yourviews
Billion With a B As stated on page 62 of the March issue [“Health Care Within Reach”], the eco- nomic impact of the military to South Carolina’s economy is $19 billion, not $19 million — quite a difference. — Col. Angelo Perri, USA (Ret)
Life Member, Columbia (S.C.) Chapter via email
survivors in the [Acquired Brain Injury Program at Coastline Community College in Newport Beach, Calif.], and no one in the “mild”
“
I met dozens of fellow
group was ever completely resolved,
including me. I still have deficits.
—Frances Heussenstamm ”
The [South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS)] is not the largest DoD inpatient facility. … Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) is the most robust and productive military health care facility within DoD. With nearly 8,000 employ- ees, BAMC includes its core hospital, the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC), plus multiple outpatient clin- ics in the San Antonio area. DoD’s only Level I trauma center and burn center [both mentioned in the article] are within SAMMC (the hospital). The Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgery Center … is located on Lackland AFB. The STVHCS and BAMC are collaborative partners, working through sharing agreements. — Col. Evan M. Renz, USA (Ret), M.D., former commander,
Brooke Army Medical Center, Texas Life Member via email
Unresolved TBI Effects Thank you for [“TBI Prognosis”] in your March issue, which I read today at the VA hospital in Long Beach, Calif. I’m a civilian [traumatic brain injury (TBI)] survivor from automobile crashes. … I’m an 87-year-old clinical psychologist, long since retired, and [I volunteer at the VA hospital] as symbolic support for four grandchildren (two in the Air Force, two in the Navy). My purpose in writing from the TBI survivor point of view is to state that [au-
12 MILITARY OFFICER MAY 2016
thor Don Vaughan] missed some impor- tant recent research at Camp Pendleton, Calif., where 415 Marines with TBI and [post-traumatic stress (PTS)] were treat- ed by neurofeedback with great results and no drug side effects.
Also he ends the article with quotes
that are, in my opinion, untruths: “Up to 95 percent of people with [mild TBI] will have a complete resolution at one year with the right kind of care. … Eighty- five percent will be well in three to six months.” This is nonsense. … I met dozens of fellow survivors in
the [Acquired Brain Injury Program at Coastline Community College in New- port Beach, Calif.], and no one in the “mild” group was ever completely re- solved, including me. I still have deficits. Today, I met a veteran, 45 years out
from Vietnam, with PTS and TBI, drugged by his VA psychiatrist [and] shuffling and foggy. He’s had no individual therapy, no group therapy, [and] no support other than meds in all these years. He’s definitely un- resolved and has not had the “right” kind of treatment, according to your author. — Frances Heussenstamm, Ph.D. via email
Charity Check I would like to suggest an article outlin- ing the various veterans charity groups and ideas on how to determine which ones are legitimate. I have been con- cerned with recent news articles on the Wounded Warrior Project. … I want to help wounded veterans when they need it, but I do not want to be cheated in the process. It would be helpful to know just what the govern- ment provides to these veterans and what more may be needed from the pri- vate sector.
— Col. Larry Nixon, USA (Ret) via email
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