1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,800 All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio. 2 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:20,200 And now, your host for today's program, Dale Throneberry. 3 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:24,960 And good afternoon, welcome to Veterans Radio. 4 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:31,520 My name is Dale Throneberry, CW2 type United States Army Aviator a million years ago. 5 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,000 And we want to welcome you to our program today. 6 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:35,840 This is our monthly benefits program. 7 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,160 So we've got representatives from our local VA hospital. 8 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:43,880 We've got representatives from our local county veteran service office. 9 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,880 We've got representatives from legal health for veterans. 10 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:49,480 So we're here to answer any questions that you might have. 11 00:00:49,480 --> 00:00:51,880 So, you know, take your pencil and write this down. 12 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:56,880 This is the local number 734-822-1600. 13 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,880 734-822-1600. 14 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:04,880 If you have any questions, give them a call and we'll try to answer them today. 15 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:09,400 Like as I mentioned, my guests include Chris Arbino. 16 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:13,400 Chris is a public affairs specialist at the Ann Arbor Medical Center. 17 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,400 He's a Marine. 18 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:19,880 We've got David Sames, who is with the Washtenaw County Veterans Service Office. 19 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:21,800 He's the executive over there. 20 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:23,800 He's an Army veteran. 21 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,800 And of course, our favorite Brigadier General Retired Air Force, 22 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,800 Caroline Faussone from Legal Health for Veterans. 23 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:34,800 So these people are here. They know a lot and they can help you out. 24 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:37,800 So make sure that you give us a call if you have a question, 25 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:39,800 because we've got some topics we're going to talk about, 26 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,800 and maybe those will trigger some questions that you might have. 27 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,800 Before we get in and start talking with people, oh, I forgot. 28 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:49,800 We also have a quick interview with Jim Faussone, 29 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,800 who is a veteran at the Ann Arbor Medical Center. 30 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:59,800 And we've got Mike Cox, who is an attorney specializing in helping out people with the Camp Lejeune issues. 31 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:01,800 And there's a deadline coming up for that. 32 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,800 So we wanted to make sure that you'll be aware of that. 33 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,800 So we'll be playing that interview a little bit later as well. 34 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:14,800 So before we get into this, I need to thank our following sponsors for their continuing support of Veterans Radio. 35 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:17,800 We can't do this program without their help. 36 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,440 If you're a veteran operating certificated Customs is still clean, 37 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:24,800 so if you've encountered any storm strategies that you would have почed, 38 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:27,800 so a bit of that will be helpful and helpful on trying to help survived questions, 39 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:29,800 so please contact the client. 40 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:31,800 If you have a question, please write and give us a ins icing, 41 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:36,600 or you can tweet or email us, 42 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:38,800 who knows which website you could call or anything like that. 43 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:42,800 And we can't answer any of your questions until you've gotten some answers. 44 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,320 So please contact our contacts to certificate us 45 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:50,360 that will certify it as it really is a veteran-owned business. There are some people out there like kind of 46 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:57,000 skirty issue here, so these are the folks to do that. For more information you go to their website 47 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:06,680 nvvdc.org or give them a call at 888-237-8433. The Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center in 48 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:15,080 Ann Arbor, Michigan. For more information you can go to va.gov.com. The National Vietnam Veterans 49 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:20,440 of America. Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another. For more information 50 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:27,720 go to their website vva.org. The Irwin Prescor and American Legion post 46 and the Charles S. 51 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:33,880 Kettles Vietnam Veterans of America chapter 310 both of Ann Arbor, Michigan. We thank all of you 52 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:39,400 for your continuing support. If you would like to support Veterans Radio please go to our website 53 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:45,800 veteransradio.org and click on the donate button. I'll thank you in advance for anything. Now 54 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:52,600 on to the questions of what's going on in the world of veterans health care and disability. 55 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:59,320 So first I want to bring on a new guy, Morrison, I just drew his name over the other side of the 56 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:07,160 table. Anyway, Chris Arbino is a public affairs specialist at the Ann Arbor VA and Chris will 57 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:11,640 welcome you to the program. No, I really appreciate you having me this afternoon. It's been a good 58 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:16,280 weekend for the VA. We've been kind of all over southeast Michigan doing events and stuff like 59 00:04:16,280 --> 00:04:21,720 that. That's right. Yeah, I met Chris yesterday at a vet fest at the local community college and 60 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:27,160 I met a lot of people. These vet fest wherever they are around the country, there are great 61 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:33,960 opportunities for you as a veteran to find out what you may be eligible for, what other services 62 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:38,760 are out there. There were so many different things out there I had never even heard of. 63 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:43,880 Right. Yeah. And even just from VA Ann Arbor, we have the typical services that we bring out with 64 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:49,480 general information about the PAC DAC and our eligibility. We also had caregiver support yesterday. 