified were services that employers felt would assist them in hiring or retaining blind or visually impaired workers. Five themes, stated in terms of needs for the agency to address, are presented to summarize the findings.

Higher-volume facilities, despite receiving the most severe burn patients, may provide better patient outcomes than lower-volume facilities. The patterns of discharges found at lower-volume facilities may result in higher diagnosis-related group reimbursement "capture" by lower-volume facilities and higher postdischarge resource use.

No abstract