The Department of Veterans Affairs increased its fleet of Mobile Vet Centers to ensure Veterans have access to its services.: Photo by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
In an effort to improve Veterans’ access to its services, the Department of Veterans Affairs added 20 new Mobile Vet Centers to its fleet.
The vehicles, which were deployed Wednesday, are dispatched to underserved communities, many of which are in rural areas, in order to ensure that Veterans have the opportunity to receive counseling, to be screened for medical conditions or to receive advice and information on the VA claims process.
“Mobile Vet Centers allow VA to bring the many services our Vet Centers offer Veterans to all communities, wherever they are needed,” Robert Petzel, under secretary for health, said in a statement. “VA is committed to expanding access to VA health care and benefits for Veterans and their families, and these 20 new vehicles demonstrate that continued commitment.”
These new vehicles will join the 50 Mobile Vet Centers already in use and bring VA services to communities throughout the United States, including Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
In 2011, the VA came under intense scrutiny by lawmakers when it was revealed that Veterans seeking mental health care often face long waits. Studies have also revealed that, for Veterans living in rural areas, lack of access to VA services presents a roadblock to getting the care they need.
Hopefully, these additional Mobile Vet Centers will encourage and make it easier for Veterans to receive the benefits they earned when they served this country.
A recent study found that soldiers who receive letters or care packages are less likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder than those who receive more instant communication with loved ones.: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Melissa Russell
A study recently published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress found that soldiers in Iraq who received letters or e-mails from home were less likely to show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than those who received more “instant” forms of communication, such as telephone calls, video chats and instant messages.
The study involved a survey of nearly 200 married Army soldiers who returned from an overseas tour in the past year, which included combat. Each participant was evaluated for PTSD symptoms, their combat exposure, their marital satisfaction and the types and frequency of communication they received while overseas.
The research found that happily married soldiers who received “delayed” communications – such as letters, emails, and care packages – have less PTSD symptomatology than those who received instant communications.
Interestingly, the study did find one circumstance where delayed communications were associated with more PTSD symptoms – when the soldiers were in unhappy marriages.
The researchers hypothesized multiple reasons why the more delayed forms of communications appear to be more beneficial. One theory is that when people take the time to think through an e-mail or letter, they are more likely to express affection and less likely to be argumentative.
Another theory is that the letters and items in their care packages can be carried as mementos. Whereas a telephone call or IM can only be recalled, the letter or token can actually be re-examined during a stressful time.
Illinois has launched a new program to give Veterans incentives to become home owners. The Welcome Home Heroes program includes a forgivable $10,000 down payment, a 4 percent interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage, and a mortgage credit certificate of up to $20,000.
Illinois Veterans do not need to be first-time home purchasers to qualify for the program, although they must qualify for the mortgage loan.
“We are compensating and rewarding veterans for putting themselves in harm’s way, ultimately offering the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms,” said State Sen. Bill Brady. “So it’s a way to pay them back for what they’ve given to us.”
Veterans of the wars in Iraq now have until 2016 to qualify for disability benefits due to Gulf War Illness.
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced the new deadline Thursday. Under the previous regulation, Veterans of the Iraq wars would only be eligible for benefits due to the illness if their symptoms manifested by Dec. 31, 2011.
“Not all the wounds of war are fully understood,” VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said in a statement. “When there is uncertainty about the connection between a medical problem and military service, Veterans are entitled to the benefit of the doubt.”
Many Veterans of the Gulf War suffer from the so-called Gulf War Illness. The cause of the condition is currently unexplained, and the symptoms can range from fatigue and joint pain to digestion problems and respiratory disorders.
Theories blame the condition on exposure to pesticides, chemical weapons or depleted uranium. Some suspect the pyridostigmine bromide pills taken as an antidote to nerve gas may have caused the health problems.
Veterans of the recently-ended Iraq War may have also been exposed to toxic chemicals due to open-air burn pits. They might also have been exposed to depleted uranium.
Despite budget cuts, Congress has approved $10 million to study the cause of Gulf War Illness.
A soldier is greeted by her daughter upon returning from Iraq. A recent study finds that smaller numbers of recent Veterans are using services available though the Department of Veterans Affairs.: DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Michael Holzworth, U.S. Air Force.
