Here for veterans

Eight Veterans Administration (VA) representatives were at the Platte Valley Clinic Feb. 26 to discuss ways they could work with the local clinic and to spread information about programs that are available to veterans.

The eight representatives were: Veteran Experience Officer Mary Lee; Health Care Coordinator Jennifer Goodman, MSN, RN CCRN; Facility Strategic Planner Carolyn Thompson; Transitional Social Worker Drew Waldbauer; Enrollment Specialist Mike Grace; Public Affairs Specialist Sam House; Telehealth Specialist Pamela Pickering; and Veterans Benefits Specialist Dave Rucker.

Satisfaction

Veteran Experience Officer Mary Lee is one of the people a veteran would talk to if they are unsatisfied with their healthcare either overall or with a particular person or situation. The experience officer is also one of the people who makes sure medical bills are paid, whether through Choice (the government payer) or through emergency approval into a civilian facility. The 33-year employee hands out a business card with a phone number on the back that a VA enrolled veteran can use to get the ball rolling on payment in a non-VA facility. That emergency authorization number is 1-888-795-0773.

Members of the group even said they would even go knock on a doctor's door to make sure the veteran could at least get an answer as to their care.

Telehealth Discussion

VA Telehealth Specialist Pamela Pickering, VA Facility Strategic Planner Carolyn Thompson and Platte Valley Clinic representative Mark Pesognelli visited about what needs to be done to make VA telehealth work in conjunction with the clinic.

Pickering talked about the benefits to using VA Video Connect or a clinic based telehealth system. The main advantage she listed was shortening drives to see a doctor. Recently upgraded encryption was discussed along with privacy issues that would need to be addressed at the clinic.

On the plus side for Saratoga, the recent upgrade to high speed internet in the area was a positive the visitors were enthusiastic to see.

Technical issues with connections, firewalls, staffing and dedicated and private areas were discussed in using the clinic's soon-to-be-delivered telehealth unit. During the talk, the parties involved seemed to think these were all solvable hurdles and getting that set up would give veterans much greater access.

The wide range of telehealth possibilities were discussed including the benefits of having specialists locally available. In that vein, Pesognelli said he had had his hearing aids set using telehealth with a Rawlins specialist saying, "Why do I have to drive down to like, Cheyenne when we can do this? To me, it was a personal experience."

Pesognelli then said he saw those possibilities as a way ahead for local care.

E-911

During telehealth visits, a client will need to designate an emergency contact number so that, if a patient were to have an emergency situation like a stroke during a visit, the physician can use an E-911 system to get help to the patient quickly. It was pointed out that this would also work with videoconferencing with a professional from a patient's home.

Enrollment Urged

Public Affairs Specialist Sam House started a conversation with the Sun like this: "One of the biggest issues we have, as with any government program, is sustainability. The sustainability of the VA is based off of our veterans. If we don't have our veterans using the service then the services are cut back." House continued, "We have to get our veterans to use the services that are there."

House gave a brief history of a largely rural start to the VA in the 1930s for WWI veterans saying, "A lot of our veterans like the smaller communities," and went into how the numbers had grown over the years and how the VA grew into a healthcare system.

House said the local regional service area covers from "north of Denver, out to the panhandle of Nebraska, up to Wheatland, Torrington, about 100 miles north of Cheyenne, all the way out to Rawlins is really the catchment area." Number wise, House said, "we serve about 25,000 veterans at our medical center," then added, "There are about 75,000 veterans in this area. So, when you consider that, we're talking about one third of our veterans actually getting care."

House then posed the question, "Can you imagine what capabilities we would be able to provide if we had all 75,000?"

When asked what he would tell a veteran who may not yet need medical attention, House replied, "I encourage every single one of our veterans to enroll in VA healthcare. They may not be eligible at this point in their life, but you only have to enroll once in your life and you're always enrolled. Just because you may not be eligible today may not be the circumstances tomorrow."

Service members are not automatically enrolled with VA healthcare, but veterans only have to fill out a simple form called the 1010EZ. Once that form is turned in, a veteran is enrolled. Coverage is, as of now, based on type of service, current income and other factors.

A wide range of services from home loans, educational benefits, healthcare services and even burial help was discussed by Transitional Social Worker Drew Waldbauer. The transitional program, which has been around for about eight years, focuses on getting veterans leaving the service enrolled with the VA but Waldbauer said he has helped place veterans with other organizations to get them help or to teach them about benefits which some veterans were not even aware of.

Lowering 20

During the back and forth discussion, House added, "Here's an interesting piece, and it's a very important piece. We've heard the number 22,-22 veterans. The number is actually 20. Twenty veterans a day kill themselves nationwide. Fourteen out of that 20 never step foot in the VA. If we can get people into the VA system, we have a better chance of saving lives."

Waldbauer interjected, "Exponentially. Because about two thirds of veterans that commit suicide have zero contact-they're not enrolled in the VA, they've never walked into the building, they've never talked to someone from the VA. So, unfortunately, that is part of our problem. How do we engage these people where they're at? That's why we do outreaches like this."

Battling "I don't need it"

The group consensus seemed to be that the largest part of the problem is that some veterans feel they don't need help. Waldbauer highlighted the problem using himself saying, "When I got out I felt; 'I can do this myself. I don't need your help. I went to war. I don't need you,' "and then stuff starts to boil out, stuff starts to trickle out, things start to not line up the way they should-and I realized; 'Oh, man, I need these services. These are what I deserve.'"

House gave the example of a veteran friend who had teased him for years about working for the VA. House eventually convinced the friend to enroll and within days of being in the system, he was receiving treatment for previously undiagnosed pancreatic cancer. House related that his friend told him that he should have enrolled sooner.

Don't Need to Know What You Don't Know

Waldbauer said he had seen families who had called for help for a veteran in need and that he had helped set them up with assistance. He added that a lot of people didn't know there was a caregiver support program for a civilian who was taking care of a veteran.

Waldbauer added, "There's mental health services that could be provided to them as well as potential financial compensation. "So, there's all these benefits that all you gotta do is ask. You don't even need to know what you don't know. You just gotta show up. I'm willing to do the research. That's part of the job I love."

Information Available

The representatives who all said "we are here for veterans," had a wide range of information available during their visit and pamphlets were on hand which included information on ebenefits, benefits for veterans dependents and survivors, VA home loans, pointers for the veteran homeowner and Wyoming veterans benefits.

The Big Picture

While veterans have done their service to our country, there is another service they can perform for other veterans. That would be to enroll with the VA.

Just adding your name to those registered will help build the total amount of veterans registered. When that number goes up appreciably, more resources can be called for.

Enrolling can be done by calling 1-877-222-8387, going online to www.va.gov, or by stopping by the Cheyenne VA Medical Center at 2360 East Pershing Blvd, Cheyenne, WY 82001.

Sam House encourages veterans seeking further information to call his direct office phone at 307-778-7523 or his cell phone at 307-757-7320.