Wanted: 10 new coordinators to help wounded

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Wanted: 10 new coordinators to help wounded
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 31, 2007 13:39:20 EDT

The federal government has launched an effort to hire coordinators to help the most seriously wounded combat veterans transition from the military health care system to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

An agreement signed Wednesday between the Defense Department and VA sets the stage for 10 “federal recovery coordinators” to be hired by Dec. 1 to oversee and arrange care for combat-injured troops. More coordinators could be hired later.

VA spokesman Matt Smith said officials were confident they could hire 10 qualified people in about a month, an ambitious prospect given the complicated federal hiring process. Ideal candidates would have experience dealing with managed health care and with the military and veterans’ health care systems, VA officials said.

How easy it will be to find people with that mix of skills is unclear, but there is expected to be no lack of applicants — the jobs pay between $83,000 and $149,000.

The first group of coordinators will be assigned in January to the four major military health facilities — two Army and two Navy — to help severely injured or ill combat veterans and their families.

VA officials said the new employees will be responsible for coordinating medical services between military and veterans’ facilities, and private-sector facilities if they are needed, and also will help troops and families deal with the federal bureaucracy.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/military_veterancoordinators_071031w/