Officials call for better treatment of injured troops, disabled veterans
By The Associated Press
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Published: October 27, 2009
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that troops injured in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to face too many bureaucratic hurdles.
Paperwork alone for them can be "frustrating, adversarial, and unnecessarily complex,” he said.
Gates spoke at a mental health summit with
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. By appearing together, they sought to reinforce their commitment to tackling veterans’ health issues and the stigma associated with seeking mental health care.
Earlier this year, they pledged with
President Barack Obama to create a system that would make it easier for
the Pentagon and VA to exchange information so there is less of a wait for veterans to get disability benefits. The VA is struggling with a backlogged disability claims system with hundreds of thousands of claims that need to be processed.
Among
U.S. troops who have fought in the recent wars, Gates says brain injuries and mental health ailments are "widespread, entrenched and insidious.”
Gates said there have been positive changes such as doubling the budget for mental health and traumatic brain injuries to almost $1.2 billion from last year, but other challenges remain such as filling a shortage of therapists.
Related Topics:
Health and Fitness,
Medicine,
Political Policy,
Politics,
Medical Specializations,
Military and Defense Policy,
Mental Health,
Injuries and Traumas,
Veterans' Affairs,
Brain Injuries,
Brain and Nerve Health
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