Cpl. Michael D. Hirsch-Collins
CPL MICHAEL D. HIRSCH-COLLINS was born in Denver, Colorado on the 20th of February, 1985. He leaves behind his beloved mother, Colleen Thigpen, step-father, Maverick Thigpen, two brothers, Maverick II and Matthew. Michael was predeceased by his father. Michael loved being a soldier in the US Army. After much searching he finally found his true calling thus leaving behind a platoon of 35 soldiers who loved him like a brother. CPL Hirsch-Collins could often be found in a field with a dirt bike and his friends, in his barrack's room playing video games and debating with anyone anywhere about any topic. Michael grew up in Denton, Texas. He attended Denton High before joining the Army in August of 2006. Michael loved music. Sanitaria by Sublime was his favorite song. As a child Michael loved to read and was an avid cub-scout earning the highest award possible, the Arrow of Light. Among his favorite books were the Animorphs and Goosebumps series. Michael graduated at 23:03 on the 17th of February 2008 while riding his motorcycle at Ft. Hood, Texas, just two days before his 23rd birthday. His passing was quick and painless. Cpl Hirsch-Collins touched many lives during his short stay on earth. His jesterish swagger walk, infectious smile and perfectly delivered sarcasm will always be remembered warmly in our hearts. Cpl Hirsch-Collins was a loyal friend and a leader amongst his peers. His legacy will live on through the lives that he touched. Visitation will be held from 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. Thursday, February 28, 2008 and from 11:30 A.M. to service time at 1:00 P.M. Friday, February 29, 2008 at American Heritage Funeral Home.
Published in the Houston Chronicle on 2/28/2008.
http://www.legacy.com/HoustonChronicle/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=104455712
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Cpl. Michael D. Hirsch-Collins
It is odd that I can find no report on CNN or ICasualties.org about his death.
U.S. Marine Corps 'Veteran' Accused Of Fraud
'Veteran' Accused Of Fraud
February 28, 2008
ROCKY HILL — - A federal grand jury has indicted a local man on charges he defrauded the state Department of Veterans' Affairs by claiming he was a veteran in order to receive health care coverage and benefits, U.S. State Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor announced Wednesday.
Evin Hill, also known as Edwin Hill, 47, was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury sitting in New Haven on one count of health care fraud and two counts of making false statements.
The indictment alleges that from March 1996 to July 2006 Hill schemed to defraud the state agency by submitting applications for VA medical benefits and services, which included a report of separation from active duty, commonly called a DD-214, all of which contained material that falsely represented he was a military veteran eligible to obtain medical treatment and services at VA medical facilities.
Hill also made false statements to the VA when he claimed to have received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on the health care fraud charge and the false statement charges.
click post title for link
February 28, 2008
ROCKY HILL — - A federal grand jury has indicted a local man on charges he defrauded the state Department of Veterans' Affairs by claiming he was a veteran in order to receive health care coverage and benefits, U.S. State Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor announced Wednesday.
Evin Hill, also known as Edwin Hill, 47, was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury sitting in New Haven on one count of health care fraud and two counts of making false statements.
The indictment alleges that from March 1996 to July 2006 Hill schemed to defraud the state agency by submitting applications for VA medical benefits and services, which included a report of separation from active duty, commonly called a DD-214, all of which contained material that falsely represented he was a military veteran eligible to obtain medical treatment and services at VA medical facilities.
Hill also made false statements to the VA when he claimed to have received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on the health care fraud charge and the false statement charges.
click post title for link
Canada Veterans with PTSD tripled since 2002
Veterans Affairs faces triple the number of PTSD cases since 2002
52 minutes ago
OTTAWA - The number of former soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress has more than tripled since Canada first deployed troops to Afghanistan, say new figures released by Veterans Affairs Canada.
With the country's involvement in the war set to continue until 2011, the numbers are only expected to get worse.
The rising tide of psychiatric disorders among relatively young men and women is the biggest challenge facing the system of veterans' care, which until recently had been geared toward geriatric issues, said Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson.
"It is the challenge of the future," he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
Of the 10,252 (Veterans Affairs) clients with a psychiatric condition, 63 per cent have a (post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD) condition, said a briefing note prepared for Thompson last summer.
"Over the past five years, the number of clients with a psychiatric condition has tripled, increasing from 3,501 to 10,252; the number of clients with a PTSD condition has more than tripled, increasing from 1,802 to 6,504 as of March 31, 2007."
The statistics represent those who are no longer serving in uniform. The Defence Department keeps its own, separate tally of members suffering from stress injuries.
Figures obtained last summer by The Canadian Press show that of 1,300 Canadian Forces members who served in Afghanistan since 2005, 28 per cent had symptoms suggestive of one or more mental-health problems. The numbers are based on post-deployment screening.
Of those, just over six per cent were possibly suffering from PTSD and another five per cent showed symptoms of major depression.
Both National Defence and Veterans Affairs have faced repeated warnings during the last year about the looming mental-health crisis.
