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VA SECRETARY NICHOLSON SAYS IRAQ AND
AFGHANISTAN
TROOPS BEING SCREENED FOR BRAIN INJURIES AND
PTSD
-- But, this only applies to those who come to
the VA for
healthcare. Screening program will miss most of
the troops.
VA Secretary Jim Nicholson on PBS News
Hour.
We have a major disconnect here.
While Secretary Nicholson touts this new
dual-purpose screening program, he conveniently leaves out the obvious.
This only applies to those who come to the VA
which is just part of the Guard and Reserve. Active-duty personnel
are seen at post medical facilities or by TRICARE where screening is
iffy, at best.
This program is a good start, but it is
lacking.
To make this work, VA and DoD should work
together to make mental health and brain injury screenings mandatory
upon return from duty. Repeat: MANDATORY!
Story here...
http://www.chron.com/
disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/4880243.html
Story below:
-------------------------
VA secretary says veterans screened for brain
injuries, PTSD
By ANGELA K. BROWN
The Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Texas — All soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan who
seek any treatment at Veterans Affairs hospitals are now being screened
for brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, VA Secretary Jim
Nicholson said Monday.
The initiative, which has been in place about 90 days, was created in
response to veterans' needs, he said.
"Whether they come to us with a toothache or a sore knee, we screen them
for any form of brain injury, and we are now screening every one of them
for post-traumatic stress disorder," Nicholson told The Associated Press
before attending an event at a VA pharmacy in Lancaster, south of
Dallas.
He said it was not in direct response to the "Wounded Warrior Assistance
Act," approved by Congress in late March after revelations of shabby
treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in
Washington, D.C.
Nicholson said that in the screening process, VA clinicians first talk
to veterans, who will be given further testing such as brain scans if
they have symptoms. He said previous research has focused on traumatic
brain injuries rather than mild ones, which actually may account for
many injuries in the bomb-ridden war zone.
"This is one of the signature injuries of this conflict, and we have now
determined that because of the presence of these blasts, the kind of
combat environment that the men and women over there are enduring,
there's a possibility that they've had these injuries and were not aware
of it, so we're checking," Nicholson said.
He also said some returning troops have been reluctant to seek mental
health treatment because of society's stigmas, although post-traumatic
stress disorder is treatable. He said that the VA is "being very
aggressive with outreach" and said each VA medical center has a PTSD
clinical team or specialist focusing on treating the disorder.
Last month, a Pentagon panel said more than one-third of troops and
veterans now suffer from problems such as traumatic brain injury and
post-traumatic stress disorder. Saying those numbers are expected to
worsen, the task force called for more money and a shift in treatment to
focus on prevention and screening.
A separate report released last month by the VA inspector general, the
first comprehensive look at the agency's mental health care, recommended
additional screening for patients with traumatic brain injury.
Disabled American Veterans spokesman Dave Autry said Monday that his
organization welcomes the additional brain injury and post-traumatic
stress disorder screening at VA health clinics.
"If a soldier is in an explosion and loses an arm or a leg, traumatic
brain injury was something automatically looked for," Autry said. "But
others are getting banged around a little bit, getting rocked by dozens
of explosions and are suffering from mild and moderate brain injuries
and were getting misdiagnosed."
Nicholson said the additional screening is being funded through $100
million for enhancement mental health services and $20 million for
veterans centers that help returning soldiers readjust to everyday life.
Both were in the supplemental spending bill.
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Larry Scott --
