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03-06-05, 11:50 AM
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12,000 veterans find hope in Galveston
Many who suffer from atomic bomb radiation will be treated at clinic
By KEVIN MORAN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
GALVESTON - R.J. Ritter was one of the lucky ones.
During his Navy service, he was exposed to radiation during several 1950s nuclear bomb tests in the Pacific Ocean. But, unlike many of his military comrades, Ritter has not developed signs of skin cancer or other radiation-related ailments.
According to the National Association of Atomic Bomb Veterans, more than half of the 400,000 military personnel who were exposed to bomb radiation 50 years ago have developed related ailments, including the deadly skin disease melanoma.
Some of those veterans likely will be among about 12,000 treated at the new Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic that opened Friday just off of 61st Street in Galveston.
"This is a great day," said Ritter, a Houstonian, who is managing director of the atomic bomb veterans association.
"The VA is at the point where they're recognizing the plight of the atomic veteran and we're very pleased with that. And Congress has incorporated some new rules recognizing the needs of those veterans exposed to radiation."
For many years, records of veterans' radiation exposure were classified, making it almost impossible for exposed people to document a right to VA medical help, Ritter said.
The Galveston clinic began treating veterans this week and an identical clinic to be operated under contract with the VA by American Medical Services Inc. is scheduled to open April 4 in Texas City.
Other outpatient clinics financed by Houston's DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center are expected to open in Conroe, Tomball, Katy, Lake Jackson and Fort Bend County as funding becomes available over the next few years, officials said.
At Friday's Galveston clinic ribbon-cutting ceremony, veterans who have had to travel to the big VA hospital in Houston for care were jubilant at the advent of the outpatient facility.
"We've been waiting for this for a long time," said Bruce Hughes, a former Marine drill instructor who served in Vietnam and suffered service-related back problems.
Hughes, a Santa Fe resident and Galveston County purchasing director, said many mainland veterans eagerly await the Texas City clinic's opening. "If I need care, or any veteran down here needs care, what better place to have this clinic than in our own back yard?"
****inson resident and retired Air Force chief master sergeant Robert T. "Bob" Dambach agrees.
"Some people call it a benefit, but I call it an entitlement," said Dambach, a longtime veterans activist who now works as Galveston County veterans service officer for the Texas Veterans Commission.
"It's an entitlement because these veterans have served honorably and well and it's important to them that they be recognized."
Dambach, who served nine years in Vietnam, said he hopes the convenient outpatient clinics will show veterans that "the people are recognizing their sacrifices for this great country of ours."
The outpatient clinics offer both primary medical care and mental health care, said Dr. Ray Lanier, president of the Florida-based American Medical Services, which won the bids to operate the Galveston County clinics.
The Galveston clinic employs 30 people, including a medical doctor, a psychiatrist, two physician assistants, three nurse practitioners and radiology technicians. Lanier said all the clinic's employees, whose payroll totals more than $500,000 a year, live in Galveston County.
kevin.moran@chron.com
IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME :mad:
Semper fi
books :marine:
12,000 veterans find hope in Galveston
Many who suffer from atomic bomb radiation will be treated at clinic
By KEVIN MORAN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
GALVESTON - R.J. Ritter was one of the lucky ones.
During his Navy service, he was exposed to radiation during several 1950s nuclear bomb tests in the Pacific Ocean. But, unlike many of his military comrades, Ritter has not developed signs of skin cancer or other radiation-related ailments.
According to the National Association of Atomic Bomb Veterans, more than half of the 400,000 military personnel who were exposed to bomb radiation 50 years ago have developed related ailments, including the deadly skin disease melanoma.
Some of those veterans likely will be among about 12,000 treated at the new Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic that opened Friday just off of 61st Street in Galveston.
"This is a great day," said Ritter, a Houstonian, who is managing director of the atomic bomb veterans association.
"The VA is at the point where they're recognizing the plight of the atomic veteran and we're very pleased with that. And Congress has incorporated some new rules recognizing the needs of those veterans exposed to radiation."
For many years, records of veterans' radiation exposure were classified, making it almost impossible for exposed people to document a right to VA medical help, Ritter said.
The Galveston clinic began treating veterans this week and an identical clinic to be operated under contract with the VA by American Medical Services Inc. is scheduled to open April 4 in Texas City.
Other outpatient clinics financed by Houston's DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center are expected to open in Conroe, Tomball, Katy, Lake Jackson and Fort Bend County as funding becomes available over the next few years, officials said.
At Friday's Galveston clinic ribbon-cutting ceremony, veterans who have had to travel to the big VA hospital in Houston for care were jubilant at the advent of the outpatient facility.
"We've been waiting for this for a long time," said Bruce Hughes, a former Marine drill instructor who served in Vietnam and suffered service-related back problems.
Hughes, a Santa Fe resident and Galveston County purchasing director, said many mainland veterans eagerly await the Texas City clinic's opening. "If I need care, or any veteran down here needs care, what better place to have this clinic than in our own back yard?"
****inson resident and retired Air Force chief master sergeant Robert T. "Bob" Dambach agrees.
"Some people call it a benefit, but I call it an entitlement," said Dambach, a longtime veterans activist who now works as Galveston County veterans service officer for the Texas Veterans Commission.
"It's an entitlement because these veterans have served honorably and well and it's important to them that they be recognized."
Dambach, who served nine years in Vietnam, said he hopes the convenient outpatient clinics will show veterans that "the people are recognizing their sacrifices for this great country of ours."
The outpatient clinics offer both primary medical care and mental health care, said Dr. Ray Lanier, president of the Florida-based American Medical Services, which won the bids to operate the Galveston County clinics.
The Galveston clinic employs 30 people, including a medical doctor, a psychiatrist, two physician assistants, three nurse practitioners and radiology technicians. Lanier said all the clinic's employees, whose payroll totals more than $500,000 a year, live in Galveston County.
kevin.moran@chron.com
IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME :mad:
Semper fi
books :marine: