Veteran, Shinseki Excited About Wheelchair Games.   In continuing coverage, the American Forces Press Service (7/16, Miles) profiled Iraq veteran Steve McGuire, a "peer counselor at his home Veterans Affairs clinic," and John Bennett, two of "more than 500 disabled veterans" competing in this week's 29th National Veterans Wheelchair Games. Bennett, also an Iraq veteran, said, "It's fabulous to see this many disabled veterans out here competing," while VA Secretary Eric Shinseki "noted during the games' opening day," the "event enriches onlookers, too. 'These games are not only great for the athletes, they're even better for us as spectators,' he said." The AFPS pointed out that in "addition to the wheelchair games, the VA co-sponsors three other national rehabilitative events: the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, the National Veterans Golden Age Games and the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival." And last "fall, the VA hosted a new summer sports clinic pilot program that introduces water and adventure sports such as sailing, surfing, kayaking, cycling, and track-and-field events to recently injured veterans."
      Athlete Says She Can Be Herself At Games.   The Air Force News Service (7/16, Bates) said swimming "100 meters is difficult," but swimming "this distance without the use of your legs seems near impossible. Yet, this is exactly what Terri Fuda did July 15," while taking part in the Games, "where she competed in the 100-meter freestyle swimming event at Whitmore College's aquatic center. The former senior airman served as an administrative specialist in the Air Force for nearly 10 years before a tumor left her in the wheelchair she now occupies." For some time, Fuda "never thought people like her existed outside of her own bubble," until "she discovered the Wheelchair Games and everything changed. 'I found a place where everybody was just like me,' she said," adding, "It was a place where I could just be myself and not worry what everyone else thought." Matthew Allen, public affairs officer for the Spokane VA Medical Center, also commented on the Games, telling AFNS that they "allow disabled veterans to come together, have fun and show that just because they're in wheelchairs this doesn't mean they aren't still athletes."
      Four-Time Participant "Inspired" By "Emotional" Games.   The Spokane Spokesman-Review (7/16, Sheehan, 92K) said, "Winning and losing doesn't really matter this week to Loon Lake's Roy 'Bud' Bemis," a Vietnam vet "who is competing in five events at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games. 'Six hundred of the most fantastic people you can imagine are coming over to play,' he said, 'and they're coming to my town to do it. What could be better than that?" Bemis, who has competed in three previous Games, "credits his involvement" in the event "to Julie Adams, who was his recreational therapist at the VA hospital in Seattle. 'Bless her heart, she wouldn't take no for an answer,' he said. 'I had no idea it would be such an emotional and inspiring spectacle.'"
Impact: National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Spokane

Soldier Suicides Down But Many Vets Diagnosed With Mental Health Disorders.   The AP (7/17, Jelinek) reports, "Suicides reported among" US soldiers "have tapered off from extreme highs of early this year amid intense Army efforts to stem the deaths, but officials are not yet ready to say they have turned a corner on the problem." On Thursday, "Army leadership said...they hope a newly launched mental health study will help identify what is causing the self-inflicted deaths and what programs are best for preventing them. Separately Thursday, other researchers reported that 37 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking care at Veterans Affairs clinics for the first time are being diagnosed with mental health disorders." That figure is "higher than some other estimates of the conflicts' toll, and researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center said that may be because people still in the military are more reluctant to seek care."
      The New York Times (7/17, Dao, A10, 1.06M) says the VA study "found that more than one-third of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who enrolled in the veterans health system after 2001 received a diagnosis of a mental health problem, most often post-traumatic stress disorder or depression." The study, which "also found that the number of veterans found to have mental health problems rose steadily the longer they were out" of the service, "joins a growing body of research showing that the prolonged conflicts, where many troops experience long and repeat deployments, are taking an accumulating psychological toll."
      Bloomberg News (7/17, Olmos) reports, "More than 1.6 million" US soldiers "have served since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001, many of whom have been exposed to prolonged combat and multiple tours of duty, according to the study. In an earlier, smaller study," VA "researchers found that 25 percent" of US "veterans who sought treatment from 2001 to 2005 suffered from mental health disorders. 'It's fair to say that there is a striking rise in numbers' between the earlier study and the new data published" this week, "said Karen Seal, the principal author" of the later study, which "recommended screening and early intervention programs that would target mental health problems of specific groups of soldiers, such as women and younger men."
      HealthDay (7/17, Reinberg) reports, "More than 40 percent" of the US "soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars seen at VA hospitals suffer from mental health disorders or psychosocial behavioral problems, a new study shows. Curiously, the researchers" from the San Francisco VAMC "found that most mental health diagnoses were not made in the first year that a veteran entered the VA health-care system, but several years after. This finding supports the recent move to extend VA benefits to five years of free" healthcare, "which allows VA doctors the time to detect and treat more mental illness in returning combat veterans, the researchers noted." Their "report is published in the July 16 online edition of the American Journal of Public Health."
      The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger (7/17, Dinges), which also notes the study, reports that almost "22 percent of the soldiers studied were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, researchers said. Another 17 percent were diagnosed with depression, 7 percent had alcohol problems and 3 percent had drug problems." Veterans advocates "said the new study proves the importance of screening soldiers for mental health problems after they return home." The Los Angeles Times' (7/16, Chong) "Booster Shots" blog also noted this week's VA study, as did numerous local TV reports in various parts of the country, including WNEP-TVWilkes-Barre, PA (7/16, 5:24 p.m. ET) and KERO-TVBakersfield, CA (7/16, 5:23 p.m. PT).
      Vets Suffering From PTSD Said To "Need Help In All Areas."   The Washington (DC) Examiner (7/16, Bright) interviewed Kathyrn Mustard, a licensed clinical social worker with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem, Virginia. Mustard "works in the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit," where "she helps treat several mental illness forms," including PTSD, a condition that many "new veterans returning from the Middle East are suffering from." Mustard told the Examiner that such veterans "need help in all areas," and it is "hard to gauge the level of 'success'" in treating them "because I see the most acute patients. However I think the long term counseling tends to deal the best with symptoms from what I've seen."
      The WSPA-TV Greenville, SC (7/16, Coursey) website, meanwhile, said the family of 23-year-old Iraq veteran John David Chapman, who recently committed suicide, "would like to see more programs to help our veterans and for families to recognize the signs of depression." WSPA added, "If you need help, there are resources available. The Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center Program operates a system of counseling centers for veterans who have served in combat," and there is one in Greenville. Just call 864-271-2711 for help."
Impact: Mental Health

GAO Faults Care Provided To Female Veterans At VA Facilities.   In continuing coverage, the lead story in HealthDay's (7/16) "Health Highlights) column reported, "Female veterans aren't assured of privacy when they bathe and undergo physical examinations at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics," Federal "government auditors say. No VA facility under review is complying fully" with Federal "privacy regulations, said the Government Accountability Office, the Associated Press reported." But privacy "isn't the only issue for female veterans. VA hospitals lack child care and it can be difficult to find diaper-changing tables, the AP reported." HealthDay added, "The VA knows that services for women need improvement, but changes are being made to 'build the system that will provide care equal to the health care needs of all America's veterans, regardless of gender,' said Patricia Hayes, chief consultant of the veterans strategic health care group at the VA."
      Rieckhoff Praises Women Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act.   In an op-ed on the Huffington Post (7/17) website, Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, calls the GAO's report "stunning," before endorsing the Women Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act, which "would help assess, expand, and improve VA care for women veterans, especially those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the female veteran population growing daily, it will also equip the VA with the tools necessary to plan long-term for this historic growth."
Impact: Women’s Veterans, GAO Report