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In the United States, there are more than 26 million veterans of the armed services-from World War I all the way to the War on Terror. These veterans share a special bond and camaraderie unlike any other group in society. Unfortunately, they also share special health and assistance needs due to illness and injury caused by their service to our country.
As veterans age, their unique health and assistance problems are compounded. "A population boom of aging veterans is just around the corner... there is the sure public outcry over alternative plans that would scale back benefits to a group widely regarded as deserving of public support. The clock ticks, but policy makers are keeping conspicuously quiet about their plans for elderly veterans." Today, this 1984 quote still applies with more than 9 million veterans over the age of 65. Homelessness, unemployment and adequate healthcare continue to be significant issues for America's veterans.
A wide range of groups from private entities to non-profit organizations and federal agencies provide services to veterans including assistive technology. Unfortunately, access, budget cuts, and patient neglect have plagued veterans' services.
In California, most of the attention regarding veteran services revolves around veterans' homes. Unsanitary conditions, poor medical services, and potential closure of the veterans' homes have been the focus of news stories and public outcry. While some of these issues have been addressed (increasing staff, improving sanitary conditions, and the passage of Proposition 16, the Veterans Home Bond Act of 2000 that provides more than $50 million for the renovation of existing veterans homes and the construction of three new veterans homes in Chula Vista, Lancaster and Saticoy, many issues still need to be addressed.
Despite a $1.7 billion increase in federal government spending for veterans' services, non-medical services continue to be cut, forcing more veterans to be dependent on assisted living and medical services. For example, in Los Angeles a veterans' gymnasium was closed denying veterans, especially those in wheelchairs, a facility for exercise and other activities that they cannot do elsewhere. As Steven Palmer, a veteran of World War II articulated the problem, "What the gym has done for me, and hundreds of others like me, is that it has kept me out of a bed in a nursing home... By closing the gym, they are especially depriving the wheelchair veterans from their basketball and volleyball games and other activities... (Other exercise facilities) never give them the space and the ability to move around."
Delays in benefits exacerbate the situation. More than 3.2 million veterans and survivors rely on compensation for injuries, illnesses and service, so it is imperative that the system works efficiently. In an attempt to speed up the claims process and reduce errors, the Veterans Administration spent $200 million in computer upgrades. Unfortunately, the problem has only worsened. The Associated Press recently reported that the Veteran Benefits Administration now takes 205 days to process a disability claim, compared to 164 days in 1991, with a third of the claims having errors.
The harsh realities of war have cost many veterans their hearing, eyesight and limbs. Rather than becoming outcasts, veterans rely upon assistive technology to enhance their quality of life. Assistive technology such as prosthetics, wheelchairs and hearing aids are used by veterans to improve their hearing, mobility, and other functional limitations.
"Assistive technology" refers to devices that compensate for functional limitations and to enhance learning, independence, mobility, communication, environmental control, and choice. Assistive technology includes prosthetics, walkers and canes, manual and power wheelchairs, and hearing aids as well as voice-activated computers and telecommunication devices.
Assistive technology can be costly, but veterans who are covered by the federal government do not need to worry about costs, provided they fill out the proper paperwork. The only payments that must be made by covered veterans are co-payments for the technician's time.
While the federal government provides assistive technology resources and services for veterans, the rules governing assistive technology are unclear and inconsistent between service-related and non-service related injuries and illnesses. For example, prosthetics and rehabilitative devices are treated the same between service and non-service veterans with both being completely covered by the federal government. However, adaptive equipment for vehicles and vocational training are available only for veterans with service-related injuries, leading to confusion for veterans.
In addition, there are inconsistencies based upon type of injury. For instance, veterans with spinal cord injuries can obtain a computer through vocational training or as part of an environmental control unit, but they cannot obtain a computer solely as a rehabilitative device. The services available are inconsistent from region to region and center to center with stronger, more knowledgeable directors being able to obtain services other centers cannot.