65 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:55,800 We had a veteran benefits administration table, which is kind of rare to have with the VHA coupled 66 00:04:55,800 --> 00:05:01,720 at the same time. And then also the NCA, the cemeteries administration was there with us also 67 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:06,520 yesterday. So we had sort of all three branches of the Department of Veterans Affairs set up 68 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:11,080 answering questions yesterday. Yesterday was a fantastic event. We had enrollment transfers, 69 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:15,960 all those big things we looked to do at those events. So, you know, and the good thing is, 70 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:20,840 if you missed us in Washtenaw County yesterday at the community college, we're right back up in 71 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:26,760 Fallabill next week and on Saturday for vet life, vet fest up there. So that I think will 72 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:32,920 be set up there next week between 11 and three. And again, eligibility, I know that's always 73 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:36,840 the big one. They can answer all the big questions about, you know, I don't know how to get involved 74 00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:41,880 with VA health care, all those little things. And we love it because we can enroll veterans right on 75 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:48,520 the spot. Well, we all know that just getting enrolled is step one. Right. To everything 76 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:55,640 that, you know, that you may be available for. So what is going on on the VA health side right 77 00:05:55,640 --> 00:06:02,040 now? I know that we talked about this earlier about the PACT Act has got another deadline coming up. 78 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:09,320 Yes, there's, I don't know the exact date. But, you know, I guess all related to the PACT Act, 79 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:14,360 something we were talking about was the redesign of the burn pit registry, which kind of falls 80 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:20,120 into that a little bit. So just on August 1, the secretary announced that there's a burn pit 81 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:25,960 registry 2.0 that will be going out. So prior, and I think some of the issues that we were having 82 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:32,200 with the first one, it worked out, it did great, but it was very burdensome. It was about 144 83 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:36,200 questions. And you really had to sit there and think about your military history and go through 84 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:41,560 all those things to get through it. So what the update does as of August 1 is it automatically 85 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:47,400 enrolls veterans through that burn pit registry. So I think eventually the plan is, is that the 86 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:55,400 the former survey will be phased out and then we'll have this new 2.0 version. So what veterans 87 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:59,640 really need to know, what need to understand about it is it will not impact their personal 88 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:04,440 health care, their benefits, anything like that. It does help the VA understand our challenges a 89 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:10,680 little bit better that are facing the veteran population. So it's going to enroll about 5 90 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,200 million veterans across the country. I think there's going to be letters coming out to every 91 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:19,560 veteran that we can get a hold of to let them know about what's going on. And since they're 92 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:24,120 automatically enrolled, the change now is that if you're not comfortable with this, if you don't want 93 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:29,320 your information being shared in this burn pit registry, you can opt out, which takes about 94 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:35,880 two seconds. It's a couple of questions. You hit submit and it's done. So that's the big change. 95 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:40,040 And one of the big things that happened on August 1. So that's as far as health care, 96 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:41,880 I think that's the biggest thing we're talking about right now. 97 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:48,520 Well, yeah, I was looking at it here that it's, you know, you can go to va.gov.slashpact 98 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:55,480 to find out more information for you out there. And does this still affect the, you know, the 99 00:07:55,480 --> 00:08:01,480 age and orange generation? Are we part of that registry or is this pretty much 9-11? 100 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:08,360 No, I believe, again, you know, we were talking, it's 5 million veterans. So it's difficult to, 101 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:12,040 I can maybe pull it up online here. I thought I had it pulled up as I was looking at it. 102 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:17,880 But so the groups that are included, and in fact, instead of me getting into the groups, 103 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:23,480 let me just say that you can contact our local environmental health coordinator. I gotta do 104 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:28,840 this column, say, hey, this is my name, my social, and they'll tell you right then and there if you're 105 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:35,960 enrolled or not enrolled into this new burn pit registry. Okay, so if I don't do anything, I'm in, 106 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:40,840 right? That's correct. Yeah, that's that's the new perk to it, I guess, is you're automatically 107 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,920 enrolled. There's no going to that website and answering all those questions, you're automatically 108 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:48,840 enrolled, you just need to make the decision on whether or not you want to stay enrolled and opt 109 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:55,240 out. So within the registry, there's no personal health information that is shared within that 110 00:08:55,240 --> 00:09:00,360 registry. It's all about your deployments, what branch of service you are in. And then that's 111 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:05,880 shared only with VA researchers or VA epidemiologists so they can make better informed decisions about 112 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:12,520 policy going into the future and better medical decisions, medical policy decisions for veterans 113 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:19,400 going forward. And Dale, I just wanted to chime in just a little bit. If you're a Vietnam veteran 114 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:27,160 in country, you're automatically, if you enroll in the VA, you're priority group six and they're 115 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:33,400 not going to turn you away. Okay, all right. Just want to know, I keep, you know, the funny thing 116 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:37,960 is I keep running into people from the Vietnam era that haven't registered, you know, or haven't 117 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:44,920 even signed up or signed up with the VA healthcare. And like, you know, we keep encouraging people 118 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:51,160 just, you know, at least sign in, you know, get signed up, because you never know when you're 119 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:56,600 going to need not just the benefit side of the issue, but maybe you're going to need the healthcare, 120 00:09:56,600 --> 00:10:02,280 because you may come down with something that only the VA is really that familiar with. 121 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:07,720 Right. The big thing we tell people is there's no disadvantage to signing up for VA healthcare. A 122 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:11,720 lot of people think it might affect their private health insurance or anything like that. VA 123 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:17,640 works with your private insurance. So, you know, you never know, you find out your cover is something 124 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:22,840 and it brings in benefits or something like that. You get right into VA healthcare. So, 125 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:28,040 I can't reiterate enough, there is no drawback. There's no disadvantage to signing up for VA 126 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:35,560 healthcare. No. And if you end up getting benefits for a particular condition, your healthcare is 127 00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:40,600 free. That's correct. That's absolutely right. Yep. And even then, you know, copays are very 128 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:44,440 cheap for the most part if you're using your private health insurance. So, sometimes we're 129 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:49,720 talking 10, 15 bucks per visit. And, you know, as you said, if it's connected, it's usually a free 130 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:59,720 copay, $0 copay. I like the concept. Yeah. And if you're greater than 50%, there's no copays. 