DAYTON, Ohio — Health care for veterans who were exposed to burn pits and toxic substances while serving is just a phone call away.
Earlier this month the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that all veterans who came into contact with harmful hazards at home and abroad are now eligible for VA Health Care.
“The VA has been very nice to me, treatment has been very good,” said United States Air Force veteran William Steele as he looked at hats inside the lobby of the Dayton VA Medical Center.
After a routine appointment, he’s on a mission to find some new pins for his new hat.
However, pins aren’t the only thing he’s looking for.
After learning that now all veterans are eligible for care if they were exposed to toxins, it got him thinking.
“I think it’s something that’s long time overdue coming,” he said.
Steele served from 1969 to 1980. He was a mechanic and worked on jet engines.
“I was at Osan Air Base, Korea. They sent two planes back in from either Vietnam or Thailand and they were used for spraying Agent Orange. The planes were there, they had the chemicals on board. No nobody knew what it was, so we smelled it and stuff like that and we dumped it out and put mosquito spray inside of it. That was it,” he said.
From high blood pressure to even rare cancers, exposure to toxins can cause a wide range of health problems and may take decades to manifest.
“Veterans do not have to be ill to enroll for care. To be eligible they just have to show that they served at home or abroad in an operation where they could have been exposed to toxic substances,” said Dayton VA Compensation, Pension and Environmental Health Program Manager Deadra Samm.
The coverage is open to all veterans who served in the Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan and any other combat zones after Sept. 11, 2001.
To get the ball rolling, veterans need to contact the VA and answer a few questions in the screening process.
“If they were exposed to toxic substances, this could expand their healthcare at the VA,” said Samm.
“They’ll ask you several questions and they will really tailor it to your medical needs. Toxic exposures can range from how they manifest in each person,” said Dayton VA Medical Center Director Jennifer DeFrancesco.
The Dayton VA specifically has expanded its staff by more than 350 people to better accommodate that growing need for care.
“About three-quarters of our already enrolled veterans have been screened, about 33,000, and of those about half of them had at least one exposure that they qualified for expanded care within the VA,” said DeFrancesco.
Even if a veteran is not currently receiving care at the VA, they can still enroll and ask for a screening.
“We encourage every veteran to come in as soon as possible or soon as practical to really get their screening because if something does come from that, even though you may be completely healthy now, it’s already documented, you’re already in the system and you’re already queued up for that care,” DeFrancesco said.
As for Steele, he’s not only worried about himself.
“I’ve got a son that was in the Army, he is in the Army now, he was exposed to the burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq. He’s still in and he’s having some issues, but he’s active duty right now,” he said.
Steele plans to ask for the screening and, in the meantime, he’s doing his best to stay healthy and eventually found a few new pins for his hat.
“He found it. C-130 Hercules—my favorite aircraft,” he said.
There are several ways you can sign up for care through the VA to get the screening.
2. Call the toll-free hotline: 877-222-8387
3. Mail VA Form 10-10EZ to:
Health Eligibility Center
2957 Clairmont Rd., Suite 200
Atlanta, GA 30329
4. In person at the Dayton VA or nearest VA medical center or clinic
