Wounded Warriors Project : Call to Congress to Extend VA's TBI Assisted Living Pilot Program - a podcast by Gary Ray

WASHINGTON-The Department of Veterans Affairs has begun ousting dozens of brain-damaged veterans from special therapeutic group homes, setting off a scramble for housing and care.
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Hannah Fairman
Health Policy Analyst on WWP's Policy Team
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Congressional Inaction Threatens Program for Brain-Damaged Vets
VA Begins Ousting Vets from Special Therapeutic Group Homes
July 11, 2014 10:26 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON-The Department of Veterans Affairs has begun ousting dozens of brain-damaged veterans from special therapeutic group homes, setting off a scramble for housing and care.
In recent weeks, VA case workers have warned 53 veterans they'll have to leave the privately run homes by Sept. 15, according to the agency. Ten have already been discharged from the care facilities and sent to nursing homes, state veterans homes or to live with family members.
Dozens of other veterans are now in a state of limbo about whether they'll be able to remain in the rehab facilities for more than a few months.
The VA says it has no choice but to discharge the residents. Despite pressure from veterans, their families and service organizations, Congress hasn't extended the legal authority for the rehabilitation program, which expires Oct. 6.
The failure to extend this successful pilot [program] would close a door to recently injured individuals who need these services and risk having to transfer wounded veterans to more costly and inappropriate environments of care, the Wounded Warrior Project, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and 11 other veterans groups wrote to lawmakers in a joint letter this month.
Lawmakers from both parties say they support renewing the program. The five-year pilot was designed to test whether veterans with traumatic brain injuries-the kinds of wound that became a signature of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts-improve faster with intensive therapy in a community-based home than at a hospital or rest home.

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