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This obituary tribute honoring Henry Spuehler was submitted by Allen Boysen, former Director of VA Audiology and Speech Pathology in Washington, DC. Spuehler was a mentor, colleague, and friend of Boysen's; they worked together on many projects, including a collaboration to establish about 120 interdisciplinary dysphagia teams nationwide in VA hospitals in the mid-1980s. When Spuehler retired from his position as national VA director of audiology and speech-language pathology, Boysen succeeded him in that position.
Boysen says, "Dr. Spuehler was a great mentor and trusted colleague, and always focused his attention on others and how he could build them up to be their best. He demonstrated standards of excellence in seeking the best services for our country's war veterans. His leadership attracted many of the best audiologists and speech pathologists from outstanding university training programs throughout the country. He has left a proud heritage in VA's tradition of excellence and contributions to research, training, and clinical services in the professions."
A shorter obituary appeared in the Dec. 26, 2007 issue of The ASHA Leader.
Henry Spuehler
Henry "Hank" Spuehler, former National Program Director of Audiology and Speech Pathology for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), died on August 10, 2007. He was 79 years old. He is survived by his wife, Vivian; daughter Kim and son in law Dale; and grandchildren Kyle, Brittany, Misty and Vivian. He was preceded in death by son Mark. He was a resident of Roseville, Calif. at the time of his death.
Hank obtained his bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees in audiology and speech pathology from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., where he met and married Vivian. After receiving his doctorate, he joined the faculty of Phillips University in Enid, Okla. in 1956. In 1957, he joined John Keys, Donald Counihan and other faculty of the University of Oklahoma at the Medical Center in Oklahoma City, and headed up the audiology section of the program. After one year, he relocated to his alma mater, Purdue University, where he taught and performed research. In 1962, he joined the staff of the Bill Wilkerson Speech and Hearing Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. In 1963, he became Chief of Audiology and Speech Pathology at the Washington, DC VA Medical Center. After years of support to Dr. Bernard Anderman, the director of the VA's national audiology and speech pathology program, Dr. Spuehler succeeded him as national program director in 1980. He retired from this position and the VA in 1988.
Dr. Spuehler may be best remembered for his leadership in organizing and facilitating resource support for the establishment of audiology and speech pathology programs in VA medical centers nationwide. He was the key person in linkages between hospitals and VA headquarters for construction funds, staffing, equipment and instrumentation to establish clinical services in several hundred VA locations nationwide. He did all of this while managing one of the few flagship clinics, complete with clinical, research and training missions.
As national program director, Dr. Spuehler led the development of a totally unique national hearing aid program, which continues to be the largest dispensing source in the United States. He provided leadership in the establishment of a hearing aid distribution center in Denver, Colorado that would be the resource for all VA audiology clinics nationally to order hearing aids for their patients. He was involved in the development of the first nationwide clinical trial research project to compare performance between single channel and multi-channel cochlear implants.
Dr. Spuehler stimulated the development of a training program that would reach over 100 VA hospitals in preparing multi-disciplinary teams, including speech pathologists, in the first large scale dysphagia program in the United States. He supported other clinical research efforts that were unique in the professions during the early 1980s, including Tel-C speech therapy which represented the first systematic effort to provide treatment to remote locations via telephone.
Before he retired from VA in 1988, he had created the infrastructure of computer hardware and software interfaces and had established one of VA's first pre-Internet capabilities that linked VA headquarters with most VA audiology and speech pathology programs nationwide. Today, it is hard to imagine what the early forms of Internet connectivity looked like, but the functionality of this network had a dramatic impact on the growth of the professions within VA. This capability was also joined by the early conference call "Hotline" network that allowed Dr. Spuehler to communicate by phone simultaneously with each VA service chief throughout the United States on a monthly basis.
Perhaps the most important contribution made by Dr. Spuehler was his personal relationship with VA audiologists and speech pathologists nationwide. Personal testimonies emphasize how interested and supportive he was with each professional colleague who connected with him in their areas of responsibility. He was always there and always followed through to support them.
Dr. Spuehler was a kind and thoughtful man, always uplifting others and sensitive to their needs, personally and professionally. He had a great sense of humor, and enjoyed sharing stories and anecdotes with colleagues. He was a calm, confident, and humble individual who had high standards of service to veterans foremost in his mind. Dr. Spuehler will be missed, but the effects of his leadership on VA colleagues and the professions will be long-lasting.
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