I-Team In-Depth

Years Home, Female Iraq Vets Endure The Wounds Of War

By |

It’s been nine years since Eunice Ramirez served in Iraq, but she still suffers from war wounds – post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, respiratory problems and frequent crying triggered by her memories. Suzanna Smaldone, who also returned home from Iraq in 2005, lives in constant pain and can’t bring herself to talk about her war injuries. Cheryl Eberg, home from Iraq for seven years, counsels other veterans, but their war stories can trigger her own mental health issues. Though it’s not unusual for veterans of both sexes to struggle for years with war injuries when they return home, officials say that women veterans have their own unique challenges, which can make their transition to civilian life particularly hard. “The trauma and complexity of these injuries and disabilities far outweigh anything we can comprehend in the civilian world,” said Linda Schwartz, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs.

Veterans' Health

To Improve Patient Care, CT Hospitals Will Ask: Are You A Veteran?

By |

Connecticut hospitals will be required to ask all patients if they are veterans, under a new state law that takes effect Oct. 1. The law is part of a nationwide effort conceived by the State Veterans Affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz to make private health providers aware that they are treating veterans, since most veterans don’t go to federal Veterans Health Administration facilities. The goal is to improve veterans’ diagnoses and health care because military experiences are linked to certain illnesses, she said. Schwartz said veterans don’t always know about health risks connected to their military service and that health providers need to become educated about them.

Veterans' Health

Deported Army Vet Seeks Pardon, Humanitarian Parole

By |

An Army veteran deported to Italy nearly years two ago is attempting to return to his Connecticut family by seeking a pardon for drug and larceny convictions and a humanitarian parole that would let him go home for a year. Arnold Giammarco, a former Army sergeant who served in the military as a legal noncitizen, had lived in the United States for 53 years before his deportation in November 2012. The deportation action came years after he had been convicted and served time in jail. Giammarco had turned his life around by giving up drugs, marrying, becoming a father, and holding down a job. His wife and family have been fighting for his return.

Veterans' Health

New Report Raps Military On Mental Health

By |

The Army routinely deployed injured soldiers, including those with serious psychological problems, to Iraq and Afghanistan, and “exacerbated the medical and mental health conditions of countless soldiers and veterans” by flouting screening processes and disregarding medical restrictions, a new report by anti-war veterans’ groups alleges. The report — which relies on lengthy testimonies of 31 active-duty troops and veterans of Fort Hood, Texas, taken in 2012 and 2013 — also cites the “rampant over-prescription of psychotropic medications” without proper medication management, and frequent prescribing without accompanying diagnoses. The testimonies, timed for release on Memorial Day, were collected by Iraq Veterans Against the War, the Civilian Soldier Alliance and Under the Hood Cafe? and Outreach Center. They highlight two key concerns: That soldiers were kept in the military despite trauma and injuries, and more recently, that soldiers have been discharged from the military unfairly and denied benefits.

Veterans' Health

Lawsuit: VA Discriminates Against Veterans With Sexual Trauma

By |

Two national veterans’ advocacy groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, saying it discriminates against victims of military sexual trauma who are seeking VA disability benefits. The suit was brought by Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) and Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA). They want the VA to change what they consider to be burdensome regulations governing claims for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that are based on rape, sexual assault, or sexual harassment. They cite substantial gaps between benefit approvals for these claims compared to higher approvals for other PTSD claims.

The Yale Law School Veterans Legal Clinic is representing the plaintiffs and filed the suit in federal court in Washington, D.C.

The plaintiffs are asking that the rules conform to those governing PTSD claims based on combat trauma, Prisoner of War status, and fear of hostile military or terrorist activity, which are less stringent than those based on Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and are also situations that pose difficulty in obtaining corroboratory evidence. “The VA knows the current process makes veterans who’ve been harmed by military sexual harassment and assault jump through more hoops than other PTSD claimants,” said Anu Bhagwati, SWAN executive director and a former Marine Corps captain.