"Without an aggressive response, many veterans have the potential to harm themselves or others," Veterans Affairs staff wrote in a note to Thompson.
"The earlier the intervention, greater the chances of recovery."
The Conservatives responded in the 2007 federal budget with $9 million, allowing the veterans department to open five operational stress-injury clinics across the country. The new centres are in addition to the Defence Department's existing five stress clinics, which first began appearing in the late 1990s.
click post title for the rest
52 minutes ago
OTTAWA - The number of former soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress has more than tripled since Canada first deployed troops to Afghanistan, say new figures released by Veterans Affairs Canada.
With the country's involvement in the war set to continue until 2011, the numbers are only expected to get worse.
The rising tide of psychiatric disorders among relatively young men and women is the biggest challenge facing the system of veterans' care, which until recently had been geared toward geriatric issues, said Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson.
"It is the challenge of the future," he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
Of the 10,252 (Veterans Affairs) clients with a psychiatric condition, 63 per cent have a (post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD) condition, said a briefing note prepared for Thompson last summer.
"Over the past five years, the number of clients with a psychiatric condition has tripled, increasing from 3,501 to 10,252; the number of clients with a PTSD condition has more than tripled, increasing from 1,802 to 6,504 as of March 31, 2007."
The statistics represent those who are no longer serving in uniform. The Defence Department keeps its own, separate tally of members suffering from stress injuries.
Figures obtained last summer by The Canadian Press show that of 1,300 Canadian Forces members who served in Afghanistan since 2005, 28 per cent had symptoms suggestive of one or more mental-health problems. The numbers are based on post-deployment screening.
Of those, just over six per cent were possibly suffering from PTSD and another five per cent showed symptoms of major depression.
Both National Defence and Veterans Affairs have faced repeated warnings during the last year about the looming mental-health crisis.
"Without an aggressive response, many veterans have the potential to harm themselves or others," Veterans Affairs staff wrote in a note to Thompson.
"The earlier the intervention, greater the chances of recovery."
The Conservatives responded in the 2007 federal budget with $9 million, allowing the veterans department to open five operational stress-injury clinics across the country. The new centres are in addition to the Defence Department's existing five stress clinics, which first began appearing in the late 1990s.
click post title for the rest
Under Secretary of VA Cooper Resigns
VA undersecretary to leave post
By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Feb 28, 2008 16:48:06 EST
WASHINGTON — The Veterans Affairs Department says its undersecretary responsible for benefits is leaving.
The agency has been besieged by complaints about its backlog in claims, which have escalated partly because of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking assistance.
Daniel L. Cooper, a retired Navy vice admiral, departs April 1. A VA spokesman says Cooper is leaving for personal reasons.
By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Feb 28, 2008 16:48:06 EST
WASHINGTON — The Veterans Affairs Department says its undersecretary responsible for benefits is leaving.
The agency has been besieged by complaints about its backlog in claims, which have escalated partly because of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking assistance.
Daniel L. Cooper, a retired Navy vice admiral, departs April 1. A VA spokesman says Cooper is leaving for personal reasons.
GAO: Wounded care better, but more needed
GAO: Wounded care better, but more needed
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Feb 28, 2008 16:17:42 EST
Government Accountability Office representatives praised the Army for some of the advances it has made over the past year but said there is still a long way to go in hiring legal representatives to help soldiers going through the disability retirement process.
Also, some treatment facilities lack as much as 40 percent of the staff they need to maintain a ratio of one legal counselor per 30 soldiers, said John Pendleton, GAO acting director of health care, on Wednesday at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform national security subcommittee.
“The Army has made progress in the five months since our September hearing,” he said, referring to a previous GAO report showing that the Army’s Transition Units were only half-staffed. But one-third of the units still have staffing shortages, he said.
And, 2,500 wounded, sick or injured soldiers waiting to go through the evaluation process remain in their units — and not in the Warrior Transition Units designed to ensure they receive the administrative help they need, as well as allowing trained professionals to keep a close eye on them for medical or mental health needs, Pendleton said.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/military_armyprogress_woundedwarrior_022808w/
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Feb 28, 2008 16:17:42 EST
Government Accountability Office representatives praised the Army for some of the advances it has made over the past year but said there is still a long way to go in hiring legal representatives to help soldiers going through the disability retirement process.
Also, some treatment facilities lack as much as 40 percent of the staff they need to maintain a ratio of one legal counselor per 30 soldiers, said John Pendleton, GAO acting director of health care, on Wednesday at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform national security subcommittee.
“The Army has made progress in the five months since our September hearing,” he said, referring to a previous GAO report showing that the Army’s Transition Units were only half-staffed. But one-third of the units still have staffing shortages, he said.
And, 2,500 wounded, sick or injured soldiers waiting to go through the evaluation process remain in their units — and not in the Warrior Transition Units designed to ensure they receive the administrative help they need, as well as allowing trained professionals to keep a close eye on them for medical or mental health needs, Pendleton said.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/military_armyprogress_woundedwarrior_022808w/
Christopher M. Simmance served in Iraq but VA didn't believe it
February 27th, 2008 1:21 pm
Thousands of veterans lose health benefits because of paperwork errors
By Lou Michel / Buffalo News
Christopher M. Simmance helped keep the peace as an American soldier in the Middle East, but when he returned home and later suffered a breakdown, he was turned away from the VA hospital because the government didn’t acknowledge his overseas duty.
