Too many admitted into Warrior Transition Units

Too many admitted into Warrior Transition Units
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky
By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Nov 2, 2008
In a rush to correct reports of substandard care for wounded soldiers, the Army flung open the doors of new specialized treatment centers so wide that up to half the soldiers currently enrolled do not have injuries serious enough to justify being there, The Associated Press has learned.

Army leaders are putting in place stricter screening procedures to stem the flood of patients overwhelming the units — a move that eventually will target some for closure.

According to interviews and data provided to the AP, the number of patients admitted to the 36 Warrior Transition Units and nine other community-based units jumped from about 5,000 in June 2007, when they began, to a peak of nearly 12,500 in June 2008.

The units provide coordinated medical and mental health care, track soldiers’ recovery and provide broader legal, financial and other family counseling. They serve Army active duty and reserve soldiers.

Just 12 percent of the soldiers in the units had battlefield injuries while thousands of others had minor problems that did not require the complex new network of case managers, nurses and doctors, according to Brig. Gen. Gary H. Cheek, the director of the Army’s warrior care office.

The overcrowding was a “self-inflicted wound,” said Cheek, who also is an assistant surgeon general. “We’re dedicating this kind of oversight and management where, truthfully, only half of those soldiers really needed this.”
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Chicago:Archdiocese starts counseling for abuse victims

Archdiocese starts counseling for abuse victims
By Manya Brachear | Chicago Tribune reporter
1:21 PM CDT, September 2, 2008
Scorned by victims' advocates for not reaching out to victims of clergy sex abuse, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has tried to make up for lost time and lost souls. On Tuesday, the archdiocese launched a new counseling initiative for the loved ones of those abused by priests.

Beginning this week, four free sessions will be led by a licensed clinical social worker.

The sessions will include open discussion and sharing among participants and information about how the abuse affects the family, the healing process, the long-term effects of sexual abuse and rebuilding trust, communication, affection and hope.

"It is with a sense of hopefulness that we have developed this new educational program with the wish that through open dialogue this will be a beginning of positive change for these family members," said Matthew Hunnicutt, director of the archdiocese's office of assistance ministry.
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Veterans' counselor shares his skills

"People I have talked with are really questioning their own souls....".

Veterans' counselor shares his skills

By Julie Muhlstein, Herald Columnist

He's been to war. When veterans talk, Steve Akers understands.

Akers will always understand. He can no longer listen, though. After almost three decades of listening to recollections of combat and its aftermath, the 61-year-old Everett man is retired as a mental health counselor.

"I'm saturated. It's compassion fatigue," said Akers, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam. Until last year, he worked at his own downtown Everett counseling office. His wife, Laurie Akers, also a counselor, carries on his mission at Akers Counseling.

Steve Akers spent his career reaching out to veterans of all ages. Many came to him through his contact with the Veterans Health Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

No longer working directly with clients, Akers shares his professional expertise and the hard-earned experience of his own battles with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Monday evening, he'll be at Mount Vernon's Skagit Valley Hospital to address a meeting of therapists interested in volunteering with the Soldiers Project NW, which aims to provide free, confidential counseling for active duty military members, veterans and their families.
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