There is every indication that Central Texas veterans aren’t spared.
Area VAs reach out to veterans when they leave the military to tell them about available services, including treatment for PTSD, said Douglas Weeks, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom program manager at the Temple VA.
PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that sometimes affects people who have survived life-threatening events - military combat, natural disasters, car crashes, or being the victim of a crime, such as personal assault.
People who suffer from it often relive the experience through nightmares and intrusive memories. They have difficulty sleeping, and may feel detached or estranged from others, from their own experiences, and from the world around them. These symptoms can be severe enough and last long enough to significantly impair the person’s daily life.
The Central Texas Veterans Health Care System offers treatment for PTSD on an outpatient basis and on a more intensive residential basis. Outpatient care is available at the Austin, Temple and Waco sites. The residential program is in Waco.
According to VA records, more than 100,000 veterans - about one out of seven - have sought help for mental illness since late 2001, the start of the war in Afghanistan. Almost half of those cases were for PTSD.
The goal of the VA is to make sure that veterans leaving active duty are properly screened for depression, substance abuse, PTSD, traumatic brain injury and other issues, Weeks said.
When the veterans enroll in the VA, they are assigned to a social worker and are asked a series of questions. If the screening indicates there is a problem referrals are made for a follow-up, Weeks said.
“If a response is triggered during the screenings, we ask for further evaluations,” he said
Weeks said he has no firm numbers for PTSD referrals in Central Texas.
The Department of Veterans Affairs provides soldiers who served in designated combat zones, since Nov. 11, 1998, with two years of free care from the date of separation from active duty.
“Our role is to make sure these veterans know they are eligible,” Weeks said.
The VA wants to make contact with the veterans before they begin to have problems, he said.
“Sometimes they don’t recognize that there is something wrong with how they are feeling,” Weeks said. “We want them to know about the programs and have contact information, whether or not they’re having issues.”
The number of PTSD cases reflected in VA records do not include active duty personnel diagnosed with the disorder or former service members who have not sought treatment from the VA.
About 1.5 million U.S. troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 750,000 have since left the military and are eligible for VA health care.
The nearly 50,000 VA-documented PTSD cases far exceed the official Pentagon tally for all wounded from these conflicts, which stands at 30,000.
Mental health is the second largest area of illness for war veterans after orthopedic problems and is increasing at a faster rate, according to VA records.
jgibbs@temple-telegram.com
