On Tuesday the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a 104 page decision that cited the failure
of the political branches to correct what it called the VA's "egregious problems" and "unchecked
incompetence" in delivering mental health care to veterans.
The three judge panel said this failure violated veterans' due process rights under the U.S.
Constitution.
The court said that examples show that veterans with PTSD or severe depression were often
forced to wait over eight weeks to receive mental health referrals. It also said that some veterans
committed suicide while waiting for help.
The court said that over 84,000 veterans are waiting for assistance with no legal means to
challenge these delays. The court added that these delays "can mean the difference between
life and death." An average of 18 veterans commit suicide every day.
In 2007, two nonprofit organizations, Veterans for Commons Sense and Veterans United
for Truth had sued the VA claiming "shameful failures" to care for wounded veterans.
This claim was dismissed by the California district court which said the court did not have
the jurisdiction to implement or interfere with the VA's mental health program.
The three judge panel acknowledged that it's intervention in VA affairs was an "extraordinary
step" and this was better suited for Congress or the president.
Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote that the panel concluded that the political branches had
"so completely and chronically failed" to respect veterans' rights that the court had to
intervene.
"No more veterans should be compelled to agonize or perish while the government fails
to perform its obligations," the opinion said.
The 9th Circuit Court sent the case back to the lower court to determine what changes
are needed to ensure that veterans in need of mental health care receive prompt treatment
and those with urgent problems receive immediate care.
A lawyer for the two veterans' groups Heather Moser, called the decision "monumental" for
recognizing that veterans' have a constitutional right to mental health care in
a timely manner.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
Showing posts with label PTSD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PTSD. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
DoD says "Virtual World" Helps with PTSD
The Department of Defense is using virtual-world interactivity to educate and help
warfighters and others who are reluctant to seek more direct care to deal with post traumatic
stress, said an official at the National Center for Telehealth and Technology also known
as "T2"
During a recent telephone briefing from the center's headquarters at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash., Greg Reger -- a clinical psychologist and acting chief of the center's innovative technology applications division -- said the kinds of immersive experiences available in virtual worlds, such as the internationally populated virtual world called Second Life, are designed to appeal to tech-savvy service members and their families.
"Far too many of our warriors come home and, despite difficulties they are having, are not going to come and see a psychologist, a social worker, a psychiatrist," Reger said.
According to the center's website, many researchers have declared traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress to be the "signature wounds" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 19 percent of service members returning from combat screen positive for psychological health problems, and just more than half seek help, the website says, noting that barriers for those that don't seek help include perceived stigma, physical access barriers and limited resources.
"There's a lot of great work going on at DOD to address stigma, but it is still an issue," Reger said. "So we desperately need solutions to get resources into the hands of those who will not give us the opportunity to provide them basic care."
Virtual worlds are computer-based simulated environments where users, as representations of themselves called avatars, can interact with each other and build and interact with objects and activities.
"An avatar is basically a computer-generated representation of oneself," Reger said, adding that users create these computer characters to navigate around the environment and to explore and learn.
The T2 Virtual PTSD Experience, based in Second Life, is an immersive, interactive learning activity that is open to the public and educates visitors about combat-related post-traumatic stress.
The graphics-dense immersive simulation requires a broadband Internet connection, he said. Users must download a copy of the Second Life world and then can access the world from any computer with a broadband connection.
When avatars come into the virtual space, Reger said, they land at a welcome center that offers information about different deployment-related difficulties and a map of activities available in the T2 virtual experience.
"The cornerstone of the experience is when they leave that area and go into an area that teaches about the causes of post-traumatic stress disorder," Reger said. "They enter a space where they get into a Humvee and are taken through a computer-generated simulation that includes [intense fighting on an Afghan street and] an explosion.
"As this occurs," he continued, "they receive audio instruction about what we think causes post-traumatic stress disorder, and this sets the stage for the rest of the experience."
Users then take a simulated flight home, during which they watch a video about post-traumatic stress. They land at a shopping mall, where each store offers an activity that illustrates a symptom and how it may affect daily life.