131 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:08,840 Correct. I got to get over that limit. Not that I have to use it very often. All right. I think 132 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:15,640 that's kind of cool. Is there anything else you can think of that the VA health center or any of 133 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:23,400 the VA health side of that wall that we need to know? Sure. Yeah. A couple other things I wanted 134 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:29,560 to bring up with just a couple of more events. One, we actually just, Congresswoman Dingell was at 135 00:11:29,560 --> 00:11:36,680 the event briefly yesterday. I spoke with her staff a little bit. And so we're in the early 136 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:44,040 stages of planning a women's veteran town hall at the Major General Dillard Seabock in Canton, 137 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:48,920 Michigan. I mean, we're hoping to have put that together for August 26, which is Women's Equality 138 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:54,760 Day. So we're in the very early stages of planning that this week, we're hoping to have something 139 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:59,720 put together and we'll start advertising that. So highly encourage everyone to keep up with our 140 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:05,080 socials, especially the women veterans in this area that would like to come and talk about 141 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:11,240 our new women's clinic named after Brigadier General Falzone, obviously. So that's a great event 142 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:16,040 that we're planning here for the end of the month. And then also, I know this doesn't particularly 143 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:20,120 affect Southeast Michigan veterans, but we love to get the word of mouth out there that we're 144 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:26,360 opening our new Finley, Ohio Seabock. That's just about completed as far as construction. 145 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:30,200 And we're hoping to see veterans coming in there and receiving health care towards the end of this 146 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:34,920 month or the beginning of next month. And then we'll have our big ceremonial grand opening, 147 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:39,240 ribbon cutting at the beginning of October. So we're really excited about that. 148 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:47,400 Since COVID and since I've been here in 2020, I think this is the third or fourth clinic that VA 149 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:53,000 Ann Arbor Health Care has opened. So when I started here was Jackson, it was Flint, it was Toledo, 150 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:59,400 as far as clinics. Now we have Howe, Adrian, Can, and now we're down at Finley. So we've really, 151 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:04,440 really expanded our reach here in the last three or four years to put VA health care right in 152 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:12,680 everyone's backyard. We're very fortunate here, obviously, with the Ann Arbor VA. This is occurring 153 00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:18,360 though all across the country. And then with other VA hospitals, they're setting up these Seabots 154 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:23,800 everywhere. Right. I see the news clips all the time. I know Jackson, not Jackson, I'm sorry, 155 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:28,520 Battle Creek, it's just opened a couple of them recently. And then I had a separate project I 156 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:34,040 was working on where we went all the way up north and to Gaylord. And they had a beautiful brand 157 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:38,760 new clinic up there. I think it was only a couple of years old. And that was a fantastic facility. 158 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:45,240 So these brand new clinics, especially at Finley, we gutted the building and built it, 159 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:49,720 purpose built it to the way we needed it. They're fantastic facilities, very clean, very modern. 160 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:55,080 I just, I can't speak well enough about these clinics now, how great they are for our veterans 161 00:13:55,080 --> 00:14:01,080 here. Well, I want to encourage our listening audience, whether you're in Southeast Michigan 162 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:07,000 or not, you know, wherever you are in the country, check with your VA's, you know, healthcare center 163 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:10,600 and see where these Seabots are, because you may have one closer to you. I mean, the reason 164 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:16,760 behind these was so you didn't have to drive 50 miles, you know, to see your primary care physician 165 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:22,120 and some other things. So, so check and I'm sure that they have, you know, all the different 166 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:26,840 websites that are out there for all of, you know, however many VA hospitals there are, 167 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:32,360 we'll probably have a list. Yeah. You go to the location section on our website and it lists it 168 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:37,720 right from the Kettles VAMC in Ann Arbor and then all of our associated clinics. So you got to scroll 169 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:42,360 down. A lot of people, you know, just speaking with people yesterday, a lot of found veterans were 170 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:47,880 unaware of Jackson and the how and stuff like that. And then you tell them that and, you know, a lot 171 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:52,120 of the, the clinic's covered the basic day-to-day services. So you're not driving, you know, all 172 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:56,040 the way to Ann Arbor for a blood draw or something that we can do that's, you know, relatively not 173 00:14:56,040 --> 00:15:01,560 complicated. And then, you know, now you're in VA Ann Arbor healthcare system and, you know, if you 174 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:07,480 would ever need to hire complexity care, something with cardiology or something like that, then you 175 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:12,120 need to travel. Then we have the Fisher House, which helps you with lodging if you ever need to 176 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:15,800 travel to Ann Arbor because, you know, if you're coming from a couple of hours away and you're 177 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:19,560 a veteran that lives by himself, that's, that's a lot of logistics that you need to figure out. 178 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:25,400 But VA will help you take care of that every step of the way. So I guess, you know, my big selling 179 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:30,120 point is if you feel like you're far away from Ann Arbor, just keep in mind that we're putting 180 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:36,600 these clinics within a half hour of densely populated veteran areas. So you get to those clinics, 181 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:41,240 you do the smaller things. And, you know, if you ever need something a little bit more complex, 182 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:43,720 you know, we've got you, we'll get you to Ann Arbor, we'll get you to help you need. 183 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:48,600 Well, there are a couple of other things I wanted to mention. You know, the, 184 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:54,360 you know, it used to be the Returians Crisis hotline. Now, you know, we've been 185 00:15:54,360 --> 00:16:00,840 promoting the Dial 988 and then press one. So it's easier to remember you don't have to dial a whole 186 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:05,720 bunch of things, but that's going up on their second year of operation. And I know that there's a 187 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:12,520 number of veterans here in the local area that are plastering, you know, Dial 988 on everything 188 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:17,720 they can find. And I just want to remind our audience, if you are going through some sort of 189 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:24,760 mental crisis, this is a, this is, there's help there 24 hours a day, every day. No, nobody's, 190 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:31,320 you know, there's always somebody there that you can talk to. And I'm hoping that you will take 191 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:37,160 advantage of that. If you find yourself down that low and you need help, this is a good place to 192 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:43,160 start because not only can they help talk you down, but they also would be able to direct you to 193 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:47,560 wherever to go to find the, you know, the help that you need. Right. With it being the anniversary, 194 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:52,200 we're starting to see some of the numbers and some of the data that people, I mean, we're 195 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:57,880 thousands of calls to 988. It's very effective. And, you know, just echoing your point, you know, 196 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:03,000 if you find yourself in that situation and that mental crisis, please reach out. You know, 197 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:08,680 they're there to help you. They're very good at what they do. Yeah. So I said, well, it's a 23% 198 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:18,760 increase in calls since the introduction of the 988 number. So again, use it. You know, the VA is 199 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:25,640 trying to help you as much as possible. And I know that there's frustration with some people 200 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:31,080 because