Health Supports Are Available for Both Veterans, Their Caregivers

As we celebrate Veterans Day on Nov. 11, it’s important to keep our brave service men and women at the forefront of our minds. Their unselfish military service protecting our freedoms showed — and continues to show — such courage and determination. But the fact is, even with these qualities, life is not easy and many veterans face physical and mental health challenges, as do their caregivers.  

Some of the physical challenges that veterans disproportionately experience include:

Musculoskeletal issues that include degenerative arthritis causing shoulder, back, spine, leg and hand pain, and amputations to extremities due to a traumatic injury.

Hearing impairment, hearing loss, and tinnitus are commonly associated with military service for a variety of reasons, including exposure to blasts, head trauma, and prolonged or sudden exposure to loud noise. Tinnitus can sound like ringing, hissing, whistling, roaring, or other sounds. It might occur occasionally or occur daily and be merely annoying or significantly interfere with sleep and concentration. Veterans are also more likely to have hyperacusis, a high sensitivity to a range of sounds that can include everyday sounds like running water, background noise, and traffic.

Kidney disease — Veterans are 34 percent more likely to have kidney disease than the general population. The leading risk factor is diabetes and the second is high blood pressure.

Cancer(s) — Environmental hazard exposure(s), including exposure to toxins, including airborne hazards and burn pits. Presumptive conditions from these hazards include many types of cancers, including brain, gastrointestinal, kidney, lymphatic, melanoma, lung, and many other types.

Diabetes — Statistics show that diabetes affects nearly 25 percent of veterans, which is more than double the rate for the general population. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to vision loss, poor wound healing, and places a person at higher risk of heart disease.

In this month’s AgeWise, my colleague Suzet Tave writes Thank a Veteran by Sharing These Mental Health Resources, which explains the mental health challenges veterans face and the support that’s available to them.

There are advocacy groups that support efforts to address veterans’ health issues. For instance, Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is urging Congress to enact legislation that acknowledges toxic exposure and establishes presumptive diseases for conditions related to service at the Karshi-Khanabad Airbase in Uzbekistan, since American troops providing support to forces deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11, were exposed to residuals of chemical weapons, radioactive depleted uranium and jet fuel, among nearly 400 other chemical compounds.

Also, as of April 2024, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced an expansion of its Close to Me cancer care program. This expansion will bring new cancer diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance services to an additional 9,000 Veterans and 30 locations by the end of October 2025.

Under this program, VA clinicians travel to provide veterans with the full continuum of cancer care at nearby community-based outpatient clinics, often in rural locations. This reduces the need for veterans to travel to medical centers for cancer care, affording them and their caregivers more time to go about their daily lives and focus on healing. It also allows more Veterans to utilize VA care, which is proven to be the best care in America for Veterans.

Though there are promising efforts, our veterans and their families continue to need recognition and support. Some other worthwhile resources include:

• King County Veterans Program
• Crisis Connections 211
• S. Veterans Crisis Line (Dial 988 and then press 1)
• Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs

Support is also available for veterans’ caregivers

I am so fortunate to be a trained facilitator for the Building Better Caregivers workshop for Canary Health, in partnership with the VA. This online program helps caregivers of veterans with dementia, memory problems, post-traumatic stress disorder, a serious brain injury, or any other serious injury or illness.

Being a caregiver for a veteran is both rewarding and demanding, from managing healthcare needs to navigating VA benefits. These caregivers should know that support is available and they don’t have to do it all alone.

The VA also has Caregiver Support Program Teams at each VA Medical Center to help caregivers find the right support to meet their needs and to enroll in caregiver programs and services. The caregiver must be registered for one of these programs:

• Program of General Caregiver Support Services (PGCSS)
• Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC)

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” ~ Arthur Ashe

As we celebrate Veteran’s Day, remember to give thanks to those who served and continue to serve, showing true heroism.

Contributor Mary Pat O’Leary, RN, BSN and a senior planner with Aging and Disability Services, the Area Agency on Aging for Seattle-King County.