IN THE MILITARY
Big Isle to get new VA clinic by midyear
Associated Press
HILO » The Big Island will have a new clinic to treat war veterans by mid-2006, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka announced Friday, signaling concerns that Hawaii needs to better prepare itself to care for soldiers returning from the Middle East.
The news came as veterans on the Big Island complained about a lack of health care services to a hearing of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs in Hilo.
The island recently lost its only program geared to the treatment of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. The program, which used to serve 830 patients in Hilo, was moved to Honolulu to provide enhanced mental health services to veterans with both acute and chronic symptoms.
But VA officials said a new clinic would be established on the Big Island because the veterans clinic in Kona is too small.
Katherine King, who has been diagnosed with PTSD, said she learned to deal with the disorder while she was on Oahu, but that changed when she arrived on the Big Island.
"The care I received on Oahu was considerably more professional than what I have received here in Hilo," she said during testimony before a packed conference room of about 100 people.
Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, asked King how the program's relocation was affecting her.
"I have no place to go to keep me safe from me, at times," she answered. "Night times are the worst, and I have no place to go."
VA officials explained that the program was not eliminated, but simply moved to Honolulu because the lease on the facility in Hilo was about to jump from $585,000 to $700,000. They also pointed out that the new facility there would offer outpatient treatment, making the care more comprehensive.
Officials also noted that only about 25 percent of the 830 people who have been in the Hilo program were from the Big Island.
There also were staffing problems, said Jonathan Perlin, the VA's undersecretary of health.