it's difficult sometimes to get appointments because sometimes we have a tendency to overwhelm 201 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:40,360 the staff, but they'll get to you. I promise. Yeah. And, you know, I guess kind of building off 202 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:44,840 that a little bit is it doesn't need to feel like a crisis. I mean, you know, people go through 203 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:51,240 low times that maybe it's not to that level where you have suicidal ideation. But even if you're 204 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:55,160 feeling through a little bit of depression, anything like that, give that number a call. 205 00:17:55,160 --> 00:18:00,360 They're there to help through any, you know, if it's on a spectrum or whatever of where you're 206 00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:05,160 at on that, they're there to help with that. I would think, I mean, I don't know this, and 207 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:10,920 hopefully you can correct this for me, though, if we were talking about homeless veterans earlier, 208 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:15,640 and you know, if somebody were to call that, I'm sure that they would refer them over to the 209 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:19,000 place to go. That's correct. Yeah, we have a homeless veteran, 210 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:25,560 care coordinator. So, you know, even if you call that number and, you know, they walk you through 211 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:30,040 the situation, the emergent situation at the year end, but then they get to know you a little bit, 212 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:35,080 and, you know, figure out what other health services you need to bring you back up, you know, 213 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:40,600 they connect you with that here and VA and Arbor. Or, you know, even if you're just listening and 214 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:45,480 you're wanting to talk to our home with a veteran care coordinator, our main number, just give that 215 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:51,320 a call. And, you know, hey, this is what I need. This is what I'm looking for. And we'll get you 216 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:59,000 in the direction you need to go. And again, this, you know, it takes place at all of VA centers 217 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:04,520 across the country. It's not just in southeast Michigan. So, you know, if you're looking for help, 218 00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:09,560 and that's the big thing, you know, don't be afraid to ask for help. 219 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:15,800 Yes, we're here for the veterans. Absolutely. Yeah, this is a service that they've earned. 220 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:21,560 You know, they deserve this. They earn this. And everybody, you know, we employ a lot of 221 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:27,160 veterans ourselves. Everybody understands for the most part, you know, the population we're 222 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:32,440 working with, because that's who we are to. I know. And there are so many things that are going on 223 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:37,240 at the VA. I mean, we just, you know, could just sit here and say, okay, this is what we're doing 224 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:41,720 here. We're doing this for that and so on and so forth. But that's again, why we encourage you so 225 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:47,960 much to utilize the VA health care. As Chris pointed out, even if you have health insurance on the 226 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:55,960 outside, you know, and there's the ability to go, you know, to a civilian hospital if you need to, 227 00:19:55,960 --> 00:20:01,560 if it's an emergency situation, and all you got to do is go through the process, contact the VA 228 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:06,760 that you're there. And if you've been covered at the VA, it's going to be covered there. So 229 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:13,400 I think this is also, you know, another good point to bring up is the Compact Act, 230 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:20,920 C-O-M-P-A-C-T. You know, we were talking about the veterans crisis line, you know, if you want to 231 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:25,880 go to an emergency room because you're experiencing these feelings, for the most part, if you qualify 232 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:31,240 and again, I won't go into the specific details of it. But if you go to any emergency room, 233 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:36,680 whether it's a VA or a private health care system, and you're experiencing a mental health crisis, 234 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:42,920 the VA will pay for that. And so again, that's not just VA hospitals. That's any private 235 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:48,200 hospital within the area. So again, I'm down here in Toledo, so ProMedica, Mercy Health, 236 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:52,680 anything like that. If you're a veteran, you go there, you're experiencing a mental health crisis, 237 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,640 the hospital's already know what to do, you just need to let them know you're a veteran, 238 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:00,840 and they'll help you through the paperwork, and the VA will pay for your stay up to, I think, 239 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:06,840 the limit is 90 days. And, you know, don't quote me on that. I don't know the exact number, but it's 240 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:12,440 an expansive period of time where the VA will pay for that if you're going through that situation. 241 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:17,320 So if the phone number is not the thing for you and you need to get to an emergency room to get 242 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:23,560 help, the VA will pay for that as well. That's done. And on that note, we're going to take a 243 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:29,640 quick break here. We've been talking with Chris Garbino, who is a public affairs specialist at 244 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:34,920 the Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center here in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I curse I want to thank you 245 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:39,880 so much for dropping in. It's great. I hope you stick around when we go around the corner. So 246 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:44,280 we're going to be playing, I want to go to the interview that we did with Mike Cox. This was 247 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:48,760 recorded by my partner Jim Faustone. So we're going to play that. And then we're going to go 248 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:53,400 straight to our Medal of Honor for today. And when we come out, we're going to start talking 249 00:21:53,400 --> 00:22:02,040 benefits. So again, if you have any questions on benefits, the number to call locally is 734-822-1600. 250 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:06,040 So we're going to go into that interview right now. You're listening to Veterans Radio. 251 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:15,160 We want to welcome back to Veterans Radio to give us an update and a call to somebody who's 252 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:22,920 been waiting around too long. This is Attorney Mike Cox back to talk to us about the Camp Lejeune 253 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:29,960 Justice Act. Mike, welcome back to Veterans Radio. Jim, it's great to be back on Veterans Radio again. 254 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:35,560 Well, listen, you know I'm especially proud because I'm a veteran. You are. You're a Marine. 