Another problem is access to assistive technology for veterans. To obtain the services and resources available to them, veterans need to visit a military or veterans medical center for medical review, followed by a visit to a center specializing in providing the type of assistive technology they need. This bureaucratic requirement creates a major problem for veterans that reside in rural areas where there is little or no access to veteran services. In these areas, veterans have two options, either travel to the existing military and veteran sites or use local medical and assistive technology services. However, if veterans choose to use local services, the federal government does not cover the costs. While the federal government does contract out some of its work with a few private sector organizations and has established some community-based outpatient clinics, it is impossible for veteran services to cover all of the rural areas.
The waiting period for veterans to obtain services and assistive technology also varies depending upon the region they reside in and the type of injury. Some of the sites have a high volume of veterans requesting services, which increases the wait time for assistive technology. In other cases, the type of injury and the specialization needed exacerbates the wait. For example, a veteran, who is blind, can receive assistive technology and training at seven centers under the VA system throughout the nation. However, due to the demand and the few numbers of sites, a blind veteran may wait up to nine months to receive assistance.
The veterans' system must refocus its efforts on veterans who have fought hard for their independence but rely on one form of assistance or another.
Streamlining the Claims Process: The federal government must accelerate the claims process. A 205 day claim process is simply too long for anyone to wait to be compensated for a wheelchair, hearing aid, or any other piece of assistive technology. Delays diminish a person's quality of life and, in fact, can worsen health problems by wearing on a person physically, mentally and emotionally. The AT Network stands ready to join with veterans groups to help streamline the claims process.
Streamlining and Reforming the Resource Delivery and Training Process: A blind veteran should not have to wait nine months for training and assistive technology. With the limited number of specialty services offered through the Veterans Administration, the federal government needs to contract out more services with other vendors and service providers in order to ensure that veterans are receiving the services they need. The AT Network will provide information on other specialists for veterans or anyone who needs assistance.
Uniform Policies: Inconsistent policies create confusion. Uniform rules must be established to ensure that veterans are aware of the services available to them. It will also ensure that quality of service does not vary from region to region, depending upon the leadership of the regional veterans' offices.
Easier Accessibility: Veterans, who served their country proudly, should not have to travel hundreds of miles to military bases to receive services that are already available in their community. More community-based outpatient clinics and contracting out for services to private vendors needs to occur. Also, more information needs to be available to veterans through centralized calling centers and the Internet, similar to the AT Network that provides information regarding assistive technology statewide.
Awareness: Reaching out to all those in society who can benefit from assistive technology, old and young, veterans and non-veterans, is a primary goal of the AT Network. Working with groups like veterans' organizations, the AT Network will build a powerful, broad-based coalition to remove barriers to accessibility of assistive technology. The AT Network strives to make information about assistive technologies available to all Californians whose quality of life can be improved by the use of such technologies.
Veterans have fought hard to preserve our freedom and independence. In many cases, the ability to perform many of the functions the rest of our society take for granted are lost on the fields of battle. When these veterans come home, they should expect to readily find devices that assist them in independence and function. However, this expectation has not been met by state and federal funding programs, Veterans Hospitals and others. Where they should be welcomed with open arms, their current and future needs are forgotten. Where they seek devices to regain function for their independence, they are faced with bureaucratic red tape. As our veterans have fought for this country’s independence, society should be able to fight for their independence in the community through the use of assistive technology.
To learn more about assistive technology and the AT Network, please contact the AT Network at:
(800) 390-2699
(800) 900-0706
info@atnet.org / www.atnet.org
Funded by the California Department of Rehabilitation.
The AT Network is dedicated to protecting the rights of our consumers and allowing them to remain independent in the community. If you have a question, concern, or a story to share with us then please don't hesitate to contact us:
Toll-Free: 800-390-2699
TTY: 800-900-0706
E-mail: info@atnet.org
During his rehabilitation, Paul learned about his local Independent Living Center—the Community Access Center (CAC) in Riverside, California—and with the help of staff, he began to consider the possibility of using a power wheelchair to better support his daily living.
