DOD, VA Team To Provide Care Coordinators For Servicemembers, Veterans

Main Category: Veterans / Ex-Servicemen
Also Included In: Rehabilitation / Physical Therapy
Article Date: 02 Nov 2007 - 8:00 PDT

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The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs on Wednesday signed an agreement to establish "federal recovery coordinators" who will be responsible for guiding wounded servicemembers and veterans through their medical care and recovery, the Washington Post reports. The recovery coordinator position was a key element of a presidential commission's recommendations to help improve health care services for military members and veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (Vogel, Washington Post, 11/1).

The coordinators will be responsible for overseeing care coordination between the two departments' health care systems, and they will assist family members as well (AP/Contra Costa Times, 10/31). The first 10 coordinators, who will be provided by VA and trained by January 2008, will be assigned to large military health care facilities. Michael Dominguez, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, in a statement said, "This agreement will help ensure our nation's wounded warriors and their families receive the care they need and deserve at the right time, right place and by the right person across the continuum from recovery through to their reintegration into their communities" (Washington Post, 11/1).

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