Posted on 08/29/2006 7:45:12 PM PDT by SandRat
BETHESDA, Md. (NNS) -- National Naval Medical Center and Veterans Affairs are making patient care between the agencies easier with the Seamless Transition Program and benefits counseling.
The Seamless Transition Program aids the transitioning process for service members injured in Iraq or Afghanistan, said Bethesda Veterans Affairs liaison Anne LaFond.
"[Liaisons] work with social workers, case workers and discharge planners for service members hurt in Iraq and Afghanistan and those who are going to need follow-up care at [Veterans Affairs],” LaFond said. "We try to provide one main point of contact to the family to make sure nobody falls through the cracks and [the patient’s] specific needs are met.”
In the past, there were concerns over a lack of information and communication from Veterans Affairs during a service member’s transitioning. LaFond said the program helps wounded veterans transfer from acute care at military treatment facilities to rehabilitative care at Veterans Affairs hospitals, and back if necessary. Patient care is also available for service members on convalescent leave who choose to have follow-up care at their local Veterans Affairs facilities.
Military Service Coordinator Cedric Austin is Bethesda’s Veterans Affairs benefits counselor. Austin said his position serves two purposes - providing benefits information to injured service members treated at the hospital and coordinating the Benefits Delivery of Discharge program. The program is available to active-duty service members planning to transition out of the military.
Austin works with LaFond during the seamless transition process to ensure injured service members’ health care administration and benefits entitlements are met as early as possible.
"I meet with service members and their families as quickly as I can, most of the time within three business days,” Austin said. "Anne [LaFond] and I both work from the same information from the Marine Corps [Liaison]. We work together because the earlier we get information concerning service members’ needs, the more time we have to ensure a smooth transition [to the next level of care].”
Austin said providing a thorough benefits entitlement package to injured service members is important because some may remain on active duty while others may get discharged.
"Some patients are injured, but not injured enough where they will be discharged from the military ... that’s why we provide information on all available [Veterans Affairs] programs,” Austin said. "This information can be used whether it’s in a year or 20 years from now ... service members will have access to all the information they need.”
LaFond said meeting injured service members early in the process lets injured patients and their families know that Veterans Affairs is trying to shorten the communication gap between patient and provider.
"What we try to do is make sure they have a name and a phone number of a specific point of contact at their local veteran’s administration,” she said. "That way, they’ll get a person that is directly assigned to work with service members who were injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Currently there are 11 liaisons in the Veteran’s Affairs system and they have added two liaisons at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Balboa Naval Hospital, since the program’s onset, LaFond said.
"This is a wide open process,” Austin said. “We want everyone to know, including family members, exactly what is going on and what they can expect.”
For related news, visit the National Naval Medical Center Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/nnmc/.
Saints in Sailor's Suits!
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