http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/soldier_stressStudy Shows Combat Stress Aid Falls Short
WASHINGTON - Less than one-quarter of the U.S. military's Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who show signs of post-traumatic stress are referred for additional mental health treatment or evaluation, a government study finds.
The report released Thursday said about 5 percent of the veterans interviewed after they returned from combat tours appeared at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. Of those, about 22 percent are referred for more health care.
The Government Accountability Office said the Defense Department cannot guarantee that those who need referrals get them, and there appear to be inconsistencies in how health care workers from the different military services determine who needs a referral.
(snip)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., said in a letter to the Army's Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, that the report's figures represent a health care emergency. She asked him to "take immediate steps to rectify this deplorable lack of care for our men and women in uniform and to notify me as soon as possible for your plans in this regard. "
GAO report:
http://veterans.house.gov/democratic/press/109th/pdf/gaoptsd06.pdf I know this is an issue close to JK's heart. The folks defending the system say that most troops with some PTSD symptoms actually don't
need referrals, because often it will go away on its own if left alone. If they are reasonably correct, then maybe Senator Boxer is overreacting. I don't know. I wonder what JK's reaction is to this.
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