University of Virginia Library

Veterans Visit Disabled,
Comrades In Service

A group of Vietnam veterans
have been visiting disabled veterans
in the Staunton-Charlottesville area
in an attempt to provide supportive
care to an otherwise neglected
segment of society.

Most of the cases are geriatric
patients who have served as early as
the Spanish-American War and
World War I. The trend within the
Veterans' Administration Hospital
system is directed toward the
practice of community medicine by
the placement of patients in
facilities as close to their home
towns as possible; however, due to
their age and the social alienation
which seems to be a part of a fast
changing urban society, there are
few surviving relatives who will
make regular visits to see or help
the patients.

Ed Barbour, a former combat
medic, is hopeful that supportive
care can be provided for geriatric
patients, because he says, our
society tends to isolate those whose
language and advice are considered
outdated, those who are not
engaged in gainful production, and
those who may manifest mental
illness.

The project is being coordinated
under the direction of Richard
Valentine, a V.A. social worker.
Currently there are eight volunteers
working on a regular basis, and
more are needed. Visitations are
made weekly on Saturday
mornings; however, the time
commitment for each volunteer
would only be one visit per month
from 9:00-1:00.

Interested veterans please
contact Don Hartz (293-4651),
Charles Flickner (295-6483), or
Tom Mason (296-9774).