Published: November 17, 2008 09:23 pm      

W.Va. National Guard social worker seeks assistance for returning vets

CHARLESTON — Unaware help is available, or reluctant to seek it in deference to the stigma society attaches to mental disorders, many war-weary veterans are self-medicating and abusing alcohol, or getting flawed diagnoses, lawmakers learned Monday.

In some instances, says Lt. Suzanne Jenkins, a social worker for the West Virginia National Guard, soldiers are using a relative’s medicine and mixing in alcohol in search of immediate relief.

“When they get to me, I have not only to deal with the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but also their substance abuses.”

Jenkins provided the Legislature’s Select Committee B on Veterans Issues with a list of recommendations that would potentially put more returning troops under medical care.

One need is to get services advertised, which, by federal law, she explained, the Veterans Administration is barred from doing.

“What I have found when I’m talking to National Guard soldiers is they are not aware of exactly what the five-year window means,” Jenkins said, emphasizing it’s a five-year limit to seek help.

Failure to take advantage of the time limit means the soldier afterward cannot even get an appointment at the VA.

A recent survey commissioned by the panel, co-chaired by Delegate Barbara Fleischauer and Sen. Jon Blair Hunter, both D-Monongalia, found that one-third of returnees are not applying for services.

“If you get seen by that one provider, you can keep that benefit going,” Jenkins said of the five-year window.

Some returnees are ingesting medicines prescribed for relatives and turning to alcohol to seek relief. One soldier swallowed a mix of medications and alcohol.

“He was lucky to wake up that morning,” she said.

And, in some cases, it appears that outside providers not trained to deal with PTSD are misdiagnosing the disorders.

Jenkins told of a woman who advised a provider her husband was angry, irritable and suffered control issues, “which are very normal to most combat veterans.”

Based on such second-hand information, the provider considered the husband “abusive” and told the woman to leave him, Jenkins said.

“Absolutely,” this was a misdiagnosis, the Guard officer said.

Jenkins said a major hurdle to overcome is to remove the stigma associated with mental health disorders.

“I see that with my Guard soldiers who are scared that if they get mental help, they might get kicked out some day,” she said.

Fleischauer said one plus would be to have more mental health providers and in the rural communities.

Jenkins emphasized she could only speak for the Guard in fielding questions by the panel but afterward praised the VA for its care of veterans.

“Anybody who comes to the VA is going to get excellent care,” the lieutenant said.

“The VA resources are wonderful. I think the biggest problem is getting people to the VA. It’s a great place. They get health. They get treatment. They get better.”

Jenkins wasn’t sure how many, if any, of her recommendations the Legislature could act on, but added, “I hope they can do something.”

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com