VoteVets and CREW taking on DOD over PTSD

VoteVets.org and CREW Urge PTSD Investigation
by: Brandon Friedman
Tue May 05, 2009 at 11:57:42 AM EDT
VoteVets.org has again teamed up with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government (CREW) in an effort to urge the House Armed Services Committee to begin an investigation into whether or not the Army is pressuring doctors to misdiagnose PTSD. Our full press release is below. . . .
Brandon Friedman :: VoteVets.org and CREW Urge PTSD Investigation
CREW AND VOTEVETS.ORG ASK HOUSE ARMED SERVICES TO INVESTIGATE ARMY MISDIAGNOSES OF SERVICE MEMBERS AND VETERANS WITH PTSD
5 May 2009 // Washington, D.C. -- In light of news reports that the Army has instituted the cost-cutting practice of ordering doctors to misdiagnose soldiers returning from battle with anxiety disorder rather than post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and VoteVets.org today asked the chair of the House Armed Services Committee to investigate the extent of this outrageous practice.

Last month, Salon.com reported on a series of conversations at Fort Carson last summer between a sergeant and his psychologist, Dr. Douglas McNinch, during which the doctor admitted he was under pressure from the Army to avoid diagnosing soldiers with PTSD. The sergeant, who taped his conversations because he suffers from memory problems due to brain injuries, met with Dr. McNinch to learn why the doctor had told the medical evaluation board responsible for the Army's disability payment system that the sergeant suffered from anxiety disorder rather than PTSD. Dr. McNinch explained, on tape, "I will tell you something confidentially that I would have to deny if it were ever public. Not only myself, but all clinicians up here are being pressured not to diagnose PTSD and diagnose anxiety disorder NOS instead." Dr. McNinch continued, "yours has not been the only case . . . I and other [doctors] are under a lot of pressure to not diagnose PTSD. It's not fair. I think it's a horrible way to treat soldiers . . ." Dr. McNinch has explained he was pressured to misdiagnose PTSD cases by a colonel, who was then head of Fort Carson's Department of Behavioral Health.

With a diagnosis of anxiety disorder, the sergeant would receive substantially lower benefits upon a discharge for a disability.

click above for more

Wounded Warrior Project focused on investigation by Salon.com

Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) Concerned by Stigma of PTSD and Mental Illness in Military

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 9 /PRNewswire/ --
In response to recently released information, Wounded Warrior Project again cited their grave concerns with the manner in which mental health and PTSD are perceived and dealt with within the military. One specific article on Salon.com highlighted concerns that military doctors are being pressured to not diagnose PTSD in returning military personnel and specifically brought to light such a situation in Fort Carson, Colorado.

"Unfortunately there is a major cultural stigma within the military against PTSD or seeking mental health care treatment," said Steve Nardizzi, WWP CEO. "These types of situations and reports reinforce the institutional barriers to seeking mental health care and serve as a deterrent to the warrior from seeking vitally needed care."

According to recently released military data, U.S. Army suicides outnumbered all combat deaths in January of this year. 2008 was also the fourth year in a row in which suicides among soldiers rose.

"Post traumatic stress disorder is very serious," said Nardizzi. "We call on the military to prioritize the reduction of this stigma against seeking care and to foster unfettered access to mental health services, regardless of cost."

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can result following a traumatic event and is quite prevalent among combat veterans. PTSD can manifest itself in numerous ways, including upsetting memories of the event, flashbacks, nightmares and intense physical reactions to reminders of the traumatic events. Warriors may experience a pounding heart, rapid breathing, nausea, muscle tension and sweating. WWP urges any warrior in an emergency to get help immediately by calling 911. For those not facing an emergency situation, WWP offers services to help work through other readjustment issues.

Wounded Warrior Project's Project Odyssey brings together veterans with combat stress and post-traumatic stress disorder and gets them involved in outdoor activities that offer healthy support in the healing process. The ultimate goal is for each participant to return home with a range of coping skills to help them move forward in their recovery process. Private and group sessions with trained therapists are an integral part of the Project Odyssey experience.
About Wounded Warrior Project

Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors. WWP serves to raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women, to help severely injured service members aid and assist each other and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. For more information, please call 877 TEAM WWP (832-6997) or visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

Fort Carson:"I am under a lot of pressure to not diagnose PTSD"

For me, listening to this, there is little doubt it's true. After all, why wouldn't the VA and the DOD want to know what really works to help these men and women heal? Why wouldn't they do everything possible to treat them early and stop it before it gets so bad they can no longer live a "normal" life? Because if they admit the soldier has PTSD, then they will have to pay for that soldier's life for the rest of his life, that is, if they admit it. If they deny it, then they don't have to treat them now, or later. They won't have to do anything more than just deny the wound is a wound.

Tonight, between the post I just did on the funeral home leaving veterans bodies to just rot instead of taking care of them while they wait for burial at Arlington National Cemetery, plus this, I can't think of another night as horrible as this has been. All I can think about is one of my friends and what happened to her. Claim denied and she fought for years to have it honored fully, but also fought for all other veterans. Capt. Agnes "Irish" Bresnahan died March 11th in Washington DC after another hearing on her claim. She had Agent Orange illnesses and PTSD. Her family wants her buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Add this to this report of the denial of PTSD claims, the deaths of our veterans because they lost hope, the devastation of families left behind, the hundreds of thousands still fighting to have their claims honored and then think about the ones still serving, too many facing the same kind of punishment for being wounded and you may come close to understanding exactly how much crap is going on behind their backs.

"I am under a lot of pressure to not diagnose PTSD"
A secret recording reveals the Army may be pushing its medical staff not to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder. The Army and Senate have ignored the implications.
Editor's note: Last June, during a medical appointment, a patient named "Sgt. X" recorded an Army psychologist at Fort Carson, Colo., saying that he was under pressure not to diagnose combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Listen to a segment of the tape here.
By Michael de Yoanna and Mark Benjamin
April 8, 2009 FORT CARSON, Colo. -- "Sgt. X" is built like the Bradley Fighting Vehicle he rode in while in Iraq. He's as bulky, brawny and seemingly impervious as a tank.

In an interview in the high-rise offices of his Denver attorneys, however, symptoms of the damaged brain inside that tough exterior begin to appear. Sgt. X's eyes go suddenly blank, shifting to refocus oddly on a wall. He pauses mid-sentence, struggling for simple words. His hands occasionally tremble and spasm.

For more than a year he's been seeking treatment at Fort Carson for a brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, the signature injuries of the Iraq war. Sgt. X is also suffering through the Army's confusing disability payment system, handled by something called a medical evaluation board. The process of negotiating the system has been made harder by his war-damaged memory. Sgt. X's wife has to go with him to doctor's appointments so he'll remember what the doctor tells him.
go here for more
http://www.salon.com/news/special/coming_home/2009/04/08/tape/

If you are aware of a soldier who has served or is serving in the Iraq or Afghanistan conflicts and is having trouble getting a PTSD diagnosis or proper benefits, please contact Mark Benjamin at mbenjamin@salon.com.