255 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:42,360 You got it in the whole family. But we've talked to you in the past about the Camp Lejeune Justice 256 00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:49,640 Act. And for those who may recognize his name or his voice, Mike was the Attorney General for the 257 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:54,360 State of Michigan for a number of years and now is out in private practice doing all kinds of good 258 00:22:54,360 --> 00:23:00,520 work on a variety of issues. But one that's near and dear to your heart is trying to take care of 259 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:06,840 some veterans who got exposed to toxic water when they were at Camp Lejeune. Why don't you with that 260 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:15,720 setup go ahead and talk to us what's going on. Absolutely, Jim. You know, and the general in 261 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:22,760 your house knows that long before I was Attorney General, I was the 0311 Infantry Corporal in 262 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:29,800 the United States Marine Corps. In fact, I was stationed on Camp Lejeune in 82 and 83 with the 263 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:37,480 Second Marine, Second Marine Regiment. And I was served there during the 30 years where 264 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:46,200 Marines were literally poisoned through negligence and later on kind of wanton disregard by higher 265 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:54,600 ups in the Defense Department. But again, that was, you know, there's now an opportunity for 266 00:23:54,600 --> 00:24:01,160 your listeners who haven't done anything yet that they cut off his August 10th of this year, 267 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:11,320 because it was on August 10th of 2022, where President Biden signed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act 268 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:20,520 in a rare feat of bipartisanship overwhelmingly supported by Republicans and Democrats to bring 269 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:31,960 some justice to several hundred thousand Marines sailors and employees on Camp Lejeune base between 270 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:43,320 December of 1952 and excuse me, August of 1952 and December of 1987, who were subject to horrible, 271 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:53,640 horrible toxins, benzene, PCE, vinyl chloride, methylene chloride, DCE, and has led many, 272 00:24:53,640 --> 00:25:03,240 many to suffer bladder cancers, esophageal cancers, kidney cancers, Hodgkin's disease, 273 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:09,800 you know, Parkinson's, bile duct cancer, and a variety of diseases that they that 274 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:16,440 the federal government has admitted through its own studies were directly related to the water 275 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:25,480 that we all drank either out of water buffaloes or in KP duty or just in showers or while we're 276 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:31,400 at Camp Lejeune. Yeah, it's really amazing the extent of time and the different ways people got 277 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:36,840 exposed. But Congress finally stepped in and said, okay, we're going to give a limited opportunity 278 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:44,600 for Marines, and I want you to expand who can file claims, but Marines who were there during 279 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:50,760 that period to file claims down in administrative process, but really this goes to North Carolina, 280 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:59,960 who can file claims and what do they have to do by August 10th of 2024? Okay, so anyone who was 281 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:11,160 at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August of 1952 and December of 1987, so 30 days 282 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:20,760 on base, and you could be a Marine, you could be a semen, you know, someone who served as a 283 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:28,680 corpsman or other support services on the base, you could be a civilian employee, or you could be 284 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:34,680 and we have a number of clients who were family members of Marines or sailors stationed there, 285 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:42,280 especially, you know, children, minors, you know, who many of them who were there with their parents 286 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:50,680 for extended tours are some of the most impacted, and it even includes Jim's civilian employees 287 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:57,240 who may have worked on base during that time. So if you were a Marine, a soldier, you know, 288 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:05,240 who had temporary duty there or training on the Marine base at Camp Lejeune, a sailor, 289 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:12,600 or a dependent, a child, a spouse of any of those who did at least 30 days on base between 290 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:21,160 August of 1952 and December of 1987, and if you've suffered a variety of diseases, and I'll cover some 291 00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:27,720 of them, but it's bladder cancer, breast cancer, esophageal, kidney, liver, lung cancer, bile 292 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:37,400 duct, colorectal, there's a series of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukemia, there's also a series of 293 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:47,560 neurological issues like Parkinson's and other autoimmune diseases, even teeth issues and mouth 294 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:55,320 issues. If there were miscarriages or infertility in your family, all those could relate back to 295 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:03,080 time at Camp Lejeune. And now that we're in the last 10 days, if someone in your family or you, 296 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:10,680 you know, were impacted, I suggest you call a lawyer. Of course, we'd love you to call our firm 297 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:20,600 and our number 734-591-4002 or go on to our website at mikecoxlaw.com. But it's really, 298 00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:25,240 look, I'm a Marine, I want all Marines or sailors who are impacted to get some help 299 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:31,720 or their family members. So if you don't come, let's talk to somebody soon. You go online, 300 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:36,120 there's a ton of firms out there that can help you out. It's very, very important you do that over 301 00:28:36,120 --> 00:28:42,920 this next 10 days as we head up to the deadline. And I want to get across to people, even if your 302 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:49,960 dad is dead, he was a Marine, you understand he was at Camp Lejeune, the spouse, the children still 303 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:55,080 have an opportunity to file this claim. They may be the ones sitting on the sideline going, 304 00:28:55,080 --> 00:29:01,080 wow, dad's dead. You still want them to get in touch with you, right, Mike? Absolutely. 305 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:10,920 Wrongful deaths are a big chunk of our client base. For people who lost those extra years with 306 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:18,040 a loved one, a parent, that's the serious blow. And as you know, Jim, in the civil law, that's a 307 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:23,640 very common claim. And that's part of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. And the most important thing 308 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:30,680 is don't wait, reach out now. Another thing is a lot of people think this will impact any VA 309 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:37,640 benefits that they may get. It will not. Let me repeat, this will not impact your benefits. 310 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:44,680 There's no cost to you. There's no downside. You should do it for yourself, do it for your family, 311 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:51,000 and certainly make the call or send the email in these waning days before we come to the end, 312 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:57,400 you know, August 10th, which is a Saturday, to reach out to us or someone else. Because this 313 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:04,920 is Veterans Radio. Jim, you and the Brigadier General bring great advocates for veterans over 314 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:10,840 these many, many years. And I'm glad that you're reminding folks of this very, very important 315 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:17,160 program. We just wanted to get out this last shout out before the window closes. And that'll be that. 316 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:23,240 You've got to get in now. So don't sit on the sidelines because you think dad's dead or you're 317 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:28,680 not really sure if this is a real deal or if it'll impact your VA benefits, as Mike Cox, former 318 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:36,120 Attorney General says, it will not. So reach out and let's make sure you get those benefits that 319 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:43,080 you're entitled to under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022. Mike, thanks for taking some time 320 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:49,960 with us on Veterans Radio today to get the word out. And thank you, Jim. The Medal of Honors, 321 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:54,360 the highest award for valor in combat given a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. 