STAR Publications Veterans Salute Special Edition ★ November 6, 2019 • 21
“Talk to Them” VA, community can help veterans through physical, mental issues by BEN SONNEK STAFF WRITER
Cory Vaske, a Stearns County Veteran Service Officer, visits Sauk Centre Oct. 23. Vaske encourages the central Minnesota community to help with outreach to veterans. PHOTO BY BEN SONNEK
STEARNS COUNTY – Through its programs and initiatives both new and old, Veterans Affairs (VA) is continuing to help members of the military with physical and mental health issues. However, in order help isolated veterans, the VA encourages communities to reach out and make sure their former protectors keep their sense of purpose. “We need community engagement and education regarding suicide prevention and mental health problems of veterans,” said Cory Vaske, a Stearns County Veteran Service Officer (CVSO). “We need awareness of the signs and symptoms, but also some training for individuals and community members to know how to interact with somebody who might be exhibiting symptoms or suicidal ideation. In the community I grew up in, everybody wanted to mind their own business. There’s some benefits to that, but at the
same time, we’ve got to recognize that there is a need at a community level to be engaged and looking out for each other.” All CVSOs are veterans themselves; Vaske was deployed in Iraq from 2005-07. When he returned, he wanted to work with veterans in some capacity, and so he joined Stearns County in 2015. This was one year after the scandals broke with the Phoenix Veterans Health Administration, prompting investigations into the department’s apparent negligence as well as the Veterans Choice Act, allowing veterans to receive health care from a community provider rather than waiting for a VA appointment. Today, the Choice Act is being replaced by the Mission Act, passed in 2018 and implemented June 6, 2019. “The Choice Act was pushed through really quickly, and after they
implemented it, there were continuous modifications all the way up until the point it expired to try to get it to work the way congress and legislators intended,” Vaske said. “The Mission Act came about as a result of a continued need of health care access in the community; it was intended to be more of a long-term solution for care in the community in addressing gap areas where the VA either can’t provide care or can’t provide it in a timely manner.” Veterans’ medical needs can vary based on the deployment they were in; Vaske has observed that veterans from the Vietnam War have had more health issues than other veterans, even ones from the Korean War or World War II. Some of the issues are due to the soldiers’ exposure to Agent Orange and other tactical herbicides.
HEALTH Continued on page 22
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