Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Veterans issues: Backlog, PTS, MST, job fairs

Jeremy Schwartz (Austin American-Statesman) reports a veteran shot himself Monday in a bathroom at the Olin E. Teague Veterans' Medical Center in Temple, Texas.  A spokesperson for the VA states the incident is being taking seriously and a review is being conducted.  For a number paying attention, a VA self-review will provide little comfort.  As the editorial board of Bowling Green's Daily News reminds:

A recent investigation determined that while veterans were waiting longer than ever in recent years for their wartime disability compensation, the department gave its workers millions of dollars for “excellent” performances that effectively encouraged them to avoid claims that needed extra work to document veterans’ injuries.
In 2011, a year in which the claims backlog ballooned by 155 percent, more than two-thirds of claims processors shared $5.5 million in bonuses. The most complex claims were often set aside by workers so they could keep their jobs, meet performance standards or, in some cases, collect extra pay.




On VA bonuses, Andrew Evans (Washington Free Beacon) reports:

William Nicklas entered the Pittsburgh Veterans Affairs hospital due to nausea on Nov. 1. He was a former Navy sailor, and he thought that he would receive the best possible care at the VA hospital. William died less than a month later from a Legionnaires’ infection contracted at the hospital—an outbreak that had already claimed four lives.
Two regional VA executives received hefty bonuses in the middle of the outbreak. Earlier this year, one of those executives received the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award for his work, which came with a 35 percent bonus.

The bonuses regarding the VA backlog only encourages more problems with the backlog.   Mary Shinn, Daniel Moore and Steven Rich (News21) explain, "The more complex claims were often set aside by workers so they could keep their jobs, meet performance standards or, in some cases, collect extra pay, said VA claims processors and union representatives. Those claims now make up much of the VA’s widely scrutinized disability claims backlog, defined by the agency as claims pending more than 125 days."  Relared, Steve Vogel (Washington Post) reports on a new VA claims backlog, "The 256,061 veterans appealing decisions represent an approximately 50 percent increase since President Obama took office. And more are coming. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals, which makes the final administrative decisions on appeals, expects its number of pending cases to double over the next four years."

When you 'clear' the backlog by slapping on snap-judgments, you end up with an appeals backlog.  That's not a surprise, the VA was warned about this by Congress this year.  But the VA (and the White House) didn't care, they just wanted the numbers that kept rising to go down somewhat so they'd get some easy press and could pretend that the issue was being addressed.

A veteran being moved off the stack of 'unprocessed disability claims' by being a handed an incorrect disability rating has not been helped.  That man or that woman has been handed a VA-created problem that the veteran will now have to use more time and energy attempting to fix.  This is unacceptable and editorial boards need to be loudly calling this out.  It's a shell game the VA's playing and veterans in need of assistance have neither the time nor inclination to play games so that the VA can pretend that they're reducing the backlog.

Yesterday, the Wounded Warrior Project released the results of a survey they conducted with RAND and Westat research organizations of  "nearly14,000 Iraq and Afghanistan members."  Leo Shane III (Stars and Stripes) notes that the findings include the prevalance of Post-Traumatic Stress with three out of every four veterans wounded in the Iraq War or the Afghanistan War self-disclosing PTS "and even more struggle with depression."

Kevin Matthews (Care2care) notes, "This year, the Institute of Medicine conducted research that concluded soldiers who suffered sexual assault while serving subsequently experienced higher rates of other physical and mental health problems. Some of the most common effects include insomnia, anxiety, PTSD and eating disorders."  Zooming in on female veterans, Caitlin Cruz (Center for Public Integrity) reports:

 At least one in five female veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has screened positive for military sexual trauma (MST) once back home, Department of Veterans Affairs records show. And this may understate the crisis, experts say, because this number only counts women who go to the VA for help.
Young female veterans — those returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — often don’t show up for their first VA appointments, if they show up at all, said Ann LeFevre, MST coordinator at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System in California. “They think they’re alone and they don’t want to talk about it,” LeFevre said. “Especially with new returners, it takes a lot to get them on the VA campus. It can remind them of their base where the assault occurred.”  

In addition, Cruz, Asha Anchan and Kelsey Hightower note that women make up 17.4% of Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans and they " are less likely to find a job than male veterans and more likely to be a single parent with children to support, interviews and records show."
   zzz

Columbus, Ohio will be the site for the Ohio Women Veterans Conference on September 24th and the keynote speaker will be Iraq War veteran Jessica Lynch.  The Beacon notes:


Time is running short for women veterans in Ohio to register for a unique opportunity to network with other women veterans while gaining valuable information. The deadline to register for the Ohio Women Veterans’ Conference is Sept. 16.
The bi-annual conference will be held on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Aladdin Shrine Center in Columbus. The cost is $10, and includes a luncheon meal. Due to the anticipated large attendance, advance registration is advisable. To register, visit:
http://dvs.ohio.gov/home/committees/women_veterans_advisory_committee


Still on veterans,  the Chamber of Commerce's Hiring Our Heroes job fairs are taking place across the country. Upcoming job fairs include:

* Event date may be subject to change.
September 12, 2013 – Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA Military Spouse Hiring Fair
September 12, 2013 – Boise, ID
September 12, 2013 – Provo, UT
September 12, 2013 – Trenton, NJ
September 17, 2013 – Baton Rouge, LA
September 17, 2013 – Portsmouth, NH
September 19, 2013 – Richmond, VA
September 19, 2013 – Camp Pendleton, CA
September 19, 2013 – Lewiston, ME
September 19, 2013 – Los Angeles, CA - Tracks to Success
September 20, 2013 – Spokane, WA
September 25, 2013 – Morgantown, WV
September 26, 2013 – Sidney, OH
September 26, 2013 – Cheyenne, WY
October 1, 2013 – Little Rock, AR
October 1, 2013 – Northampton, MA
October 2, 2013 – Ann Arbor, MI
October 3, 2013 – Baltimore, MD
October 4, 2013 – Charlotte, NC
October 4, 2013 – Aurora, IL
October 8, 2013 – Southfield, MI
October 8, 2013 – Augusta, ME
October 8, 2013 – Raleigh, NC
October 10, 2013 – San Francisco, CA
October 12, 2013 – Bayamon, Puerto Rico Military Spouse Hiring Fair




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