Care Coordination for Seriously Injured Veterans Improving

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, April 28, 2009, the House Veterans’ Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, led by Chairman Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), conducted a hearing to evaluate the newly implemented Federal Recovery Coordination Program (FRCP).  The Subcommittee examined the effectiveness of the FRCP which was established in October 2007 and went into operation in January 2008.  The Subcommittee also assessed if outreach efforts by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has succeeded in bringing coordinated care to veterans who were injured prior to the launch of the FRCP.   

“When a service member returns from combat with multiple injuries, we must ensure he or she has a single point of contact to help navigate the bureaucracy of DOD and VA,” said Chairman Mitchell.  “This is the reason the Federal Recovery Coordinators must have considerable authority as they navigate the system ensuring the veteran and family receives each component of care in their overall plan and all the benefits due to them.  Oversight of this program is critical to ensure it is fully staffed and fully functioning.  Our Subcommittee will continue to monitor the progress being made as this much needed program matures.” 

The FRCP was designed to empower injured veterans and their families with Federal Recovery Coordinators (FRC) to ensure that the assistance and guidance needed to ensure a healthy recovery is readily available, and that the veterans enrolled in the program are receiving their earned benefits as expeditiously as possible.  A FRC is intended to provide the recovering service member with a single point of contact for decisions regarding his or her care. 

Witnesses provided detailed testimony from their first-hand experience going through the recovery process.  First Lieutenant Andrew Kinard, USMC, (Ret.) testified that seriously injured service members need the FRCP to ensure accountability.  Kinard said, “Each case worker has a specific role in that service member’s recovery, and the burden of responsibility falls on the service member to keep track of which case manager provides each service. The assignment of a FRC provides the recovering service member with a single point of contact for decisions regarding his care.”

He also stressed the need for continuity of care.  Kinard said, “As service members transition from active to veteran status, most, if not all, of those case managers will be exchanged for new ones in the VA system. New doctors will be assigned. Rather than veterans navigate a new health system with no institutional memory of their medical history, a FRC can ensure a continuity of medical care.”

Witnesses also provided testimony describing their role as caregiver to seriously wounded veterans.  Sarah Wade, wife of Army Sergeant (Retired) Ted Wade, discussed her initial happiness with the FRCP but struggled to transition to a second FRC just four months after being assigned the first coordinator.  She also discussed the need for long-term care for her husband, who suffers from severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Wade testified, “My husband will continue to face significant challenges for the rest of his life, as a severe TBI is never static, but a progression of peaks and valleys. Veterans like Ted need support that will be around as long as the injuries they sustained in service to their country. Just like he needed a team in the military to accomplish the mission, he needs a team at home for the longer war.”

Cheryl Lynch, the mother of PFC Christopher Lynch, US Army (Retired), has provided care for her son who suffered a severe TBI in 2000.  She asked the Subcommittee to consider the importance of consistent and sustained care.   

 “I am a 54 year old mother…..if something were to happen to me, who will know enough about my son’s individual difficulties and medical needs to continue to manage his care? Who will be able to act in his best interest or defense to assure he receives his entitled benefits?
Who would be able to put the proper supports in place for my son to not end up on the streets, institutionalized, or even worse? I believe the answers to these questions lie in the potential of the FRC program.
However; Veterans may in fact out live an individual FRC therefore; care cases must be accurately documented to assure life-long continuity for the Veteran.”

“I commend Chairman Mitchell for his commitment to ensuring that our seriously injured veterans are able to get on with their lives and focus on their recovery – not deal with endless paperwork and a stubborn bureaucracy,” said Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.  “I am pleased that the Department of Defense and the VA are working closely together to implement this new and extremely important program.  Now, we look to the VA to step up and reach out to our returning veterans.  If a veteran needs access to the FRCP, they should have access to the FRCP.  We must be prepared to welcome back every soldier, sailor, airman and marine with all the compassion this
grateful nation can bestow.”   

Witnesses:

Panel 1

*       Captain Mark A. Brogan, USA, (Ret.), Knoxville, TN, (OIF
Veteran)

*       First Lieutenant Andrew Kinard, USMC, (Ret.), Washington, DC,
(OIF Veteran)

*       Sarah Wade, Chapel Hill, NC, (Spouse of OEF/OIF Veteran)

*       Cheryl Lynch, Pace, FL, (Mother of Injured Veteran and TBI
Awareness Advocate)

*       Thomas Zampieri, Ph.D., Director of Government Relations,
Blinded Veterans Association

Panel 2

*       Karen Guice, M.D., MPP, Executive Director, Federal Recovery
Coordination Program, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs  

*       Madhulika Agarwal, M.D., MPH, Chief Officer, Office of Patient
Care Services, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Accompanied by 

o       Lucille Beck, Ph.D., Chief Consultant, Rehabilitation Services ,
Office of Patient Care Services, Veterans Health Administration, U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs

o       Jennifer Perez, LICSW, Acting Chief Consultant, Care Management
and Social Work, Office of Patient Care Services, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Prepared testimony for the hearing and a link to the webcast from the hearing is available on the internet at this link: http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?newsid=381