A first-of-its-kind study looks at caregivers of veterans injured in war. Dr. Reed Tuckson, Chief of Medical Affairs for United Health Group, says their new report shows these vets receive care from only a few family members. Ninety-six percent of the time it’s the troops’ wives providing unpaid care.
“These women…find that not only do they have an extremely intense care giving responsibility day-in-and-day-out, they also have the prospects of facing that care delivery for many, many years,” he says.
The veterans may be dealing with spinal/brain injury or post-traumatic-stress-disorder.
Care giving is a burden for the spouses as they can no longer work the same amount of hours or take care of their children the same way.
In Wisconsin, the unpaid care amounts to nearly a billion dollars in savings, Tuckson says, but the burden cannot continue to be placed on these family members.
The UHC report looked at vets from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan. Tuckson says advancements in medical technology mean troops are surviving battle injuries that would have killed their predecessors decades ago.