For example, Reger said, in the mall is a mattress store.
"If you go into the store, you have an opportunity to lie down on a mattress and a video pops up over the avatar's head that illustrates a re-experiencing of the traumatic event they experienced earlier during the simulation," he said. "Then information is presented on the nature of trauma-related nightmares and sleep disturbances."
The environment uses a range of activities to simulate symptoms and help visitors determine if they or a loved one need care, and offers information about where to go for more direct assistance.
"Second Life provides the opportunity to interact with anyone who is in that space. Any warrior who goes in there will be able to talk with whoever is in that space," Reger said.
"We know that many of the difficulties that our warriors have result in increased social isolation and diminished interest in getting outside the home and interacting with other people," he added. "We do wonder about the potential in this space to really get some of these folks connected with each other in a meaningful way that might be helpful."
The National Center for Telehealth and Technology is a component of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, which leads a collaborative global network to promote the resilience, recovery and reintegration of warriors and their families.
"We created an environment that lets people learn by doing, rather than reading text and watching videos on two-dimensional websites," Kevin Holloway, the psychologist who led T2's virtual-world development, said in a statement. "They can learn something new each time they visit."
More information on "T2" can be found on their website http://www.t2health.org/vwproj/
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
warfighters and others who are reluctant to seek more direct care to deal with post traumatic
stress, said an official at the National Center for Telehealth and Technology also known
as "T2"
During a recent telephone briefing from the center's headquarters at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash., Greg Reger -- a clinical psychologist and acting chief of the center's innovative technology applications division -- said the kinds of immersive experiences available in virtual worlds, such as the internationally populated virtual world called Second Life, are designed to appeal to tech-savvy service members and their families.
According to the center's website, many researchers have declared traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress to be the "signature wounds" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 19 percent of service members returning from combat screen positive for psychological health problems, and just more than half seek help, the website says, noting that barriers for those that don't seek help include perceived stigma, physical access barriers and limited resources.
"There's a lot of great work going on at DOD to address stigma, but it is still an issue," Reger said. "So we desperately need solutions to get resources into the hands of those who will not give us the opportunity to provide them basic care."
Virtual worlds are computer-based simulated environments where users, as representations of themselves called avatars, can interact with each other and build and interact with objects and activities.
"An avatar is basically a computer-generated representation of oneself," Reger said, adding that users create these computer characters to navigate around the environment and to explore and learn.
The T2 Virtual PTSD Experience, based in Second Life, is an immersive, interactive learning activity that is open to the public and educates visitors about combat-related post-traumatic stress.
The graphics-dense immersive simulation requires a broadband Internet connection, he said. Users must download a copy of the Second Life world and then can access the world from any computer with a broadband connection.
When avatars come into the virtual space, Reger said, they land at a welcome center that offers information about different deployment-related difficulties and a map of activities available in the T2 virtual experience.
"The cornerstone of the experience is when they leave that area and go into an area that teaches about the causes of post-traumatic stress disorder," Reger said. "They enter a space where they get into a Humvee and are taken through a computer-generated simulation that includes [intense fighting on an Afghan street and] an explosion.
"As this occurs," he continued, "they receive audio instruction about what we think causes post-traumatic stress disorder, and this sets the stage for the rest of the experience."
Users then take a simulated flight home, during which they watch a video about post-traumatic stress. They land at a shopping mall, where each store offers an activity that illustrates a symptom and how it may affect daily life.
For example, Reger said, in the mall is a mattress store.
"If you go into the store, you have an opportunity to lie down on a mattress and a video pops up over the avatar's head that illustrates a re-experiencing of the traumatic event they experienced earlier during the simulation," he said. "Then information is presented on the nature of trauma-related nightmares and sleep disturbances."
The environment uses a range of activities to simulate symptoms and help visitors determine if they or a loved one need care, and offers information about where to go for more direct assistance.
"Second Life provides the opportunity to interact with anyone who is in that space. Any warrior who goes in there will be able to talk with whoever is in that space," Reger said.
