by Joaquin Sapien ProPublica, May 11, 2011, 11:31 a.m. More than half of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated in Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals since 2002 have been diagnosed, at least preliminarily, with mental health problems, according to statisticsobtained by the advocacy group Veterans for Common Sense. The data, which is released quarterly, also shows that…
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By Phillip Swarts – Medill News Service Posted : Friday May 13, 2011 12:17:03 EDT A new era for women has dawned at the Veterans Affairs Department, officials said Thursday. “We’ve changed the culture of the VA,” said Patricia Hayes, chief consultant for the Women Veterans Health Strategic Health Care Group in the department. “Women…
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by Blake Farmer May 10, 2011 from WPLN The signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — mild traumatic brain injury, or TBI — is hard to diagnose and just as difficult to treat. Now, many of these injured soldiers are returning to duty, and doctors are struggling to determine whether and when they’re well enough…
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By Kelly Kennedy – USA Today Posted : Wednesday May 11, 2011 22:44:00 EDT U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait have inhaled microscopic dust particles laden with toxic metals, bacteria and fungi — a toxic stew that may explain everything from the undiagnosed Gulf War Syndrome symptoms lingering from the 1991 war against Iraq…
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Noting that an average of 18 veterans a day commit suicide, a federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs to dramatically overhaul its mental health care system. In the strongly worded ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it takes the department an average of…
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