Veterans Health
It is essential that we provide the best possible care for our wounded and disabled veterans - Tom Udall
image by: Pixabay
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Veterans Finding a New Outlook Outdoors
Joshua Brandon was searching for peace. In 2009, after three combat tours in Iraq, Brandon had earned a Silver Star and two Bronze Stars with Valor Device, and was finally returning home. He was decorated and distinguished, but in his own words "washed up" as he was learning to survive with PTSD and the after-effects of war. He was not alone. Since 2001, more than two million troops have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Over half are married and 40% have at least two children. More than a quarter have self-reported depression, compounding the emotional and financial stress on their families.
The path forward for returning veterans can be bolstered by treatment, therapy, and…
Resources
Why veterans are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic
Different groups face different degrees of danger from the pandemic, from the elderly who are experiencing deadly outbreaks in nursing homes to communities of color with higher infection and death rates. Veterans are among the most hard-hit, with heightened health and economic threats from the pandemic. These veterans face homelessness, lack of health care, delays in receiving financial support and even death.
As More Military Women Seek Health Care, VA Pursues Improvements
Long a bastion of male warfighters, the VA says it has made headway in services ranging from gynecological care to mental-health treatment associated with sexual trauma.
Restoring Veterans' Health Through Virtual Reality
Perhaps the tipping point for the adoption of VR therapy platforms will occur once it becomes designated as a medical device. When it happens, I believe you could eventually see VR headsets in every hospital, every nursing home and every healthcare facility in the next couple of years.
The VA is turning to a controversial private group to handle the veteran suicide crisis
Every day 20 U.S. veterans kill themselves. It’s a mental-health crisis that the Department of Veteran Affairs has struggled to deal with.
V.A. Prepares for Major Shift in Veterans’ Health Care
The new measurement is expected to greatly open private-sector medical care to veterans in both rural communities and high-traffic urban areas, a goal conservatives have long pushed, especially after a 2015 scandal over hidden waiting lists for care. Veterans will also be allowed to use a bevy of walk-in clinics.
Veteran demand for mental healthcare is rising, but the VA isn’t prepared
New laws and technologies look to change the culture of scarcity that pervades the Department of Veterans Affairs.
VA Didn’t Publicly Acknowledge Shortages, Top Officials Say
The department has to compete with the private sector and other federal agencies for N-95 masks.
A simple guide to how VA health care works
The VA's system is separate from the health-care system that the military uses for active-duty personnel, retirees, dependents, and military families. The military, instead, operates the Military Health System.
Beyond The Battlefield
Beyond the Battlefield is a 10-part series The Huffington Post ran on consecutive weekdays starting Oct. 10, 2011. It is an exploration of the challenges, victories and problems that catastrophically wounded soldiers encounter after returning home from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Military Hospital Care Is Questioned; Next, Reprisals
At any hospital, patient safety and quality of care depend on the willingness of medical workers to identify problems. The goal is for medical workers to be free to speak bluntly to — and about — higher-ups without being ignored or, worse, punished.
My Army Service Made Me Believe in Universal Health Care
A veteran argues that civilians deserve the same access to coverage and treatment as those who wear the uniform.
Surviving Rape in the Military
The issue of sexual assault in the military makes the news periodically, usually in articles with mouth-dropping statistics and official outrage.
The Inconvenience of Being a Woman Veteran
When leaving the service, women are often faced with a slew of challenges as they try to assimilate into civilian life.
To Improve Care, Veterans Affairs Asks Patients Their Life Stories
Medical records at some hospitals now include 1,500-word narratives; ‘It makes a difference when they know you from a different perspective.’
Trauma Post Trauma
The “gold standard” treatment for PTSD makes many vets’ symptoms even worse.
US veterans and their unique issues: enhancing health care professional awareness
United States veterans are a multifaceted population with a distinct culture that includes, but is not limited to, values, customs, ethos, selfless duty, codes of conduct, implicit patterns of communication, and obedience to command. Veterans experience mental health disorders, substance use disorders, post-traumatic stress, and traumatic brain injury at disproportionate rates compared to their civilian counterparts.
VA And Military Health Care Are Separate, Yet Often Confused
Yet the VA and military health systems are completely different. They are not even part of the same cabinet department – the VA system is part of the Department of Veterans Affairs, while the military system is overseen by the Department of Defense. Here are some common questions about the two systems...
