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Archive for April, 2010
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
98. That is how many veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars killed themselves by September of 2009. 6,000. That is how many veterans commit suicide every year. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been attempting to strategically battle this issue and are intensifying and increasing their efforts.
On average, 18 veterans kill themselves every day. Of these, almost 5 are receiving care from the VA health care system. Of those 5, on average, more than 60% of them had been diagnosed with some type of mental health condition. These numbers certainly justify the VA’s new and progressive outreach program. The program is designed to:
- Focus on those problems or symptoms seemingly leading to suicide; and
- Make certain both veterans and their families know where help is available.
Some groups of veterans are more at risk than others. The number of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with mental conditions such as PTSD is at an all time high. Not surprisingly then, veterans 18-29 years of age not receiving VA health care are more likely to commit suicide than veterans under VA care to the tune of approximately 250 veterans a year.
The VA’s top priority is increasing veterans’ access to care as every VA medical center employs mental health professionals. Examples of the VA’s anti-suicide efforts include:
- Establishing a toll-free national suicide hotline credited with preventing 7,000 active suicide attempts;
- Activating an anonymous online chat service which has serviced over 4,000 people to date;
- Updating the VA’s screening and assessment processes;
- Hiring an additional 6,000 mental health professionals; and
- Launching an advertising campaign in 124 U.S. cities to include public service announcements.
Veterans constitute almost 20% of the total amount of deaths each year from suicide. The VA’s plan to help save veterans’ lives revolves around making sure veterans know there is help available and where to get that help. Hopefully the VA’s efforts will stop the current trend of veteran suicides.
If you are a veteran contemplating suicide, know that there is help out there for you. Contact your local VA or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and then press 1 to be routed to the Veteran’s Suicide Prevention hotline.
Tags: suicide prevention, VA health care, VA Mental health, veteran suicide, Veterans’ Mental Health
Posted in Disabled Veterans, General, VA News | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
More employers are no longer using the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Montgomery GI Bill On-the-job training program for veterans because of the financial cost. For employers, it means paying out more money than necessary in order to secure a solid employee.
Under the Montgomery GI Bill On-the-job Training Program, the VA enters into agreements with employers whereas employers pay veterans the same wages as other employees during their job training. Additionally, employers give veterans raises every 6 months lasting up to 2 years. At the same time, the veterans collect a stipend from the VA which decreases at the same rate as their wages increase from their employer. In the end, the veteran has a stable income.
A new bill proposing to eliminate the guaranteed wage increases is in the House. Opponents of the bill say veterans will end up receiving less money due to the declining VA stipend. The reality is employers are not willing to pay the increases resulting in veterans making less money. The VA’s payments will also cease as employers will no longer meet the VA’s program qualifications. Beyond gaining what is hoped to be an exceptional employee, there is no advantage for the employer to participate in the program.
The changes to the program will be temporary and are designed to help those employers hit hard from the down economy but still interested in participating in the Montgomery GI Bill On-the-job Training Program. It is hoped once the economy recovers the program will resume as designed.
A provisional stoppage of the pay raise requirement could seal an agreement but that is only possible if the VA benefits do not decrease after 6 months. The bill is currently stalled in the house because of budgetary concerns and this agreement may only add to those problems. New allowance amounts will most likely increase the amount of employers participating in the program which will cause the VA to pay out more stipends.
Whatever happens, it is hoped the end result will benefit the veterans. While employers everywhere are certainly feeling the strain from the economy, trading off pay increases for high quality employees might be a solution.
Learn more about a bill that would eliminate veteran on-the-job payments.
Tags: Montgomery GI Bill, veteran employment, veteran on-the-job training program, Veterans' Benefits
Posted in General, Veterans' Benefits | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
It is not news the unemployment rate for veterans is higher than the general population and is showing no signs of decline. In an effort to curb this from becoming any worse, a group of Senators introduced the Veterans Employment Act of 2010. This bill is designed to improve:
- Job training;
- Transition assistance; and
- Job placement services.
The bill’s chief sponsor, Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., feels veterans possess a unique skill set that should be utilized more often in the private sector. He introduced the bill to prevent veterans from being forced into the private sector without any assistance. Veterans who served this country should not be the last in line waiting for jobs.
One of the veterans’ main complaints is the skills they learn in the military do not successfully transfer into the private sector. Civilian employers are not impressed with being able to lead, or being trained as a combat medic, for example. The current economy allows employers to pick and choose exactly who they want to work for them and this gives them the ability to hire people without having to spend time training them; a situation working against veterans.
