Military Turns Health Care into "Warrior Care"

Military Turns Health Care into "Warrior Care"
WOKV - Jacksonville,FL,USA

Military Turns Health Care into "Warrior Care"
By Jeff Hess @ December 15, 2008 3:31 AM Permalink Comments (1)
The Department of Defense and Veteran's Affairs remake their health services to prevent another Walter Reed.

Michael Dominguez with the DoD says they were rattled by the Walter reed scandal.

"Bluntly, we failed. We let our service members down," Dominguez said they learned a lot from the mistakes that led to Walter Reed.

They have changed health care to warrior care. This represents a change in their approach to health care in response to the lessons of Walter Reed.

He said they are working much more closely with the VA to ensure a smooth hand off for soldiers who are badly wounded.

"They're cared for. The VA knows they're coming. There's a smooth hand off," He said they are also simplifying the program so that warriors just get one injury number that they can use with DoD and VA, instead of two.

They are also trying to make the health care less contentious.

"We have tried to take the adversarial nature out of it. We have tried to push a lot more customer care forward," He said they needed to make the health care more focused on the person instead of getting hung up in the process.

To do this they are working in a command structure to help soldiers focus on the goal of getting well.

"So they have a squad leaders and battalion commanders and people who advocate for them in their mission to get well," he said that includes support for those officers so they can focus on their soldiers as well.
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Jaguars' Collier paralyzed, had leg amputated

Jaguars' Collier paralyzed, had leg amputated
Jacksonville lineman, who was shot 14 times, in stable condition, doc says
updated 6:36 p.m. ET, Mon., Sept. 29, 2008
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier, shot while sitting in a car outside an apartment complex earlier this month, is paralyzed below the waist and his left leg was amputated, his doctor said Monday.

Collier was on a ventilator for about three weeks and has no memory of the shooting, said Dr. Andy Kerwin, a surgeon for the University of Florida at Shands Jacksonville hospital.

“His overall condition has improved greatly,” Kerwin said. “We expect him to be discharged soon.”
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http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/26946430/

Jacksonville Police hearing on PTSD and a Police Sgt.

Surratt disability hearing goes into the night

Former JPD Sgt. Kelly Surratt and his wife testify for nearly four hours Tuesday.
June 17, 2008 - 6:19PM
BY MARIA NAGLE
Journal-Courier
Former Jacksonville Police Sgt. Kelly Surratt and his wife, Jeannie, spent four hours Tuesday testifying that a 1999 shooting incident involving the officer led him to abuse alcohol and depression.

Mr. Surratt resigned from the police force in November amidst allegations he was twice under the influence of alcohol on duty. He is requesting disability pay based on his claim that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder arising from his job as a police officer.

Based on the evidence presented at the disability hearing, the five members Jacksonville Police Pension Board will decide whether to grant or deny Mr. Surratt’s request for disability pay.

Prior to recessing at 5:20 p.m. for a dinner break, the Surratts testified that following the shooting incident, Mr. Surratt turned to alcohol to help him sleep, because prescription medication was not helping him do so. The couple claimed that, after the shooting, Mr. Surratt began experiencing and continues to have nightmares and panic attacks.
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http://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/police_18677___article.html/surratt_disability.html

Spc. Jeremiah Huges, non-combat death of a "Patriot"

Friends, family recall soldier as a 'real patriot'


The Army specialist from Jacksonville dies in Iraq from non-combat injuries.




By Jim Schoettler, The Times-Union


Jeremiah "Jere" Hughes died fulfilling a dream he'd had since he was a boy in Jacksonville: serving and protecting his country.


The Army specialist from a family of military men died Wednesday after suffering injuries in a noncombat incident in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, U.S. Department of Defense officials said. No other details were given.

Childhood friend Jonathan Story said Hughes, 26, had always wanted to join the military and practiced martial arts, bodybuilding and other training to reach that goal. The 1999 graduate of Sandalwood High School was active in the school's ROTC program and joined the Army shortly after graduating, Story said.

"He was a real patriot, the kind of guy who just wanted to go out there and do what he could," said Story, 27. "I think he would have been at least proud to know that he died trying to make a difference."
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http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/041108/met_267304929.shtml

Non-Combat death of Spc. Jeremiah C. Huges, of Jacksonville FL

Posted on: Thursday, April 10, 2008 6:37 AM HST
Schofield soldier dies in Iraq
Star-Bulletin Staff citydesk@starbulletin.com
A 26-year-old from Schofield Barracks’ Stryker Brigade Combat Team soldier died yesterday in Iraq.

Spc. Jeremiah C. Hughes, of Jacksonville, Fla., died in Balad of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident in Abu Gharab, the Pentagon announced this morning.

The Defense Department announcement said the incident was being investigated. The Army did not provide other details.

Hughes joined the Army in July of 1999 and was assigned to Schofield Barracks in January 2000, according to Schofield.

He was the seventh soldier assigned to the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team to die in Iraq since it was sent there last December.

Hughes’ unit, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, has lost three other solders. On Feb. 8, Spc. Michael T. Manibog, Staff Sgt. Jerald A. Whisenhunt and Sgt. Gary D. Willett were killed in Taji when their Stryker vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.

Since the war in Iraq started on March 19, 2003, 82 soldiers, four sailors, 80 Marines, two Air Force personnel and one civilian with Hawaii ties have died there.

Army Staff Sgt. Dan Nevins Wounded Warrior

This is a great story on how Wounded Warrior Project is helping the veterans and a true testament of the spirit our soldiers have. A uniform didn't make him a hero, he was born that way. We were just lucky he wanted to serve. Makes you want to make sure they all get the same kind of attention and help.

Provided by the PGA Tour
Dan Nevins, who was badly injured in Iraq, can now play golf - a sport he learned with the help of the Wounded Warrior Project.

The Wounded Warrior Project helped him get back on his feet.

By MAGGIE FITZROY, The Times-Union


When doctors amputated his left leg after a bomb blast in Iraq, Army Staff Sgt. Dan Nevins thought he'd never run, ski or ride waves on a wakeboard again.

But then, one day in 2005, a Wounded Warrior Project representative visited him in his hospital room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to invite him on a ski trip. Nevins agreed, even though he thought it was "crazy."

Wounded Warrior is a Jacksonville-based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing programs and services to severely injured service men and women.

It demonstrated to Nevins that, with his new prosthetic leg, he could do many activities he used to do. Run, snowboard down a mountain, ride a bicycle for miles.

After Nevins left the Army, moved to Jacksonville with his wife, Nicole, and landed a job at the PGA Tour, he helped support the Wounded Warrior Project.

On Jan. 23, after several years of chronic pain and recurring bone infections, doctors at Walter Reed removed Nevins' other leg below the knee.
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http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/021408/met_246691005.shtml