Initiative helps veterans
At nearly 115,000 men and women, New Hampshire has its fair share of residents who served in the U.S. military. The fifth highest rate per capita, veterans make up nearly 11 percent of the state’s total population.
In June, the N.H. legislature voted to make permanent a commission on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury in order to address issues of access to health care and reduce stigma for veterans with mental health concerns and to increase community education and training.
A survey of 1,170 veterans conducted by the commission found that for many of these men and women, there are serious barriers to seeking health and mental health care. One of the biggest issues is at the center of a new program recently announced, the “Ask the Question” Initiative.
“One of the biggest issues we came across when we did the survey was that veterans felt they were not being understood by community providers,” says Mary Morin, director of the State Office of Veterans Services.
The two-part statewide “Ask the Question” Initiative grew out of the idea that, if providers would, as part of their basic intake questionnaire, ask patients if they had ever served in the military, important considerations could be taken into account in diagnosing and treatment options.
“Asking this question is a simple opening to the door of care, consideration, treatment options and benefits that can help our military receive the services they need and deserve,” says Jo Launcher, bureau chief of Community Based Military Programs for the Department of Health and Human Services. “This question, if not asked, leaves a myriad of information undiscovered that might be critical to the acute and long term care of that veteran or service member.”
According to Morin, the question asked must be “have you ever served in the military?” – not “are you a veteran?” Many former military personnel do not self-identify as “veterans” if they do not qualify for Veterans Administration benefits or if they did not retire in the military, among other reasons. The issues that can follow a veteran may still be prevalent, however, so identifying them is important.
The goal of the program, Launcher explains, is to both educate providers on how to ask the question and, more importantly, what to do if the answer is “yes.”
“We cannot just ‘Ask the Question,’” she said. “We need to be able to help connect the veteran with other health care agencies and other services they may need. We need to build stronger partnerships among our military and civilian provider community to strengthen our services, as well as our safety net.”
Once it receives full approval and funding, the campaign will be rolled out in two parts: the first will be an outreach and education campaign to include printed and web-based materials and the second will be the formation of an outreach team
to contact providers and work towards making this approach a consistent part of the intake process.
“Our veterans have sacrificed bravely in defense of our freedom, and we must ensure they receive the full support they deserve,” says N.H. Gov. Maggie Hassan. “Far too many veterans, including those returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have difficulty accessing quality, affordable health care, sometimes simply because they are unaware that their service qualifies them for health benefits and social services, such as mental health and substance abuse treatment and housing assistance. Through Ask the Question, we’re encouraging health care agencies, social service organizations, law enforcement, colleges and universities and other civilian agencies to help identify all those who have served.”