VA to test all combat vets for brain injury

[babylonsister]

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/02/TNSbraininjuries070228/

VA to test all combat vets for brain injury

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 28, 2007 13:48:29 EST

All Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans receiving veterans’ medical care will be screened for hidden traumatic brain injuries beginning this spring, Department of Veterans Affairs officials announced Tuesday.

All 155 medical centers will participate in screening every patient who served in the combat zones, according to a statement.

Additionally, VA officials said they are creating a panel of outside experts to review how the VA detects and treats what medical experts say has become the signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts: brain injuries that may not be readily apparent.

Mandatory training is already under way for all VA health care professionals in diagnosing traumatic brain injuries.

The VA has been a recognized leader in treating brain injuries and rehabilitating brain-injured veterans, but it is not clear that the department has been fully prepared for the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, where explosions, especially from roadside bombs, have put large numbers of troops at risk for brain injuries that are not immediately visible and can be difficult to diagnose.

VA officials said traumatic brain injury can be caused without any visible injuries when explosives jar the brain inside the skull. Symptoms can range from headaches, irritability and sleep disorders to memory problems and depression.

In a statement, Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson said the VA is adapting. “VA is a nationally recognized leader in health care, and our system is dynamic. We are constantly striving to improve the care we provide to our veterans,” Nicholson said.

more...

[Monkeyman]

1. This guy lies so we have to wait and see if true

[babylonsister]

2. He acted swiftly after being embarrassed on nat'l TV; see, media

exposure is NECESSARY to keep these clods honest.

[Danieljay]

3. And then send them back to fight regardless - check out this article from Newsweek

Military personnel with brain injuries pressured to return quickly to duty

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17350373 /

From the article... of course, the Pentagon had no answer:


"...many experts were concerned about low-level brain injuries among the troops. The rehabilitation experts at Veterans Affairs had been shocked to hear that soldiers and Marines who had been exposed to the concussive force of numerous blasts from roadside bombs, but not obviously injured, were routinely returned to duty.

The VA experts worried that this could lead to an epidemic of mental health issues among veterans in the years to come. I asked at the Pentagon if anyone was concerned about the issue and got no answer."

[MADem]

4. Pity they didn't have this program in place years ago, and started with the

Commander in Chief. They could have medically retired him in 01, and maybe the stress would have caused VP Tick Tock to take immediate early retirement, too. Then, we'd have been led by Fat Bastard Hastert, but he at least had that slug-like quality of not doing much at all, so it would have been an improvement.

On a serious note, though, we DO know what they are doing--they are using the screening to SHOOT DOWN any future VA benefit claims. "Oh, you must have hit your head LATER, or gotten in a car accident--it's NON-SERVICE-CONNECTED, your problems now, you see...."

Mark my words. Every single kid who's ever been in theater should self-assess with more headaches--JUST in case.

[Divernan]

5. Get ready for the hired gun/whore MD's.

What they can do is get on every vet's record that he was tested on such and such a date, and the (VA funded) doctor found zero or minimal injury/damage. Here's a clue - brain damage/injury can be very subtle and take time to evidence itself. A wham-bam, thank you ma'am exam by a not-so-specialized doc is not reliable. We don't even know WHO will be "screening" and what the "screening" will consist of. But I betcha they'll get every vet to sign some statement that he received screening and accepts the results. That will block any claim for benefits when problems surface at a later date.

It will be analagous to the "disability screenings" going on at Walter Reed, and we know how bogus those have been.

[maxrandb]

6. Can they also check the Commander in Chief?

If ever there was a man that needs his head examined, it's that guy.

Off topic a little, but I think that if the Republic Party wants to keep harping on the fact that GWB is the C-in-C, then he should be subject to the same rules as us active duty folks.

Can someone tell me why, after 23 years of honorable service, I'm still required to pee in a cup for a drug test, but the people who start the wars, and fund the wars are not?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not an anti-drug fanatic, and my brothers been instructed to have some good weed standing by when I retire, but fair-is-fair. Either piss in the bottle with me, or don't require it.

<rant off>

[razors edge]

7. Accepting treatment for mental conditions

is a major flag on a firearm purchase check. Most of these guys will not sign up for that type of treatment once they become aware of this.

Sad, but i do think they will fight against any classification of mentally disturbed themselves.

[Hekate]

8. Why do I doubt this? They've promised to screen for other things and then didn't.

Whatever they find they can be held responsible for trying to fix. If they don't find it (or report it honestly), then they can pretend to be off the hook.

They've got a bad record that way with the troops and vets. Just ask those who've been exposed to Depleted Uranium.

Hekate