322 00:30:54,360 --> 00:31:00,360 There had been over 3400 recipients of the nation's highest award. This is one of them. 323 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:06,600 Marine Corps Sergeant Daniel Matthews became a one man army before being killed. Details after this. 324 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:13,080 If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact Legal Help for Veterans 325 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:19,720 at 1-800-693-4800. They're experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for 326 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:27,000 Veterans Claims. Their number again, 1-800-693-4800. Participating in a counterattack against a 327 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:32,040 firmly entrenched and welcome sealed North Vietnamese force, Matthews fearlessly advanced 328 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:37,160 in the attack until his squad was pinned down by a murderous sweep of fire from an enemy machine 329 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:42,360 gun. Observing that the deadly fire prevented a corment from removing a wounded man in an open 330 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:47,400 area, Matthews worked his way to the base of the hostile and machine gun emplacement, 331 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:52,200 leaped onto the rock formations surrounding the gun, and single-handedly charged the hostile 332 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:57,000 emplacement with his rifle. Although severely wounded when the enemy brought a withering halo 333 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:03,080 fire to bear upon him, he continued his one man assault, and firing his rifle with deadly 334 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:08,600 effectiveness succeeded in killing two of the enemy, routing a third, and completely silencing 335 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:14,120 the enemy weapon, thereby enabling his comrades to evacuate the stricken marine to a safe position. 336 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:19,480 Matthews succumbed to his wounds before aid could reach him. The Medal of Honor series 337 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:26,120 is a production of Veterans Radio. Military veterans touch everyone's life. I'm guessing right now 338 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:32,440 you're thinking of a veteran, a close friend, relative, maybe it's you. Even the toughest of us 339 00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:37,320 sometimes need help, but don't know where to turn for support. You don't need special training to 340 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:42,200 help a veteran in your life. We can all help someone going through a difficult time. Learn how you 341 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:49,720 can be there for veterans. Visit veteranscrisisline.net VeteransCrisisLine.net, a message from the U.S. 342 00:32:49,720 --> 00:33:00,600 Department of Veterans Affairs. And we're back here on Veterans Radio, and it's our second half 343 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:04,600 of the program where they're talking about benefits. Let's tell them if you have any questions. 344 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:11,240 You can still give us a call. The number here locally in southeast Michigan is 734-822-1600. 345 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:20,760 Our guests today include David Sames. David is the Director of Veterans Service Office here in 346 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:26,280 our local Washtenaw County. We've got retired Brigadier General of the United States Air Force, 347 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:31,240 Caroline Faussone from Legal Health for Veterans, and we still got Chris Arbino on the line from 348 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:38,760 the VA hospital here in Ann Arbor. So, Caroline, I'm going to go to you first. Anything new in 349 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:44,360 the benefits field that we should be talking about? Well, it's kind of interesting. I love some of the 350 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:51,080 stuff that Chris brought up, and I really did like the interview with Mike Cox because that was a 351 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:58,680 great update, and that, you know, it truly affects the VBA side, the benefits side, and it really 352 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:06,520 affects the VHA side. And so, you know, we're all together on this. What a great team trying to help 353 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:15,720 our veterans. The VA put out, you know, and I know we talk about it a lot, but the VA put out a great 354 00:34:15,720 --> 00:34:23,720 piece a week or so ago about the VA benefits to spouses and what they might be entitled to, 355 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:34,200 whether if somebody perished while they were serving or after, if they were connected disability-wise, 356 00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:41,480 and we've talked about that a lot. Unless you, you know, call and ask us, there might be education 357 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:48,920 benefits for spouse and children, there might be housing benefits, but unless you ask, you never 358 00:34:48,920 --> 00:35:00,440 know. And so, I think that's a great thing. And the one thing that I see really going rampant along 359 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:10,440 with the aid in attendance is kind of the branch off with the caregivers. It's our number one podcast 360 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:19,640 that's going on right now, and the questions whether how do I get help in the home? How does my spouse 361 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:28,440 or a significant other get paid for it? I mean, it is a great program, and there's three distinct 362 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:38,600 elements within the caregivers, and I would say to anybody, do not do it by yourself. Do not go to 363 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:45,960 the national level first. I'm finding that and Chris is smiling. This is the biggest reason 364 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:53,720 that some of our clients are being denied because they're doing it on their own, and you know what, 365 00:35:53,720 --> 00:36:02,360 you should be starting locally with your own team, your physician, your primary care, your nurse, 366 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:11,000 and your social worker. This is a social worker program at the VA, and they are awesome to help 367 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:17,240 you with this. So start at the local level. That's where it could be approved first level, 368 00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:25,720 ground routes, and so that's what I would encourage our listeners to do. If you need help with caregivers, 369 00:36:25,720 --> 00:36:31,960 go to your team at the VA. A question about that I was thinking as you were talking. 370 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:40,120 Suppose I signed up, you know, become eligible at the VA, but I never really went there for any 371 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:52,040 reason, and I die. Can my dependents or spouse, would you advise that maybe they contact the VA 372 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:56,840 and see if there's something that they may be eligible for? That or a county counselor, 373 00:36:56,840 --> 00:37:03,880 VSO, legal help for veterans, or the VA. The VA has reps there for eligibility. I think the 374 00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:11,160 beautiful thing is every person has their own story. You might have a disability, and you died, 375 00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:18,040 and your passing was because of that disability, because you served. You never know until you 376 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:25,640 start to peel back the layers of the onion and find out what that person's story is. You know, 377 00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:33,720 it always is real interesting when particularly men will call and say, I served next to this 378 00:37:33,720 --> 00:37:42,520 person, and they got 60% or they got, and now Dave is smiling, and 50%. And so I was right next to 379 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:49,320 him, and so we have the same stuff, and so I want that disability. No, it's not like that. 380 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:55,320 You know, each of you have your own story, and we want to help you, but you got to tell us your 381 00:37:55,320 --> 00:38:01,960 story, and then we'll help you and get you those benefits that you're entitled to. 382 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:06,120 Okay. David, do you want to add anything to the general? 