Printer Friendly Page
VA EXPANDING CARE FOR VETERANS SUFFERING PTSD
--
The thousands of military veterans who call
South Carolina
home have more mental health care at their
disposal than just a few months ago.
For more about PTSD, use the VA Watchdog search
engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/ses
search.php?q=ptsd&op=and
Story here...
http://www.journalgazette.
net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200710
06/APN/710060706&template=apart
Story below:
-------------------------
VA expanding care for veterans suffering
post-combat stress
By Susanne M. Schafer
Associated Press
The thousands of military veterans who call South Carolina home have
more mental health care at their disposal than just a few months ago,
and officials say the hiring of physicians, psychiatrists, nurses and
social workers will continue if Congress gives the nod.
The aim is partly to help combat veterans who seek mental health care
after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. There's also a hope to find
those who need aid to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, but who
haven't reached out to the Veterans Administration for assistance.
Veterans and their families need to know that "PTSD is treatable. It's
got a beginning and it's got an end. We find that people can get
better," said Dr. Barbara Crockett, medical director of the William
Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center's PTSD clinical team.
Since April, 22 new mental health professionals have been added to the
staff at the VA Medical Center here. Fourteen have been added to the
staff at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, officials
said.
The additions come amid scathing reports out of Washington about the
government's treatment of military veterans, and advocates say they hope
the reports prompt Congress to allow the VA to expand its benefit and
medical programs.
Officials with the VA in Columbia and Charleston say they are
anticipating budget increases in the next fiscal year. That would "allow
us to expand our services for our vets," said Tonya Loebbstael,
spokeswoman for the Charleston center.
Priscilla Craemer, spokeswoman for the Dorn center, said that could
translate into new nurses and a number of additional specialized
physicians such as psychiatrists, cardiologists, more social workers and
support staff.
There are believed to be 5,000 National Guard and military reservist
veterans in South Carolina who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, according
to Faela Maney, combat veteran program manager at the Dorn center.
In order for a veteran to apply for medical or mental health care, they
must sign up within a two-year period after leaving the service, Maney
said. The goal is to get everyone enrolled for care who needs it, she
said.
That's where the VA's new social workers and counselors come in. Staff
members will be looking for veterans who may need assistance by
searching among the homeless, in prisons and through the state's many
religious organizations, Maney said.
Veterans sometimes avoid mentioning they have problems such as
nightmares, which is one of the many symptoms associated with PTSD.
Family members should be aware that problems can take years to show
themselves, officials said.
"Mental health stresses could be as clear as day to the trained eye, but
many (veterans) think they can just tough it out," Crockett said.
Of the 1.4 million U.S. forces deployed for Iraq and Afghanistan, more
than 185,000 have sought care from the VA around the country - a number
that could easily top 700,000 eventually, according to one academic
analysis.
In Columbia, about 85 veterans are enrolled in the PTSD treatment
program. It begins with a medical assessment and includes 12 weeks of
educational meetings. Depending upon the individual, that could be
followed by support sessions or other forms of therapy that could last
up to nine months, Crockett said.
Besides groups for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, the VA has other
counseling groups for Vietnam veterans, WWII veterans, female service
members and family members.
"We've got 18- and 19-year-olds, going all the way up to 65," Maney
said.
She said many veterans are overwhelmed in the days when they are leaving
the military, and often their focus is not on the paperwork they are
asked to review so they overlook the services they may be offered while
thinking about friends, family and buddies still in combat.
"They are just glad to be home and alive," she said.
-------------------------
Larry Scott --