"We know that many of the difficulties that our warriors have result in increased social isolation and diminished interest in getting outside the home and interacting with other people," he added. "We do wonder about the potential in this space to really get some of these folks connected with each other in a meaningful way that might be helpful."
The National Center for Telehealth and Technology is a component of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, which leads a collaborative global network to promote the resilience, recovery and reintegration of warriors and their families.
"We created an environment that lets people learn by doing, rather than reading text and watching videos on two-dimensional websites," Kevin Holloway, the psychologist who led T2's virtual-world development, said in a statement. "They can learn something new each time they visit."
More information on "T2" can be found on their website http://www.t2health.org/vwproj/
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
University of Connecticut to study PTSD-seeks volunteers
The University of Connecticut is seeking veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to conduct studies
of PTSD.
Two different types of treatment will be used in this study of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
One type of treatment involves the veteran working through the troubling memories of combat, a rather
standard type of treatment.
The other does not involve delving into those memories, but instead helps teach skills to help manage
the emotions associated with painful memories and events.
These is not cost to the individual for the study, and in fact there will be a small stipend for agreeing
to volunteer for the project.
Anyone interested in joining the study is asked to call 860-679-2214 for more information.
So an veteran of Iraq/Afghanistan who is suffering from PTSD please seek help, and this is a very
good way to find that help.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
of PTSD.
Two different types of treatment will be used in this study of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
One type of treatment involves the veteran working through the troubling memories of combat, a rather
standard type of treatment.
The other does not involve delving into those memories, but instead helps teach skills to help manage
the emotions associated with painful memories and events.
These is not cost to the individual for the study, and in fact there will be a small stipend for agreeing
to volunteer for the project.
Anyone interested in joining the study is asked to call 860-679-2214 for more information.
So an veteran of Iraq/Afghanistan who is suffering from PTSD please seek help, and this is a very
good way to find that help.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Helping Veterans with PTSD
From West Roxbury Mass
http://www.wickedlocal.com/west-roxbury/news/x1792908722/Helping-our-veterans-with-post-traumatic-stress-disorder
West Roxbury -
From the Civil War to the Vietnam War, it has been called nostalgia, shell shock, soldier’s heart and battle fatigue, but today the diagnosis sounds far more clinical: post-traumatic stress disorder.
On Nov. 20, the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services and held an eight-hour conference on educating and caring for the mental health needs of veterans and their families.
More than 100 mental health-care providers and educators came together to discuss treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, brain trauma sustained in the line of duty, depression and suicide intervention.
“As a culture, we tend to celebrate the upside of conflict,” said MSPP President Nicholas Covino in his opening remarks to the symposium, calling PTSD “a major mental health issue” that has been neglected since the Vietnam era.
PTSD, an anxiety disorder that can plague soldiers returning from combat, is a debilitating condition that can occur after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.
Thomas Kelley, secretary of the state veterans’ office, lost one eye while serving as a U.S. Navy lieutenant in Vietnam. A recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor — the nation’s highest military honor— Kelley, 70, who had addressed the audience, later said mental health-care workers are not always equipped to treat the needs of returning soldiers.
“I’m trying to let people know when men and women come out of the service, especially if they’ve been in combat in a war zone, that they’re going to come back as a changed person,” said Kelley, a retired captain. “They’ve been under stress and they’re re-entering a new environment, and our job, all of us, should [be to] try to keep that stress from becoming a disorder.”
Since October 2001, more than 1.7 million soldiers have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Of them, nearly 280,000 have been sent back for at least one more tour of duty, according to the National Center for PSTD, a research arm of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs.
Meanwhile, veterans affairs officials said there has also been a resurgence of PTSD in Vietnam veterans. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, there has been a 59 percent increase in Vietnam veterans seeking counseling, the center reported.
Navy Reserve Commander Marybeth O’Sullivan, 56, of Brockton, said support might come from people other than health-care professionals, such as a civilian neighbor or classmate.
“It’s the everyday person in the community who is going to be empowered — that needs be empowered — to help with reintegration,” she said.
