Wounds of War : : How the VA Delivers Health, Healing, and Hope to the Nation's Veterans / / Suzanne Gordon.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Cornell University Press Complete eBook-Package 2018
• VerfasserIn: Gordon, Suzanne,
• Place / Publishing House: Ithaca, NY : : Cornell University Press, , [2018]; ©2018
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Series: The Culture and Politics of Health Care Work
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (464 p.)

U.S. military conflicts abroad have left nine million Americans dependent on the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for medical care. Their "wounds of war" are treated by the largest hospital system in the country—one that has come under fire from critics in the White House, on Capitol Hill, and in the nation's media.In Wounds of War, Suzanne Gordon draws on five years of observational research to describe how the VHA does a better job than private sector institutions offering primary and geriatric care, mental health and home care services, and support for patients nearing the end of life. In the unusual culture of solidarity between patients and providers that the VHA has fostered, Gordon finds a working model for higher-quality health care and a much-needed alternative to the practice of for-profit medicine.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- List of Abbreviations -- Introduction: What Kind of Care for Veterans? -- 1. Promises Broken and Kept: A Short History of the VHA -- 2. Those Who Have Borne the Battle: The VHA’s Patient Population -- 3. Primary Care the Way It Should Be -- 4. Healing Minds and Bodies: Integrated Mental Health Care and Primary Care -- 5. Dealing with a World of Hurt: VHA Treatment of Chronic Pain -- 6. When Wounded Warriors Are Women: Caring for Female Veterans -- 7. Mental Health the Way It Should Be -- 8. Unpacking PTSD: From Diagnosis to Effective Treatment -- 9. Returning to Civilian Life: Veterans on Campus -- 10. Suicide Prevention: VHA Programs That Save Lives -- 11. Overcoming Disability: VA Rehabilitation Services -- 12. Transcending Trauma: The Martinez Cognitive Rehabilitation Program -- 13. Off the Streets: Reducing Veteran Homelessness -- 14. Alternatives to Jail: Veterans’ Justice Programs -- 15. Specializing in Elder Care: The VA and Geriatrics -- 16. Knocking on Heaven’s Door: The VA and End-of-Life Care -- 17. Better Care Where? The VHA Compared to the Private Sector -- Notes -- Index -- About the Author