By Kimberly Hefling
Health care for female military veterans lags behind the care offered to male vets at many VA facilities, an internal agency report says, even as women are serving on front lines at historic levels.
There are clear needs for more physicians trained in women's care and more equipment to meet women's health needs, said Friday's review by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
It did add that strides are being made, such as creating onsite mammography services and establishing women's clinics at most VA medical centers. The department also is attempting to recruit more clinicians with training in women's care.
For now, female veterans aren't getting the same quality of outpatient care as men in about one-third of the VA's 139 facilities that offer it, the report said. That appeared to validate the complaints of advocates and some members of Congress who have said more emphasis needs to be placed on women's health.
Women make up about 5 percent of the VA's population, but that is expected to nearly double in the next two years.
Paul Rieckhoff, founder of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said women veterans have complained about the lack of women's restrooms and private changing areas in some VA centers. Others have complained about the scarcity of women-only group counseling options.
"There's a definite feeling of isolation," Rieckhoff said. "There's a definite feeling that they're a minority and that big Army and big VA are still trying to understand their issues."
Any discrepancies in care are unacceptable and the agency is aggressively addressing the issue, said Dr. William E. Duncan, associate deputy undersecretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"We're striving to understand the reason for these health disparities and to eliminate differences in veterans health care based on personal characteristics," Duncan said.
Delphine Metcalf-Foster, 65, an Army veteran from the Persian Gulf War, still laughs when she recalls the first day she stepped into a VA waiting room in 1991 and the physician called out for "Mr. Metcalf."
"I knew he was talking about me, but I wouldn't move," said Metcalf-Foster, a member of the nonprofit Disabled American Veterans in Vallejo, Calif. "Of course, they weren't used to women there."
Despite that, Metcalf-Foster said, she thinks the VA has listened to the concerns of women like her, and has adapted as more women have sought care.
Silva Royer, 64, a Vietnam-era veteran who volunteers at the VA center in Biloxi, Miss., said she would like to see the VA reach out to more women veterans and encourage them to take advantage of the health care — particularly mental health help — to which they are entitled.
"I still think they still look at the VA as, that's where my grandpa went," Royer said.
Overall, women make up about 14 percent of the U.S. Armed Forces. Of the 1.7 million troops who have deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 190,000 — or about 11 percent — are women.
The VA's review noted that other studies have found better surgical outcomes and decreased mortality for women at VA hospitals compared to women who receive care under the Medicare Advantage Program or under private care.
And, performance of breast and cervical cancer screening exceeds that of commercial and some government plans.
Data were not available to compare the inpatient quality of care between men and women.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who is on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said in a statement that the findings confirm what she has been hearing from women veterans for years.
She encouraged passage of legislation that would, among other things, force the agency to do comprehensive studies of women veterans' care and conduct a pilot program providing child care for veterans seeking mental health care.
Among the other findings of new report:
_Older and younger veterans appear to be receiving the same quality of care;
_About 86 percent of homeless veterans seen by VA received primary care, mental health care and/or substance abuse services;
_About 98 percent of appointments were completed within 30 days in primary care clinics and about 97 percent were completed during that period at specialty clinics;
_Overall quality of care appears to be good when reviewed using commonly accepted health care benchmarks;
_Minority veterans surveyed were generally less satisfied with inpatient and outpatient care than white veterans, but it wasn't clear if the quality of care offered was different. A more comprehensive study of care for minority veterans is expected to be complete this summer.
By Tami Abdollah
Vinyl shower curtains sold at major retailers across the country emit toxic chemicals that have been linked to serious health problems, according to a report released Thursday by a national environmental organization.
The curtains contained high concentrations of chemicals that are linked to liver damage as well as damage to the central nervous, respiratory and reproductive systems, said researchers for the Virginia-based Center for Health, Environment & Justice.
The organization commissioned the study about two years ago to determine what caused that "new shower curtain smell" familiar to many consumers.
"This smell can make you feel sick, give you a headache, make you feel nauseous or [cause] other health effects," said Michael Schade, a coauthor of the report.
Researchers tested the chemical composition of five unopened polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, plastic shower curtains bought from Bed Bath & Beyond, Kmart, Sears, Target and Wal-Mart. One of the curtains was then tested to determine the chemicals it released into the air.
The study found that PVC shower curtains contained high concentrations of phthalates, which have been linked to reproductive effects, and varying concentrations of organotins, which are compounds based on tin and hydrocarbons. One of the curtains tested released measurable quantities of as many as 108 volatile organic compounds into the air, some of which persisted for nearly a month.
Seven of these chemicals -- toluene, ethylbenzene, phenol, methyl isobutyl ketone, xylene, acetophenone and cumene -- have been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as hazardous air pollutants, said Stephen Lester, the center's science director and a coauthor of the report.
Potential health effects include developmental damage and harm to the liver and the central nervous, respiratory and reproductive systems, according to the report.
Phthalates and organotins, which are not chemically bonded to the shower curtain, are often added to soften or otherwise enhance the curtain. These additives evaporate or cling to household dust more easily than the chemicals in the curtains themselves, Lester said. Volatile organic compounds also evaporate more easily than the less harmful chemicals, he said.
Vinyl chloride, which is a major building block of PVC, is a known human carcinogen that causes liver cancer, Lester said.
