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EXPERT TESTIFIES VA REJECTED OUTSIDE HELP --
Urges
establishing a mechanism for qualified civilian
rehabilitation
hospitals to contract with the VA and DoD to
provide
high-quality services to injured veterans.
Story here...
http://www.nj.com/news/
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Story below:
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VA spurned outside help, expert says
BY J. SCOTT ORR
STAR-LEDGER WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Severely injured servicemen returning from battlefields in
Iraq and Afghanistan should have greater access to private
rehabilitation centers, the chief medical officer at the Kessler
Institute for Rehabilitation told senators yesterday.
Bruce Gans said the West Orange-based Kessler Institute, the largest
rehabilitation hospital in the country, was rebuffed when it offered its
services to treat returning military personnel, both active-duty and
retired.
"We called, wrote, e-mailed, and in other ways tried to engage medical
and administrative leaders in the departments and individual facilities
to offer our assistance. Unfortunately, at that time we were unable to
find a receptive ear," Gans said at a hearing of the Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee.
Michael Kussman, executive-in-charge of veterans health administration
at the Department of Veterans Affairs, said the VA has four Polytrauma
Rehabilitation Centers to provide treatment for severely injured
soldiers.
In addition, he said, the administration has established a task force
that "will work to identify and resolve any gaps in service for service
members." The group is known as the Interagency Task Force on Returning
Global War on Terror Heroes. "No task is more important to the VA than
ensuring our heroes receive the best possible care and services," he
said.
But Gans said the military is failing to take advantage of existing
resources. "A large and qualified network of services does exist in the
civilian sector. ... There is no need to recreate a separate-but-equal
VA-housed network," Gans said.
"The solution is obvious: Establish a mechanism for qualified civilian
rehabilitation hospitals to contract with the VA and the DOD to provide
high-quality services to our injured both now and long-term," he said.
Yesterday's hearing focused on the challenges faced by wounded military
personnel when they make the transition from active-duty to retired
status, and from care in the military's medical system to care by the
VA.
Ellen Embrey, deputy assistant secretary of defense for force health
protection and readiness, said that unlike in the VA system, active-duty
personnel can be treated in private facilities. "We do work with the
private sector, if that's appropriate, to get them what they need," she
said.
Denise Mettie, a Selah, Wash., resident whose son, Evan, was severely
injured in Iraq in January 2006, said he did not receive the kind of
rehabilitation treatment at VA facilities that he would have in a
private setting.
"There are many private hospitals which have many years of experience in
treating and rehabilitating patients like my son. It is unfair to deny
us access to the same level of care that you would choose for your
children," she told the panel.
"It is unfair to quickly begin the retirement process for individuals
with such an unknown and unpredictable injury, especially when
retirement limits care options," Mettie added.
Despite recent revelations about substandard care at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center and other military hospitals, a pair of wounded veterans
told the committee they received exemplary treatment there.
Tammy Duckworth, a chopper pilot who lost her legs to wounds in Iraq and
is now the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, said
the care she received at Walter Reed was "above the best."
She said VA medical care has, until recently, been geared more toward
older veterans. "They are not ready for veterans who want to go rock
climbing and run marathons," said Duckworth.
Jonathan Pruden, wounded in July 2003 in Iraq, said: "Most of my care
and the care of my wounded soldiers has been first-rate. This is as it
should be." He agreed with Duckworth, however, that the VA needs a
renewed focus on medical care for younger vets.
"Part of the problem is that VA care has predominantly become geriatric
care. ... They have little experience with blast injuries and young
patients. We can do better than this; I know a lot is being done," he
said.
Members of the panel expressed concern and vowed to press both the
Department of Defense and the VA to improve their processes.
"Folks on this committee, I think, have been concerned about how we
approach these problems for quite some time," said Sen. Barack Obama
(D-Ill.). "We owe them and their families the very best. ... We need to
make the DOD process less complex and more coordinated with the VA
process."
J. Scott Orr may be reached at
sorr@starledger.com or (202) 383-7816.
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Larry Scott --