O’Sullivan, a nurse with a 24-year military career, said she had “a vested interest” in the conference. Her son and son-in-law have served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Referring to tales from Homer’s “Iliad,” O’Sullivan spoke for an hour about the psychological consequences of war.
“As long as we’ve had war, there’s been PTSD,” said O’Sullivan, who spoke of the way Greek war hero Achilles reacted — smearing himself with ash and fasting — to death of his friend, Patroclus.
Symptoms of PTSD include mood changes, anxiety, flashbacks and emotional numbness.
She said the general population might be scared to approach the issue.
“Because of what they may remember — and maybe even feel some guilt — feeling and thinking about Vietnam vets who were not getting any help,” O’Sullivan said.
Post-traumatic stress disorder was given a name in the late 1980s, more than a decade after the end of the Vietnam conflict, she said.
In addition to PTSD, O’Sullivan also talked to mental health-care workers about mild traumatic brain injury, a type of head injury that 20 percent of military personnel reported to have been exposed to in combat.
“Getting out of the military is a tough enough challenge,” O’Sullivan said. “Getting out of the military after seeing some stuff — bad stuff — and doing some rough stuff? It’s a whole other experience.”
Holly Marston, 29, has seen what the trauma of war can do to a loved one. Her father served in Vietnam. Now, she is one of seven outreach coordinators for Mass SAVE, Statewide Advocacy for Veterans’ Empowerment.
The group defines its mission as suicide prevention and benefits advocacy. Marston said some veterans are “not getting the help they need.”
“That could put them on the path to a better life,” she said.
O’Sullivan said one of the obstacles is that more than 40 percent of those in the military experiencing mental health problems refuse treatment due to a fear that seeking treatment could hurt their image, ruin their military career or limit civilian job opportunities.
Covino said mental health professionals have an increased responsibilities but the clinical expertise is insufficient.
The school plans to have additional conferences in March and June to discuss PTSD and the effects on families.
“We have 1.6 million returning veterans and [an] equally large number of family members that are going to be touched by this,” Covino said. “This is a new culture — there are values, [morals], customs, special needs that mental health practitioners really need to understand.”
For more information about the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, visit www.mspp.com. To learn more about veterans services in Massachusetts, visit www.mass.gov/veterans.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans, Inc.
"We Remember"
http://www.wickedlocal.com/west-roxbury/news/x1792908722/Helping-our-veterans-with-post-traumatic-stress-disorder
West Roxbury -
From the Civil War to the Vietnam War, it has been called nostalgia, shell shock, soldier’s heart and battle fatigue, but today the diagnosis sounds far more clinical: post-traumatic stress disorder.
On Nov. 20, the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services and held an eight-hour conference on educating and caring for the mental health needs of veterans and their families.
More than 100 mental health-care providers and educators came together to discuss treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, brain trauma sustained in the line of duty, depression and suicide intervention.
“As a culture, we tend to celebrate the upside of conflict,” said MSPP President Nicholas Covino in his opening remarks to the symposium, calling PTSD “a major mental health issue” that has been neglected since the Vietnam era.
PTSD, an anxiety disorder that can plague soldiers returning from combat, is a debilitating condition that can occur after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.
Thomas Kelley, secretary of the state veterans’ office, lost one eye while serving as a U.S. Navy lieutenant in Vietnam. A recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor — the nation’s highest military honor— Kelley, 70, who had addressed the audience, later said mental health-care workers are not always equipped to treat the needs of returning soldiers.
“I’m trying to let people know when men and women come out of the service, especially if they’ve been in combat in a war zone, that they’re going to come back as a changed person,” said Kelley, a retired captain. “They’ve been under stress and they’re re-entering a new environment, and our job, all of us, should [be to] try to keep that stress from becoming a disorder.”
Since October 2001, more than 1.7 million soldiers have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Of them, nearly 280,000 have been sent back for at least one more tour of duty, according to the National Center for PSTD, a research arm of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs.
Meanwhile, veterans affairs officials said there has also been a resurgence of PTSD in Vietnam veterans. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, there has been a 59 percent increase in Vietnam veterans seeking counseling, the center reported.