Veterans' Health

Nurses’ Training To Focus On Health Care For Vets

By |

To address what it calls an “urgent need” for better health care for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, a foundation has awarded grants to four Connecticut nursing schools for scholarships designed to improve the care. The University of Connecticut and Fairfield, Quinnipiac, and Yale Universities are among 57 schools in the country given grants by the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare. Scholarships will be provided to doctoral nursing students who will study and research deployed veterans’ health problems. The goal is that after the students graduate, they will treat veterans and their families, and also teach nursing students in academic and clinical settings about veterans’ health issues. Darlene Curley, executive director of the Jonas Center, noted that many returning veterans are dealing with amputations, head injuries, PTSD, and brain injuries, which don’t have “short term cures. These are lifelong injuries and nurses are going to be caring for them throughout their lifetimes.

Veterans' Health

Vietnam Vets With PTSD File Lawsuit To Gain Benefits

By |

Five Vietnam War veterans, including a New Haven resident, filed a federal lawsuit Monday, claiming that they have been denied benefits and suffered stigma because they received “other than honorable” discharges due to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They asked the U.S. District Court in New Haven to designate the suit as a class action on behalf of tens of thousands of Vietnam veterans in the country in similar circumstances.  PTSD wasn’t designated a medical condition until 1980, five years after the Vietnam War ended. Many Vietnam veterans with undiagnosed PTSD contend they received other than honorable discharges due to behaviors connected with that illness. Vietnam Veterans of America and its Connecticut State Council, and the New Haven-based National Veterans Council for Legal Redress are also plaintiffs in the suit. They are being represented by the Yale Law School  Veterans Legal Services Clinic.

Veterans' Health

Bond Approved For Army Vet Facing Deportation

By |

A federal judge ruled earlier this month that Mark Reid, a New Haven Army Reserve veteran held in an immigration jail for more than a year, be freed on bond while he fights deportation to his native Jamaica. Reid will be released from a Massachusetts jail if he raises the $25,000 bond and meets certain conditions, according to the ruling by Judge Philip Verrillo of the U.S. Immigration Court in Hartford. Reid, who served in the Reserve for six years, faces deportation based on four drug convictions for which he has served prison terms.   Reid is among a growing number of noncitizen veterans who are being deported for crimes for which they served time years earlier, according to veterans’ advocates.  Legal noncitizens have served in the U.S. military throughout history. “I’m so glad to have gotten a bond hearing,” said Reid, in a statement released by the Yale Law School clinic, which is representing him.  “But,” he added,” it’s wrong that ICE continues to deny this opportunity to others who can’t afford a good lawyer.”

His lawyers from the Yale Law School Worker and Immigration Rights Advocacy Clinic contend that Reid, 49, has already been punished for his crimes, and should not be deported.

Veterans' Health

Can Legal Services Lead To Better Health Outcomes For Veterans?

By |

In 2009, Edward LaPointe’s life hit bottom as he endured divorce, eviction, and homelessness. His earnings as a cab driver didn’t pay the bills and mental illness overwhelmed him. LaPointe, a Marine Corps veteran, was informed that he was no longer eligible for Social Security disability benefits. While the VA helped him obtain housing, the pro bono Connecticut Veterans Legal Center got his Social Security back. “All my anxiety left.

Veterans' Health

Slow Progress In Stemming Homeless Vets Spurs Plan

By |

Connecticut is far behind in the goal to end homelessness among veterans by the federal 2015 deadline. Despite efforts since 2010, when the U.S. Department of  Veterans Affairs launched its plan to end veterans’ homelessness, Connecticut’s numbers have dropped less than 15 percent, now totaling about 340 – while the demand for services is growing. Overall, more than 1,000 state veterans have sought services, such as housing assistance, counseling, and job placement, from the VA homeless system in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, up from 400 five years ago, said Preston Maynard, director of homeless programs for the Connecticut VA. “Our work is far from over,” Maynard said.