The veteran’s employment bill was just recently introduced and is very broad in scope. The bill utilizes 6 different and progressive approaches in hopes of improving veteran’s chances of finding employment by:
- Overhauling transition assistance classes;
- Expanding the Post-9/11 GI Bill;
- Expanding the National Guard Employment Enhancement Project;
- Expanding the small business development program;
- Developing transition programs; and
- Providing grants for specific employment training programs.
Right now the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee is considering the bill. Standard operating procedure could see multiple committees claiming jurisdiction over the bill and may very well delay its passage. Only time will tell how important veterans employment is to these committees by how quickly this passes.
Learn more about the Veterans Employment Act of 2010 and how it will benefit veterans.
Tags: veteran employment act, veterans assistance, veterans legislation, Veterans' Resources
Posted in General, US Military Legislation, Veterans' Resources | 1 Comment »
Monday, April 26th, 2010
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is becoming more prevalent with every soldier in every deployment cycling back to the United States. It is one of the most common yet least understood ailments afflicting U.S. soldiers. Every day seems to bring new proposed methods of treatment for PTSD, but now a new danger looms.
A new study has shown that older veterans, who have been diagnosed with PTSD are twice as likely to develop dementia as those veterans who have never suffered from PTSD.
Showing the link, however, is not the same as explaining why the link occurs in the first place. Previous studies found a correlation between lowered brain volume in the hippocampus, which is a part of the brain involved in both memory and response to stress, and PTSD. Probably not coincidentally, Alzheimer’s (which has similar symptoms to dementia) most discernible trait is a loss of memory and other cognitive abilities:
- The ability to speak;
- The ability to identify objects; and
- The ability to think abstractly.
Data on 53,155 veterans diagnosed with PTSD was analyzed and compared to 127,928 veterans not suffering from PTSD. The study found of the veterans with PTSD, 10% developed new cases of dementia whereas of those veterans without PTSD, only 6.6% developed new cases of dementia.
Even after researchers compensated for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and/or depression, those veterans suffering from PTSD continued to be twice as likely to develop dementia as those veterans without PTSD. The correlation being established, more research will be needed to develop the relationship.
The one thing that is going to help combat PTSD and its debilitating effects is information. The more information we know about PTSD, the more successful we may be in preventing older veterans from developing dementia.
Learn more about PTSD patients being at higher risk for dementia.
If you are a veteran and suffering from PTSD and fighting the VA to get disability compensation, contact LaVan & Neidenberg, a veterans law firm located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We represent more than 5000 disability claimants. Our disability attorneys have experience with cross examining agency-appointed medical and vocational experts and take time when speaking with you about your disability claim. Call us today at 1-888-234-5758 for a FREE legal consultation. There is NO OBLIGATION to hire our firm and there are NO FEES unless one of our trained disability lawyers wins your case.
Tags: Dementia, PTSD, VA health care
Posted in General, Veterans' Disability | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Soldiers are taught to persevere in situations that present themselves as dire. They are taught to adapt a mindset and drive on through their obstacles to achieve their objective. Andrew Pogany learned this lesson very well and now uses this mindset to attack military leaders attempting to harm seemingly defenseless soldiers.
Pogany was once deemed a coward by the military. In 2003, Pogany, as 32-year-old Ssgt., volunteered to go to war with a team of Green Berets to replace another soldier that could not deploy. Within a couple days, Pogany saw a dead Iraqi; shredded down to almost nothing. His response was what he thought was a panic attack but was concluded to be nothing more than a normal combat stress reaction. Pogany was told to rest and go back to duty.
Pogany, however, was shipped back to Fort Carson where he was charged with “cowardly conduct as a result of fear.” He was being called a coward. Worse, the charge was punishable by death under the UCMJ. He was not convicted and it was later discovered that his reaction was due to an adverse reaction to an anti-malaria drug. He was discharged with full medical benefits.
He has been called a coward and angry. One justified, the other not so much. Pogany gets angry when he sees soldiers being treated wrongly by the military they volunteered to serve. Word has gotten around and Pogany is now the man to go to when soldiers have issues. Pogany understands how vital it is to have someone to go to in those darkest of times.
While Pogany lives for his advocacy, he is still training another person to help him out. As much as he would like to leave work and spend time with his new child, there always seems to be something drawing him back to his office; some new soldier in need of help or some new battle to fight.
