Tuesday, March 11th

Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs
VA and DoD Cooperation and Collaboration: Caring for the Families of Wounded Warriors.

Daniel K. Akaka, Chairman

Father Of Wounded Iraq War Vet Described VA Shortcomings In Treating TBI. "...due to the inadequacies of the VA's ability to provide tailored and consistent traumatic brain injury (TBI) therapy, case management or even basic transportation to and from the hospital, we have become ever more reliant on state and community based brain injury resources to facilitate continued rehabilitative care...  The multitude of bureaucratic hoops that families are expected to jump through for services, can be the breaking point for that veteran's support system.  Most families who are dealing with a veteran with TBI also have demands and responsibilities elsewhere.  They often have other family members who need their attention and energy, they must hold down full time jobs and manage households.  The stress of dealing with the TBI afflicted veteran cannot be understated.   Without clear direction and support for both the veteran and the family, it is unrealistic to expect the best long term outcome for the TBI veteran." [Peter Bunce's Testimony to the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, 3/11/08]

Iraq War Veteran's Father Testified Private Medical Care Superior To VA. "My experiences with the treatment at the Richmond VAMC can be characterized as not good - not good at all.  For the most part, the people who treated Dan were nice and caring people.  What I learned immediately after leaving there, however, was they didn't know what they didn't know.  That is, their skills, capabilities, resources, staffing, treatments, therapies and therapy techniques all fell extremely short of what we immediately experienced at the Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital.  The Richmond VAMC was not accomplished in coma emergence and severe TBI and did not have the cutting-edge experience with a case as severe as Dan's.  The VA therapists and physicians had little or no experience with patients of the condition of Dan.  The level of therapy and the techniques cannot be compared to the therapy Dan received while at the Bryn Mawr Rehab.  The Bryn Mawr Rehab therapists are much higher skilled; they focused on stimulation constantly while performing therapy.  The techniques in each of the disciplines of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy are far more advanced." [Robert Verbeke's Testimony to the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, 3/11/08]

Psychologist Highlighted The Complex Challenges Of Returning Iraq War Vets.  "My general findings are as follows: it is not uncommon for family problems to occur along with mental health problems, regardless of the cause.  What these specific findings tell us, however, is that the reintegration of the returning service member into the family may become complicated, conflicted, and less successful when one is also dealing with the disruptive symptoms associated with depression and/or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The findings also indicate that it is important to intervene on reintegration problems with family members when a veteran has mental health problems.  Family members are very aware of the mental health needs of their veteran and often have needs related to unresolved reintegration problems after a deployment, independent of whether the veteran chooses to seek services within the VA system." [Steven Sayers' Testimony to the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, 3/11/08]

Supervisor Of Army Wounded Warrior Program Explained Ongoing Initiatives. "From April 2004 onward, the United States United States Army Wounded Warrior (AW2) Program has been and remains a vital and growing program. It is the Army's official program for providing advocacy and support to our most severely injured and ill Soldiers and their Families. Currently, the program is tracking more than 2500 Soldiers and remains relevant and critical to our Army. AW2 assisted 59 Soldiers to Continue on Active Duty or in an Active Reserve Status (COADICOAR). In conjunction with the Soldier's Career Managers at the Army Human Resources Command. Soldier Family Management Specialists have helped in developing a 5 Year Plan for each COADICOAR Soldier. Finally, AW2 and the Soldier Family Management Specialists are actively engaged in the implementation of a Pilot Program with the National Organization on Disabilities (NOD). This program will align an employment expert with a Soldier Family Management Specialist enhancing their ability to assist our Soldiers seeking employment." [M. Jane Dulin's Testimony to the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, 3/11/08]

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