VA empire strikes back — bureaucrats vs. veterans’ health
The ink is barely dry on the 8.6 million “Choice Cards” that supposedly allow vets to see a doctor outside the delay-plagued VA system. But Obama’s budget tries to snatch the $10 billion allocated for choice and let VA top administrators spend it however they want. It’s a sickening betrayal.
Veterans Finding a New Outlook Outdoors
At a time when many trends with returning warriors are going the wrong way - alarming rates of depression and suicide, skyrocketing healthcare costs - the idea that an affordable treatment may be instantly available without prescription, side effect, or stigma sounds almost too good to be true.
Veterans Crisis Line
The Veterans Crisis Line connects Veterans in crisis and their families and friends with qualified, caring Department of Veterans Affairs responders through a confidential toll-free hotline, online chat, or text.
Feed Our Vets
Feed Our Vets is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to help Veterans in the United States, their spouses and children, whose circumstances have left them on the battlefield of hunger, and to involve the public in fighting Veteran hunger...
Military Bridge
From our military experience, we have learned over the course of time that there are several businesses that extend themselves to military members through exceptional service and/or military discounts. Our goal is to connect those that sacrifice for our country, to the businesses that sacrifice for them.
Military Connection
MilitaryConnection.com is one of the most comprehensive online directories of resources and information for military, veterans and their loved ones.
Military Health
The Military Health System (MHS) is one of America’s largest and most complex health care institutions, and the world’s preeminent military health care delivery operation. The MHS saves lives on the battlefield, combats infectious disease around the world, and cares for approximately 9.4 million beneficiaries in one of the nation’s largest health benefit plans.
Military Medical News
Military Medical News is a highly regarded medical newspaper circulated monthly throughout the United States and read by thousands of medical personnel within our armed Forces. In addition, numerous civilians who have left the military look to Military Medical News as a source of up to date information regarding the medical and healthcare changes occurring within the U.S Military Healthcare System.
Military.com
You have made many sacrifices as a Veteran, but just because you leave active-duty does not mean that you lose all of your health benefits. But what exactly are you qualified for? Do you need help with an old injury, rehabilitation, or alcohol/drug dependence counseling?
CP3
CP3 creates and sustains public-private research partnerships to advance the long term health and well-being of our service members, veterans, and their families.
Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury
The mission of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) is to improve the lives of our nation’s service members, families and veterans by advancing excellence in psychological health and traumatic brain injury prevention and care.
MilSpouseFest
MilSpouseFest is proud to offer online resources, modern military spouse content, in person interactive events across the country, and a witty take on life through a newsletter delivered in the comfort of your own home, no matter where the military has sent you.
National Military Family Association
Mission...to fight for benefits and programs that strengthen and protect Uniformed Services families and reflect the Nation’s respect for their service.
National Personnel Records Center
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) stores records of inpatient, outpatient, dental and mental health treatment of military retirees. These records reflect health care for former members during their retirement years but do NOT include former active duty medical records.
Navy Safe Harbor Foundation
Inspired by the military community, Navy Safe Harbor Foundation was created to efficiently identify and meet the needs of recovering Sailors, Coast Guardsmen, Merchant Marines and their families.
NHS
Military and veterans' healthcare.
Not In Visible
The importance and/or history of women in the US military.
Operation First Response
The mission of Operation First Response, Inc (OFR) is to serve all branches of our nation's Wounded Heroes/Disabled Veterans and their families with personal and financial needs. Services are provided from the onset of injuries or illness, throughout their recovery period and along their journey from military life to the civilian world.
Our Veterans Deserve Better: Fixing a Broken VA Healthcare System
Absent a sustained commit to reform, the law of bureaucratic gravity pulls agencies back to the status quo. I’m concerned that is what we’re seeing with the VA.
Real Warriors
The Real Warriors Campaign is a multimedia public awareness campaign designed to encourage help-seeking behavior among service members, veterans and military families coping with invisible wounds.
VA
Mission Statement...to fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's veterans.
Veterans Today
Veterans Today (VT) is an independent online journal representing the positions and providing news for members of the military and veteran community in areas of national security, geopolitical stability and domestic policy. All writers are fully independent and represent their own point of view and not necessarily the point of view of any other writer, administrator or entity.
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