thedrifter
10-31-07, 04:14 PM
Wanted: 10 new coordinators to help wounded
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 31, 2007 13:39:20 EDT
The federal government has launched an effort to hire coordinators to help the most seriously wounded combat veterans transition from the military health care system to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
An agreement signed Wednesday between the Defense Department and VA sets the stage for 10 “federal recovery coordinators” to be hired by Dec. 1 to oversee and arrange care for combat-injured troops. More coordinators could be hired later.
VA spokesman Matt Smith said officials were confident they could hire 10 qualified people in about a month, an ambitious prospect given the complicated federal hiring process. Ideal candidates would have experience dealing with managed health care and with the military and veterans’ health care systems, VA officials said.
How easy it will be to find people with that mix of skills is unclear, but there is expected to be no lack of applicants — the jobs pay between $83,000 and $149,000.
The first group of coordinators will be assigned in January to the four major military health facilities — two Army and two Navy — to help severely injured or ill combat veterans and their families.
VA officials said the new employees will be responsible for coordinating medical services between military and veterans’ facilities, and private-sector facilities if they are needed, and also will help troops and families deal with the federal bureaucracy.
At first, coordinators will be based at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio; the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.; and Balboa Park Naval Medical Center in San Diego.
The announcement received mixed reviews from Meredith Beck, national policy director for the Wounded Warrior Project.
“While the recovery coordinators are a great concept, they will only be as good as the level of authority they are given to break down the bureaucratic barriers facing our wounded warriors,” she said.
The VA statement says coordinators will have support from senior VA and Pentagon officials, but Beck said that is not enough. Coordinators could find their hands tied unless Congress passes a proposal allowing overlapping coverage between the military and VA health care systems, she said.
Recovery coordinators will not work with everyone injured or disabled in combat. Instead, they will be assigned to help the most seriously injured, including those with major amputations, severe traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, severe loss of hearing or vision, or multiple injuries.
Congress is considering legislation that would require wider use of case managers so that every wounded service member is assigned someone to oversee his treatment and help navigate the bureaucracy.
Acting VA Secretary Gordon Mansfield said the agreement “ensures our nation’s active-duty service members and veterans who have been wounded receive the very best care during their recoveries.”
“Service members, veterans and their families can be assured they will have an ultimate resource they can rely on whenever help is needed from VA or DoD,” Mansfield said in a statement.
Dr. Michael Kussman, VA undersecretary for health, said in a statement that coordinators “will have the training, resources and support from the highest levels of VA and DoD to help remove any barriers to care and benefits for the service members, veterans and their family members.”
Ellie
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 31, 2007 13:39:20 EDT
The federal government has launched an effort to hire coordinators to help the most seriously wounded combat veterans transition from the military health care system to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
An agreement signed Wednesday between the Defense Department and VA sets the stage for 10 “federal recovery coordinators” to be hired by Dec. 1 to oversee and arrange care for combat-injured troops. More coordinators could be hired later.
VA spokesman Matt Smith said officials were confident they could hire 10 qualified people in about a month, an ambitious prospect given the complicated federal hiring process. Ideal candidates would have experience dealing with managed health care and with the military and veterans’ health care systems, VA officials said.
How easy it will be to find people with that mix of skills is unclear, but there is expected to be no lack of applicants — the jobs pay between $83,000 and $149,000.
The first group of coordinators will be assigned in January to the four major military health facilities — two Army and two Navy — to help severely injured or ill combat veterans and their families.
VA officials said the new employees will be responsible for coordinating medical services between military and veterans’ facilities, and private-sector facilities if they are needed, and also will help troops and families deal with the federal bureaucracy.
At first, coordinators will be based at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio; the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.; and Balboa Park Naval Medical Center in San Diego.
The announcement received mixed reviews from Meredith Beck, national policy director for the Wounded Warrior Project.
“While the recovery coordinators are a great concept, they will only be as good as the level of authority they are given to break down the bureaucratic barriers facing our wounded warriors,” she said.
The VA statement says coordinators will have support from senior VA and Pentagon officials, but Beck said that is not enough. Coordinators could find their hands tied unless Congress passes a proposal allowing overlapping coverage between the military and VA health care systems, she said.
Recovery coordinators will not work with everyone injured or disabled in combat. Instead, they will be assigned to help the most seriously injured, including those with major amputations, severe traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, severe loss of hearing or vision, or multiple injuries.
Congress is considering legislation that would require wider use of case managers so that every wounded service member is assigned someone to oversee his treatment and help navigate the bureaucracy.
Acting VA Secretary Gordon Mansfield said the agreement “ensures our nation’s active-duty service members and veterans who have been wounded receive the very best care during their recoveries.”
“Service members, veterans and their families can be assured they will have an ultimate resource they can rely on whenever help is needed from VA or DoD,” Mansfield said in a statement.
Dr. Michael Kussman, VA undersecretary for health, said in a statement that coordinators “will have the training, resources and support from the highest levels of VA and DoD to help remove any barriers to care and benefits for the service members, veterans and their family members.”
Ellie