veterans administration

Press Release:

A partner of the Veterans Administration Medical Centers (VAMCs) in Buffalo and Batavia, Western New York Independent Living, Inc. (WNYIL) received the sole contract for Veteran Directed Care (VDC) with the VA.  

While the Veteran Directed Care model is new to WNY, it has demonstrated success in self-directed care by Veterans across the nation. VA Medical Centers partner with non-profit Independent Living Centers to empower Veterans to employ their own aides (often already being provided by family members).

WNY Independent Living CEO, Douglas Usiak shares, “As an aging service-connected disabled Veteran myself, I am excited to know that my brother and sister Veterans will have the comfort to direct their own homecare needs and remain in their home of choice as long as possible. A secondary satisfaction to being involved in the launch of this program is the opportunity to work with the VAMC in the capacity of a partner, and not just one of their consumers of services. This partnership gives me the opportunity to advance my lifelong passion of promoting the Independent Living philosophy that believes that we all have a right to live in our homes, work in our communities, and engage in society as a person with a disability.”

A focus of this program is to reach the underserved rural parts of WNY where Veterans face provider shortages, geographic and distance barriers, limited broadband coverage which impairs their ability to participate in telehealth, and social determinants of health relative to rural living experiences (i.e., access to transportation, employment).  

To ensure a trust-built rapport with Veterans, WNY Independent Living has employed another Army Veteran, Thomas Patterson, to serve in the Person-Centered Counsellor role and interface directly with the Veterans in assessing their needs in their homes and communities. Veterans and Tom work together to build a Spending Plan to identify costs for their Personal Assistants and obtain any additional goods and services the Veteran requires to improve quality of life in their home and community.

The power of this Veteran Directed Care program can be recognized in the experiences of the individual Veterans who are participating in VDC. For example, a 94-year-old Veteran who functions independently in his own home and wants to remain there with some additional oversight for specific household tasks and community access – like going to the library for a new mystery novel, has employed his daughter-in-law for these functions.   Another Veteran depends on his granddaughter for activities of daily living and then she needs to go to her job in the community to support herself. Being able to be paid to continue the care she already provides to her “Poppy” will improve the quality of life for both. One thing is certain: their stories are being heard.

Crucial to WNY Independent Living’s successful launch as a VDC program, VDC Director Julie Andrews Krieger expresses gratitude for the mentorship of the other providers in the VDC community, including the Independent Living Center of Hudson Valley and VA Medical Center in Albany.

WNY Independent Living will support Veterans across the wider WNY region in Niagara, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Wyoming, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany Counties. We are proud to serve the Veterans in our community. To qualify for this program, a Veteran must request Veteran Directed Care from their VA physician and Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) at the local VA Medical Center or VA Clinic and an assessment is completed and referral made to the VDC program.

The Western New York Independent Living, Inc. family of agencies offers an expanding array of services to aid individuals with disabilities to take control of their own lives.

The backlog of unprocessed disability claims at the Veterans Administration now exceeds one million and the pile grows daily.  Veterans are waiting months to have benefits administered.

Congressman Chris Lee is taking up the cause of veterans waiting for claims to be processed.

“The VA’s backlog of unfinished disability claims is clearly unacceptable and unsustainable. With the VA drowning in red tape, our veterans are forced to go to extreme lengths in order to make ends meet while waiting on benefits they have earned,” Lee said in a statement released this week. “Whether it’s hiring and training more processors or updating technological capabilities, the VA needs to have a detailed plan in place to tackle this problem and expedite its implementation.”

Full press release following the jump:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26) is urging the Department of Veterans Affairs to step up its efforts to address an “unacceptable and unsustainable” backlog of unfinished disability claims that compromises the VA’s ability to improve services and often leaves veterans waiting in limbo for months before receiving benefits they have earned.

In a letter to General Eric Shinseki, the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Congressman Lee pointed out that with roughly 900,000 pending claims, including 7,168 in Western New York alone, the VA’s caseload is on pace to reach the 1 million mark this year. While the average wait time for a claim to be processed is approximately 120 days, a number of veterans have reported to Congressman Lee’s office that their cases have gone unresolved for more than a year. In these tough economic times, veterans have no choice but to take extreme steps to make ends meet, including paying bills with credit cards.

“The VA’s backlog of unfinished disability claims is clearly unacceptable and unsustainable. With the VA drowning in red tape, our veterans are forced to go to extreme lengths in order to make ends meet while waiting on benefits they have earned,” Congressman Lee said. “Whether it’s hiring and training more processors or updating technological capabilities, the VA needs to have a detailed plan in place to tackle this problem and expedite its implementation.”

This issue was front and center during a meeting Congressman Lee convened last month in Batavia with an advisory board  comprised of area veterans committed to improving the lives of fellow vets and their families. That discussion keyed on the fact that this growing claims backlog can have a ripple effect through the entire system.

Congressman Lee added: “The severity of this situation demands more than just an acknowledgment of the problem. I will continue to be a vocal advocate for forceful action that puts the VA on a path to ensuring that each of our veterans – and their families – have access to the services they deserve and the benefits they have earned.”

Visit http://chrislee.house.gov/veterans to learn more about Congressman Lee’s efforts to honor and support our nation’s military veterans and their families.
 
The text of the letter is below.

June 23, 2009
 
The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki
Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Office
810 Vermont Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20420
 
Dear Secretary Shinseki:
 
I write to you today to express my deep concern with regards to the growing number of outstanding claims to be processed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
 
This large backlog is the result of more than 722,000 current claims along with more than 172,000 appeals, totaling 900,000 claims to be processed, including 13,000 pending in New York State. In a recent appearance before the House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance, VA Deputy Undersecretary Michael Walcoff testified that the Department receives approximately 80,000 new claims each month. With the current backlog and this large influx of new claims, the nearly 900,000 claims could reach the one million mark by the end of summer. 
 
This is unacceptable and needs to be addressed before the problem is just too large to solve. Our veterans deserve not only the best health care, but health care that is accessible and responsive. The average wait for a claim is more than 120 days, and veterans in my district have informed me they have waited more than a year for their claims to be processed.  In these tough economic times, veterans waiting on their claims to be processed are forced to take extreme steps, including paying bills with credit cards.
 
While efforts to revamp the Department’s electronic claims system are to be commended, our veterans cannot wait any longer. Our servicemembers returning from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the nearly eight million veterans already enrolled in the VA health care system, deserve immediate care and timely claims processing. We have made a promise to care for our veterans, and we must meet this obligation.
 
I appreciate the burdens your agency must bear in this matter, and look forward to hearing from you on your plan to reduce this backlog and ensure accessible health care for our veterans.
 
Sincerely,
 
CHRISTOPHER J. LEE
Member of Congress