More support Anne Milko-Delpier, a social worker at Lutz, coordinates community oversight for those who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom. Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense began the Seamless Transition project in 2003 to help soldiers returning home find care and support. "If the military hospital calls to set up a liaison for a veteran with a severe injury, we assign a caseworker and ask what they need," Milko-Delpier said. "Then the veteran doesn't have to come home and figure it out. We get appointments set. They have enough to do when they get home." Seamless Transition offers employment services, financial and family support, transportation and some skilled home care, Milko-Delpier said. "A lot of them need all of it," she said. "Some are reservists who have lost jobs. If they have injuries, they might not be able to work. Spouses may have to care for them and can't work. This sacrifice is a whole family event. If they are injured, their fight continues." Lutz staffers go to deployment briefings to explain benefits and attend homecoming and reunions at service centers. They hand out cards with key phone numbers for veterans seeking help. Sears said he can see the difference. The care has improved greatly since his first tour of duty in Iraq in 2003, he said. "There is more support, more accolades," he said. "The first time I came home, I had no support, no counseling. I had to seek it out on my own and paid for it on my own. They didn't know what was going on with the soldiers. As the war continues, they are learning." This time, he completed screenings at Lutz and met with social workers, who offered monthly sessions, but he chose to return to his church counselor instead of buying gas for the drive from Midland. "I've had soldiers in my unit who don't want to come here," Sears said. "They say they're fine. But in two months, who's to say? I recommend they all come and get their care provided." Persuading veterans to use the center is a familiar battle for Lutz's director. Extended military benefits provide five years of free health care for veterans who served in combat since 1998. There is no time limit for service-related health problems. Free care also is there for low-income veterans, and more are claiming benefits as the unemployment rate rises, Perez said. "Some don't come here because they are fearful of the VA," he said. "Some are very independent and go to private doctors. We see this from any era, and it's a challenge for us." More physical therapy Since fighting began in Afghanistan in late 2001 and in Iraq in 2003, more than 31,200 U.S. soldiers have suffered injury in action -- 14,000 of them seriously wounded and no longer able to serve, the Department of Defense's official tally as of March 17 reports. Wounded soldiers don't come directly to Saginaw from the Middle East. They enroll for care at Lutz after their discharge or after leaving other military and veterans hospitals. Lutz serves veterans from 35 counties stretching from mid-Michigan to the Mackinaw Bridge. Offering mostly outpatient care, it staffs clinics in Gaylord, Oscoda and Traverse City. Clinics in Alpena and Clare will open this year. Funding for mental health care has tripled, and mental health staff has increased to 40 workers from 10, officials said. Gutierrez had seven surgeries and recuperated for a month and a half in military hospitals abroad and stateside. He arrived home April 29 and started physical therapy at Lutz. His leg has improved. When he arrived, he couldn't straighten it and used crutches to walk. Gutierrez walks on his own now but still has a hard time moving around in the mornings or after sitting for long periods, he said. "The pain will be with me for the rest of my life," he said. He is working at odd painting jobs and getting ready to enroll at Delta College. He may study to become a parole or corrections officer. He once wanted to become a police officer, but his leg injuries led him to reconsider. Treatment A newly expanded physical therapy department opened two months ago at Lutz, with more space and new equipment, Seward said. "We have more demand, and a new (physical therapy) supervisor who has new ideas about research and modalities of care. We work with newly injured veterans and older veterans with strokes and after surgery. Our population continues to shift. We also have in-home therapy." In treating veterans of all wars, the center's staff sees about 500 outpatients a day in Saginaw and at clinics in Gaylord, Oscoda and Traverse City. The center opened in 1950 was named in 1990 to honor Lt. Aleda E. Lutz, a U.S. Army flight nurse from Freeland who died in 1944 when a hospital plane evacuating wounded soldiers from Italy crashed. She earned six battle stars and was the first military woman to die in a combat zone in World War II. The center is the first VA facility named for a military woman. In addition to mental health care, physical therapy and rehabilitation, the center offers speech therapy, oncology, outpatient substance abuse treatment, home health services, cardiology, hospice care, a diabetes clinic, urology and women's health care, as well as general outpatient care. Veterans also have dental benefits. Saginaw's center has about 800 employees and an annual budget of more than $100 million, Perez said. | Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | [ Compensation News ]