"PVC is just bad from cradle to cradle," said Martha Dina Argüello, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility. "It's a mess when you create, it's a mess when you get rid of it, and it's off-gassing when you're using it."
Representatives of Target and Sears Holding Co., the parent company of Kmart, said their companies were phasing out curtains that contain PVC. Target said about 90% of the store's "owned brand" shower curtains offered this spring were made of materials other than PVC. Officials from the other companies were not immediately available for comment Thursday.
The report said that Bed Bath & Beyond had increased the number of PVC-free shower curtains it offered by selling those made of ethylene vinyl acetate and fabrics, but that Wal-Mart did not respond to the organization's faxes or letters requesting the retailer's PVC policy.
The American Chemistry Council issued a statement Thursday saying there was "no reliable evidence" that phthalates were harmful or linked to serious health problems, or that they were tied to the new shower curtain smell.
Argüello said studies were still being done on the effects of phthalates and other chemicals on people.
Little information on toxicity is available for 86 of the 108 chemicals detected in the curtains, Lester said.
The EPA has tested vinyl shower curtains and in 2002 said it had found that many of the same chemicals listed in the center's report.
Lester said the test drew attention to the lack of government regulations or health-based guidelines governing indoor air pollutants.
"The EPA does not regulate indoor air, period," said Barbara Spark, the indoor air program coordinator for the EPA's Pacific Southwest region. "We have not been given that authority by the Congress."
The Center for Health, Environment & Justice sent a letter to 19 major retailers Thursday informing them of the new report and encouraging them to stop selling PVC products.
"Most companies aren't aware of some of the risks these products entail," Lester said. "Once they're informed of this, they're in many cases ready to make changes and purchase alternative products."
By Tami Abdollah
Vinyl shower curtains sold at major retailers across the country emit toxic chemicals that have been linked to serious health problems, according to a report released Thursday by a national environmental organization.
The curtains contained high concentrations of chemicals that are linked to liver damage as well as damage to the central nervous, respiratory and reproductive systems, said researchers for the Virginia-based Center for Health, Environment & Justice.
The organization commissioned the study about two years ago to determine what caused that "new shower curtain smell" familiar to many consumers.
"This smell can make you feel sick, give you a headache, make you feel nauseous or [cause] other health effects," said Michael Schade, a coauthor of the report.
Researchers tested the chemical composition of five unopened polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, plastic shower curtains bought from Bed Bath & Beyond, Kmart, Sears, Target and Wal-Mart. One of the curtains was then tested to determine the chemicals it released into the air.
The study found that PVC shower curtains contained high concentrations of phthalates, which have been linked to reproductive effects, and varying concentrations of organotins, which are compounds based on tin and hydrocarbons. One of the curtains tested released measurable quantities of as many as 108 volatile organic compounds into the air, some of which persisted for nearly a month.
Seven of these chemicals -- toluene, ethylbenzene, phenol, methyl isobutyl ketone, xylene, acetophenone and cumene -- have been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as hazardous air pollutants, said Stephen Lester, the center's science director and a coauthor of the report.
Potential health effects include developmental damage and harm to the liver and the central nervous, respiratory and reproductive systems, according to the report.
Phthalates and organotins, which are not chemically bonded to the shower curtain, are often added to soften or otherwise enhance the curtain. These additives evaporate or cling to household dust more easily than the chemicals in the curtains themselves, Lester said. Volatile organic compounds also evaporate more easily than the less harmful chemicals, he said.
Vinyl chloride, which is a major building block of PVC, is a known human carcinogen that causes liver cancer, Lester said.
"PVC is just bad from cradle to cradle," said Martha Dina Argüello, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility. "It's a mess when you create, it's a mess when you get rid of it, and it's off-gassing when you're using it."
Representatives of Target and Sears Holding Co., the parent company of Kmart, said their companies were phasing out curtains that contain PVC. Target said about 90% of the store's "owned brand" shower curtains offered this spring were made of materials other than PVC. Officials from the other companies were not immediately available for comment Thursday.
The report said that Bed Bath & Beyond had increased the number of PVC-free shower curtains it offered by selling those made of ethylene vinyl acetate and fabrics, but that Wal-Mart did not respond to the organization's faxes or letters requesting the retailer's PVC policy.
The American Chemistry Council issued a statement Thursday saying there was "no reliable evidence" that phthalates were harmful or linked to serious health problems, or that they were tied to the new shower curtain smell.
Argüello said studies were still being done on the effects of phthalates and other chemicals on people.
Little information on toxicity is available for 86 of the 108 chemicals detected in the curtains, Lester said.
The EPA has tested vinyl shower curtains and in 2002 said it had found that many of the same chemicals listed in the center's report.
Lester said the test drew attention to the lack of government regulations or health-based guidelines governing indoor air pollutants.
"The EPA does not regulate indoor air, period," said Barbara Spark, the indoor air program coordinator for the EPA's Pacific Southwest region. "We have not been given that authority by the Congress."
The Center for Health, Environment & Justice sent a letter to 19 major retailers Thursday informing them of the new report and encouraging them to stop selling PVC products.
"Most companies aren't aware of some of the risks these products entail," Lester said. "Once they're informed of this, they're in many cases ready to make changes and purchase alternative products."
No comments:
Post a Comment