Final Hearing Held by Dole-Shalala Presidential Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors

From Kaiser Network Daily Reports:

A presidential commission on health care for soldiers on Friday held a seventh and final hearing that focused on problems with "moving patients through various stages of aid," the New York Times reports (Palank, New York Times, 6/30).

President Bush in March named former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.), a disabled veteran of World War II, and University of Miami President and former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala as co-chairs of the nine-member commission. Bush formed the commission after the Washington Post published a two-part series that examined problems with the conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the process by which injured veterans seek disability compensation (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 4/16).

At the hearing, commission members said that current veterans are more likely than veterans of previous wars to require complicated treatments for multiple injuries -- such as shrapnel wounds, burns and brain injuries. In addition, many veterans with physical injuries experience post-traumatic stress disorder, commission members said.

Commission members also said that more veterans should receive care at home to reduce stress on families that in some cases must travel long distances to Department of Veterans Affairs or Department of Defense medical centers. VA also does not provide adequate help to families that care for veterans at home, commission members said (New York Times, 6/30).

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

Continuing:

The commission this month plans to release a final report.

Report Details
Shalala said that the report will include about a dozen recommendations and will determine "in a more systematic way" whether the reported problems at Walter Reed are indicative of problems throughout the health care system for veterans. "One thing that will make our report truly different is that it will be evidence-based, based on the current science and present-day practice," Shalala said.

 Related Posts

• Reaction to Dole-Shalala Commission Recommendations
  
• IL Chief of Vets Affairs Tammy Duckworth Testifies on TBI and PTSD
  
• Veterans Must Act Quickly to Submit Concerns to VA Presidential Task Force
  
• Walter Reed Hearings Review and Latest Developments