Rao bulletin 1 October 2014 html edition this bulletin contains the following articles
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- PTSD Update 176 ► Funds Sought for Naprapathy Therapy Study
- TRICARE Young Adult Program Update 09 ► 2015 Monthly Premiums
- TRICARE Pediatric Care ► Meeting the Needs with Some Caveats
- Women Healthy Aging ► Action Kit Availability
- PUBLICATIONS FEATURED IN THE FREE HEALTHY AGING ACTION KIT
- Traumatic Brain Injury Update 41 ► Concussion Coach App
- TRICARE Flu Shots Update 03 ► Flu and Cold Season Near | Get your shot
- Student Loan Update 02 ► Aging Americans Burdened by Debt
Military History Anniversaries ► 01 thru 31 Oct Significant events in U.S. Military History over the next 30 days are listed in the attachment to this Bulletin titled, “Military History Anniversaries 01 thru 31 Oct”. * Health Care *    
PTSD Update 176 ► Funds Sought for Naprapathy Therapy Study For more than 30 years, Marine veteran Dan Gandee, 51, had trouble talking about the 1983 bombing of the U.S. military barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, by the Islamic Jihad. The attack killed 241 American servicemen, including 220 Marines. He was deployed there in the aftermath of the carnage. The memories hurt. His body aches, too, recoiling into a defensive position when he hears unexpected noises. "It's the armor protecting us. The events we experienced caused us to be ultra-vigilant and ever-ready. There's a lot of tension associated with that," he said. But recently he said he has gotten some relief from an alternative type of medicine: For more than 30 years, Marine veteran Dan Gandee, 51, had trouble talking about the 1983 bombing of the U.S. military barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, by the Islamic Jihad. The attack killed 241 American servicemen, including 220 Marines. He was deployed there in the aftermath of the carnage. The memories hurt. His body aches, too, recoiling into a defensive position when he hears unexpected noises. "It's the armor protecting us. The events we experienced caused us to be ultra-vigilant and ever-ready. There's a lot of tension associated with that," he said. But recently, Gandee said, he has gotten some relief from an alternative type of medicine: naprapathy. A form of physical therapy, it works on the soft connective tissue that holds the skeletal frame together. After 10 visits to Patrick Nuzzo's Southwest University of Naprapathic Medicine at The Lofts on Cerrillos Road, Gandee said he is feeling better, sleeping longer and opening up emotionally. Now Nuzzo is hoping to get a bill through the Legislature that would appropriate $90,000 for a study on the efficacy of naprapathic medicine in treating veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Currently, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System for New Mexico does not sanction naprapathy for treatment of PTSD. Spokesman Bill Armstrong said in an email, "Naprapathy therapy for PTSD is not considered the standard of care within our VA or nationally. This therapy is not used at our clinics." But after 11 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of military men and women are at risk of developing PTSD. Veterans Affairs estimates PTSD afflicts 11 percent of veterans of the war in Afghanistan and 20 percent of Iraq War veterans. While there are about 170,700 veterans living in New Mexico, the state Department of Veterans' Services doesn't know how many are affected by the condition. Naprapathy is just one of the methods for treating people diagnosed with PTSD. When Nuzzo started practicing naprapathy in Illinois more than 25 years ago, he focused on the treatment of adult survivors of childhood abuse, including his former wife, who had been diagnosed with PTSD. Nuzzo said he never set out to use it to heal veterans, but over time several veterans came to him for care and felt that his work was relieving their headaches and physical tension brought about by PTSD. "Because the body holds on to pain," Nuzzo said, "guys who go through IED [improvised explosive device] explosions are hunkering down. They are very, very guarded." Naprapathy was founded in the early 1900s by a chiropractor. According to the website of the American Naprapathic Association, it employs hands-on connective tissue manipulation, nutritional counseling and a wide variety of therapies, such as ultrasound or electric stimulation. It focuses, the association says, on conditions caused by "contracted, injured, spasmed, bruised and/or otherwise affected myofascial and connective tissue." Connective tissue supports and contains all the integral structures of the body, including the tissue surrounding the spinal column and spinal cord, the muscles, organs and joints. It includes ligaments, tendons, fascia, intervertebral discs and cartilage. Connective tissue problems can be caused by traumatic injury, repetitive motion and temperature-related events. Nuzzo said naprapathy is different from chiropractic work because chiropractors apply a "high velocity adjustment" that pulls the bony structure back into alignment. He said such treatments are usually less than 10 minutes long. Naprapaths work on releasing tension in the