Navy Reserve Commander Marybeth O’Sullivan, 56, of Brockton, said support might come from people other than health-care professionals, such as a civilian neighbor or classmate.
“It’s the everyday person in the community who is going to be empowered — that needs be empowered — to help with reintegration,” she said.
O’Sullivan, a nurse with a 24-year military career, said she had “a vested interest” in the conference. Her son and son-in-law have served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Referring to tales from Homer’s “Iliad,” O’Sullivan spoke for an hour about the psychological consequences of war.
“As long as we’ve had war, there’s been PTSD,” said O’Sullivan, who spoke of the way Greek war hero Achilles reacted — smearing himself with ash and fasting — to death of his friend, Patroclus.
Symptoms of PTSD include mood changes, anxiety, flashbacks and emotional numbness.
She said the general population might be scared to approach the issue.
“Because of what they may remember — and maybe even feel some guilt — feeling and thinking about Vietnam vets who were not getting any help,” O’Sullivan said.
Post-traumatic stress disorder was given a name in the late 1980s, more than a decade after the end of the Vietnam conflict, she said.
In addition to PTSD, O’Sullivan also talked to mental health-care workers about mild traumatic brain injury, a type of head injury that 20 percent of military personnel reported to have been exposed to in combat.
“Getting out of the military is a tough enough challenge,” O’Sullivan said. “Getting out of the military after seeing some stuff — bad stuff — and doing some rough stuff? It’s a whole other experience.”
Holly Marston, 29, has seen what the trauma of war can do to a loved one. Her father served in Vietnam. Now, she is one of seven outreach coordinators for Mass SAVE, Statewide Advocacy for Veterans’ Empowerment.
The group defines its mission as suicide prevention and benefits advocacy. Marston said some veterans are “not getting the help they need.”
“That could put them on the path to a better life,” she said.
O’Sullivan said one of the obstacles is that more than 40 percent of those in the military experiencing mental health problems refuse treatment due to a fear that seeking treatment could hurt their image, ruin their military career or limit civilian job opportunities.
Covino said mental health professionals have an increased responsibilities but the clinical expertise is insufficient.
The school plans to have additional conferences in March and June to discuss PTSD and the effects on families.
“We have 1.6 million returning veterans and [an] equally large number of family members that are going to be touched by this,” Covino said. “This is a new culture — there are values, [morals], customs, special needs that mental health practitioners really need to understand.”
For more information about the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, visit www.mspp.com. To learn more about veterans services in Massachusetts, visit www.mass.gov/veterans.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans, Inc.
"We Remember"
Sunday, October 18, 2009
PTSD increases death risk for surgery
Post-Traumatic Stress May Raise Death Risks
SATURDAY, Oct. 17 -- Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder face an increased risk for dying after surgery, even if the surgery is performed years after they have completed their service, according to a U.S. study.
Researchers analyzed data on 1,792 male veterans who had major non-cardiac, non-emergency surgeries between 1998 and 2008. Of that group, 129 (7.8 percent) had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) before their surgery.
Men with PTSD were an average of seven years younger than those without PTSD -- 59 versus 66 years old -- but were much more likely to have cardiac risk factors, the study noted.
One year after surgery, the death rate among men with PTSD was 25 percent higher than for those without PTSD -- 8.5 percent versus 6.8 percent. After the researchers adjusted for age and preexisting medical conditions -- including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking and depression -- they found that veterans with PTSD were 2.2 times more likely to die within a year of surgery than those without PTSD.
The findings were scheduled to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, held Oct. 17 to 21 in New Orleans.
"This study is the first of its kind, with groundbreaking findings," the study's lead author, Dr. Marek Brzezinski, of the San Francisco VA Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco, said in a news release from the society. "The magnitude of the detrimental effect of PTSD diagnosis on postoperative mortality is unexpectedly large -- greater than that of diabetes, which is an established risk factor for patients undergoing surgery."
The results highlight "the need to consider potential treatments to help reduce risk in the veteran PTSD population, "Brzezinski said. "The number of veterans returning from our current conflicts with PTSD who require surgical
PTSD affects 15 to 31 percent of Vietnam veterans and 20 percent of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, according to background information in the news release.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about PTSD.
