RICK RADER, MD

DIRECTOR OF THE MORTON J. KENT

HABILITATION CENTER

Phone: (423) 493-2936

Dr. Rick Rader joined the Orange Grove Center staff in 1994. As the Director of the Morton J. Kent Habilitation Center, Dr. Rader is engaged as a medical futurist - predicting the future medical problems of people with neurodevelopmental disabilities. He is responsible for the identification, implementation, and evaluation of novel, innovative and inclusive programs in healthcare. Dr. Rader serves as the liaison for university-affiliated programs in teaching, research, advocacy, and student clerkships. He also oversees the Director of Therapy Services, Behavioral Supports, Enrichment Programs, Dental Clinic, Health Promotion, Human Performance, Sensory Programs, and Special Olympics. He is cross-trained in internal medicine and medical anthropology. As the director of Health Care, he is responsible for screening, hiring and supervising personnel; developing and enforcing policies and procedures; and ensuring optimal patient relations and develop and get the approval of and manage the budget and pay scales.

Dr. Rader is Editor-in-Chief of Exceptional Parent Magazine, a nationally acclaimed journal focusing on the education of parents and professionals supporting individuals with special needs. He has received numerous national awards for excellence in health care publishing. He has published over four hundred articles on developmental disabilities.

He was appointed as the first Special Liaison for Family Health Care at the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Dr. Rader has served as an advisor to four Surgeon Generals in the field of health care for people with disabilities. He is President of the American Association for Health and Disability and serves as the Director of Public Policy at the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry.

He is a fellow of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International Brain Research Foundation. Dr. Rader serves on the editorial advisory board of the International Journal of Nursing in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and is on the board of MOVE International. He is a mentor to Project DOCC, a parent-driven educational program teaching physicians the realities of caring for a child with special healthcare needs. He is an adjunct professor of Human Development at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a member of the Research Consortium for Sensory Integration Studies.

Dr. Rader is a founding member of the board and first president of the American Association for Multi-Sensory Environments (AAMSE) and a co-founder of the Initiative for the Defeat of Stigma. He also serves as the Senior Advisor for Inclusive Health Innovation at Special Olympics International.