Durbin Visits Marion VA Hospital to Discuss Treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
DURBIN VISITS MARION VA HOSPITAL TO DISCUSS TREATMENT FOR POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met today with the director of the Marion VA Hospital, Robert Morrel, to discuss the VA's ability to serve new veterans from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan returning with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other ailments and injuries. Durbin was joined by Stephanie Stretch, a member of the 233rd National Guard Unit who received treatment for PTSD at the Marion VA Hospital upon returning from Iraq.
"The staff at the Marion VA hospital works hard with limited resources to provide veterans the healthcare services they need," Durbin said. "The men and women returning form Iraq and Afghanistan pose a new challenge for the VA. I want to make sure the VA is prepared to help counsel troops returning home with PTSD and other non-physical ailments."
"PTSD is a fairly new term, but it is by no means a new problem," Durbin said. "Soldiers who have endured the horrors of battlefield have long struggled with psychological trauma that is just as real -- and can be just as deadly -- as any other war wounds.
Durbin introduced legislation last month in the Senate requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to immediately strengthen its Post Traumatic Stress Disorder services for veterans and their families. Earlier this year, he held a series of roundtable discussions with new veterans suffering from PTSD - one of which was held at John A. Logan Community College and attended by Stephanie Stretch.
When Stretch first returned home from Iraq, she had some difficulty scheduling timely appointments for PTSD counseling at the Marion VA. While the Marion VA Hospital does not have a PTSD Clinical Team, it recently added several mental health professionals to its healthcare team. Durbin called the addition of the new counselors "a step in the right direction."
Durbin noted that the VA established a Special Committee on PTSD more than 20 years ago, which has issued four reports with recommended improvements for the treatment of PTSD. Last year, the GAO studied the progress on implementing these expert recommendations and found that the VA has not fully implemented any of them.
The Durbin bill requires the VA to implement three of the key treatment improvement recommendations made by its own Special Committee on PTSD.
The Durbin bill requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to:
# Establish a PTSD Clinical Team at every one of the nation's 157 VA Medical Centers. Approximately 60 VA Medical Centers do not currently have a PTSD Clinical Team;
# Provide a certified family therapist within each of the 207 Veteran Centers across the country;
# Appoint a regional PTSD Coordinator within each Veteran Integrated Service Network and Readjustment Counseling Service Region to evaluate programs, promote best practices, and make resource recommendations.
Altogether, the Durbin bill would add about 400 mental health professionals to the VA to treat veterans struggling with PTSD and to assist their families.
"It is important for Congress to act now," Durbin said. "If we continue to drag our feet on this, far too many soldiers with PTSD may go undiagnosed and untreated. Without treatment, veterans with PTSD are at high risk for drug abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, unemployment and even suicide. America's veterans deserve better."
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=243631&&