National Association of Social Workers

Reforming Care for Afflicted Soldiers

Improved Mental Health Treatment a Focus of Report

Major changes are needed in the way the U.S. treats its wounded military personnel.

By Paul R. Pace, News Staff

Illustration: John Michael Yanson

Unprecedented changes in the way the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) treat wounded military personnel and veterans are under way.

Earlier this year, newspaper articles highlighted an overburdened VA system that appeared ill-equipped in some cases to treat an ever increasing number of wounded soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Several stories recounted how soldiers afflicted with serious cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD symptoms and brain-injury trauma faced frustration in getting their needs met. Red tape, lost records and lack of communication, timely services and transitions of care were some of the issues wounded personnel said they faced.

In response, President Bush ordered a comprehensive review of the military's health care system in March. A final report from a commission appointed by the president was released in late July. Rather than treat the problems with temporary patches, as one report author stated, major changes are needed in the way the U.S. treats its wounded military personnel. For the first time ever, the VA and DoD were ordered to join their efforts to reduce barriers to care.

The commission was co-chaired by former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.), a U.S. veteran, and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala. Their report was based on input from the public, site visits to the military and VA centers across the country, briefings by medical experts and agency officials and surveys from injured service members.

Dole and Shalala called for a "patient centered" care system for treating wounded soldiers and veterans.

Social workers are among the professionals being sought in the plan to form integrated care teams, the report states. "These teams would create injured service members' initial recovery plans, which would start with a clinical evaluation."

Kristin Day, acting national director of Social Work Service at the VA, said she's pleased with the report's recommendations.

"Changes have been involved at the VA even before the report was issued," she said in August. "Many internal health reviews were taking place prior to those stories."

The new effort is stronger inpatient-centered care, she said. "This generation of veterans will be in the driver's seat of their care. We'll give them the recovery they want when and how they want it."

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From October 2007 NASW News. © 2007 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. NASW News articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of copyright and credit to the NASW News must appear on all copies made. This permission does not apply to reproduction for advertising, promotion, resale, or other commercial purposes.