connective tissue, through allowing the vertebrae and body structure to fall back into alignment. Such treatments run 30 minutes. Earlier this month, Nuzzo appeared before the New Mexico Legislature's Military and Veterans Affairs Committee to present the results of a preliminary survey his clinic performed on the impact of naprapathic therapy on nine military retirees who were diagnosed with PTSD. Among other outcomes, the study indicates that treated veterans experienced less pain and slept better after 10 weekly treatments. He asked the committee to consider a broader study of 50 vets, who would be recommended to Nuzzo's clinic by the state Veterans' Services Department. Looking ahead, Nuzzo said he would like to train veterans in naprapathy so they can ultimately treat others suffering from PTSD. Rep. Rudy Martinez, D-Bayard, and chairman of the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, said by phone that the committee will decide during its November meeting which legislative bills and actions to support. He said he was encouraged by Nuzzo's initial report. "Anything positive that is going to help veterans is certainly something to consider," Martinez said. "His work seems to be helpful to veterans suffering from PTSD." Martinez said he wants to hear from veterans who have benefited from naprapathic healing. Committee member Dianne Miller Hamilton, R-Silver City, said she supports Nuzzo's plan and likes the fact that he paid for the initial naprapathic study out of his own pocket. Last year, she introduced a memorial requesting a similar study. She also has been working to pass a bill supporting a virtual-reality treatment plan for veterans suffering from PTSD. "We have young men and women going to serve in Iraq and elsewhere, and they have had four or five tours of duty, and it takes its toll," she said. "They've had been friends blown up next to them -- just a horrible, horrible experience." The Veterans Affairs website defines PTSD as "an extremely complex illness that requires a comprehensive approach to healing." It notes that possible treatments include medication, talk therapy, rest, stress reduction, time and understanding, adding that alternative methods -- including naprapathy -- are available. Speaking by phone, Chicago naprapathic therapist and VA compliance officer José Diaz -- an Army veteran who suffers from PTSD -- said he has treated more than 50 veterans in the past year at his clinic. He said he first came across the uses of naprapathy at the National College of Naprapathic Medicine in Chicago and discovered that the work some of his fellow students were doing on him was easing his pain and helping him sleep better. He said the therapy helped him concentrate and finish his studies. So he began calling some veterans he knew and asked if he could practice naprapathy on them. He said vets suffering from PTSD cannot disconnect from the trauma. "You are going to be on an 'on' switch all the time." The problem, he said, is that it's "like trying to run a car for a month nonstop. You are going to have mechanical or electric problems. The same happens with vets.” Napaprathy's focus on the body's connective tissue relieves inflammation and congestion in the nervous system and helps turn that switch "off" for a while, Diaz said. Diaz said holistic medical approaches like this are still considered new to the VA, and that the department still prefers to stick to traditional treatments. But, he said, "The VA is trying acupuncture. It may work. I see no results on it yet." He said if enough data regarding the effects of naprapathy are collected, "I don't think it will take too much to convince the VA." [Source: The Santa Fe New Mexican | Robert Nott | Sept. 21, 2014 ++] ********************************* TRICARE Young Adult Program Update 09 ► 2015 Monthly Premiums Last week the Department of Defense announced the new monthly premiums for TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) for calendar year 2015. Next year the TCA’s Standard Plan’s monthly premium will be $181 (up from $156 this year- an increase of 16.0%) The TYA’s Prime plans’ premium will be $208 a month (up from $180 a month this year a 15.5% increase). These numbers are of course extremely important to TRICARE families with unmarried adult children between the ages of 21 and 26 who are not eligible for employer provided health insurance. It is also important to all other TRICARE beneficiaries because this is the DoD calculation of what the full monthly TRICARE cost is for providing the benefit. [Source: TREA News for the enlisted Sept. 29, 2014 ++] ********************************* TRICARE Pediatric Care ► Meeting the Needs with Some Caveats A recent Defense Department report finds that the military health system is meeting the needs of its youngest beneficiaries — but raises concerns that Pentagon officials don’t have enough data or information in some areas to make a complete assessment on the quality of care provided to dependent children. The report, required by the fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, summarizes policies, programs and personnel related to pediatric care across the services and through Tricare. “[The military health system] is