Long-term care a challenge for soldiers

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http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-wvets05.html

In World War II, for every soldier killed in combat, there were three wounded on the battlefield, according to historians with the U.S. Army Medical Command. In Korea, the ratio of killed-to-wounded was one to four. The ratio was the same for Vietnam. In Iraq, the ratio is one to 12.

"If they're alive when medical care gets to them, 98 percent are surviving," said Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, one of the top medical officers for the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

Those combat survivors -- along with thousands more service members in Iraq and Afghanistan who are injured or who fall ill off the battlefield -- will add to the growing demand for services from an already struggling federal Veterans Affairs Department. The Sun-Times reported Friday that the VA's regional office in Chicago is among the stingiest in the nation when it comes to deciding how much to pay disabled Illinois vets.

As the growing ranks of the wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan leave the military, they will be ready to apply for health care and disability benefits from the VA. The question is: Will the VA be ready for them?

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