383 00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:12,680 No, I mean, that's, you know, with the caregiver support program, when they expanded it, 384 00:38:13,720 --> 00:38:17,880 don't quote me on the timeframe, but it was probably a couple years ago where 385 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:25,880 the main focus was for post-911, but now they expanded it more and more, and the general brought 386 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:34,600 up that I didn't even know it, because it's a really easy portal to apply. But if a lot of 387 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:41,480 them are getting denied, I can see why it'd be beneficial to go through your doctor and also 388 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:49,080 your social worker to build that case in order to say, hey, this caregiver is doing a lot of work 389 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:56,920 for the veteran, and they need to be paid for it. So a lot of good information that, 390 00:38:56,920 --> 00:38:59,640 like I say to everybody, I learned something new every day. 391 00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:04,840 So I learned something yesterday at our vet fest. There's a company, I'm not going to mention it, 392 00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:11,240 you know, on the air right now, but they provide, and I have to get this number right, 393 00:39:11,240 --> 00:39:18,280 but they provide free, basically free in-home care for a veteran who is disabled, and I think it 394 00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:26,600 was over 60%, and I'd never heard that myself, and I thought that that was really important, 395 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:33,560 and that we're not aware, there's so many of us out there, veterans and their spouses in community, 396 00:39:33,560 --> 00:39:40,520 that are unaware of these benefits that are there for the veteran themselves, and again, 397 00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:48,120 you know, I know I'm repeating myself, but I really encourage our listening audience, for my 398 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:54,600 generation especially, because we're kind of fading away, I realize that, but our spouses are not, 399 00:39:55,480 --> 00:40:02,360 and they should be aware that there are certain benefits that they may be entitled to, 400 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:11,640 and as you mentioned, the dependent care, even to our benefits that we're receiving. 401 00:40:12,600 --> 00:40:18,040 Yeah, and also with, you know, I get a lot of calls like, oh, is there any help for 402 00:40:19,240 --> 00:40:27,560 my, you know, my veteran in home, and I'm like, are you enrolled with the VA, because you have to 403 00:40:27,560 --> 00:40:35,160 be enrolled for healthcare services in order to get some of the, well, to get all the benefits to come. 404 00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:42,360 Now they have, I believe it's 16 hours where they can have, per week, where they can have somebody come 405 00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:49,720 in, but you have to be enrolled in the healthcare program in order to do that. General? 406 00:40:49,720 --> 00:40:59,720 David, you're right on. I think the real important thing is being approved by the VA, 407 00:40:59,720 --> 00:41:05,880 and through your team. Dale, when you talked about the company, yes, that is correct, however. 408 00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:14,760 I know there's rules. Well, however, you need to be enrolled, as David said, and I know Chris 409 00:41:14,760 --> 00:41:21,400 will validate this, and then through your team, you're approved for the hours of care. So whether 410 00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:29,960 it's 20 hours of care, 32 hours of care, then this company is able to come in because they're 411 00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:39,320 approved by the VA, and they need to be approved by the VA, almost like contracted out, to come in then, 412 00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:48,520 and then perform the duties of your approved, let's say, 20 hours a week. And for caregivers to be 413 00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:56,920 done, I really need to stress this. It's just not that you need help with somebody to watch you take 414 00:41:56,920 --> 00:42:05,880 a shower, or somebody to assist you to do your shopping. This needs to be significant activities 415 00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:15,400 of daily living. You're probably homebound, or you can't drive, and you need assistance with 416 00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:22,600 toileting and eating, and all of the bathing, and all of those necessities 417 00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:31,720 of the basic activities that we take for granted that we do every day. So that's the first step. 418 00:42:31,720 --> 00:42:38,280 And when I talk to a family, which they're really discouraged, how come I've been 419 00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:46,680 denied? I sit down with them and try to understand their story and their needs, 420 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:53,160 because it's activities of daily living. And that's what the first thing is, and then to make sure 421 00:42:53,160 --> 00:43:05,640 it's approved by the VA to get those hours. So do you have to have a disability claim in already, 422 00:43:05,640 --> 00:43:10,760 or is this, let's suppose that I'm healthy up until I have a stroke, for whatever reason, 423 00:43:10,760 --> 00:43:18,200 but I'm in the system, and I have a stroke and we need help. So the VA is willing to 424 00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:24,600 go through the process, or my spouse goes through the process, or whoever represents me 425 00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:28,920 goes through the process, theoretically, that I could get some help. 426 00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:37,240 Yes. And so it depends on if you want to apply for the true program caregivers in one of the three 427 00:43:37,240 --> 00:43:47,400 lanes, or if you are enrolled in the VA, and with your team once again, your team knows that you 428 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:54,600 had a stroke and you're on that team, they could approve, just like in a private hospital, to refer 429 00:43:54,600 --> 00:44:02,120 you to social work, they will evaluate you at the VA and give you hours of care. So you don't even 430 00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:07,960 have to be in the caregivers program to get approved hours of care in your home. 431 00:44:10,120 --> 00:44:14,440 I think that's really important, and that's something that I want our veteran audience to 432 00:44:14,440 --> 00:44:21,400 understand. Tell your friends too, if something's occurring to one of your friends who has become 433 00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:28,680 disabled, even though they have no history of anything with the VA at the time, check it out, 434 00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:35,080 there's help out there available for you, but you've got to go through the process, and that's 435 00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:39,320 what some people get a little frustrated by, well, why should I have to do that? Well, 436 00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:49,880 you know, you've got five million veterans out there, and the money is allocated for the VA, 437 00:44:49,880 --> 00:45:00,440 and they just spend it wisely. And the process, you need to be enrolled, and I want to say once 438 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:07,320 again, I'm going to give a shout out, I think the Ann Arbor VA is the best in the country. 439 00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:16,520 I referred one of our clients who has just entered hospice, he was not aware of the services 440 00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:24,360 of a disability, he's a Vietnam veteran, Agent Orange, the whole shooting match, and I assisted 441 00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:32,680 in taking him over to Ann Arbor, he needed his DD 214, that was the only thing he needed, and him 442 00:45:32,680 --> 00:45:39,080 and his wife, they got registered because she's a veteran, they got registered, I think it was a 443 00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:47,320 20 minute process, eligibility was phenomenal, they're on the first floor, you walk in, and they 444 00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:55,240 got him into the system, he will have his exam, and then they're going to decide how many hours of 445 00:45:55,240 --> 00:46:02,680 care, here's a good example, how many hours of care that he could get in the home, because 446 00:46:02,680 --> 00:46:09,000 they need help right now, he's just entered hospice. And we've heard that story more 447 00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:16,520 than once, that's one of the issues, and we've talked about this before, because we know 448 00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:22,680 there are some World War II veterans out there, not many, but they're out there, and if they become 449 00:46:22,680 --> 00:46:28,680 disabled, unless they suppose that their spouse is still alive, 93 is not going to be able to 450 00:46:28,680 --> 00:46:35,880 take care of a 95 year old, so this help is available, so we encourage, talk it up folks, 451 00:46:35,880 --> 00:46:40,840 if you're listening out there, and you've got friends that are in these types of situations, 452 00:46:40,840 --> 00:46:47,320 this is what the VA is there for, not only for your healthcare, but also to provide 453 00:46:48,040 --> 00:46:53,880 help in the home, if you get in there soon enough, you may be entitled to disability benefits, 454 00:46:55,080 --> 00:47:01,000 and if something happened to you, all the way back in basic training, unless if you 455 00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:08,840 fell off of one of those confidence towers, or something along those lines, and hurt your back, 456 00:47:08,840 --> 00:47:16,440 but it didn't bother you too much then, they may go back and find that you're disabled because of 457 00:47:16,440 --> 00:47:24,120 that accident, and I know David, you've run into some of these stories that we've gone back so 458 00:47:24,120 --> 00:47:32,120 many years, and