Bill seeks better veteran care

By Dennis Camire
Advertiser Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Hawai'i's nearly 115,000 veterans could see new Veterans Affairs Department healthcare clinics, additions to existing ones, and a new $10 million mental health center under a bill introduced yesterday by Sen. Daniel Akaka.

"This bill is vital to those veterans residing in Hawai'i because it increases access to services," said Akaka, top Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. "Federal policymakers are unaware of the many challenges faced by Neighbor Island vets due to the geography of our states."

The bill would provide new satellite clinics with both healthcare and mental health services on Moloka'i and Lana'i, which have none, and a medical care clinic on the west side of Kaua'i. It also calls for a new VA mental healthcare center in Hilo on the Big Island.

A new $10 million mental health center with an inpatient post-traumatic stress treatment program also would be built on the grounds of Tripler Army Medical Center.

Akaka's bill also calls for increasing staff at existing clinics and would require those clinics to provide community-based long-term care. It also would increase staff at Vet Centers and would authorize a new Vet Center on O'ahu.

Akaka said the VA's only nursing home in the state — the Center for Aging in Honolulu — has only 60 beds.

"This is nowhere near sufficient to care for the number of veterans who reside here," he said. "Furthermore, community nursing-home beds are limited."

To help out, the bill would create a new VA program on O'ahu to place veterans with medical problems in permanent foster homes, allowing them to remain in the community while they receive care, Akaka said.

Akaka also introduced a second bill yesterday to require that VA spending on mental healthcare keep pace with inflation and to require that at least 90 percent of the system's clinics nationwide provide mental health services.

The agency also would have to improve mental health and substance abuse services and reduce the stigma associated with mental health disorders.

"It has been estimated that anywhere from 20 percent to 30 percent of the men and women who are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan will require treatment for a mental health issue," Akaka said. "VA simply must be prepared to handle the influx."