Found below are few news items that caught my attention the past week. I trust that some of our readers will click on the embedded links to read more on subjects that interest them.
Is the VA on Automatic Pilot?
The video included in this news clip shows Army veteran Dennis Magnasco trying to schedule a doctor’s appointment at his local VA hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts. But a nearly five-minute phone call became a maddening stream of automated audio messages. ...
While much of the world is focused on transformative businesses and technologies, the Department of Veteran Affairs (“VA”) remains oblivious to the needs of Veterans with PTSD.
Despite a slew of reports from the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) citing the need for major reforms with the VA, it seems like it is business as usual for these entrenched bureaucrats. Found below is just a few of these ...
Continue Reading →What quite a few of us have known for some time – and many more have suspected -The Wounded Warrior Project (“WWP”) appears to place the financial interests of its administrators over the needs of wounded Veterans. In a damning article recently published by The New York Times, The Wounded Warriors Project comes across as an organization built on the hypocrisy and greed of its administrators rather than truly helping wounded Veterans.
Others in the media ...
Continue Reading →Treating Veterans and Active Duty personnel suffering from TBI or PTSD with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (“HBOT”) has always been regarded as “black magic” by both the VA and the DoD. In fact, earlier this year, the VA concluded their trial “study” with the following observations:
Continue Reading →“To date, there have been nine peer-reviewed publications describing this research,” Dr. David Cifu, VA’s national director for physical medicine and rehabilitation recently told the Oklahoman. “All the research consistently supports that there is no ...
In yet another disturbing article by the New York Times, entitled “In Unit Stalked by Suicide, Veterans try to Save One Another,” author Dave Phillips chronicles the benign neglect of the VA in helping our brave Veterans to cope with the aftermath of war. With no disrespect to Mr. Phillips, a similar article could be written every week detailing the chronic neglect of the VA for warriors at risk of suicide.
While I ...
Continue Reading →Many veterans are turning to Yoga to deal with severe depression and the symptoms of PTSD rather rely on highly potent prescribed medication. The recent report by the GAO confirms that the VA has dropped the ball in helping vets get the support they need in dealing with the crippling effects of PTSD. In fact, Yoga is buy just one form of alternative therapy that Veterans are finding beneficial as they ...
Continue Reading →A study entitled “Predictive Modeling and Concentration of the Risk of Suicide: Implications for Preventive Interventions in the US Department of Veterans Affairs,” has recently been published online by the American Journal of Public Health. In the extract cited below, the VA claims that predictive modeling can help identify Veterans with a high risk to commit suicide and, therefore, provide enhanced intervention to prevent Veteran Suicides:
Continue Reading →Objectives. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) evaluated the use of predictive modeling ...
“There are no two words more harmful in the English language than ‘good job,'” according to J. K. Simmons in his riveting role as a jazz instructor in Whiplash.
With all due respect, “good job” now must take back seat to “chipping away,” as President Obama declared in a recent visit ...
Continue Reading → 
Many of us when looking at the chronic problem of PTSD which ail our Vets focus primarily on the needs of Vet. Nevertheless, the family circle is also severely impacted and often there is little the Vet can do to make himself or herself understood with their loved ones. In an moving article cited below, Army Veteran Seth Kastle penned a book called “Why is Dad So Mad?” to help children understand or at ...
Continue Reading →As most Veterans are aware, “the VA does not provide service dogs for physical or mental health conditions, including PTSD.” While acknowledging that dogs can be useful in treating the symptoms and conditions of PTSD, they have concluded that there is not sufficient clinical research to justify the use of service dogs.
Specifically, the VA says the following about the use of service dogs in treating PTSD:
Continue Reading →Clinically, there is not enough research yet to know if dogs actually help ...