meeting the needs of the children in its care, including those with special needs,” wrote members of the DoD working group that compiled the report. “The data confirm that the MHS provides comprehensive and high-quality health benefit programs for all children.” But the working group then identified several issues — including DoD’s lack of a centralized health data system — that make it difficult to draw direct, complete comparisons between care across the services or in military hospitals or clinics versus private care. The National Military Family Association, which has spent years lobbying for an analysis of Tricare’s services for children, found the report disappointing, said Karen Ruedisueli, the group’s deputy director for government relations. “We expected a more thorough analysis of children’s access to care,” Ruedisueli said. “We hope this is just a first step in identifying the issues and the move forward.” The 108-page report, the Study on Health Care and Related Support for Children of Members of the Armed Forces, also known as “Tricare For Kids,” concluded that children have adequate access to primary care and specialty care and that physicians with pediatric certification conduct more than 80 percent of the specialty appointments for kids. But the gaps in data and need for “areas of clarification” noted in the report have called into question the findings, said a coalition of advocates, including NMFA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, MOAA, the Children’s Hospital Association and 11 other groups, which provided a collective formal response to the Defense Health Agency as the “Tricare for Kids Coalition.” “An overarching theme woven throughout the report is the lack of data and meaningful utilization of data, or inability to collect data, which then limits the analysis in many of the elements examined,” the advocates wrote. Among the biggest concerns, the advocates said, is the lack of a standard definition across the services and various health agencies of a child with special needs. Also not evident is a plan to improve and monitor pediatric care, especially in light of the working group’s findings that Tricare’s “well child care” programs don’t comply with American Academy for Pediatrics guidelines or the Affordable Care Act. “From the analysis presented in the report, it’s clear to me that DHA is not tracking the right things to be able to determine whether or not children can adequately access care. And they aren’t tracking compliance either,” Ruedisueli said. Jeremy Hilton, an Air Force spouse whose daughter requires specialty health care, called the report a “starting place” and said it will help set standards for the health care of future military dependents. “It’s not going to help my daughter,” he said, “but it gets the ball rolling so that someday, we may look back and say ‘What a great system we have for treating military kids thanks to the hard work that’s going on now.’ According to Hilton, the next step for advocates is to press for congressional hearings on the report’s findings. “To borrow a quote from another advocate on this matter: ‘We’ve admired this problem for long enough. It’s time for action,’ ” Hilton said. [Source: MilitaryTimes | Patricia Kime | Sept. 24, 2014 ++] ********************************* Women Healthy Aging ► Action Kit Availability Health concerns change as we age, but you don't have to be overwhelmed or confused by all the changes. Take charge of your health no matter what your age. Order the Healthy Aging Action Kit to learn what you need to know about a variety of health issues older women face. You'll be armed with questions to ask your doctor and a firm understanding of how to live your healthiest no matter what your age. You may order printed copies of the Healthy Aging Action Kit for yourself and the other important woman in your life at http://promotions.usa.gov/healthy-aging.html?utm_source=GovDelivery2&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=healthyaging2014. To download the publications in the kit click on the title desired below. PUBLICATIONS FEATURED IN THE FREE HEALTHY AGING ACTION KIT 1. Mammography - Fact Sheet (534 Kb) 2. Menopause and Hormones (800 Kb) 3. My Medicines (6.43 Mb) 4. Osteoporosis (116 Kb) 5. Health Scams (1.82 Mb) 6. Heart Health (134Kb) 7. Clinical Trials (120 Kb) 8. Use Medicines Wisely (2.43 Mb) 9. Cholesterol - Medicines to Help You (533 Kb) [Source: Food and Drug Administration's Office of Women's Health and the Federal Citizen Information Center Sept. 17, 2014 ++] ******************************** Traumatic Brain Injury Update 41 ► Concussion Coach App To better meet the needs of Veterans and others who have suffered mild to moderate concussion associated with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has developed "Concussion Coach," a mobile application (“app”) that provides portable tools to recognize symptoms and to identify and make use of coping strategies. The Concussion Coach app is designed to educate users about concussions, related symptoms, treatments and to enable users to recognize and assess symptoms. The app identifies resources for managing symptoms and planning tools to build resilience. It also provides access to