Dana Cushing as a Marine served two tours of duty in Iraq and a third in east Africa, but when she returned home, she found herself labeled a “conscientious objector” and also was denied medical care by the government.
Simmance is one local veteran among roughly 2,000 across the country trying to get corrected incomplete or inadequate discharge papers. Cushing only recently got hers corrected after trying for a year. The result is that many now face a bureaucratic nightmare that prevents them from getting the health benefits they are entitled to receive.
click post title for the rest
Thousands of veterans lose health benefits because of paperwork errors
By Lou Michel / Buffalo News
Christopher M. Simmance helped keep the peace as an American soldier in the Middle East, but when he returned home and later suffered a breakdown, he was turned away from the VA hospital because the government didn’t acknowledge his overseas duty.
Dana Cushing as a Marine served two tours of duty in Iraq and a third in east Africa, but when she returned home, she found herself labeled a “conscientious objector” and also was denied medical care by the government.
Simmance is one local veteran among roughly 2,000 across the country trying to get corrected incomplete or inadequate discharge papers. Cushing only recently got hers corrected after trying for a year. The result is that many now face a bureaucratic nightmare that prevents them from getting the health benefits they are entitled to receive.
click post title for the rest
VA urged to give families mental health help
VA urged to give families mental health help
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Feb 28, 2008 13:21:08 EST
A House subcommittee was urged Thursday to expand the Veterans Affairs Department’s authority to provide mental health counseling for the families of veterans, including National Guard and reserve members who have returned from combat.
Current law restricts VA to providing “limited services to immediate family members,” said Kristin Day, VA’s chief consultant for care management and social work service.
“The law provides, in general, that the immediate family members of a veteran being treated for a service-connected disability may receive counseling, education and training services,” Day told the House Veterans’ Affairs health subcommittee.
That leaves a lot of gaps for people who fall outside the military health care system, some critics say.
Todd Bowers, government affairs director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said that when he was wounded by a sniper’s bullet during his second tour in Iraq, his mother suffered.
“The incident that physically wounded me wounded my mother much worse,” said Bowers, a Marine Corps Reserve staff sergeant. “As she struggled to cope with the knowledge of my injury, my mother was more than alone. She was lost. She sought assistance through the only means she was aware of, the mental health counseling covered by her own health care.”
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/military_mentalhealth_veteransfamilies_02808w/
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Feb 28, 2008 13:21:08 EST
A House subcommittee was urged Thursday to expand the Veterans Affairs Department’s authority to provide mental health counseling for the families of veterans, including National Guard and reserve members who have returned from combat.
Current law restricts VA to providing “limited services to immediate family members,” said Kristin Day, VA’s chief consultant for care management and social work service.
“The law provides, in general, that the immediate family members of a veteran being treated for a service-connected disability may receive counseling, education and training services,” Day told the House Veterans’ Affairs health subcommittee.
That leaves a lot of gaps for people who fall outside the military health care system, some critics say.
Todd Bowers, government affairs director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said that when he was wounded by a sniper’s bullet during his second tour in Iraq, his mother suffered.
“The incident that physically wounded me wounded my mother much worse,” said Bowers, a Marine Corps Reserve staff sergeant. “As she struggled to cope with the knowledge of my injury, my mother was more than alone. She was lost. She sought assistance through the only means she was aware of, the mental health counseling covered by her own health care.”
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/military_mentalhealth_veteransfamilies_02808w/
Austerity Threatens Veterans, Too
VCS in the News: Austerity Threatens Veterans, Too
Carl Osgood
Executive Intelligence Review
Feb 28, 2008
Paul Sullivan, the executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, added that there is a surge of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, "and not only are they being denied medical care but their requests for help are being delayed unnecessarily." There are cases of veterans committing suicide, turning up homeless, turning to drug and alcohol abuse (euphemistically called "self-medicating") as a result of the long delays, "and the Department of Veterans Affairs is doing little or nothing, and in some cases, violating the law." Sullivan said that the only option left to address this situation was to file a lawsuit.
February 29, 2008 - When the austerity mongers among Republicans and the "post-partisan Bloomberg crowd talk about "entitlement reform," they usually mean slashing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits. Hardly anybody talks about veterans' benefits in the same vein, saying openly that they must come under the budget axe as well.
However, veterans have been under attack, in fact, just as much as the elderly, the sick, and the poor have been. In its first budget submission after winning re-election in 2004, the Bush Administration proposed that those in the Veterans Administration (VA) health-care system should pay higher enrollment fees and prescription drug co-pays than they were already being charged, a move the Department of Veterans Affairs calculated would result in 213,000 fewer veterans in the system than otherwise would be the case.
