From a TBI Provider

TBI: A Provider's Story 03/21/09. Scully is the neurology consultant for the Europe Regional Medical command and chief neurologist at the Army's busiest health care gateway at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany. She described soldier after soldier reporting the same types of problems. They had all been "blown up," she said, exposed to blasts from terrorist weapons or knocked unconscious by blows to the head. They couldn't sleep. They couldn't focus on their jobs. They weren't the same people they had been before - often superior soldiers before being sent into war's cauldron. Military Health System

Emergency Treatment at Non-VA Facilities

House Veterans' Panel Approves Bill That Would Cover Emergency Treatment at Non-VA Facilities 03/21/09. The House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health on Thursday by voice vote approved a bill (HR 1377) that would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide reimbursement for emergency treatment received at hospitals not affiliated with VA, CQ Today reports. The bill, sponsored by House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chair Bob Filner (D-Calif.), would cover veterans who have private health insurance coverage but still have outstanding emergency-treatment bills. The measure does not require VA to cover veterans' copayments for emergency treatment. The subcommittee also adopted by voice vote an amendment by Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) that would make the measure effective on the date of enactment and allow the VA secretary to provide reimbursements for emergency treatment provided at non-VA facilities at any time before the date of enactment. KaiserNetwork.org

Jobless Rate for Veterans Serving in the Post 9/11 Era

Employment Situation of Veterans 2008 03/21/09. The unemployment rate for all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces was 4.6 percent in 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The jobless rate for those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces since September 2001 was 7.3 percent. Bureau of Labor Statistics

TBI Basics

Traumatic Brain Injury: The Basics 03/19/09. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the most common combat-related injury. In fact, nearly 30 percent of all patients with combat-related injuries seen at Walter Reed Army Medical Center from 2003 to 2008 sustained a TBI. Although it is an important issue year round, March is designated as Brain Injury Awareness Month—a time to focus on this condition that affects so many of our brave service members. Military Health System

Lawmakers Against Obama's Plan

Lawmakers Say They Will Not Draft or Advance Obama's Plan To Reduce VA Costs by Having Private Insurers Pay for Care 03/18/09. Lawmakers on Tuesday "explicitly ruled out" the possibility of enacting President Obama's proposal to have private insurers cover the costs of combat-related injuries for veterans, the Washington Post reports (Scott Tyson, Washington Post, 3/18). Under the policy, which is included in Obama's fiscal year 2010 budget proposal, the Department of Veterans Affairs would bill health insurers for treatment of injuries and conditions sustained as a result of veterans' military service. Currently, VA covers those costs and bills health insurers only for treatment for conditions unrelated to veterans' military service (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 3/10). VA estimates the plan could save the agency $530 million annually in health care cost. KaiserNetwork.org

E-stim for Paralyzed Limb

Engineer: Computer learning, electrical stimulation offer hope for paralyzed 03/18/09. Trainers have used it for decades to help athletes build muscle. Late-night TV commercials hawk it as an effortless flab buster. But a University of Florida engineering researcher says electrical stimulation -- a simple, decades-old technique to prompt muscles to contract -- can be combined with sophisticated computer learning technology to help people regain more precise, more life-like control of paralyzed limbs. University of Florida via Eurekalert!

New VAMC to be Built in Denver

VA to Build Stand-Alone Replacement Hospital in Denver 03/18/09. Fulfilling President Obama’s pledge to “stand with our veterans as they face new challenges,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced today that the Department of Veterans Affairs will build a stand-alone replacement hospital for its existing facility in Denver. The new facility will be located on the grounds of the Army’s former Fitzsimons hospital in Aurora. VA

New PTSD Treatment

New strategy to weaken traumatic memories 03/17/09. People suffering from PTSD often suffer from vivid intrusive memories of their traumas. Current medications are often ineffective in controlling these symptoms and so novel treatments are needed urgently. In the February 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier, a group of basic scientists shed new light on the biology of stress effects upon memory formation. In so doing, they suggest new approaches to the treatment of the distress related to traumatic memories. Their work is based on the study of a drug, RU38486, that blocks the effects of the stress hormone cortisol. Elsevier via Eurekalert!

Veterans May Have to Pay for Service-Related Care

Obama Administration Considers Requiring Veterans To Use Private Health Insurance for Coverage of Service-Related Injuries 03/17/09. Representatives of several veterans groups on Monday criticized a proposal that would bill private insurance companies for combat- and service-related medical care, McClatchy/Arizona Daily Star reports (McClatchy/Arizona Daily Star, 3/17). The proposal is included in President Obama's fiscal year 2010 budget proposal. Currently, the Department of Veterans Affairs covers those costs and bills health insurers only for treatment for conditions unrelated to veterans' military service. KaiserNetwork.org

VAOIG Assessment of Butler, Pennsylvania VA

Combined Assessment Program Review of VA Butler Healthcare Butler, Pennsylvania 03/16/09. The purpose of the review was to evaluate selected operations, focusing on patient care administration and quality management (QM). During the review, we provided fraud and integrity awareness training to 188 facility employees. This review covered six operational activities. The facility complied with selected standards in the following three activities: (1) medication management, (2) patient satisfaction, and (3) suicide prevention program. We identified Project Life Saver and automated tracking of environmental rounds findings as organizational strengths. We made recommendations for improvement in the following three activities: Environment of care. Coordination of care. VAOIG

Obama Promises 21st Century Health Care for Veterans

Obama Says Veterans Must Be Repaid With Quality Care 03/16/09. Caring for veterans is a responsibility and duty for all Americans, and the employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs are those who are charged with repaying “that debt of honor,” President Barack Obama said during a ceremony here marking the department’s 20th anniversary today. The president promised the VA employees that he will make good on his promise to create a 21st-century department. DefenseLink

New Class of Drugs for TBI

Alzheimer's disease therapeutic prevents long-term damage from TBI in pre-clinical studies 03/15/09. A class of Alzheimer's disease drugs currently studied in clinical trials appears to reduce damage caused by traumatic brain injury in animals, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center report in an upcoming advance online publication of Nature Medicine. Georgetown University Medical Center via Eurekalert!