Even as Iraq empties of American military personnel, and the war in Afghanistan continues into the foreseeable future, a recent study notes that a mere 51 percent of eligible Veterans of these wars have sought treatment through the Veterans Administration healthcare system.
The study, which will be published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention next month, points out that a number of potential barriers exist that prevent Veterans from seeking VA care. Unfamiliarity with the VA system, doubts about the quality of care, perceived stigma associated with treatment and simple geographical distance are among the many reasons that may be keeping younger Veterans out of VA hospitals.
VA has risen to the challenge of reaching out to, and attracting, these younger Vets by recently announcing the creation of Facebook pages for each of the nation’s 152 VA medical centers.
This initiative is a small step forward compared with the 10 percent funding increase that will bring the VA’s budget up to $61.85 billion in 2012, with $6 billion going toward mental health treatment and nearly $1 billion to target homelessness among the Veteran population.
However, even this substantial increase in resources, combined with other projects designed to bridge the gap between VA and the youngest generation of Veterans, may not be enough.
Many young Veterans remain disaffected by their treatment upon return to the United States, where they feel marginalized and ill-served by the shortcomings of the VA system.
Additionally, the stigma associated with seeking help for psychological disorders—a challenge facing many Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan—could remain an insurmountable barrier for some.
As one Iraq Veteran told the Huffington Post, “I was scared to go to the VA. I didn’t want to be a messed up veteran.”
For information about Veterans benefits, please visit www.vetlawyers.com.
Google has become the latest company to join the effort to help Veterans readjust into civilian life. They’ve created “Google for Veterans,” which uses Google platforms to offer services to Veterans and their families.
The website features Google+ for a social network aspect, Google Earth as a way for Veterans to track their tours, a Google Docs resume builder, and even a Veteran Channel via their YouTube connection.
Families of Veterans are able to do things like create photo albums or videos, follow current events, or learn more about the Veteran’s service. If also offers families the ability to connect with peer support.
Google hopes that Veterans will be able to use the tools offered to help find employment or other services that they may interest them.
Although lawmakers have spent much of the year focused on cutting the federal budget deficit, the Department of Veterans Affairs saw an increase in its 2012 funding.
Although Congress allotted $300 million less than the White House requested for the VA, the agency still received $58.5 billion, a 3.6 percent increase in its discretionary funding for 2012.
This money will be used in part to aid Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans; fund programs to help homeless Veterans, including long-term care programs; continue medical and prosthetic research; as well as provide funding for other Veterans programs.
All 152 Department of Veterans Affairs’ medical centers across the country have posted live, active Facebook pages. VA hopes these Facebook pages will create yet another avenue for communication and transparency between VA and Veterans.
“This event marks an important milestone in the overall effort to transform how VA communicates with Veterans and provides them the health care and benefits they have earned,” VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said in a statement. “Veterans and their families told us from the beginning that they want to engage and they want relevant information delivered at the local level. By leveraging Facebook, the Department continues to expand access to VA, and embrace transparency and two-way conversation.”
The degree to which each VAMC’s page is used varies, and thus far appears to be a one-way street rather than a two-way conversation.
For example, several VAMCs are using their Facebook pages to post pertinent medical news updates and information about VA benefits, in addition to providing notices usually reserved for traditional bulletin boards, such as community events.
Veterans have not yet demonstrated active use of these pages, aside from “liking” them. As time passes, however, the Facebook pages may become an important forum for Veterans to ask questions and post constructive criticism, as some Veterans have already begun to do on the Dayton VAMC’s Facebook page.
The Veterans Healing Initiative has given more than $300,000 in grants to two facilities that help Veterans with substance abuse and trauma disorders.
The Loyola Recovery Foundation in New York and La Paloma in Tennessee received the money to continue helping Veterans with psychological care they might not otherwise receive, such as therapy for drug or alcohol dependence, PTSD, and sexual traumas.
“Even as U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq, our soldiers continue to struggle with physical and psychological pain from their service,” said Margaret Stone, VHI’s chairman and president. “Federal and public programs are overwhelmed, and too many veterans struggle to get clinical and medical care.”
In addition to contributing for the cost of Veteran treatment, VHI also would like to increase the number of dual-diagnosis treatment programs for Veterans. To learn more, visit their website.