At about the same time, Undersecretary of Defense David Chu was quoted by the Wall Street Journal complaining that veterans' benefits had grown so much, that "they are taking away from the nation's ability to defend itself."
go here for the rest
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9438
Carl Osgood
Executive Intelligence Review
Feb 28, 2008
Paul Sullivan, the executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, added that there is a surge of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, "and not only are they being denied medical care but their requests for help are being delayed unnecessarily." There are cases of veterans committing suicide, turning up homeless, turning to drug and alcohol abuse (euphemistically called "self-medicating") as a result of the long delays, "and the Department of Veterans Affairs is doing little or nothing, and in some cases, violating the law." Sullivan said that the only option left to address this situation was to file a lawsuit.
February 29, 2008 - When the austerity mongers among Republicans and the "post-partisan Bloomberg crowd talk about "entitlement reform," they usually mean slashing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits. Hardly anybody talks about veterans' benefits in the same vein, saying openly that they must come under the budget axe as well.
However, veterans have been under attack, in fact, just as much as the elderly, the sick, and the poor have been. In its first budget submission after winning re-election in 2004, the Bush Administration proposed that those in the Veterans Administration (VA) health-care system should pay higher enrollment fees and prescription drug co-pays than they were already being charged, a move the Department of Veterans Affairs calculated would result in 213,000 fewer veterans in the system than otherwise would be the case.
At about the same time, Undersecretary of Defense David Chu was quoted by the Wall Street Journal complaining that veterans' benefits had grown so much, that "they are taking away from the nation's ability to defend itself."
go here for the rest
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9438
Homeless Veterans and VA Prejudice
122. Homeless Veterans and VA Prejudice
The other day I was hanging around the Seattle, Washington VA Hospital with a few homeless veterans. I was listening around the eligibility check in desk for information. As the homeless veterans were getting checked in, I was listening to the “in-processor” who hands out the books, and folders to including the benefits of what one MIGHT be entitled to etc. and so forth.
As I was watching the homeless veterans looking down with a hangdog expression waiting for their VA identification cards giving their addresses as “none”, and explaining that their incomes from their work, were minimal at best as most did have some form of work, I heard the following… You are eligible for medical only. You are not eligible for dental, or eye glasses unless it is a service rated disability.
One fellow piped in and said he did not need glasses until he was in the service. She said he had to prove it of course. Of course proving things to the VA is nearly impossible in the first place, without two examinations and a rectal check. For some reason, the armed forces and the VA cannot coordinate the transference of the medical records in this modern era as of yet.
As a further example, I have written the National Personnel Records Center, sent in the prescribed forms, followed up with letters to a Senator and a Congressman, for my medical records. This has taken four years and I have yet to receive them or the NPRC to find them or the VA to receive them.
On the other hand, I am wondering if the VA is counting these homeless veterans that showed up on their door step that day at their hospital. If so, why were they not automatically referred to the Homeless Veteran’s Coordinator that is supposed to be assigned to every veteran’s administration hospital? The VA has highly touted these “highly dedicated and trained individuals”. It was not a Federal Holiday again. Undoubtedly, there is a serious lack of training system wide at the VA. What else is new at the VA?
click post title for the rest
The other day I was hanging around the Seattle, Washington VA Hospital with a few homeless veterans. I was listening around the eligibility check in desk for information. As the homeless veterans were getting checked in, I was listening to the “in-processor” who hands out the books, and folders to including the benefits of what one MIGHT be entitled to etc. and so forth.
As I was watching the homeless veterans looking down with a hangdog expression waiting for their VA identification cards giving their addresses as “none”, and explaining that their incomes from their work, were minimal at best as most did have some form of work, I heard the following… You are eligible for medical only. You are not eligible for dental, or eye glasses unless it is a service rated disability.
One fellow piped in and said he did not need glasses until he was in the service. She said he had to prove it of course. Of course proving things to the VA is nearly impossible in the first place, without two examinations and a rectal check. For some reason, the armed forces and the VA cannot coordinate the transference of the medical records in this modern era as of yet.
As a further example, I have written the National Personnel Records Center, sent in the prescribed forms, followed up with letters to a Senator and a Congressman, for my medical records. This has taken four years and I have yet to receive them or the NPRC to find them or the VA to receive them.
On the other hand, I am wondering if the VA is counting these homeless veterans that showed up on their door step that day at their hospital. If so, why were they not automatically referred to the Homeless Veteran’s Coordinator that is supposed to be assigned to every veteran’s administration hospital? The VA has highly touted these “highly dedicated and trained individuals”. It was not a Federal Holiday again. Undoubtedly, there is a serious lack of training system wide at the VA. What else is new at the VA?
click post title for the rest
Tinker Air Force responds to Sgt. Thorson murder/suicide
Feb. 28, 2008
Tinker seeks ways to help ease stress
By Augie Frost and Ken Raymond
Staff Writers
There are unique aspects of being in the military that may lead to health issues, particularly mentally, Lt. Col. David Parr said Wednesday.
