| Last updated on 2009-08-06 09:44:33 |
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Disability Pilot Expands to Additional Locations Force Health Protection and Readiness (FHP&R) meets regularly with representatives from national veterans and military service organizations (VSOs/MSOs) that provide assistance and representation for millions of veterans, Service members and their families through world-wide networks. The meetings give FHP&R an opportunity to provide an update on their activities and other actions in DoD for discussion with members of VSOs/MSOs. In turn, they get feedback and requests for information on topics of interest to VSO/MSO membership members. Participants of the September 2008 VSO/MSO Roundtable were presented with a brief from Mr. Sam Retherford, of the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness, on the Disability Evaluation System (DES) Pilot Program. The DES Pilot Program, launched in November 2007, tests the new system developed in collaboration between DoD and VA. The pilot is a Service member-centric initiative designed to eliminate the duplicative and often confusing elements of the two current disability processes of the departments. Key features of the program include one medical examination and a single-sourced disability rating. One goal of the pilot is to enable Service members to more effectively transition to veteran status and provide them with their VA benefits and compensation through a process that requires one comprehensive exam and one activity to complete the ratings, which are binding to both DoD and VA. The design of the DES Pilot is a model of interagency collaboration between DoD and VA. In May 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson chartered a Senior Oversight Committee (SOC) to attend to concerns about the treatment of wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans. SOC is one of eight interagency working groups jointly chaired by DoD and VA. Its role is to improve the continuum of care of wounded, ill, or injured Service members, veterans, and their families. On Oct. 1, 2008, the pilot was expanded to Fort Meade, Md., and Fort Belvoir, Va. The remaining 17 installations will be introduced to the pilot upon completion of site preparations and personnel orientation and training, during a 7-month period from November 2008 to May 2009. "The decision to expand the pilot was based upon a favorable review that focused on whether the pilot met its timeliness, effectiveness, transparency, and customer and stakeholder satisfaction objectives," said Sam Retherford, director, officer and enlisted personnel management, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. "This expansion extends beyond the national capital region, so that more diverse data from other geographic areas can be evaluated, prior to rendering a final decision on worldwide implementation." With the expansion, Dewitt and Kimbrough join Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), the other National Capital Region (NCR) Army hospital participating in the pilot. Since starting the pilot program in November 2007, WRAMC has decreased the time it takes for servicemembers to be evaluated from an average of 221 days to an average of 116 days. "Dewitt and Kimbrough are important treatment facilities within the Walter Reed Health Care System," explained Army Col. Cheryl Taylor-Whitehead, director, Patient Administration. "The Fort Belvoir and Fort Meade medical facilities are actively engaged in transition activities associated with the integration of WRAMC and the National Naval Medical Center Bethesda. Dewitt and Kimbrough will absorb the medical evaluation board workload as WRAMC transitions," Taylor-Whitehead added. To ensure a seamless transition of our wounded, ill, and injured from the care, benefits, and services of DoD to the VA system, the program tests enhanced case management methods and identified opportunities to improve the flow of information and identification of additional resources to the Service member and family. As soon as the Service members in the pilot transition from the military, the VA is poised to provide benefits and compensation to these veterans. The pilot is part of a larger effort to improve care and services to wounded, injured and ill. Some of the other ongoing initiatives include improved information technology and data sharing, facility enhancements, recruitment and retention of care professionals, new methods to care for brain injuries and mental health concerns including post-traumatic stress disorder, and the use of life long care plans to fully support wounded, ill, and injured service members from recovery through rehabilitation to community integration. A recap of all of the VSO/MSO Roundtables, along with briefing slides and related informational materials, are available on the FHP&R Web site at http://fhp.osd.mil/msovso.jsp |
