Just Ask Campaign

In 2023, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans Services (EOVS) awarded the Western Massachusetts Veterans Outreach Project with a grant to pursue several interrelated goals in line with our mission. The grant's objective is to determine how veterans and active military personnel, along with their families, are being treated in the civilian healthcare sector. The goals for the objective are:

Determine if and how civilian healthcare providers are screening patients for military connections.

If a provider does not screen for military connections, are they willing to start?
If a provider does screen for military connections, what terminology is used in the screening question? Is it limited to "veteran" status, or does it include other military connections like spouses and dependents of veterans and military personnel?

Just asking the question can lead to a significant improvement in treatment outcomes for persons who may not voluntarily divulge their military-connected status for various reasons.

Asking a just question is inclusive of all persons who may have military-connected ailments. These conditions include Secondary Trauma, Domestic Violence, Moral Injury, and more.

II.

Determine what treatments and programs the provider offers to military-connected patients. Is the protocol evidence-based and experience-specific to the diagnosis?

Is there a military Post-Traumatic Stress program, or a program focused on Moral Injury or MST?
Does the provider refer military-connected patients to the Veterans Health Administration or civilian providers specializing in caring for clients with military-connected ailments.

III.

Determine what educational and supportive materials the provider needs to improve the treatment of their military-connected patients, and offer assistance in gathering those resources. This assistance may include training sessions conducted by WMVOP team members and affiliates.

Our team has been coordinating the Just Ask Campaign with River Valley Counseling Center, Valley Medical Group, Baystate Health, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Holyoke Medical Center, and Holyoke Health Center. And we are working toward partnering with more healthcare providers such as Berkshire Health and Mercy Hospital.