From moving frequently to being deployed overseas, there are added stresses on a service member that can lead to problems, said Parr, commander of the Operations Support Squadron.
Officials at Tinker Air Force Base held a roundtable discussion on mental health issues in the military Wednesday, two days after Tech Sgt. Dustin Thorson killed his two children and then himself.
During a separate news conference Wednesday, Air Force Brig. Gen. Lori J. Robinson said Thorson saw a mental health professional and his commander was monitoring his mental health. She did not elaborate.
At the roundtable, officials focused on services to check, balance and treat mental illnesses. Before someone is deployed he or she goes through a screening. When he or she returns, they again go through a screening and then another one 90 days later, Parr said.
Often times that stress is taken out in the home on family members, but the goal is to alleviate that. Tinker officials would not discuss particulars concerning Thorson and his family, but said they never want to be faced with that problem.
"We don't want it to get to that point,” said Jane Allen, director of the Air Wing Family Support Center.
Airmen who may be suffering from depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder have a wealth of options for treatment, Allen said.
go here for the rest
http://newsok.com/article/3209613/1204173042
Tinker seeks ways to help ease stress
By Augie Frost and Ken Raymond
Staff Writers
There are unique aspects of being in the military that may lead to health issues, particularly mentally, Lt. Col. David Parr said Wednesday.
From moving frequently to being deployed overseas, there are added stresses on a service member that can lead to problems, said Parr, commander of the Operations Support Squadron.
Officials at Tinker Air Force Base held a roundtable discussion on mental health issues in the military Wednesday, two days after Tech Sgt. Dustin Thorson killed his two children and then himself.
During a separate news conference Wednesday, Air Force Brig. Gen. Lori J. Robinson said Thorson saw a mental health professional and his commander was monitoring his mental health. She did not elaborate.
At the roundtable, officials focused on services to check, balance and treat mental illnesses. Before someone is deployed he or she goes through a screening. When he or she returns, they again go through a screening and then another one 90 days later, Parr said.
Often times that stress is taken out in the home on family members, but the goal is to alleviate that. Tinker officials would not discuss particulars concerning Thorson and his family, but said they never want to be faced with that problem.
"We don't want it to get to that point,” said Jane Allen, director of the Air Wing Family Support Center.
Airmen who may be suffering from depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder have a wealth of options for treatment, Allen said.
go here for the rest
http://newsok.com/article/3209613/1204173042
Veterans Home contributed to suffering of patients
Report: Veterans Home contributed to suffering of patients
By TURNER HUTCHENS
trhutchens@dnj.com
— Turner Hutchens, 615-278-5161
A lack of care at the Tennessee State Veterans Home in Murfreesboro has led to the early death and needless suffering of veterans in the facility's care, according to a new report by U.S. Department of Justice.
The report, issued Feb. 8 to Gov. Phil Bredesen by the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, describes "unconscionably poor health care" at the state's veterans nursing homes in Murfreesboro and Humboldt in West Tennessee.
However, state officials have said the problems have been remedied at both facilities since the data for the report was collected last year.
The report describes a disturbing list of problems, citing specific instances with patients not receiving food and water, a lack of proper pain medication, psychotropic drugs given to patients for the convenience of staff, a lack of care for chronic conditions failure to address dangers of falls and failure to aid patients in rehabilitation.
"At both TSVHs (Tennessee State Veterans Homes), residents have been, and continue to be, the victims of egregious neglect from the nursing homes' failure to provide for the most basic of human needs — food and water," the report states. "As a result, residents have suffered and, sometimes, have died needless and untimely deaths."
One case found to have maggots in a patient's open pressure sore. In another, a patient whose pain was so severe he threatened suicide was given Tylenol and there was no follow up to his mental state. In yet another, a man in need of hospice care did not received it for five days while dying.
"We found that many residents spend their last days and hours often suffering needless pain," the report stated.
click post title for the rest
By TURNER HUTCHENS
trhutchens@dnj.com
— Turner Hutchens, 615-278-5161
A lack of care at the Tennessee State Veterans Home in Murfreesboro has led to the early death and needless suffering of veterans in the facility's care, according to a new report by U.S. Department of Justice.
The report, issued Feb. 8 to Gov. Phil Bredesen by the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, describes "unconscionably poor health care" at the state's veterans nursing homes in Murfreesboro and Humboldt in West Tennessee.
However, state officials have said the problems have been remedied at both facilities since the data for the report was collected last year.
The report describes a disturbing list of problems, citing specific instances with patients not receiving food and water, a lack of proper pain medication, psychotropic drugs given to patients for the convenience of staff, a lack of care for chronic conditions failure to address dangers of falls and failure to aid patients in rehabilitation.
"At both TSVHs (Tennessee State Veterans Homes), residents have been, and continue to be, the victims of egregious neglect from the nursing homes' failure to provide for the most basic of human needs — food and water," the report states. "As a result, residents have suffered and, sometimes, have died needless and untimely deaths."
