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Here in Alaska, it's a huge concern, when you factor in how remote many of our villages are. That's why Senator Ted Stevens invited the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs here to Alaska, to see firsthand some of the challenges our veterans are up against and to hear their concerns.
CBS 11 News was the only television station invited along for the ride.
"We have more people who have been involved in these two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, per capita, than any other state," said Senator Stevens.
When you're headed to rural Alaska to learn about how veterans are coping, this is the team you want to be travelling with. On board a C-23 Bravo Sherpa were the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James Peake, state officials with Alaska's V.A. health care system and Senator Stevens—who has made veterans affairs one of his top priorities for the last 30 years.
"This secretary is unique. He's a former surgeon general; he's former general. Now he's a cabinet officer. We want him to change the paradigm of the relationship between the Veterans Administration and other agencies. We want them to start contracting with the local health providers," said Senator Stevens.
One of those providers is the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation in Bethel. The corporation's hospital has become the hub for health care to 56 surrounding villages. It is the poorest region in our state with approximately 1,200 veterans—165 of whom recently returned from war.
Meeting all their needs is no easy task.
"We started this concept of these village health aids—a place for the local people to go to," said Stevens.
On this day, Senator Stevens and Secretary Peake are lawmakers, as well as students. Their goal is to try to find a way to tie together services linking rural villages—like Alakanuk, Aniak and Hooper Bay—to state- of-the-art health care facilities.
"To be able to see a doctor...if I get sick, I'm on an airplane 500 miles to Anchorage. And there's a lot of other veterans that have to do the same thing. I'd like to go right here in town," said veteran, Tim Albright of Bethel.
Make no mistake, Bethel continues to make strides, especially when it comes to psychiatric counseling in Bush, Alaska. Six weeks ago, the corporation started telemedicine. It provides medical support and therapy to soldiers in rural villages using digitally enhanced computer screens.
Another tool the military is touting is extensive follow up with veterans once they're home.
"As of the 28th of January, it went from two years to five years post discharge that we can bring folks into health care system, providing them the counseling, the assistance, the health care that they need. We think that's a tremendous step forward...allows us to support their re-integration into society, back with their families," said Dr. Peake.
Both Senator Stevens and Secretary Peake spent a great deal of time listening to individual concerns of veterans and their families. Senator Stevens makes no bones about offering up personal advice:
"Seventy percent of those villages can be reached only by air. If you don't have pilots in those commuter planes, they're not going to get to the post office, not going to get to bypass real, not going to get transportation in town. You've got to have those pilots."
Speaking of air travel, our next stop was Quinhagak, Alaska. A blackhawk helicopter was on standby to take us there. From the sky the words remote and isolated take on a whole new meaning.
A village about 60 miles west of Bethel, Quinhagak is located on the coast of the Bering Sea and is home to roughly 700 people. Once we land, it was every man for himself. We squeezed into cars with some of the locals, many with their children in tow.
Our first stop was Quinhagak's only health clinic. It is open six hours a day and closed on weekends. It's small and often crowded.
Secretary Peake and Senator Stevens didn't just survey technology used in the clinic, they tested it out. Using an AFHCAN cart, an aide examined the senator's ears. This system has literally been a lifeline for rural villages, giving them the ability to check patient vital signs and take digital snapshots.
"We choose a provider then we send it to them," said the medical aide.
From the clinic we made our way to Quinhagak's school, where nearly a hundred villagers and veterans were also on hand.
Stevens says the best way to tap into the concerns of veterans in rural Alaska is to physically tour these kinds of villages, that on paper, often get lost in the mix.
After sharing war stories and spending time with the wives of several veterans, it was time to make our way back to Bethel, and then home to Anchorage, with the understanding that assisting Alaska's more than 70,000 veterans will be an on-going challenge.
Because of the large percentage of veterans nationwide living in rural areas, the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs has established a rural health advisory council to help look at the issue, specifically with Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
To contact Raegan, call 907-273-3186.
