So it's good - for veterans, their families and everyone else - that the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs now do two screenings of veterans returning from the Persian Gulf and the Hindu Kush. Veterans are first evaluated upon their return from active duty. Then, three to six months later, they are contacted and urged to be screened again. Veterans' groups have been calling for several years for better ways to uncover and treat mental illness, and they have welcomed this new policy. It shouldn't have taken so long to get it up and running.
The new practice was adopted after a study conducted at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and published this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that examining soldiers twice may help clinicians catch far more mental health problems.
The process helps identify those who need further treatment at VA hospitals. All VA hospitals, among them the highly regarded medical center in Northport, have geared up to deal with the outcome of the new policy.
The predictable result is that the number of veterans needing health care has risen sharply. Last month, the VA said that more than 100,000 soldiers were being treated for mental health problems, half of those specifically for PTSD. In the study, initial screenings of nearly 89,000 veterans uncovered 4.4 percent needing treatment. Six months later, after a second look, the total was 11.7 percent.
The new policy addresses a problem that should have been solved long ago. Large numbers of veterans have lacked proper treatment so far. That's a great disservice to those who have served this country.
My response is quoted below:
This is a great first step in getting active duty troops treatment, there is still the problem with National Guard and reservists that go home to small towns and their regular jobs who will fall thru the cracks with this program. Then there is also the stigma attached to PTSD and many soldiers will not be fully forthcoming about the problems due to perceived weakness, distrust among fellow soldiers, the tendency to say" I don't have a problem, other people have problems, they don't react to me the way they used to, they treat me different".Sphere: Related Content
But, I applaud the government finally stepping up to the plate, even if it is five years to late, they knew this was possible due to the studies of Vietnam veterans, so to throw 2 wars and not plan for mental health care, was as irresponsible as planning the invasion of Iraq, without planning the occupation.
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