Garrity, Cartwright, Meuser still seeking answers from Wilkes-Barre VA

WILKES-BARRE — U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright and Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity have co-authored another letter to Russell E. Lloyd, Director at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center, with “suggestions for constructive consideration and action.”

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, also has been actively seeking resolutions to the concerns raised without much response from the VA.

In recent months, Garrity and Cartwright, D-Moosic, have raised concerns about how veterans are being treated at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center and they have been critical of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s policies regarding visitation and social interactions.

A request for comment from the VA Medical Center was declined.

The letter from Garrity and Cartwright, dated July 31, addresses several ongoing issues at the VA and urges resolutions to all.

“We want Wilkes-Barre VAMC to be the best it can be, so we write again with suggestions for constructive consideration and action,” the letter stated.

The issues raised in the letter are:

• Group therapy meetings — viewed by veterans themselves as highly effective mental health care.

“The mental health care value of group therapy sessions for veterans with PTSD may be unconventional, irregular, hard to fully define, and hard to measure, but every indication coming from the Wilkes-Barre VAMC’s former group therapy patients is that the value is high and their positive outcomes are not achievable by any other means.

“Veterans know and understand other veterans better than anyone else. They can put themselves in each other’s shoes well. They have experience working through similar mental and emotional challenges. Group therapy opens the door to sharing, something that cannot happen between two individuals who do not have similar experiences, especially the unique experiences of veterans.”

The letter states that “group” allows for advice that is not learned in a medical manual, but, rather, formed through real world experiences.

“It’s learned through a track record of self-dealing with problems, setbacks, mental health care successes, and the emotions that come from those experiences,” the letter states. “Group sessions, especially for older veterans who have lost family members and other friends, become a form of family. They are the only way to reinforce the truth that veterans struggling with mental health challenges as a result of their military service are not alone.”

Garrity and Cartwright state in the letter that “former Wilkes-Barre VAMC group therapy patients should get back into group quickly and not become bogged down by administrative red tape.”

Garrity and Cartwright said they are aware that the Wilkes-Barre VAMC recently announced the resumption of in-person group therapy services at the Medical Center.

“We urge you to set up a system that will get every veteran who can benefit from group sessions back into those sessions in August. If there was ever a moment that deserved extra attention, we feel strongly that this is it.”

• Hurdles to addressing problem areas at the Medical Center should be lowered.

Cartwright and Garrity stated if there are needs not being met at the Wilkes-Barre VAMC that additional volunteers would benefit patients and residents. They said volunteers should be required to follow the same safety protocols for other visitors entering the Medical and Community Living Centers.

“But a shortage of them should not be exacerbated by placing additional burdens on them that other visitors are not required to bear, like vaccine requirements,” the letter states. “In addition to reducing the help you can get from volunteers, inconsistent standards are confusing and unfair. We urge you treat all those entering the Center uniformly.”

• Recreational outings for CLC residents need to be back to pre-pandemic standards.

“By only allowing for recreational outings during the week, when VAMC staffing is highest, our veterans will miss many weekend events hosted by local VFWs and other veteran organizations that traditionally host events on the weekends when they have enough volunteers to properly run them,” the letter states. “The day of the week that an event is scheduled should not be the sole factor that determines whether our veterans can participate.”

Cartwright and Garrity said: ”Our message here is meant to be constructive and consistent with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.”

Rep. Meuser involved

Meuser said he has been “very involved” since October 2022 trying to get answers from the local VA, but he said the response has been limited.

“I have many veterans who live in my district who have expressed concern about the procedures at the Wilkes-Barre VA,” Meuser said. “I have written numerous letters and have attended several meetings on those issues.”

Meuser said the Lebanon VA Medical Center, two hours south of Wilkes-Barre, has been named the top VAMC in the country for patient experience for the past two years and it has won several other awards. Meuser said the Lebanon facility has a consistent policy for those entering the facility, with the same vaccine requirements for staff or volunteers.

“We only hear positive comments about the Lebanon VA,” Meuser said. “They have been very accommodating to the veterans and their families.”

Meuser also said he has been advised that the Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs office has agreed to send representatives to the Wilkes-Barre VA to evaluate the situation.

“The Wilkes-Barre VA needs to be more responsive,” Meuser said.