crisis resources, including personal support contacts and ways in which the user can obtain professional health care. “In developing the Concussion Coach, we applied the science and the clinical recommendations that have emerged from the recent efforts of researchers and practitioners across many agencies, organizations and institutions to better understand the nature and consequences of injury to the brain,” said Dr. Micaela Cornis-Pop, Speech Pathologist and lead subject matter expert for the application. “We are looking forward to the Concussion Coach becoming a trusted resource among self-help tools for Veterans and others to manage the troubling symptoms of concussion.” The application will be helpful to everyone who suffers from mild to moderate concussions. Its development came about as a result of knowledge gained by VA medical staff in treatment of TBI. While combat injuries to Servicemembers and injuries to professional athletes gain media attention, TBI is most often caused by falls, vehicle accidents and violence. TBI is a major cause of death and disability worldwide, especially in children and young adults. “The development of the Concussion Coach application shows how work conducted by VA also helps the general public,” said Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, VA’s Interim Undersecretary for Health. “VA is taking innovative approaches and making use of technology to provide personalized health care for the nation’s Veterans, and this app is an example of that.” The application is a useful tool, and is not intended to replace professional diagnosis, medical treatment or rehabilitation therapies for those who need them. “We believe that Concussion Coach will support treatment with a health care professional by providing portable, convenient tools for the user to recognize symptoms and cope with concussion-related problems,” added Dr. Cornis-Pop. Concussion Coach was collaboratively developed by the VA’s Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Services and the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and the Department of Defense National Center for Telehealth and Technology. Concussion Coach is available for mobile Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, and IPod Touch) from the App Store and will be available to Google Play for Android devices later in 2014. For additional information, visit http://www.polytrauma.va.gov. [Source: VA News Release Sept. 16, 2014 ++] ******************************** TRICARE Flu Shots Update 03 ► Flu and Cold Season Near | Get your shot Fever? Check. Muscle aches? Check. Chills? It’s almost flu and cold season, and in order to make sure these flu symptoms don’t ruin your Fall, the best way to protect yourself is with the flu vaccination. Influenza, also known as the flu, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone six months of age and older get a flu vaccine every year. Serious flu cases can result in hospitalization or death. Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions, are at a higher risk for contracting the disease and developing serious complications. TRICARE covers two forms of the flu vaccination, the flu shot and the flu mist. Beneficiaries can get the flu vaccine at no cost from military hospitals and clinics, or any TRICARE-authorized provider and participating network pharmacies. Additionally, beneficiaries can make use of the new TRICARE Nurse Advice Line (NAL) especially after normal business hours, if you are traveling or if you cannot reach your Military Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) or Primary Care Manager (PCM). The NAL nurses will ask you questions about your symptoms; based on a standard set of questions developed by physicians and] nurses, and will recommend either self-care, or for you to seek medical help from a provider. If self-care is appropriate, NAL nurses will give you advice on what to do. If you need to seek medical help from a provider, the NAL will help you decide what the best place is for you to seek care based on your medical condition. The patient with the medical problem will need to be present during the NAL assessment. If the patient is a minor, the NAL will ask the parent to assess the child’s symptoms or may ask to listen to the child cough in order to help make the best recommendation on needed care. If you have questions about lab or other medical tests, prescription refills or questions on benefits, please contact your PCM or clinic directly. To take advantage of the MHS’ newest initiative to improve access to safe, high quality care, call the NAL toll-free 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-TRICARE, option 1. Remember, if you are feeling ill, you can always call your PCM or MTF to make an appointment. Beneficiaries enrolled at an MTF can contact their PCM via secure messaging through the RelayHealth/MiCare portal, or make an appointment on TRICARE Online. To learn more about flu basics, treatment and prevention, visit http://www.cdc.gov/flu.. For more information on TRICARE coverage and where to get flu vaccines go to http://www.TRICARE.mil/flu . [Source: TRICARE Communications Sept. 18, 2014 ++] * Finances * 
