2011_VA_Leotis

At the December 6 Council's membership meeting, Brother Ed Voss, a Vietnam era veteran, introduced two representatives from the Central Arkansas Veterans Health System (CAVHS) in Little Rock - Leotis Nichols and Nakia Williams.  Both individuals are members of a Care Management Team involved with Operation Endurance Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). 

The Team can assist vets with: 1) completing a onetime post-deployment health risk assessment; 2) helping with issues related to deployment injuries or illnesses; 3) helping navigate the VA system; 4) performing courtesy visits with OEF-OIF veterans who are hospitalized; and, 5) providing outreach activities to military units throughout Arkansas.

Leotis spoke about the many differences between the typical veteran from previous wars and the veterans from the current wars.  The VA's basic structure was designed for the older veterans, and it must adjust to meet the needs of the younger vets.  The older vets typically served during a time of the draft, no women in combat roles, and, for the most part, a single one-year tour assignment with few National Guard and reservists involved,  The younger vets want more responsive health services, have probably served multiple tours, have difficulty retaining a job because of those tours, and want evening and weekend hours for service due to jobs and families.

2011_VA_Nakia

Nakia referenced the desire of the VA to use a more holistic approach to the needs of vets, including caregivers, spouses, and families.  There are attempts to aid the families in making connections with other agencies outside of the VA to help meet their needs.  Returning woman veterans also provide new challenges to the VA which has been used to providing services to men.  Nakia said that there now more Vietnam veterans seeking assistance, as they become more aware of their own needs, especially post-traumatic stress disorders.  She also emphasized that technology is being used to meet some of the vets' more common queries, including copies of a DD214 form, checking the status of a service request, verifying an appointment time, and ordering medications.

Leotis and Nakia can be reached at 501-257-5414 and 501-257-6706 respectively.