NIANTIC, Conn. –
The Connecticut National Guard has partnered with the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs in a new pilot program to help streamline post-deployment VA services for its guardsmen by integrating the department’s mobile medical unit into the Guard’s Reverse Soldier Readiness Processing (RSRP) for soldiers and airmen returning home from overseas deployments.
With the mobile medical unit onsite, Guardsmen will now be able to do more than just sign up for their VA benefits, they’ll be able to talk with VA medical providers to discuss physical and mental health concerns they may have developed while overseas and schedule appointments for further care.
“Our providers can’t schedule these soldiers for follow-on care with the VA,” said Maj. Michelle Cunningham-Joost, the Connecticut National Guard’s deputy state surgeon. “But having the mobile medical unit here with providers who can actually do assessments to get them in the system and schedulers who can create those follow-on appointments is a great benefit to our Guardsmen.”
Cunningham-Joost also said that having this direct line with the VA is helping cut down on the wait time to be seen by a provider for follow-on case by as much as 12 weeks depending on the need.
The first unit to utilize this new pilot program is the Connecticut Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 102nd Infantry Regiment, which is conducting their RSRP August 18-21 at Camp Nett in Niantic, Connecticut. The 1-102nd recently returned home from a nearly year-long deployment to various locations in the Middle East.
Another benefit to integrating the VA directly into the RSRP program is it allows service members to discuss their health concerns with a medical provider without running the risk of remaining at the demobilization center for an extended period of time.
“A lot of [service members] don’t say a lot when they’re coming out of the mob site because they get stuck down there and they don’t want to get stuck, right?” said Cunningham-Joost. “I don’t blame them, necessarily, but we already know that historically people don’t say stuff. But instead of ignoring that piece of it, we’re looking at it, going, how can we put the assets in place where, if they want to say something, we can get them the care they need.”
The Connecticut National Guard and the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs have a long history of mutual support, including many Guardsmen and National Guard veterans working as civilians for the VA. This strong connection between the two organizations helped manifest this pilot program into reality and the organizers hope it will develop into a standard practice of care moving forward.