DOD, VA medical programs too complex for those with brain-damage , panel says

[babylonsister]

DOD, VA medical programs too complex for those with brain-damage , panel says


By Morgan Ashenfelter

(AXcess News) Washington - The bureaucracies that are supposed to help brain-injured war veterans are too complex for them to navigate, a panel of military and medical experts concluded at a meeting Tuesday.

Specifically, the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense need better coordination of their programs, according to the panel, which was part of a daylong Washington Defense Forum sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and the Military Officers Association of America.

The panel included two military officers, a doctor, a lobbyist and the chief executive officer of the Brain Injury Association of America.

"The systems in the VA and DOD seem to be against what brain injury can handle," said Susan Connor, chief executive officer the Brain Injury Association. "Because the frontal lobe controls memory, thinking, judgment and processing ... if you shove paperwork in front of someone with sustained brain injury or put them in a large group with scripted instructions, they can't follow it."

more...

http://axcessnews.com/index.php/articles/show/id/12385

[Solly Mack]

1. 4 years after a soldier I know that was injured (brain injury)

his short term memory is still bad...at first he couldn't retain more than 15 minutes ...while it is better...he will forget he went to an appointment and go back the next day thinking it's time for his appointment...

fortunately, he has a mom that fights for his rights and treatments

[Maraya1969]

4. I know this may not be available but for people on Medicair they can have

a visiting nurse come for a certain amount of times. The nurse can help him get organized. Of course that is for peoples with Medicaid. I don't know if the military offers such a service. If has has gotten SSD or SSDI he would be eligible.

[WillyT]

2. K & R !!!

:kick:

[ClayZ]

3. K and R

[Mythsaje]

5. They just need to put people first and red tape last...

Make sure they're getting the help they need and worry about the paperwork after...

I hate red tape and bureaucracy myself. Not because of any brain damage (or, at least, not because of any post-natal brain damage, as far as I can tell) but because my brain is not well suited for sequencing tasks. If I'm confronted with a "do this, then this, then that, then this, then that, then this," scenario, I get scrambled up and get very, very frustrated.