JK: Nation must provide better care for rural veterans
The government goes to great lengths to recruit young men and women to enlist in the military. Recruiters often travel the extra mile to convince rural Americans that the military is right for them.
Unfortunately, it’s often been a completely different story once the soldier comes home. The rural veterans’ care system has not been going the extra mile to care for young veterans who return to the same communities the government once visited to recruit them.
It’s time we fund our veterans’ care system so that it can reach out to soldiers living all over our country — a promise should be a promise no matter where a soldier calls home.
When it comes to fighting our wars, rural America has repeatedly answered the call. Americans from rural areas are more than twice as likely as other Americans to join the military: According to a recent study, rural America comprises 19 percent of the population but 44 percent of service recruits.
Now we must answer the call from rural America to reach out to wounded veterans wherever they live and guarantee that they can get the care they need, the care they were promised when they signed up to put their lives on the line.
Sadly, we still have a ways to go if we hope to match rhetoric with reality. Many of America’s 6 million rural veterans do not enjoy the excellent hospital care that other veterans receive. This is especially troubling because a 2004 study found that rural veterans tended to have more serious and costly problems than urban veterans.
Poor coordination between the military and Veterans Affairs has far too often led to delays in treatment, lost records and maddening battles with an impersonal bureaucracy whose indifference is the tragic inverse of the tight bonds that soldiers form with their fellow soldiers.
I understand that outreach to rural veterans can be a difficult logistical challenge for an overburdened system. I understand that the average rural veteran in America currently travels 63 miles for care. Resources will inevitably concentrate where people do: in cities. But we can and we must hold the government accountable for providing a reasonable standard of care for all vets.
I am relieved to see that the armed forces are scrambling to add care centers for brain injuries, including one in Vermont specifically designed to bring experts to remote areas. But more must be done. That is why I am co-sponsoring the Rural Health Care Improvement Act of 2007. The bill improves accessibility for those seeking treatment from VA facilities and strengthens the Department of Veterans Affairs capacity to reach out to rural vets.
We should not pit urban and rural veterans against each other. America should never have to choose between soldiers who were ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for this country. We can care for them all; we just have to choose to do so, and put health care for soldiers ahead of tax cuts for millionaires.
This post also appeared in the The Buffalo News.
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Dear Fellow Vietnam Veteran and Senator Kerry:
Thought I’d ask for your comment.
Do you think you could support a bill that would tax all processed foods (yes, even Heinz) to fund the education and training of all Americans to become aware of the food they eat as a primary way to optimal health?
I know it’s a far cry from the Healthcare issues today but.... could you read and comment on my press release?
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
DAVID SNIECKUS
617-964-2951
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: David Snieckus
99 Crescent Street
Newton, MA 02466
617-964-2951
http://www.davidsnieckus.com
Health Expert David Snieckus Offers REAL Health Program in Your Own Home!
September 18, 2007 – Newton, MA. According to “The Boston Paradox”, researchers for the New England Healthcare Institute, released in June, 2007, “we have lots of healthcare, but no health.” Numerous scientists and medical researchers have repeatedly pointed their finger for our sickness to the food we eat.
Bottom line….Health is largely determined by what we eat everyday.
Many reputable organizations, such as The American Cancer Society and The American Heart Association, and many popular books, such as The China Study, The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted, by Professor Emeritus, T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II, and Ending the Food Fight, Guide Your Child to a Healthy Weight in a Fast Food/Fake Food World, by David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., say that we can dramatically reduce the risk of disease by eating a plant-based diet.
Some of the benefits of eating a plant-based diet are:
• Reduced risk of chronic disease
• Normal weight
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• A more harmonious state of being
• Environmentally friendly
Eating natural whole plant-based foods is not only energy efficient nutrition, it connects us to Nature! When we eat foods that have undergone the process of photosynthesis, when sunlight combines with water and minerals to grow a living plant, we connect to a vital, life-giving force.
Cooking or preparing natural whole plant-based foods in our own kitchens is the one simple thing each individual can do every day to prevent and reverse illness and optimize health and well-being. As we become proficient at selecting, balancing, and preparing such foods, we become our own doctors.
Furthermore, learning about the best and healthiest foods to eat is the best healthcare reform. As we optimize our health through the food we eat, we become part of the solution in reducing healthcare costs.
David Snieckus, one of the nation’s leading macrobiotic experts with over 30 years of experience, has helped hundreds heal themselves using easy to comprehend principles. His specialty is helping individuals establish a foundation of health in their own homes through a one to three day program on how to establish optimal health. Through one-on-one consultations and teachings about ancient principles and the proper selection, cooking and eating of natural whole plant-based foods, David can help you launch your path to optimum health.
Mr. Snieckus’ vision is every kitchen a wellness center and one peaceful and healthy world. He invites and welcomes everyone and anyone to be a part of that vision.
For more information, call for the no-obligation program outline and references at 617-964-2951, or visit: http://www.davidsnieckus.com.
David Snieckus, a graduate of the world renowned Kushi Institute, is the primary sponsor of House Bill 2841 which calls for the removal of the tax exemption of processed food.
David Snieckus
99 Crescent Street
Newton, MA 02466
617-964-2951
http://www.davidsnieckus.com