Tennessee State Capitol Bldg

In bipartisan action this week the House of Representatives took action to pass legislation through the legislature. Under “the Long-Term Care Community Choices Act of 2008,” the legislature charged the Tennessee Department of Finance & Administration and Tennessee Department of Health to create a foundation for providing Tennessee’s seniors with the information and necessary resources for choosing the best retirement options.

On Thursday, the Tennessee House of Representatives, in a bipartisan effort that included District 67 Rep. Joe Pitts, (D-Clarksville), unanimously passed the second of four bills designed to expand retirement opportunities for seniors in Tennessee. Passage of the “Adult Care Home Act of 2009” builds on that foundation by creating standards of practice and review for a new kind of residential alternative: Level 2 Adult Care Homes. Residents who qualify under the bill are more critical need-based members who are either ventilator-dependent or who have suffered a traumatic brain injury.

“The seniors of today are living longer and stronger than those just twenty or thirty years ago and, as a state, we have a responsibility to provide our greatest generation with different options in how they want to spend retirement,” said Pitts.

“As we have continued to build on the Tennessee long-term care system, the focus has been first to implement a program that can provide choices to those most in need,” said Pitts. “With this new legislation, I believe we have taken that step and can now start looking to expand even further.”

Under the new guidelines, level 2 adult care homes are small, homelike settings in local communities that deliver licensed care from residential managers who are licensed professionals. Providers with ventilator dependent residents must be doctors, nurses or respiratory therapists. For those suffering from a traumatic brain injury that list expands to include licensed rehabilitation or mental health professionals. Finally, these homes may have no more than five (5) residents living in the home at one time.

Pitts added that, “adult care homes are programs that are already seeing great success in other states around the county. These new homes will help improve the choices senior Tennesseans have when it comes to retirement.”

The legislation is expected to pass quickly in the Senate later this week and be ready for the governor’s signature before the end of the session.

The CNN report highlights an underreported aspect of the War On Terror. The fact that this soldier is right here in our midst makes the story all the more compelling.

Iraq Vet: “My Brain Will Not Let Go!”

By Thom Patterson, CNN

Un-dated photo of Spec. Jefferson on patrol in Iraq.

CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) — A year after coming home from Iraq, AJ Jefferson is still fighting the war in eerie nightmares about the bomb that left him and two comrades seriously wounded.

“I’ve been told it’s normal,” the Army specialist said with a smile, “considering what I’ve gone through.”

The 21-year-old soldier has been diagnosed by doctors with several ailments blamed on the attack, including severe post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. He’s also been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, or TBI, which often is accompanied by forgetfulness and restless sleep. – Read more at CNN.com

The most disturbing thing is that Fort Campbell soldiers and others are now gearing up to return to the Iraq theater sometime after August. If this soldier’s problems have not been adequately addressed by then, what will be his disposition? At a time when the chain of command’s priority is count every body, every body counts. It is unlikely that a medical diagnosis of PSTD or TBI would be recognized, much less allowed, to deter redeployment. That’s just not how the system works.

Spec. Jefferson wanted to continue his service. But he should be receiving appropriate mental health attention. As recent news media reports have revealed, Jefferson is not alone in his struggle to navigate the military’s system of mental health care and compensation for injuries.

Mental acuity is essential in the combat theater that is Iraq. Exposure to the extremes which are the norm there work against that acuity. Soldiers must operate under continued stress and duress. These forces take their toll on the soldiers in the forms of physical and mental fatigue.

Our soldiers need their chain of command to support their efforts to attain and retain this essential element of personal readiness and survival. We don’t condone giving nonfunctioning or defective equipment to our military personnel. Why would we condone returning a troubled, defective mind back into the stressful situation which created the problem in the first place, unrepaired. That is a recipe for further troubles and possibly disaster down the road.

This story raises several uncertainties but leaves them unresolved. That is intentional. Spec. Jefferson is in the same situation. His future is unresolved, complicated by the morass of mental stresses and bureaucratic red tape that now dominate his life. Jefferson and his comrades deserve our support. They are part of the uncalculated cost of this war.