Thursday, December 06, 2007

Hotline helps more than 8,000 Soldiers and families

The Army’s Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline has received and answered more than 8,000 calls from Soldiers, veterans, families and concerned citizens, according to the hotline’s deputy director.

The Army implemented the WSFH in March for wounded, injured or ill Soldiers and their families to share concerns about the quality of their care. It does not circumvent the chain of command, but gives Soldiers additional means to resolve medical-related issues.

The WSFH also provides senior Army leaders with visibility of medical-related issues so they can appropriately allocate resources.
According to Col. Bob Clark, deputy director, senior Army leaders receive daily reports outlining the number of calls the hotline receives, issues raised, the time it takes to resolve them and the resolution.

“Army leadership is very, very aware of what is going on, and what issues are facing our Soldiers today,“ he said.

The hotline, he said, receives three types of calls: inquiries, requests for information and issues. Some responses are as simple
as giving directions to Walter Reed. Requests for information usually require some research and may take about 24 hours.
Issue-related calls, like getting transportation to Walter Reed for Soldiers without the means, may be more in-depth.

The majority of calls are about medical issues, but the hotline also gets calls about personnel, legal, financial and other issues. Clark described the hotline as a “clearing house” that refers issues to the appropriate agencies and commands, to ensure Soldiers and their families get answers, Clark said.

According to Clark, the WSFH has success stories every day. One Vietnam veteran had been trying to get his VA benefits for seven years, but the local VA wasn’t giving him credit for combat time. The WSFH forwarded his call to the VA’s executive level, and, three weeks later, the veteran had his benefits and five years of back pay.

The WSFH can be reached at 1-800-984-9523 or Defense Switched Network at 312-328-0002, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.