'Warriors' program big help to wounded
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 By PATRICIA C. McCARTERTimes Staff Writer patricia.mccarter@htimes.com
Redstone facility one of new care centers for soldiers
The commanding officer of the hospital at Redstone Arsenal said Monday that for the longest time, the military didn't properly tend to its wounded warriors.
But after the scandal at Walter Reed Hospital last year spotlighted the need to upgrade care for soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military started doing things as it should, according to Fox Army Health Center commander Col. Mark Smith.
"What we're doing right now is historic," Smith said Monday morning after a town hall-style meeting with almost 100 recovering soldiers and agency representatives that provide their care.
"For a million years, we didn't come close to getting it right ... but care for soldiers has already changed."
Smith said with so many soldiers being wounded in training and in combat, the Department of Defense is reforming the way injured military members are treated. Warriors in Transition Units have been set up throughout the country, including one at Redstone Arsenal that serves soldiers from the Southeast.
Through the new units, the wounded patients have a "triad of care," which consists of a primary care manager, nurse case manager and squad leader. The goal is for the soldier to have one place to go to have all of his health care questions answered.
"Remember, the mission of the warrior in transition is to heal," Smith said, "no matter if he is returning to civilian life or preparing to go back into combat."
Sgt. Christopher Michaels, 38, of Bryant is a National Guard member who was activated and sent to Texas for training. While there, he hurt his back, "and I never made it overseas."
Still, he is considered a war veteran, and he is entitled to the same brand of care as a soldier injured in combat. On Monday, Michaels said the Warriors in Transition town hall meetings - "this is my third" - have served him and other soldiers well. He said the program helped him get enrolled in the Veterans Administration, "and that's a long process with a mountain of paperwork."
"I learn something every time I come to one," he said. "It's a good chance to get with my case managers and platoon sergeant.
"It's made it a lot better on families to have a place to come to get answers."
Master Sgt. Matthew Swoopes, 59, of Chattanooga is in a prime spot to compare today's medical treatment to the old days. He's a Vietnam veteran.
"This is about the best possible program they could come up with," said Swoopes, a Reservist. "They should have had it when I came out of Vietnam in '71."
Even though he's able to get his medical care back in Tennessee, the Warriors in Transition Unit at Redstone manages his care remotely.
"I've got the best case workers and facilities manager," he said. "Every program should pattern themselves after this."
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Wednesday, November 19, 2008
'Warriors' program big help to wounded