you find out, oh, I'm entitled to that because I did this. Yeah, and it's huge, 459 00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:39,000 you know, in Washtenaw County, and a lot of other counties in the state, and I hope a lot of 460 00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:45,320 counties around the US, we get all the death certificates for the veterans that pass away 461 00:47:45,320 --> 00:47:53,000 in Washtenaw County, and we send them a letter to invite the dependents to come talk to us, 462 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:59,560 to see if there's anything there for them, right, and you'll have a Vietnam vet that never collected 463 00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:06,600 a dime, never did anything with the VA, but they pass of a service-connected condition, 464 00:48:06,600 --> 00:48:12,600 and that spouse is eligible for benefits going forward, you know, it's tough because when, 465 00:48:13,800 --> 00:48:19,400 you know, the veteran dies, so they lose their social security, if they have a pension, they 466 00:48:19,400 --> 00:48:25,480 might lose that, and so then it just goes, the spouse has to live just on social security, and 467 00:48:26,040 --> 00:48:33,160 is there any veterans benefits, and that's what we look at, and so that's the key, and also with, 468 00:48:33,160 --> 00:48:38,680 you know, I mean, veterans that, you know, I've never done anything with the VA, and they have 469 00:48:38,680 --> 00:48:44,680 great private insurance, but then they, my buddies told me to come over and check it out, and, you 470 00:48:44,680 --> 00:48:52,280 know, they might have four or five different conditions related to their service, and so 471 00:48:53,080 --> 00:49:00,040 that kind of monetary benefit and healthcare has improved their quality of life, and that's what 472 00:49:00,040 --> 00:49:08,280 we're, that's what we're here for. I admire all the work that all of you do to help veterans, 473 00:49:08,280 --> 00:49:15,320 it's just awesome what you can do to help these men and women that are out there, and you know, 474 00:49:15,320 --> 00:49:22,600 you mentioned, Chris, I mentioned that you've got an event that you're planning for women veterans 475 00:49:22,600 --> 00:49:26,520 coming up, and I know that there's a lot more of those things going on around the country. 476 00:49:27,080 --> 00:49:31,640 That's correct, yeah, we have our, the Town Hall, and again, we're working with Congresswoman 477 00:49:31,640 --> 00:49:38,360 Dingell on that, hopefully she can attend that, but you know, the women's clinic, you know, we 478 00:49:38,360 --> 00:49:44,120 talked a little bit about that at the beginning, I think they are providing healthcare services, 479 00:49:44,120 --> 00:49:49,800 about 6,000 women veterans here around the, in our VA catchment area, and we're always looking to 480 00:49:49,800 --> 00:49:55,400 build that, so you know, I guess I just want to echo a couple of things that were said that, 481 00:49:55,400 --> 00:50:01,400 and you know, I think the VA does great with getting people enrolled, but you know, to what David, 482 00:50:01,400 --> 00:50:05,880 and to what Caroline said, build that local team around you, I'm not afraid to say it as a VA 483 00:50:05,880 --> 00:50:10,680 employee to use your local resources to help you through the federal system. 484 00:50:12,760 --> 00:50:18,520 It's a, it's a lambry, it's a maze, it's like, it's more complicated than those big corn mazes 485 00:50:18,520 --> 00:50:24,120 that are coming up right this time of year, to figure out how to get through it, and I think it's, 486 00:50:24,120 --> 00:50:28,680 you know, again, we encourage you to utilize these experts. You know, I don't know what the 487 00:50:28,680 --> 00:50:33,720 requirements were, I remember talking with David and Caroline, you know, the studying that they 488 00:50:33,720 --> 00:50:39,640 have to go through, and the exams that they have to take to become a qualified veteran service officer 489 00:50:40,280 --> 00:50:48,760 is time consuming, and we can't do it, we don't, you know, speaking for myself, I don't know how 490 00:50:48,760 --> 00:50:56,200 any of this stuff works really, and so I had to depend on them to get me into the system and get 491 00:50:56,200 --> 00:51:02,120 me through whatever it is that I need, and it's the same thing that we're telling everybody out 492 00:51:02,120 --> 00:51:07,720 there to do. And let us help you sort out the paperwork, because when you file the intent, 493 00:51:07,720 --> 00:51:12,600 and that's one thing we're going to touch on is, you know, the, if you filed an intent 494 00:51:12,600 --> 00:51:20,840 for the PACT Act at, you know, August 13th, right before the deadline, you want to make sure you 495 00:51:21,880 --> 00:51:27,640 file your fully developed claim, right? Because when you file that intent, you have a year in 496 00:51:27,640 --> 00:51:35,560 order to file the fully developed claim. And let us let the service officers help you with that, 497 00:51:35,560 --> 00:51:41,320 because, you know, they'll send you a big pack of papers and say, okay, you need to fill all this 498 00:51:41,320 --> 00:51:47,960 stuff out, and they're like, well, I'm so confused. And same with eligibility, you know, I could fill 499 00:51:47,960 --> 00:51:56,120 out that 1010 easy and send it to the Ann Arbor VA, but also they could go to the facility, even the 500 00:51:56,120 --> 00:52:03,720 CBOX, and get enrolled. And their representatives, all they need is their DD Form 214 and some financial 501 00:52:03,720 --> 00:52:10,200 information, if you're not service connected, and they'll enroll you, it's nice and easy. And since 502 00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:15,160 our office is really close to the Ann Arbor VA, I just send them over there because the process is 503 00:52:15,160 --> 00:52:22,040 seamless when they go over to the VA, right? Right. And we, you know, we have a lot of, you know, 504 00:52:22,040 --> 00:52:26,760 the advantage of working with your local resources, they have, you know, like Carolina has my work 505 00:52:26,760 --> 00:52:31,400 cell phone number. And so I've got a call from her before about one specific veteran that she was 506 00:52:31,400 --> 00:52:36,760 advocating for. So that's the other advantage is that, you know, we all talk in a professional 507 00:52:36,760 --> 00:52:41,720 sense also here on the radio, but, you know, they have our phone number and they know how to 508 00:52:42,840 --> 00:52:49,240 utilize and leverage us to get what they need for individual veterans. So again, I understand the 509 00:52:49,240 --> 00:52:54,280 big VA system can be a little bit complicated. Your local resources will make it very easy. And 510 00:52:54,280 --> 00:52:59,560 they literally hold your hand through the process. It can be complicated. They take all the guests 511 00:52:59,560 --> 00:53:05,480 work and all the complications out of it. Well, I think we hopefully we help some people today and 512 00:53:05,480 --> 00:53:12,680 then that they'll, they'll call either their local veteran service organization or their officer or 513 00:53:12,680 --> 00:53:16,680 legal help for veterans or some of these other organizations that are out there that are designed 514 00:53:16,680 --> 00:53:22,440 to help you. So I want to thank everybody for being on the program. David Sames from Washnaw 515 00:53:22,440 --> 00:53:28,600 County, General Carol and Faustone from Legal Health for Veterans and Chris Arbino from the 516 00:53:28,600 --> 00:53:34,200 Ann Arbor VA Health Center. So thank you all very much for being on Veterans Radio and a reminder 517 00:53:34,200 --> 00:53:40,840 to our audiences that we do this benefits program for you every month. So it's the first Sunday of 518 00:53:40,840 --> 00:53:46,280 the month that we do benefits. So keep that in mind. Write it down. If you come out with a question, 519 00:53:46,280 --> 00:53:52,200 send it to either any of us, you know, you can send it through me at Dale at veteransradio.org 520 00:53:52,200 --> 00:53:56,040 and we'll get that for you. I got a couple of real quick announcements. I got to get out there. 521 00:53:56,040 --> 00:54:02,840 Number one is that our major fundraiser is coming up on September 22nd, Radio on the River. Go to 522 00:54:02,840 --> 00:54:08,200 our website veteransradio.org and you'll be able to see what's going on. We got a great guest. 523 00:54:09,400 --> 00:54:15,880 It's Doug Bradley. He's written all about the music of veterans music, you know, during different 524 00:54:15,880 --> 00:54:21,400 various conflicts. So he's going to be there to talk about the music of Vietnam. And other things 525 00:54:21,400 --> 00:54:26,600 are going to be there. So market calendar for that. And I want to thank everybody because we only had 526 00:54:26,600 --> 00:54:34,760 10 seconds to go. God bless America today. It's Celine Dion. So until next week, this is Dale 527 00:54:34,760 --> 00:55:04,040 Thurman. You are dismissed. God bless America. Stand beside her and guide her through the night. 528 00:55:04,040 --> 00:55:24,200 With the light from the mountains to the prairies to the oceans white with fur. 529 00:55:24,200 --> 00:55:43,400 Whoa, oh, oh, Oh, God bless America my home, sweet. 530 00:55:43,400 --> 00:55:46,400 Oh 531 00:55:51,400 --> 00:55:56,400 God bless America 532 00:55:56,400 --> 00:56:02,400 Land that I love 533 00:56:02,400 --> 00:56:09,400 Stand beside her and guide her 534 00:56:09,400 --> 00:56:16,400 Through the light, with the light from above 535 00:56:16,400 --> 00:56:23,400 From the mountains to the prairies 536 00:56:23,400 --> 00:56:30,400 To the oceans white with foam 537 00:56:30,400 --> 00:56:36,400 God bless America 538 00:56:36,400 --> 00:56:45,400 My home sweet home