Jerald Terwilliger, National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans, Inc
Saturday, July 25, 2009
PTSD/Agent Orange from wife of a Vietnam Vet
Here is a portion of an article posted on Veterans Today by the wife of a Vietnam Veteran.
It is quite an eye opener.
You can read the full article here
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7007
This will just get you started.
It is quite an eye opener.
You can read the full article here
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7007
This will just get you started.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD] became a household name in the early 1980’s. As the wife of a former military man and a veteran, I was compelled to learn all I could about it. On one occasion I told my husband I suspected he had PTSD. He denied it, telling me our problems were all because of me and my independence. Yes, I was a feminist, and the longer I lived with him, the more defiant I became to make my own way. Nevertheless, I did not have the courage to end our marriage and I stayed with him because I loved him and I was afraid he would not survive without me. In early 2000, he met a Vietnam Veteran on the golf course.
Together, they bonded as brothers. With the acceptance of their friendship, my husband has recognized the behaviors he battles daily are a reflection of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He met with a representative of Veterans Affairs in 2001 or 2002, and is still battling to get the benefits he was promised. PTSD is his daily battle and there are times he actually wants to run away from himself. If only the VA could live with him for one week they would understand how painful his emotional wounds are. If only the VA could hold him during the flashbacks.
In many ways, my soldier husband is still in Vietnam, never to return. On one occasion my husband met with a VA rep only to be told, and I quote, “It doesn’t help your case that you are still with your first wife.” When my husband expressed his comment to me, I was outraged, wanting the name, phone number, and contact information. My husband did not share it with me, but I can certainly educate others into the scenarios I discover.
Recently, I became involved with Veterans-for-Change (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VETERANS-FOR-CHANGE/), a non-profit group that desires to wake up Congress and fulfill the promises made to Veterans. As a member of Veterans-For-Change, an expanding vocal group for Veterans rights, benefits, and treatment, I as well as my co-members and veterans nationwide, are extremely upset that the VA appears to ignore the veterans.
In March 2008, my husband traveled to Columbia, SC to appeal a decision from the VA. Now, he is told his file is in Washington, still awaiting a decision. My concern is not just for my husband, but for all veterans. Just how long does it take for a veteran to get the physical, emotional, mental, and monetary care he or she needs so life can return to normalcy? Now that I am an active participant with Veterans-for-Change I recognize there is a multitude of complaints that must be addressed by Congress or the Veterans Affairs.
My mission is to write about these scenarios and to share with my readers. When called to duty, to service America and its freedom, our Veterans stood tall, fought the battles, and now when needing our service the most, the VA ignores, or procrastinates to service their needs. This is a disgrace to all serving in the military.
Veterans-for-Change repeatedly hears stories from military veterans about the lack of care with the VA, along with the intense emotional battle, just to get benefits. Repeatedly, veterans are either denied, or their files are placed on hold, sometimes for years. Many of these claims are for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD]; lack of properly sanitized and sterilized medical equipment used for testing and physicals; and Blue Water Navy Dioxin Exposure and Agent Orange.
PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
VA Physicians are being instructed to deny or misdiagnose PTSD, or they are simply ignoring the signs, over medicating or improperly medicating, and simply not even looking into alternative ways of dealing with PTSD. Many Veterans are left to feel as if no one cares, or no one listens to their symptoms. Instead of listening, or asking probing questions, the medical practitioner prescribes a drug and it appears that the VA has a drug for every ailment.
We as Americans must take a stand to service and understand our soldiers and Veterans, not simply remove their weapons, dust them off, and refer them to another source of treatment, or someone else at the VA. We must learn to listen and stop the habit of prescribing drugs for every ailment. Veterans are not pin cushions or guinea pigs. We promised our Veterans benefits, freedom, and a better life, not simply prescribed drugs by doctors who react by overwriting prescriptions, instead of listening to their emotional ailments. Is this the way the VA strives to help our Veterans?
