If you are a Veteran diagnosed with a Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) or had an amputation resulting from diabetes, we would like to speak with you. You may contact us at (571) 549-4268.

We are contacting you seeking your help. Please publish and communicated the message below to your members and their families.
 
SEEKING VETERANS WITH DIABETIC FOOT ULCERS (DFU’s) WHO HAVE BEEN TREATED IN THE PAST OR ARE CURRENTLY RECEIVING OR SEEKING TREATMENT. AND WE SEEK FAMILIES OF VETERANS WHO DIED WITHIN 3 TO 5 YEARS AFTER HAVING A DFU.
 
If you are a Veteran diagnosed with a Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) or had an amputation resulting from diabetes, we would like to speak with you. You may contact us at
(571) 549-4268.
 
Veterans:
 
We need your help!   We are trying to bring visibility and awareness to all Veterans of their medical and legal rights to access to a life-saving FDA approved treatment not being offered by the VA. Our country’s Veterans are suffering a health crisis amid epidemics that in too many cases are being ignored by a negligent Veterans Health Administration.
 
Relevant facts include:

• The VA has amputated on average 6,032 DFU Veterans annually, an estimated 84,000 limbs.
• Approximately 71% die from related complications within the first five years, an estimated 60,000 unnecessary deaths.
• CMS in 2002 and Tricare in 2008 approved Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) for Diabetic Foot Ulcers.
• HBOT prescribed and administered to Wagner Grade III or higher DFUs heals 50-70% of these wounds, eliminating amputation and saving 30,000-42,000 Veterans’ lives.
• There are over 1,156 hospitals and 130 private clinics across the country with HBOT chambers with medical staff to administer treatments today.
• The VA has authority and federal mandates under the 2018 VA Mission Act, and the Community Care Act, to inform, prescribe, and treat DFU Veterans with HBOT.
• DFU Veterans are NOT being informed by medical staff of this life saving FDA approved treatment. The Code of Medical Ethics demands that patients be told of all available treatments; this is known as “Informed Consent”.
• There are 14 FDA/12 CMS/11 Tricare approved HBOT indications. Veterans are legally entitled to be told about HBOT. “Informed Consent” is a medical right for all.
• The VA has a statutory obligation to provide quality care to Veterans with DFUs. The MISSION Act obligates the VA to pay for care outside the VA when that care is not provided by the VA. The VA has no HBOT chamber capability inside the VA.
• Veteran suicide rate has increased steadily for the past 15 years; twenty per day, 7,300 per year, or an estimated 109,000 since 9/11. What the VA is doing is NOT working. Certainly contributing to this suicide crisis is the VA’s attitude about HBOT and “Informed Consent” for DFU Veterans!

What We are Asking:

The TreatNOW Coalition [ www.treatnow.org ] is seeking to contact Veterans and their family members who have Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFUs), have experienced DFUs, treated or untreated, in the past or present.
 
TreatNOW is primarily veterans working pro bono to stop the suicide epidemic and restore rights to Veterans who have not been adequately diagnosed and treated by the VA for their wounds. We are seeking allies in identifying and getting help to deserving Veterans. Our current focus with this ALERT is to find Veterans and family members willing to come forward and talk about their experiences with Diabetic Foot Ulcers.
 
If you are a Veteran diagnosed with DFU or had an amputation resulting from diabetics, we would like to speak with you. You may contact us at (571) 549-4268.

James L. Bauerle
Brigadier General, USA (Ret)
TreatNOW.Org
317-844-6432
bgjimbauerle@gmail.com