Now it is the “coward” facing down the big bad military machine. He has done it hundreds of times and will likely do it hundreds of more times. Some people criticize Pogany and some praise his work. One thing both sides must agree on is that he cares about soldiers and he zealously advocates for his soldiers and what he believes they deserve.
Tags: Andrew Pogany, PTSD, veterans advocate, veterans assistance
Posted in Disabled Veterans, General | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki has very well defined goals for his expectations of the VA while he is in office. His most recent effort entailed asking Congress to consider developing jobs packages focusing on those separate from the military in an effort to reduce unemployment levels among veterans.
Sec. Shinseki believes specific legislation focusing on veterans would compliment the other initiatives the VA is undertaking. For example, the VA is attempting to find more federal jobs for veterans. Also, the VA allocated part of its $1 billion in stimulus funds in an attempt to support veteran-owned businesses to go after federal contracts.
The national unemployment rate is at 9.7%. The unemployment rate among veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan was at 14.7% in March. Sec. Shinseki’s theory is by reducing veteran unemployment rates, it will in turn reduce homelessness among veterans: one of Sec. Shinseki’s top priorities.
The VA provides many services to include housing, disability and educational benefits, and health services to over 8 million veterans and their dependents. In response to the growing concern in treating the psychological effects of combat, the VA has hired more mental health staff and created a suicide hotline.
Sec. Shinseki’s overall goal is to change the relationship between the VA and the veterans. Sec. Shinseki wants the VA to play an advocacy role for veterans, not an adversarial role.
The VA is attempting to solve many problems at once. While they are addressing their backlog of disability claims, they are also attempting to help veterans with the post-9/11 GI Bill and making accommodations for the growing number of female veterans. The VA is stretched pretty thin right now, but it is all for the best as long as it works out in the end. Veterans are a deserving group and Sec. Shinseki is one veteran that completely understands and embraces this.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Disabled Veterans, homeless veterans, Unemployed veterans, VA healthcare system, veterans assistance
Posted in Disabled Veterans, VA News, Veterans' Benefits | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
The last 7 years have seen a striking increase in the amount of disability claims being filed. According to a recent analysis, this recent spike has almost doubled the amount of money the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spends on disability for wounded veterans.
 The Cost of War and VA Disability Claims Contrary to what may be popular belief, the increase did not come from veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The increase is attributed to veterans from wars fought years prior. Vietnam and Persian Gulf veterans account for the over 80% rise in spending. The spending reached the staggering level of $34.3 billion last year.
Over the next 30 years, the number of veterans currently fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan filing disability claims will skyrocket past the 200,000 veterans from those two wars currently being paid out.
The VA’s disability compensation system is outdated to the point of being almost obsolete. The inefficiency of the system has lead the VA to where they are: somewhere between a 500,000 – 1 million disability claim backlog. This backlog contains a serious risk to those veterans suffering from such ailments as:
- Brain injuries;
- Back problems;
- Cancers; and
- Mental disorders.
There is so much paperwork generated by the current claim process it is difficult to imagine parts of the claims are never lost. Almost half of the backlogged claims take more than 120 days to process and thousands of claims take more than 2 years.
The backlog is going to get worse before it gets better. Congress recently allocated hundreds of millions of dollars allowing the VA to hire new workers to bring the backlog under control, rather than just fixing the system. The system is too far gone to be fixed with a patch, however, and requires more aggressive treatment.
Even if the claims were all being addressed on time, the VA is not able to handle certain claims. Psychological disability claims for things like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) account for over 1/3 of the $24 billion spent last year paying veterans from the “global war on terror,” Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf. Because there are so many claims, and the VA cannot handle these types of claims proficiently, delays are just going to continue to grow.
While the VA has tried to make some improvements in their processing system, those changes will take time to implement. For the time being, the VA is processing the claims in a very inefficient manner which affects veterans. There is a long way to go but knowing improvement needs to me made is the first step in actually improving.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Disabled Veterans, PTSD, VA disability compensation, VA healthcare system, veterans disability claims, Veterans' Benefits
Posted in Disabled Veterans, General, VA News, Veterans' Benefits, Veterans' Disability | No Comments »
Monday, April 19th, 2010
The Soldiers Project is a nonprofit foundation in Ventura County, California. The foundation offers free counseling to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
One of the founding members of the Soldiers Project, Dr. Carol Tanenbaum, recently gave a speech in which she spoke of “secondary infection” resulting from PTSD. This refers to activities and situations soldiers suffering from PTSD commonly find themselves in:
- Engaging in criminal behavior;
- Engaging in domestic violence;
- Self-medicating usually resulting in substance abuse;
- Becoming homeless; and
- Ending up in court.
