REINTEGRATION WITH CARE-NET
|
Join us as we "care beyond the yellow ribbon" to support our military and their families.
There was an old song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around an Old Oak Tree" and it was a sign of waiting for a service member to return home.
The West Virginia Council of Churches and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation supports our military members and their families through "CareNet: Caring Beyond the Yellow Ribbon."
|
Latest Article March 27, 2009 Rural vets being ignored, minister tells Congress By Sara Sciammacco, Capitol News Connection DOWNLOAD MP3 February 27, 2009 · A state religious leader testified to Congress Thursday that the government needs to do more to reach out to rural veterans. More than half of West Virginia's veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan live in rural areas, where they struggle to receive the services they need. Reverend Ricardo Flippin once served in the military. He now helps run a project called CARE-NET through the West Virginia Council of Churches. It helps veterans in rural parts of the state get mental health services. Flippin talked about the project's success and importance at a hearing on Capitol Hill. "Unlike the regular active army member who returns to a permanent base with medical clinics surrounded by other soldiers and soldiers families for support," he said. "Our military members national guard return home to a civilian community where few understand their military experiences." Flippin says rural veterans are more likely to suffer from depression or traumatic stress disorders than those living in urban areas. He says their needs are more costly as well. In rural communities medical facilities are scarce, and many of the few providers don't accept TRICARE, the veterans military insurance. Flippin says doctors won't take it because reimbursement rates are too low. "Then when TRICARE runs out our veterans must rely on the VA. Many of our community providers will not accept VA payments either. In West Virginia this means our veterans must travel for hours to get care at our VA facilities," Flippin said. The VA has four hospitals in West Virginia. They are located in Beckley, Clarksburg, Huntington, and Martinsburg. Kara Hawthorne of the Department of Veterans Affairs told Senate lawmakers, the needs of rural veterans are being met. "We of course can always improve and look to the committee and to you Mr. Chairman for ideas on how to do that," Hawthorn said. "But for now we are proceeding to develop new innovative ideas that will address the uniqueness of the rural and highly rural populations and we will continue to focus on that as we move forward," she said. Hawthorne says the department is improving access by connecting patients and doctors through videoconference. More than 7,000 National Guard members from West Virginia have served in Iraq. Click here to view archived article.  |