VA Health Care Struggling To Meet Soldiers' Needs

VA Health Care Struggling To Meet Soldiers' Needs

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/14555488/detail.html

1 In 4 Return From War With Mental Illness

UPDATED: 7:59 am EST November 10, 2007

BOSTON --

Retired Staff Sergeant Andy Sapp spent 10 months in Iraq with the Massachusetts National Guard.
Shortly after he returned home to Billerica two years ago, he felt broken.

"I'm not the person I was and I never will be," Sapp said.

Andy would look out the window like he was guarding a watch tower or run in a panic from a mall looking for his rifle.
"A loud noise would make him jump. It was sort of a complete withdrawal from us and the world," said Sapp's wife, Ann.
Andy realized he needed help and sought it. But the stigma of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is so strong that many soldiers don't seek help.

For those who do, it's a long course of treatment. The VA hospitals and clinics only guarantee two years of care.
After that soldiers must apply for disability and wait.

"A lot of vets who are bumping toward the end of two years are desperately waiting to have disability claims approved," said Harvard professor Linda Bilmes. She authored a study on the long-term health care costs of war. Some at the VA support Bilmes's idea to immediately approve a backlog of 600,000 disability claims, a quarter of a million from this war alone.

Advocates say it's necessary to prevent a tragedy.

"They run into a 26-page claim form, a bureaucracy completely overwhelmed and at hospitals, if the vets show up suicidal, in some cases they are turned away," said Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense.

Such was the case for Jeff Lucey of Belchertown. The Marine Reservist suffered severe PTSD when he returned from Iraq in 2003. His family says the VA told him he had to get his alcoholism under control before they could treat him. Soon after, Jeff hung himself. His parents are suing the federal government for negligence.

"They have in my judgement a very legitimate case for the negligence of individuals who don't pay attention to a clear cry for help," said U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-MASS.

VA New England tells Team Five Investigates patient care is on track.

Their most recent numbers show 99 percent of mental health patients were seen in less than 30 days. But keeping up will be an enormous challenge and could seriously tax the system. Over the next few years, an estimated 900,000 troops will return.

"It's a tidal wave," said Harvard University's Bilmes. "When the soldiers who come home have really experienced the worst of the war, they're going to have the most serious mental health issues. And we are going to see a significant increase in those veterans who need long term care."

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Several bills and proposals are in play to extend healthcare benefits from two to five years, and to streamline the system so soldiers get disability benefits sooner. But some wonder if it will happen quickly enough for the hundreds of thousands of returning soldiers.

Vet Centers Step Up Readjustment Counseling For Soldiers

Outreach Program Mandates Mental Health Screening

POSTED: 6:53 pm EST November 9, 2007
UPDATED: 8:12 am EST November 10, 2007

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/14555349/detail.html

BOSTON --

Multiple deployments and high exposure to active combat have resulted in more and more soldiers returning from the war with emotional scars. But many don't seek help for fear of being stigmatized.

A new program in New England is finding success in reaching those soldiers.

An outreach program developed by the National Guard, first in New Hampshire and now in Massachusetts, mandates one-on-one mental health screening when the soldiers first return.

Counselors from community veterans centers who specialize in readjustment counseling conduct the interviews at the Guard bases.

"Of the 4,000 soldiers we interviewed, almost 800 have been referred to a vet center," said Tom Hannon, director of the Boston Veterans Center. "Sixty-five percent have asked for a follow-up.”

In Massachusetts, the outreach program lasts one day. The counselors do a another check 30 days later.

The New Hampshire National Guard has gone a few steps further. Its reverse deployment program is conducted over three days. Then the counselors revisit the soldiers 30, 60 and 90 days out.

"For us to think they're grasping all of the information we give them during those three days just can't happen," said Command Sgt. Major Grotto of the New Hampshire National Guard. "So the 30-,60-,90-day re-checks reinforce what we told them."

The programs cover more than mental health. Soldiers are briefed on health benefits, and they are enrolled in the VA Health Care system. Family counseling is also available.

"We all know there are a lot of problems with marriages as a result of deploying soldiers to war. That's a fact," said Grotto.

Hannon said the faster soldiers deal with readjustment issues, the less likely they will develop post-traumatic stress disorder, which can be debilitating.

"Everybody has to readjust. The magic of the program is all these soldiers have to be interviewed. So there is no stigma,” Hannon said.

Once the soldiers are back in the community, vet centers can serve as a lifelong support system.

"If you a war vet, you are entitled to vet center services," said Hannon. "There are no means tests, no cost. We say you've prepaid by your combat service."