Paul R. Rao, PHD, CCC, CPHQ, FACHE, Vice President, Clinical Services, Quality and Compliance at NRH was elected President-Elect of the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA), a 140,000 member organization headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. His term begins January 1, 2010 and he will serve as President beginning January 2011.
Dr. Rao wears a number of other hats, including Privacy Officer Liaison / HIPAA Coordinator at NRH, Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland and as a member of the editorial board of Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation and Advance for Directors.
A prolific writer, he is the author of numerous articles and chapters on topics such as Customer Service, Policy and Procedures, Supervision, Health Literacy and Management. In 2005, and previously in 1999, he was the editor of the winter issue of Topics In Stroke Rehabilitation. He is also the primary editor of Managing Stroke: A Guide to Living Well after Stroke, published in 2000 by NRH Press. He is the lead editor for the second edition of the book.
A sought after speaker on a variety of clinical and administrative topics, Dr. Rao has presented at more than 100 lectures in 30 states, Canada, and New Zealand. In 2007 he was the Commencement Speaker at the Boston University’s Sargent College; in 2002, he spoke at the graduation ceremony of the University of Maryland’s Department of Hearing & Speech Sciences.
He has received numerous awards for his work. In 1989 and again in 2001, the American Speech Language Hearing Foundation recognized Rao with its Clinical Achievement Award. In 1994, Dr. Rao was selected as NRH’s "Manager of the Quarter," and received the Maryland Speech and Hearing Association’s Honors and Service Award.
Dr. Rao received his Bachelors degree in Philosophy from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA., his Masters degree in Speech Pathology from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and his Ph.D. in Hearing and Speech Science from the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland.