Donna Rasin-Waters, PhD, was awarded a Presidential Citation for her significant contributions to integration of psychological assessment and treatment in all levels of health care.
Rasin-Waters is a national expert in integration of mental health services in both the patient-aligned primary care team and diverse specialty settings, including geriatric care; inpatient medical units; neuropsychological services; palliative care; and oncology, chemotherapy and radiation outpatient clinics. She has been effective in promoting interprofessional care in all these settings. Rasin-Water also has ensured that neuropsychological assessment and treatment recommendations are fully understood by all professions on the health care team so they optimally inform the patient's health care plan. Her approach, Psychosocial Distress Monitoring and Navigation in Oncology, was selected by VA Undersecretary for Health David J. Shulkin as a best practice to be disseminated nationally to other VA health care systems. Rasin-Waters also received an APA Practice Organization award for Leadership in Advancing the Profession of Psychology through Federal Advocacy.