RETREAT FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS
Retreat For Service Providers
• learn to recognize the signs of compassion fatigue
• grow your capacity for well being
• renew your mind, body, and spirit in a supportive setting
HALF THE AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ VETERANS TREATED BY VA RECEIVE MENTAL HEALTH CARE
Slightly more than half of all Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans treated by the Veterans Affairs Department received care for mental health problems, roughly four times the rate of the general population, according to statisticscompiled by the advocacy group Veterans for Common Sense based on data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The data show that among the 625,834 Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans enrolled in the VA health care system as of December 2010, 313,670 were treated for mental health conditions. READ MORE »
SUICIDE RATE TRIPLES FOR FEMALE SOLDIERS AT WAR
The suicide rate for female soldiers triples when they go to war, according to the first round of preliminary data from an Army study.
The findings, released to USA Today this week, show that the suicide rate rises from five per 100,000 to 15 per 100,000 among female soldiers at war. Scientists are not sure why but say they will look into whether women feel isolated in a male-dominated war zone or suffer greater anxieties about leaving behind children and other loved ones.
Even so, the suicide risk for female soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan is still lower than for men serving next to them, the $50 million study says. READ MORE »
GIVE A THOUSAND THANKS PROJECT AIMS TO SHOW FAMILIES OF OUR FALLEN THAT AMERICA CARES
GIVE A THOUSAND THANKS PROJECT AIMS TO SHOW FAMILIES OF OUR FALLEN THAT AMERICA CARES
TAPS Organizers Hope Thousands Will Post Thank You Notes, Photos & Videos Before Memorial Day
WASHINGTON – Less than one percent of Americans today serve in the military but anyone can express their gratitude and support for the families of our fallen military through a new website at www.GiveAThousandThanks.org. READ MORE »
PENTAGON FALLS SHORT IN TACKLING SEXUAL ASSAULT
Former Marine corporal Sarah Albertson made a startling admission last month about serving in Iraq’s war-torn Fallujah: ” I actually felt much safer there than I did back at our command” in Southern California, she told NBC’s Today.
Albertson says she was raped in 2006 by a superior, a fellow Marine, at Camp Pendleton. After reporting the incident to her command, she was threatened with a charge of “inappropriate barracks conduct” because she admitted to drinking heavily before the assault. She says she was ostracized and told to “suck it up” while being forced to work with READ MORE »
VA SCOPES OUT MEDICAL NEEDS OF FEMALE VETERANS
Alyce Knaflich says she has been mistaken for someone’s wife when she walks in the front door of the Charles George VA Medical Center.
Instead of visiting a sick husband, the 53-year-old is at the Veterans Affairs hospital for her own health, including a form of post-traumatic stress disorder from nearly 20 years as a staff sergeant in the Army.
“There is an attitude that women didn’t serve their country,” says Knaflich, who proudly READ MORE »
“SECRET SHOPPER” PROGRAM FOR VA CENTERS IN MO.
ST. LOUIS — A new program seeks to improve the care and customer service at VA health care facilities in Missouri.
Sen. Claire McCaskill announced details Tuesday of the Veteran Healthcare Experience Program. The Democrat says the program addresses frustrations of veterans and seeks to better assess the quality of care at centers in Missouri.
The program allows veterans to be so-called “secret shoppers” at Veterans Affairs health READ MORE »
