SFACs: New Centers Helping Families of Wounded

November 20, 2008Army News Service| by Lindy Kyzer

WASHINGTON - A key component of caring for wounded warriors is taking care of their families. That's why Soldier Family Assistance Centers now thrive at 34 Army installations across the globe, officials said.

SFACs are a one-stop shop where wounded warriors and their families can find assistance and information to get them through a difficult time.

Maj. Gen. John Macdonald, commanding general of the U.S. Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command and Delores F. Johnson, director, family programs, headquarters, U.S. Army FMWRC, joined bloggers and on-line journalists for a special Warrior Care month blogger's roundtable to discuss SFACs and other programs available to wounded warriors.

Travel Reimbursement Increases for

Veterans

Mileage reimbursement rates for travel to Veterans Affairs medical facilities went up last week, from 28.5 cents per mile to 41.5 cents. VA Secretary Dr. James B. Peake said he used his authority to make such an increase.

“We owe it to our veterans to give them the best care possible,” Peake said in a department press release. “The increase will once again provide assistance to our veterans, especially in these difficult economic times, to help offset gasoline costs and to assist veterans with access to the VA’s world-class health system.&rdquo.

Congress, which mandates such increases, recently provided funding to VA to increase the reimbursement rate, which went into effect Nov. 17. Service connected veterans, veterans receiving VA pensions and veterans with low incomes are eligible for the reimbursement.

“As I have travelled the country and spoken with many of our veterans, they have expressed the need for such an increase,” added Peake. “We are pleased to be able to provide them with the increase needed and we will continue to work with our veterans to ensure they receive the quality care they need.&rdquo

While increasing the payment, the current deductible amounts applied to certain mileage reimbursements will remain frozen at $7.77 for a one-way trip, $15.54 for a round trip and capped at a maximum of $46.62 per calendar month. On Jan. 9, 2009, these deductibles will decrease to $3 for a one-way trip, $6 for a round trip, with a maximum of $16 per calendar month. Deductibles can be waived if they cause a financial hardship to the veteran.

Department of Defense Launches National

Resource Directory For Wounded Warriors,

Families And Caregivers

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release November 17, 2008

The Department of Defense today launched the National Resource Directory, a collaborative effort between the departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs.

The directory is a Web-based network of care coordinators, providers and support partners with resources for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, their families, families of the fallen and those who support them.

“The directory is the visible demonstration of our national will and commitment to make the journey from ‘survive to thrive’ a reality for those who have given so much. As new links are added each day by providers and partners, coverage from coast to coast will grow even greater ensuring that no part of that journey will ever be made alone,” said Lynda C. Davis, Ph.D., deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy.

Located at http://www.nationalresourcedirectory.org , the directory offers more than 10,000 medical and non-medical services and resources to help service members and veterans achieve personal and professional goals along their journey from recovery through rehabilitation to community reintegration. 

Enhanced VA Mortgage Options Now

Available for Veterans

Of Potential Benefit to Those in Financial Distress

WASHINGTON -- Veterans with conventional home loans now have new options for refinancing to a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) guaranteed home loan.  These new options are available as a result of the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, which the President signed into law on October 10, 2008.

“These changes will allow VA to assist a substantial number of veterans with subprime mortgages refinance into a safer, more affordable, VA guaranteed loan,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake.  “Veterans in financial distress due to high rate subprime mortgages are potentially the greatest beneficiaries.”

Military official: Situation improving; troops

report health complications

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Marine Corps Times
Posted : Thursday Nov 13, 2008 18:24:46 EST

Staying Power: Army Program Reinvents

Wounded Care

Nov 06, 2008 by Fred W. Baker III. 
 

A new building serves as headquarters for the Warrior Transition Brigade at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. DOD photo by Fred W. Baker III.

WASHINGTON (AFPS, Nov. 6, 2008) -- When the first news stories broke in February 2007 detailing a breakdown in Soldier and family care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., senior Army leaders scrambled into action.

Headlines screamed of neglect as the nation's highest leaders, from the Pentagon, Congress and the White House demanded an answer as to how this could have happened.

Wounded Troops’ Pay Overhauled

ARLINGTON, Va. — Wounded servicemembers whose combat-related injuries are diagnosed after they return home can keep their special pays while hospitalized, Defense officials said Tuesday.

The move is one of the major changes that are part of the Pay and Allowance Continuation Program, or PAC, which allows wounded servicemembers to continue to collect special pays after they are hospitalized.

Previously, wounded servicemembers’ injuries had to be diagnosed in the combat zone for them to receive the compensation.

Computer/Electronic Accommodations

Program (CAP) News

WWMP NOTE:  CAP is the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) and provides assistive technology and services to people with disabilities, Federal managers, supervisors, and IT professionals. CAP increases access to information and works to remove barriers to employment opportunities by eliminating the costs of assistive technology and accommodation solutions.  We have a CAP office at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. That office has provided many of our Wounded Warriors with free computer/electronic devices to assist the WWs’ with their disabilities.

Disability Ratings Improving, Critics Say

New DoD guidance says services must abide by VA rules
By Kelly Kennedy - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Posted : March 10, 2008 

A year after Walter Reed Army Medical Center emerged as a symbol of what is wrong with the administrative end of the military medical retirement system,much has changed for the better, according to critics. 

“God bless the mold on the wall, because it exposed the disability evaluation system,” said retired Army Lt. Col. Mike Parker, referring to maintenance issues at Walter Reed’s Building 18, where outpatient troops were formerly housed —issues that proved to be the tip of the iceberg of far deeper problems.

“I’m seeing better and better [disability] ratings come out — ratings I would never have seen two years ago,” said Parker, arguably the disability system’s strongest critic, who has helped many troops navigate the process and pushed hard for changes. 

GovExec.com
March 11, 2008

Defense, VA Lay Out Plans To Improve

Health Care For Wounded Soldiers

By Bob Brewin

Top officials from the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense said on Tuesday that they plan to improve the health care for troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan by providing them with "a life map for recovery" that integrates all their heath records into one package and lays out a listing of follow-up services.

In a joint statement submitted to a hearing of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Dr. Lynda Davis, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for Military Personnel Policy, and Kristin Day, chief consultant for care management and social work at VA, said Defense and VA partnered in October to establish the Joint VA/Defense Federal Recovery Coordinator Program.