Measures to take to provide better care for U.S Veterans
Times of war are unforgettable. Those who live it, never forget how it felt to see their son and their husbands leave not knowing if they would ever come back. The men on the battlefield never forget the sight they have seen and the loss they suffer. We learn in the school of what happened like the Vietnam war where over three million people were killed. However, after the war, these men who are not veterans will always remember and suffer from PTSD along with some getting their hearing affected, some get, paralyzed, some lose limbs and the list goes on.
They have done so much, what should we do for them then? Instead of forgetting about them, which happens to most, we need to find better ways to take care of our veterans. In an article by the Institute of Medicine, it claims that “The men and women in the United States armed forces confront health challenges of a scope and complexity that few other Americans ever experience.”( Institute of Medicine (IOM)) veterans after wars come back with either physical injuries or severe PTSD, therefore, we must find better ways to take care of them.
Solution
There are many ways to address this problem. We mainly want to focus on their health and mental stability. Because veterans suffer from major PTSD and other severe mental illnesses that are more common, it is important to find these solutions. Some of the solutions include providing counseling for veterans, preferably affordable for all; provide transportation so that they can, go into facilities when they need and create a special program for every need of the veteran.
Now during Covid, people have a higher tendency of feeling lonely and it is at high risk of getting ill. Veterans went through tough times but their health is very concerning. In order to have counseling regularly, safely, and affordable is through telehealth, which is having your consults with the doctor through the phone or online. This is a safe way to do an appointment where a doctor can reach their patients easily and safely. Something worth mentioning is that the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs said they are “We’re keeping an eye on the numbers all the time, including maintaining a website that shows how quickly Veterans can expect to be seen, satisfaction with care, comparisons between facilities, and more.” (USDVA) This is very important because it can help keep up with the data and bring more information to find even better solutions and doing the appointment online will help better keep track of how the veteran patients are doing.
In some cases, however, they may not always have access’s to a phone or internet so providing them transportation is something that can also be super helpful to them. The U.S Department of Veterans Affairs found that “VTS has established a network of transportation options in 47 states and Puerto Rico through joint efforts with VA’s Office of Rural Health and other organizations.”(USDVA) this is an improvement. Now veterans can attend their appointment with no worries. They will have safe and free transportation to their destination which will be easier for them. This will also help them reach and get to know new programs offered for veterans that will better suit them.
In addition, the ability to offer different programs is something that can be super beneficial and important. This will give to address the health problems appropriately and efficiently. A good example of this is a program focusing on veterans women this is because as mentioned by the USDVA “Since women are the fastest growing Veteran group, we have created the Women Veterans Health Program that focuses on issues like comprehensive primary care, reproductive health, and women’s health education.”(USDVA) women are more prone to depression and sometimes require more attention this program will health them more specifically because it will focus only on them. With problems that only women can experience which is really good and it leads to better health care improvements.
Justification/ advantages
It is known by now that veterans suffer from PTSD. Is one of the most common mental illnesses among them. This is for various reasons. To be more precise “Approximately 12% of Gulf War (Desert Storm) veterans and 15% of Vietnam veterans are affected by PTSD on an annual basis. The lifetime prevalence of PTSD for Vietnam veterans is 30%.” (Goodtherapy) this show that there is a significantly large percentage of veterans needing counseling. We have addressed the way that we can help veterans better reach health care and receive counseling. You may now ask, Why is counseling so important? will investing in these programs be beneficial? The answer is yes. The counseling will help them better manage their anxiety and repel their need to find ways like alcohol to manage their symptoms. It will also help them transition from veteran life to civilian much easier. Allowing them to express will take away their fear and their anxiety will become manageable. Investing in programs will help them a lot.
Objection/refutation
Even though all of the research has been done there are some problems to the solutions. Such as not all veterans are capable of doing online appointments some are visually or hearing uncapacitated, dealing with these kinds of PTSD is not always the easiest but with good medical professionals, there should be minimal challenges. Also, this kind of program may need funds from the government so there will be challenges there but we are talking about helping the people that put their life for this country so helping them we shall do whatever it takes.
Conclusion
Health issues may not be the only problems that unfortunately our veterans face on the daily basis. With the strength and determination medical professionals and us will be able to improve their life. We have come very far for them.
