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U.S. military conflicts abroad have left nine million Americans dependent on the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for medical care. Their "wounds of war" are treated by the largest hospital system in the country--one that has come under fire from critics in the White House, on Capitol Hill, and in the nation's media. The resulting public debate about the future of veterans' health care has pitted VHA patients and their care-givers against politicians and policy-makers who believe that former military personnel would be better served by private health care providers.
This high stakes controversy led Suzanne Gordon, award-winning health care journalist and author, to seek insight from veterans and their families, VHA staff and administrators, advocates for veterans, and proponents of privatization. Gordon spent five years closely observing the VHA's treatment of patients suffering from service related injuries, physical and mental.
In Wounds of War, Gordon describes how the VHA-tasked with a challenging patient population- does a better job than private sector institutions offering primary and geriatric care, mental health and home care services, and support for patients nearing the end of life. The VHA, Gordon argues, is an integrated health care system worthy of wider emulation, rather than piece-meal dismantling for the benefit of private contractors. In the unusual culture of solidarity between patients and providers that the VHA has fostered, the author finds a working model for higher quality health care and a much-needed alternative to the practice of for-profit medicine.
List of contents
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: What Kind of Care for Veterans?
1. Promises Broken and Kept: A Short History of the VHA
2. Those Who Have Borne the Battle: The VHA's Patient Population
Profile-What It Means to Be a VA Volunteer
3. Primary Care the Way It Should Be
4. Healing Minds and Bodies: Integrated Mental Health Care and Primary Care
5. Dealing with a World of Hurt: VHA Treatment of Chronic Pain
6. When Wounded Warriors Are Women: Caring for Female Veterans
7. Mental Health the Way It Should Be
8. Unpacking PTSD: From Diagnosis to Effective Treatment
Profi le-Karen Parko:
A Special Kind of Professional Development at the VA
9. Returning to Civilian Life: Veterans on Campus
10. Suicide Prevention: VHA Programs That Save Lives
11. Overcoming Disability: VA Rehabilitation Services
Profile-Mark Smith:
No Ordinary Bike Shop
12. Transcending Trauma: The Martinez Cognitive Rehabilitation Program
13. Off the Streets: Reducing Veteran Homelessness
14. Alternatives to Jail: Veterans' Justice Programs
Profile-Cops and Vets:
The Memphis Crisis Intervention Model
15. Specializing in Elder Care: The VA and Geriatrics
16. Knocking on Heaven's Door: The VA and End-of-Life Care
17. Better Care Where? The VHA Compared to the Private Sector
Conclusion: A System Worth Saving-and Making Even Better
Epilogue: Thank You for Your Service?
Notes
Index
About the Author
About the author
Suzanne Gordon has written, edited, or coauthored twenty books. Gordon has been published in the
New York Times,
Los Angeles Times,
Boston Globe,
American Prospect,
Atlantic Monthly, and
Harper's Magazine.
Summary
U.S. military conflicts abroad have left nine million Americans dependent on the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for medical care. Their "wounds of war" are treated by the largest hospital system in the country—one that has come under fire from critics in the White House, on Capitol Hill, and in the nation's media. The resulting public...