One case found to have maggots in a patient's open pressure sore. In another, a patient whose pain was so severe he threatened suicide was given Tylenol and there was no follow up to his mental state. In yet another, a man in need of hospice care did not received it for five days while dying.
"We found that many residents spend their last days and hours often suffering needless pain," the report stated.
click post title for the rest
Common sense on PTSD from Congressman Tom Allen
Help for Veterans with PTSD
by: Congressman Tom Allen
Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 11:45:14 AM EST
(This is a guest piece by Congressman Tom Allen who represents Maine's 1st Congressional District. Congressman Allen is promoting H.R. 5448, a bill that would improve veterans' treatment for combat PTSD. From the diaries - promoted by Brandon Friedman)
When my father returned from the South Pacific after World War II, he rarely talked about the terrifying nightly bombings that blasted the Navy air base where he served as a control tower operator. Nor did he often speak of the pilots he had befriended who never returned from their missions. He was a quiet and determined man, who gave enormously to his country, community and family, but I now believe that when he came home, he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and that skillful treatment might have eased his pain.
In 1945, however, the symptoms that constitute PTSD were rarely acknowledged. Even today, as Maine veterans have shown me, it remains under-diagnosed, under-treated, and misunderstood. That is why I have introduced the Full Faith in Veterans Act, H.R. 5448.
Continue reading below. . . .
Congressman Tom Allen :: Help for Veterans with PTSD
Scott Whittier, from Washington, Maine, served as an active duty Army Reserve soldier and National Guard Member during the Gulf War in 1991. U.S. forces had relentlessly bombed and strafed Iraqi military convoys fleeing Kuwait on Route 8, Iraq's "Highway of Death." As he recently recalled, "The sights were of nothing I'd ever seen before... Death littered the highway."
Later, these sights began to take their toll. Back in the States, Scott was diagnosed by Togus Veterans Administration (VA) medical personnel as suffering from PTSD, made worse when he watched 9/11 and the current War in Iraq unfold. "I almost totally shut down. I began isolating myself...started drinking even more. Lost all interest...could not remember simple tasks, names, where I was going... Memories came crashing down ...of all those bodies, smells, hands, legs, heads, blood, burnt gruesome odorsome bodies."
Although his physician was confident that his PTSD was service-connected, the VA demanded proof that he was on Route 8 during the invasion. One would think that the military itself could easily provide this evidence, but it took the Army years to do so. Only this month did Scott get word that his government would accept his doctor's diagnosis.
Terry Belanger of Biddeford was rapidly driving a troop-filled truck in Vietnam during the Tet offensive when he ran over a small girl. Ordered not to stop because of the danger lurking in the village, the accident has haunted him for decades. He is plagued by flashbacks and nightmares, anxiety, migraines and insomnia. As his loving wife wrote, "this wonderful man...left part of his soul in Vietnam."
Terry's PTSD disability claim was denied because "there was no evidence of a qualifying stressor and his evidentiary assertions regarding his post-traumatic stress disorder were found to be not credible." In other words, this soldier's medical history and the conclusions of his private and VA physicians-all of whom believe he has service-connected PTSD-are dismissed by VA bureaucrats.
go here for the rest
http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=657
by: Congressman Tom Allen
Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 11:45:14 AM EST
(This is a guest piece by Congressman Tom Allen who represents Maine's 1st Congressional District. Congressman Allen is promoting H.R. 5448, a bill that would improve veterans' treatment for combat PTSD. From the diaries - promoted by Brandon Friedman)
When my father returned from the South Pacific after World War II, he rarely talked about the terrifying nightly bombings that blasted the Navy air base where he served as a control tower operator. Nor did he often speak of the pilots he had befriended who never returned from their missions. He was a quiet and determined man, who gave enormously to his country, community and family, but I now believe that when he came home, he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and that skillful treatment might have eased his pain.
In 1945, however, the symptoms that constitute PTSD were rarely acknowledged. Even today, as Maine veterans have shown me, it remains under-diagnosed, under-treated, and misunderstood. That is why I have introduced the Full Faith in Veterans Act, H.R. 5448.
Continue reading below. . . .
Congressman Tom Allen :: Help for Veterans with PTSD
Scott Whittier, from Washington, Maine, served as an active duty Army Reserve soldier and National Guard Member during the Gulf War in 1991. U.S. forces had relentlessly bombed and strafed Iraqi military convoys fleeing Kuwait on Route 8, Iraq's "Highway of Death." As he recently recalled, "The sights were of nothing I'd ever seen before... Death littered the highway."
Later, these sights began to take their toll. Back in the States, Scott was diagnosed by Togus Veterans Administration (VA) medical personnel as suffering from PTSD, made worse when he watched 9/11 and the current War in Iraq unfold. "I almost totally shut down. I began isolating myself...started drinking even more. Lost all interest...could not remember simple tasks, names, where I was going... Memories came crashing down ...of all those bodies, smells, hands, legs, heads, blood, burnt gruesome odorsome bodies."