Student Loan Update 02 ► Aging Americans Burdened by Debt Rosemary Anderson could be 81 by the time she pays off her student loans. After struggling with divorce, health problems and an underwater home mortgage, the 57-year-old anticipates there could come a day when her Social Security benefits will be docked to make the payments. Like Anderson, a growing percentage of aging Americans struggle to pay back their student debt. Tens of thousands of them even see their Social Security benefits garnished when they cannot do so. Among Americans ages 65 to 74, 4 percent in 2010 carried federal student loan debt, up from 1 percent six years earlier, according to a Government Accountability Office report released 10 SEP at a Senate Aging Committee hearing. For all seniors, the collective amount of student loan debt grew from about $2.8 billion in 2005 to about $18.2 billion last year. Student debt for all ages totals $1 trillion. “Some may think of student loan debt as just a young person’s problem,” said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) chairman of the committee. “Well, as it turns out, that’s increasingly not the case.” Anderson, of Watsonville, California, amassed $64,000 in student loans, beginning in her 30s, as she worked toward her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She said she has worked multiple jobs — she’s now at the University of California, Santa Cruz — to pay off credit card debt and has renegotiated terms of her home mortgage, but hasn’t been able to make a student loan payment in eight years. The amount she owes has ballooned to $126,000. “I find it very ironic that I incurred this debt as a way to improve my life, and yet I still sit here today because the debt has become my undoing,” Anderson testified. Despite not making payments, she’s managed to keep the education debt in good standing by getting permission to defer the payments even as the amount she owes has grown, she said. Ed Boltz, a bankruptcy attorney in Durham, North Carolina, who is president of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, said in an interview that many of the seniors he sees with student loan debt are also struggling with challenges such a medical problems, job loss or divorce. Some, he said, went back to school with hopes of making a higher salary and that didn’t pan out, or the children they helped fund to attend school are not in a position to help the parent in return. “They are stuck with these debts and they can’t try again,” Boltz said. “There’s no second act for them.” The GAO found that about 80 percent of the student loan debt by seniors was for their own education while the rest was taken out for their children or other dependents. It said federal data showed that seniors were more likely to default on loans for themselves compared with those they took out for their children. It’s unclear when the loans originated, although the GAO noted that the period to pay back such debt can range from a decade to 25 years. That means some older Americans could have taken out the loans when they were younger and they’ve accumulated with interest, or got them later in life — such as workers who enrolled in college after a layoff in the midst of the economic downturn. The GAO found that about a quarter of loans held by seniors ages 65 to 74 were in default. The number of older Americans who had their Social Security benefits offset to pay student loan debt increased about fivefold, from 31,000 to 155,000, from 2002 to 2013. “As the baby boomers continue to move into retirement, the number of older Americans with defaulted loans will only continue to increase,” the GAO said. “This creates the potential for an unpleasant surprise for some, as their benefits are offset and they face the possibility of a less secure retirement.” Typically, student loans can’t be discharged in bankruptcy. In addition to docking Social Security, the government can use a variety of tools to recoup student loans, such as taking wages or tax refund dollars. Sandy Baum, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, said these seniors having their Social Security docked likely don’t have much discretionary income and Congress should consider taking away this option. There’s a limit to how much Social Security can be docked, but some seniors are left with benefits below the poverty level, the GAO said. “It’s not an issue that affects large numbers of people,” Baum said. “It’s a very big issue for people who are affected by it.” [Source: The Associated Press | Kimberly Hefling | Sept. 19, 2014 ++] ******************************** Directory: wp-content -> uploads -> 2014 2014 -> For want of a nail 2014 -> Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2014 2014 -> Ihbb asian Championships 2014 middle school bowl Round 4 First Quarter 2014 -> Ihbb european Championships 2014 Bowl Round 4 First Quarter 2014 -> International History Bee and Bowl 2013-14 Asian Division Question Set Bowl Round Six 2014 -> United states patent and trademark office 2014 -> Coffs harbour eisteddfod vocal syllabus 2014 -> Listen News Programs Schedule pledge now 2014 -> Slow club announce third album complete surrender Download 479.35 Kb. Share with your friends:
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