Just simply prescribing a drug in hopes the Veteran will feel better in the morning? Post Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD] is described as an ‘emotional illness’ and it was not recognized as PTSD until the 1980’s when the American Psychiatric Association recognized it as such, according to the website, www.psychiatric-disorders.com.
PTSD leaves no visible scars, only the emotional scars that will remain forever inside the mind of the war veteran. PTSD leaves a stigma attached to it. To those who do not understand this ailment, the looks, discriminations, and lack of compassion leaves the Veteran with a lack of understanding of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the wounds of it. While it is true, the wounds are embedded within the mind, the wounds are so obvious to those of us who love the Veteran suffering with PTSD; and we strive to do all we can to make their life more productive and pleasant. We need the VA to do the same.
Medical Equipment
Veterans-for-Change has discovered there are far too many reports of improperly cleaned or sterilized equipment at numerous VA hospitals, resulting in thousands of complaints that have not been addressed or resolved.
Reportedly, there could be as many as 11,224 Veterans at risk, due to this lack of care, and many VA hospitals are involved. The number of Veterans affected could result in health and physical epidemics that could result in deadly diseases that should have been prevented provided the proper sanitation, and sterilization techniques were used. Instead, questions remain unanswered, and the VA’s continuous denial brought to the public attention of these problems, resulted in denying any possibility, or accepting responsibility, of cross contamination to many veterans. This is unforgivable and a government investigation should be underway – ASAP.
Blue Water Navy Dioxin Exposure
Reportedly 21 million gallons of Agent Orange were scattered over the fields in Vietnam between 1962 and 1970. Many of the Veterans of the Vietnam conflict served the United States Navy during 1962 and 1975. Many of these war veterans suffer with medical disabilities from the effects of Blue Water Navy Dioxin Exposure, found in Agent Orange.
However, these naval personnel are constantly denied service-connected health care and disability compensation by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Those who served in the Navy during war time have been excluded for presumption of illness directly related to Agent Orange. This chemical was sprayed, tossed around, and of course when it rained went into the ocean, or was carried in the air during strong winds.
Agent Orange was also carried on board ships for delivery, yet Veterans are still denied benefits due to the “boots on the ground” ruling. The ‘boots on the ground’ ruling must be changed to benefit the Veterans and their illnesses. They were in Vietnam. They experienced Agent Orange in everything around, especially in the air and waters.
President Obama has said: “We have a sacred trust with those who wear the uniform of the United States of America, a commitment that begins with enlistment and must never end.
”You, as Americans, and politicians of a free society, do have a moral, ethical, and Patriotic obligation to provide benefits and care, regardless of the costs involved! Our government has a moral, ethical, and Patriotic obligation to care for those who did the job others failed to do, or the many millions of Americans who chose to escape the effects, physical ailments, illnesses, and emotional wounds of war. Freedom is not free; it comes with a price tag. Veterans paid a gigantic price, emotionally, physically, and mentally.
Only a war veteran can comprehend how that price was paid for in full by our military and war veterans, along with their spouses and children! The price they paid for their devotion to their freedom does not have a monetary amount and it could be considered priceless since the effects of war leave so many emotional and physical scars that cannot be repaired. The price our war veterans paid was distributed in full with blood, sweat and many tears! Veterans-for-Change finds this unforgivable. Isn’t it about time Congress, the President, and the Veterans Affairs actually stood tall and paid that bill?
Isn’t it time to help our wounded warriors, including those who suffer with PTSD, lack of medical care and improperly cleaned or sterilized equipment, and Blue Water Navy Dioxin Exposure, along with the emotional scars, to be compensated? The actions of Congress and the actions and policies of the VA seem to express so loud and clear that it would have been far better had our men and women not served or died at war than to suffer the denials, the schemes, shenanigans, and the maltreatment provided by the government of the United States.
Let us all make a bit of noise with our Congress and all lawmakers. Send a copy of this article to those in your community, along with those who represent your home front. Isn’t it time our Veterans were treated with respect and dignity? Isn’t it time we welcomed them home and gave them the benefits promised, without the emotional war they must battle now, just to get those benefits? The choice is yours. You must decide.
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