Although his physician was confident that his PTSD was service-connected, the VA demanded proof that he was on Route 8 during the invasion. One would think that the military itself could easily provide this evidence, but it took the Army years to do so. Only this month did Scott get word that his government would accept his doctor's diagnosis.
Terry Belanger of Biddeford was rapidly driving a troop-filled truck in Vietnam during the Tet offensive when he ran over a small girl. Ordered not to stop because of the danger lurking in the village, the accident has haunted him for decades. He is plagued by flashbacks and nightmares, anxiety, migraines and insomnia. As his loving wife wrote, "this wonderful man...left part of his soul in Vietnam."
Terry's PTSD disability claim was denied because "there was no evidence of a qualifying stressor and his evidentiary assertions regarding his post-traumatic stress disorder were found to be not credible." In other words, this soldier's medical history and the conclusions of his private and VA physicians-all of whom believe he has service-connected PTSD-are dismissed by VA bureaucrats.
go here for the rest
http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=657
Vietnam Vet goes back to where he never really left
Updated at: 02/28/2008 08:33:45 AM
By: Kim Johnson
kjohnson@wdio.com
Still Searching
"I did this one time before a long time ago," said Scott Cameron as he lowered himself down into an underground tunnel in Vietnam.
On a journey half way around the world, Scott Cameron is re-discovering places that have haunted him for decades. The tunnels he’s exploring were used by enemy soldiers to hide from danger during the war.
"You could escape into here when the B-52s started hitting," he said while looking into a hand-held personal video camera.
As the veteran goes deeper into the ground, bad memories begin to surface. "To be honest, I got to get the hell out of here," Scott said. "I'm getting real paranoid and I'm getting real claustrophobic."
Soon come flashbacks that are too powerful to bear. "This is really doing a lot of triggers for this guy, this old Vietnam vet," he said.
Scott is searching down in these holes, a painful search that began thousands of miles away back in Duluth.
Five months ago Scott decided it was time to take serious steps in his life. He’d been suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder--a crippling mental illness he developed after the war four decades ago.
go here for the rest
http://www.wdio.com/article/stories/S361250.shtml?cat=10335
This is not a picture from Vietnam. It is from Afghanistan. They are not American forces but Canadian forces. Does it look that much different from the other one above taken in Vietnam?
For some, the war is no longer the war they fought with machine gun bullets or bombs. The war is the one they have inside of them. The battles are fought on a daily basis. These battles they try to fight alone. All the haunting images come back to them. They see it all, feel it all, re-experience it all as if time did not exists. They have a TV remote control in their hands instead of a machine gun. They have a Chevy steering wheel in their hands instead of the steering wheel of a military vehicle. They drive down a country road right here in the USA instead of a road in a foreign land. It doesn't matter what they are doing when a flashback comes at that moment because they are no longer here. They are right back there again. H.G. Wells could never manage to bring that kind of imagery to life as he created his time travel machine.
For veterans with PTSD, H.G. Wells fiction is their life. They don't need a machine to step into to travel back in time. They purchased a ticket the day they boot on their combat boots and their reservation for this trip was confirmed as soon as trauma collided with normal life.
The return trip back to normal life is up to us to cover the cost of. Without us, too many will never really make the journey back home.
By: Kim Johnson
kjohnson@wdio.com
Still Searching
"I did this one time before a long time ago," said Scott Cameron as he lowered himself down into an underground tunnel in Vietnam.
On a journey half way around the world, Scott Cameron is re-discovering places that have haunted him for decades. The tunnels he’s exploring were used by enemy soldiers to hide from danger during the war.
"You could escape into here when the B-52s started hitting," he said while looking into a hand-held personal video camera.
As the veteran goes deeper into the ground, bad memories begin to surface. "To be honest, I got to get the hell out of here," Scott said. "I'm getting real paranoid and I'm getting real claustrophobic."
Soon come flashbacks that are too powerful to bear. "This is really doing a lot of triggers for this guy, this old Vietnam vet," he said.
Scott is searching down in these holes, a painful search that began thousands of miles away back in Duluth.
Five months ago Scott decided it was time to take serious steps in his life. He’d been suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder--a crippling mental illness he developed after the war four decades ago.
go here for the rest
http://www.wdio.com/article/stories/S361250.shtml?cat=10335
This is not a picture from Vietnam. It is from Afghanistan. They are not American forces but Canadian forces. Does it look that much different from the other one above taken in Vietnam?
For some, the war is no longer the war they fought with machine gun bullets or bombs. The war is the one they have inside of them. The battles are fought on a daily basis. These battles they try to fight alone. All the haunting images come back to them. They see it all, feel it all, re-experience it all as if time did not exists. They have a TV remote control in their hands instead of a machine gun. They have a Chevy steering wheel in their hands instead of the steering wheel of a military vehicle. They drive down a country road right here in the USA instead of a road in a foreign land. It doesn't matter what they are doing when a flashback comes at that moment because they are no longer here. They are right back there again. H.G. Wells could never manage to bring that kind of imagery to life as he created his time travel machine.
