thedrifter
03-01-07, 07:21 PM
Bill would reform treatment of wounded vets
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Mar 1, 2007 17:00:08 EST
In the wake of the continuing scandal over the housing and medical evaluation process for wounded service members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, House and Senate Democrats have unveiled a sweeping bill promising comprehensive reforms of how combat veterans and their families are treated.
Called the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act, the bill would mandate housing standards for the wounded, overhaul disability review boards, require one caseworker for every 20 recovering service members, extend job protections for service members to include family members who are at their side during recovery, demand that an ombudsmen be available around the clock by phone and in any hospital with more than 100 patients, and create a new independent oversight board to monitor how recovering service members are treated.
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, a Democratic presidential candidate and a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee member who is the chief sponsor of the bill, said it is designed to “not only fix problems at Walter Reed but improve conditions at other hospitals.”
“We think this is a comprehensive bill,” he said.
“This is not window dressing,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., one of the co-sponsors. “This is not a new coat of paint.”
Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., one of the House co-sponsors, said, “It is appalling and absolutely unacceptable for our wounded troops to return from the front lines and receive this kind of treatment. We are going to investigate this and do everything we can to make sure this never happens to our brave men and women again."
The bill, introduced in the House and Senate, breaks down into six parts.
On housing for outpatients, the bill would set minimum standards so that living conditions for wounded and recovering service members would meet the all of the same standards that apply to permanent-party barracks. It would require regular inspections of outpatient housing for five or more patients at least twice a year by high-level military officials, create a zero-tolerance policy for pest infestation, and require a crisis counselor and an emergency medical technician to be available 24 hours a day at all outpatient residences. The bill also sets a 15-day limit for housing repairs to be made and, if that limit cannot be met, requires that alternative housing be provided.
On paperwork, the bill would order an overhaul of the cumbersome physical disability and evaluation system, which is part of the reason wounded service members are living at military hospitals even though they are no longer inpatients. It would have a single command responsible for a system that now varies among the services, require that the system be available for use online and also require any hospital with more than 100 recovering service members to have a single location for handling paperwork. The changes would have to be made within one year.
On caseworkers, the bill would require a minimum standard of one caseworker and one supervising noncommissioned officer for every 20 recovering service members. The Pentagon would have 45 days to meet this standard. Within 60 days, the Defense Department would have to come up with a better training program for caseworkers, to include a focus on suicide prevention and identifying mental health problems. Also, all caseworkers would get annual re-training.
For family members, the bill would break new ground by extending federal job protections — traditionally reserved for military members so they are rehired after separating from the military — to spouses and parents who leave their employment to help with the recovery of injured service members. Obama said family members should not have to choose between keeping a job or caring for a service member. Additionally, the bill would make family members living in military treatment centers eligible for military medical care, something not available to parents, grandparents or siblings of recovering service members. Family members helping with the care of injured service members also would get employment counseling from the military and have better crisis counseling and respite services, the bill says.
To better assist wounded service members and their families, the bill would require two bilingual 24-hour hotlines — one for crisis counseling and one for family assistance. Every major medical command would have to appoint an ombudsman for outpatient care.
And, because of concerns that the problems at Walter Reed happened under the noses of military leaders, the bill would create a Wounded Warrior Oversight Board appointed by Congress to oversee implementation of the bill and serve as an advocate for recovering troops and their families.
The effort has the support of congressional leaders. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said wounded military personnel and combat veterans “deserve nothing less than the best care, but the continuing revelations at Walter Reed Army Medical Center show a troubling trend.”
Pelosi said legislation to change outpatient treatment will be discussed as part of the wartime supplemental appropriations bill that will be debated in the House and Senate within weeks.
“Of all of the debts owed to the men and women who serve in our military, and to their families, none is more important than to ensure that those wounded in battle are treated immediately, and for as long as is required, with all of the medical skill, compassion and effectiveness that can be brought to bear,” Pelosi said. “It is clear that improvements are necessary to make certain that our national obligation is met."
