Seriously wounded get much-needed help
Veteran's Post
By FREDDY GROVES

As bad as it was, it appears that some good is now coming from the disclosure that care at Walter Reed was grossly substandard and that veterans were getting lost in the cracks. The seriously wounded and ill are finally going to get some muchneeded help.

The Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs have come to an agreement to hire Recovery Coordinators to oversee treatment plans and work with personnel on both sides. Combat veterans with traumatic brain injury, severe loss of hearing or vision, or multiple injuries will benefit from having one person who not only knows everything about their care plan, but who has the clout to make things happen. Coordinators will also step in to help families who are often lost in a maze of paperwork and misinformation.

By the time you read this, the first 10 Recovery Coordinator positions will have been filled. They're due to be trained and in position next month at Brooke Army, Bethesda Naval, Walter Reed and Balboa Park Naval hospitals.

There are a lot of crossed fingers over this agreement. Meredith Beck, policy director for the Wounded Warrior Project, is concerned about whether the new coordinators will actually have enough authority to do the jobs as outlined.

VA undersecretary Dr. Michael Kussman, however, says that the coordinators will have training, support and resources "from the highest levels of the VA and the DoD to remove any barriers to care and benefits."

That's going to be key for this to work - that all doors are opened to the coordinators and that all requests for support be met without delay. If not, it will turn into another government program that was better on paper than in actual execution.

Write to Freddy Groves in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL32853-6475, or send e-mail to columnreply@gmail.com.

(c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.