The Time Machine is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1895 and later directly adapted into at least two theatrical films of the same name as well as at least one television and a large number of comic book adaptations. It indirectly inspired many more works of fiction in all media. Considered by many to be one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, this 38,000 word novella is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposefully and selectively. The term "time machine", coined by Wells, is now universally used to refer to such a vehicle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine
For veterans with PTSD, H.G. Wells fiction is their life. They don't need a machine to step into to travel back in time. They purchased a ticket the day they boot on their combat boots and their reservation for this trip was confirmed as soon as trauma collided with normal life.
The return trip back to normal life is up to us to cover the cost of. Without us, too many will never really make the journey back home.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Judith Busto, War Veteran and Police Officer Fired for PTSD?
Veteran alleges Albuquerque police wrongfully fired her
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 02/27/2008 05:19:28 PM MST
ALBUQUERQUE—A former dispatcher for the Albuquerque Police Department is alleging she was assaulted and humiliated while working for the city, then was fired.
Santa Fe attorney Merit Bennett filed a lawsuit in state district court Wednesday on behalf of Judith Busto, 22, seeking unspecified damages.
Busto alleges deprivation of constitutional rights, discrimination on the basis of disability, false arrest and imprisonment, assault and battery, negligent retention and supervision, and conspiracy.
The lawsuit said Busto, an Army combat medic and veteran of Afghanistan, was treated for post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, when she returned home.
When she was hired by the police, the lawsuit said, the department made no attempt to accommodate Busto's medical condition. The complaint alleges that "abject disregard" led to her wrongful termination on Oct. 4, 2006.
She said she turned to Mayor Martin Chavez for help, but he ignored her.
go here to read the rest of this story and get as angry as I am right now.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_8383192
I wonder what Gov. Richardson would have to say about this.
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 02/27/2008 05:19:28 PM MST
ALBUQUERQUE—A former dispatcher for the Albuquerque Police Department is alleging she was assaulted and humiliated while working for the city, then was fired.
Santa Fe attorney Merit Bennett filed a lawsuit in state district court Wednesday on behalf of Judith Busto, 22, seeking unspecified damages.
Busto alleges deprivation of constitutional rights, discrimination on the basis of disability, false arrest and imprisonment, assault and battery, negligent retention and supervision, and conspiracy.
The lawsuit said Busto, an Army combat medic and veteran of Afghanistan, was treated for post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, when she returned home.
When she was hired by the police, the lawsuit said, the department made no attempt to accommodate Busto's medical condition. The complaint alleges that "abject disregard" led to her wrongful termination on Oct. 4, 2006.
She said she turned to Mayor Martin Chavez for help, but he ignored her.
go here to read the rest of this story and get as angry as I am right now.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_8383192
I wonder what Gov. Richardson would have to say about this.
Vietnam Vet Turns from stress expert to AARP model
Stress Expert Among AARP's Top Models
USF stress expert Michael Rank is one of the winners of AARP The Magazine’s Faces of 50+ Real People Model Search.
By CLOE CABRERA, The Tampa Tribune
Published: February 27, 2008
TAMPA - Vietnam War veteran Michael Garnet Rank witnessed firsthand the horrific psychological effects the war had on his fellow soldiers.
He saw severe depression, drug and alcohol dependency, problems with memory and cognition, and other mental health issues. And it had a profound impact on his career.
Today, as director of trauma stress studies at the University of South Florida, Rank, 60, trains and educates others and researches issues related to post-traumatic stress and trauma.
"Although I was experienced in combat, the question I had when I came back was, why didn't I suffer the emotional problems of the war the way my peers had?" said Rank, a former Army infantryman. "In the early 1970s, there was no such thing as post-traumatic stress disorder as we know it. The VA Veterans Administration wasn't paying attention to it that decade. It was a very difficult time for veterans returning home with mental illness."
Rank's story - not to mention his character, sense of style and healthy lifestyle - won him a spot in AARP The Magazine's Faces of 50+ Real People Model Search.
USF stress expert Michael Rank is one of the winners of AARP The Magazine’s Faces of 50+ Real People Model Search.
By CLOE CABRERA, The Tampa Tribune
Published: February 27, 2008
TAMPA - Vietnam War veteran Michael Garnet Rank witnessed firsthand the horrific psychological effects the war had on his fellow soldiers.
He saw severe depression, drug and alcohol dependency, problems with memory and cognition, and other mental health issues. And it had a profound impact on his career.
Today, as director of trauma stress studies at the University of South Florida, Rank, 60, trains and educates others and researches issues related to post-traumatic stress and trauma.
"Although I was experienced in combat, the question I had when I came back was, why didn't I suffer the emotional problems of the war the way my peers had?" said Rank, a former Army infantryman. "In the early 1970s, there was no such thing as post-traumatic stress disorder as we know it. The VA Veterans Administration wasn't paying attention to it that decade. It was a very difficult time for veterans returning home with mental illness."
Rank's story - not to mention his character, sense of style and healthy lifestyle - won him a spot in AARP The Magazine's Faces of 50+ Real People Model Search.
click post title for the rest
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