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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Ashton Stewart, Member of Veteran Advisory Board, Secretary of Saint Albans Board of Visitors, and Member of VFW Post 528
1:32:53
ยท
3 min
Ashton Stewart, a member of various veteran organizations, provided testimony on the importance of veteran mental health services and the challenges faced by aging veterans. He highlighted recent experiences with PTSD cases and the need for increased support and cultural competence in veteran care.
- Emphasized the correlation between PTSD, dementia, and TBI in veterans, particularly Vietnam veterans
- Shared personal experiences with veteran suicide prevention and the importance of resources for families and caregivers
- Discussed the development of educational tools, including a pocket card with QR codes, to improve provider competence in veteran care
Ashton Stewart
1:32:53
Thank you so much, chair Holden, and, and city department of veteran services, commissioner Hendon.
1:33:00
My name is Ashton Stewart.
1:33:01
I'm a member of the veteran advisory board, secretary of Saint Albans board of visitors, and member of VFW Post five two eight, who is a recipient of the Dwyer program.
1:33:12
They're very excited about that.
1:33:14
I submitted my testimony.
1:33:15
I just wanted to highlight a few important things in there.
1:33:19
First and foremost, I participated in a veteran mental health coalition presentation with the city department of veteran services last week talking about the correlation between PTSD, dementia, and TBI.
1:33:32
New research is coming out about this all the time.
1:33:35
It's super important to learn more about it and to educate other providers to try to address some of the issues that you were bringing up.
1:33:43
Just this month I had two PTSD cases, Vietnam Veterans.
1:33:48
I was driving over to one's house to give him a proclamation and honor his service, and I knew that he had survivor's guilt.
1:33:58
And the wife called me when I was just about to get there telling me we gotta reschedule.
1:34:03
And I learned the next day that it was because he was having suicide and homicidal tendencies, and they had to remove him and put him in another facility.
1:34:12
He was on home hospice before that.
1:34:15
Needless to say, it made me feel very conflicted, like if I would've got there sooner, would it have made it better?
1:34:21
Would it have made him more triggered?
1:34:24
I don't know.
1:34:26
But we have resources for families to share through the We Honor Veterans Program which MJHS is a part of, to show caregivers and providers how to recognize PTSD and how to comfort the patient, redirect them, put some music on, just acknowledge them and try to understand that when the mind is weakened because of dementia or other health conditions, this can happen, especially Vietnam Veterans and we're seeing more and more in our hospice program at MGHS.
1:34:59
I was working with DBS this morning, getting the indigent burial reimbursement put in place for a veteran with no family and no income.
1:35:08
I can't tell you how important these programs are.
1:35:13
The statistics that the commissioner shared are staggering with the aging population of veterans.
1:35:19
I've been beating my drum about this for months.
1:35:21
We could really use some support.
1:35:22
I need some help in my program because I'm the only person running it right now at MJHS, but we really want to be able to be there for the veterans and their families.
1:35:32
We're also designing a pocket card with the State Department of Veterans Services to help educate providers.
1:35:37
There's less than 3% in New York State who are culturally competent to work with veterans and we really want to make a change on this.
1:35:45
We are putting QR codes and resources within the card so they'll know exactly what to do and how to engage with the veterans.
1:35:52
Thank you so much for the opportunity to share my testimony.
Robert Holden
1:35:54
And thank you.