Some vets returning home not receiving proper care in PA

Some vets returning home not receiving proper care in PA
BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK
TIMES SHAMROCK WRITER

05/20/2008
PITTSTON TOWNSHIP — Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder are turning elsewhere for help because the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Plains doesn’t have the staff to handle all of them, a local psychiatrist told a veterans roundtable Monday.

Dr. Matthew Berger, a psychiatrist who treats soldiers with the disorder, said they started coming to him because they can’t get treatment through Veterans Affairs quickly enough. Dr. Berger suggested allowing veterans to obtain care from private providers and paying for it with their veterans benefits.

“I don’t understand why there isn’t freedom of choice for veterans. Why can’t a vet say, ‘I’ve been to the VA, I wasn’t happy with the services and I’m going to go down the road and have the VA pay for it or have the veterans system pay for it?” Dr. Berger told the roundtable hosted by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.

Jack Cleary, a veteran who advocates for veterans and whose son Michael was killed in Iraq, agreed the VA doesn’t have enough staff to handle PTSD sufferers.

“We have veterans that may have PTSD that are being redeployed,” said Richard S. Wren, director of veterans affairs for Luzerne County.
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