Many soldiers returning from deployments find themselves unable to fit into the life they left behind; they find they can only relate to the people they were in combat with because those are the only ones that understand what they went through.
The Iraq and Afghanistan wars are different animals from previous wars because soldiers are being deployed multiple times. Therefore, there is not enough time between deployments for soldiers to fully rest and recover from their previous deployment to the detriment of their psychological and nervous systems.
Essentially, the multiple deployments are increasing the chances soldiers will develop PTSD. The Department of Defense (DoD) estimates of the 1.9 million soldiers deployed since 2003, more than 900,000 have been deployed multiple times.
Many soldiers are very resistant to using the Veterans Affairs (VA) system. The Soldiers Project, however, does not operate the same way as the VA and allows veterans and soldiers to be treated away from the VA system. The Soldiers Project is 100% confidential and also treats families of veterans.
The Soldiers Project is supported 100% through grants and private donations, has 300 therapists available in Southern California, and 400 nationwide.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Disabled Veterans, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, PTSD, Soldiers Project, TBI, veterans assistance, Veterans' Resources, Veterans’ Mental Health
Posted in Disabled Veterans, General, Iraq-Afghanistan War, Veterans' Resources | No Comments »
Thursday, April 15th, 2010
The Fayetteville, North Carolina VA (FVA) Clinic was in need of new direction; the old way of doing things was way out of line. More than 100,000 veterans depend on the Fayetteville VA Medical Clinic so when the Interim Director (ID) took his office it was his top priority to bring the clinic up to standards. The ID made his plan to save the clinic very clear:
- Patients first;
- Identify problems;
- Set priorities; and
- Solve problems.
Before taking his position, the Fayetteville VA received complaints from veterans ranging from rude staffers to terrible patient response time to faulty phone systems to poor parking. Since the ID has taken the helm, only good things have happened to the VA medical center. Complaints have stopped rolling in about the staff and treatment satisfaction rose to 62% in November and December. This is up from a 45% satisfaction rating in the middle of 2008 to last winter.
Now that the staff is coming around, the outpatient check-in area and the emergency department will be renovated. The renovations will take approximately 18 months and while this is happening, the 2 primary care clinics the FVA houses will be moved into provisional housing.
The temporary location will, at the very least, provide ample parking for the veterans. To solve the parking problem at the main clinic, staffers have been parking away from the clinic. Like the parking issue, the phone system will not be fixed on the ID’s watch. Of the 150 new staffers being hired, approximately 100 will be responsible for answering phones and making appointments.
Miserable may have been the way the FVA used to be described by the veteran-patients. The Interim Director has made broad steps in correcting the errors he could while in office. Once a permanent director is hired, and the renovations are complete, the FVA will be back up to standards and hopefully the veterans will be satisfied with the result.
Tags: Fayetteville VA, VA medical center, Veterans Health Care, Veterans' Resources
Posted in General, VA News | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
In the Yountville, California Veterans Home, not every veteran is on the same path. Three years ago the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched the Pathway Home Project (PHP), which houses approximately 30 young veterans from the “war on terror.” All the occupants of the PHP served in Iraq and Afghanistan and all suffer from deep, psychological scars as a result of their time served.
To date, around 150 soldiers have passed through the Pathway Home, with another graduation happening at the end of the month. Every veteran living in the Pathway Home is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The VA mental health care provider for the PHP estimates:
- 4 out of 5 have contemplated suicide; and
- 1 out of 5 has been homeless since returning from their deployment.
Private monies have kept the PHP above water for the last three years. The PHP costs $1.7 million per year to operate and those funds are just about exhausted. Without a federal grant or more outside donors, PHP will most likely close its doors.
The PHP is a very attractive environment for veterans because it is not a structured military environment. Instead, it is just a place where a couple of guys support each other through shared experiences. Additionally, there is a specialized therapy program and the ability to visit family.
Pathway Home is different from other rehabilitation homes. Besides the private funding, the PHP allows a more open mental health approach towards treating PTSD to include non-traditional treatments like involving family directly in therapy. Socialization is a very important part of the program, both for the veterans and their family.
Learn more about the Pathway Home Project and how it is helping young veterans with PTSD.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: mental health treatment, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, pathway home project, PTSD, VA health care, Veterans' Resources, Veterans’ Mental Health
Posted in General, Iraq-Afghanistan War, Veterans' Disability, Veterans' Resources | No Comments »
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