Ellie
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Mar 1, 2007 17:00:08 EST
In the wake of the continuing scandal over the housing and medical evaluation process for wounded service members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, House and Senate Democrats have unveiled a sweeping bill promising comprehensive reforms of how combat veterans and their families are treated.
Called the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act, the bill would mandate housing standards for the wounded, overhaul disability review boards, require one caseworker for every 20 recovering service members, extend job protections for service members to include family members who are at their side during recovery, demand that an ombudsmen be available around the clock by phone and in any hospital with more than 100 patients, and create a new independent oversight board to monitor how recovering service members are treated.
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, a Democratic presidential candidate and a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee member who is the chief sponsor of the bill, said it is designed to “not only fix problems at Walter Reed but improve conditions at other hospitals.”
“We think this is a comprehensive bill,” he said.
“This is not window dressing,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., one of the co-sponsors. “This is not a new coat of paint.”
Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., one of the House co-sponsors, said, “It is appalling and absolutely unacceptable for our wounded troops to return from the front lines and receive this kind of treatment. We are going to investigate this and do everything we can to make sure this never happens to our brave men and women again."
The bill, introduced in the House and Senate, breaks down into six parts.
On housing for outpatients, the bill would set minimum standards so that living conditions for wounded and recovering service members would meet the all of the same standards that apply to permanent-party barracks. It would require regular inspections of outpatient housing for five or more patients at least twice a year by high-level military officials, create a zero-tolerance policy for pest infestation, and require a crisis counselor and an emergency medical technician to be available 24 hours a day at all outpatient residences. The bill also sets a 15-day limit for housing repairs to be made and, if that limit cannot be met, requires that alternative housing be provided.
On paperwork, the bill would order an overhaul of the cumbersome physical disability and evaluation system, which is part of the reason wounded service members are living at military hospitals even though they are no longer inpatients. It would have a single command responsible for a system that now varies among the services, require that the system be available for use online and also require any hospital with more than 100 recovering service members to have a single location for handling paperwork. The changes would have to be made within one year.
On caseworkers, the bill would require a minimum standard of one caseworker and one supervising noncommissioned officer for every 20 recovering service members. The Pentagon would have 45 days to meet this standard. Within 60 days, the Defense Department would have to come up with a better training program for caseworkers, to include a focus on suicide prevention and identifying mental health problems. Also, all caseworkers would get annual re-training.
For family members, the bill would break new ground by extending federal job protections — traditionally reserved for military members so they are rehired after separating from the military — to spouses and parents who leave their employment to help with the recovery of injured service members. Obama said family members should not have to choose between keeping a job or caring for a service member. Additionally, the bill would make family members living in military treatment centers eligible for military medical care, something not available to parents, grandparents or siblings of recovering service members. Family members helping with the care of injured service members also would get employment counseling from the military and have better crisis counseling and respite services, the bill says.
To better assist wounded service members and their families, the bill would require two bilingual 24-hour hotlines — one for crisis counseling and one for family assistance. Every major medical command would have to appoint an ombudsman for outpatient care.
And, because of concerns that the problems at Walter Reed happened under the noses of military leaders, the bill would create a Wounded Warrior Oversight Board appointed by Congress to oversee implementation of the bill and serve as an advocate for recovering troops and their families.
The effort has the support of congressional leaders. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said wounded military personnel and combat veterans “deserve nothing less than the best care, but the continuing revelations at Walter Reed Army Medical Center show a troubling trend.”
Pelosi said legislation to change outpatient treatment will be discussed as part of the wartime supplemental appropriations bill that will be debated in the House and Senate within weeks.
“Of all of the debts owed to the men and women who serve in our military, and to their families, none is more important than to ensure that those wounded in battle are treated immediately, and for as long as is required, with all of the medical skill, compassion and effectiveness that can be brought to bear,” Pelosi said. “It is clear that improvements are necessary to make certain that our national obligation is met."
Ellie