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Bill seeks better treatment for eye injuries

A bill aimed at improving eye care for U.S. troops was unveiled Monday by a bipartisan group of 13 lawmakers.

The Military Eye Trauma Treatment Act of 2007 would create a special research and treatment center for military eye injuries. It also requires doctors from the military and veterans’ health care systems to work together on a program to treat eye problems for combat veterans who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., an optometrist, is chief sponsor of the bill, HR 3558.

“Serious eye wounds are among the most common injuries incurred by our troops in our current conflicts,” Boozman said, adding that about 54 percent of people treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center who have traumatic brain injuries are also reporting vision problems.

At the VA’s Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center in Palo Alto, Calif., 70 percent of those with brain injuries have vision problems, he said.

And between October 2001 and June 2006, more than 1,000 troops evacuated from the combat zone had serious eye injuries, he said.

The military has an extensive combat eye protection program, but that is not enough to protect against all injuries, especially from the blasts of improvised explosive devices — the cause of many severe injuries in Iraq. Army research anticipates that 10 percent of wounded troops will have eye injuries, usually in addition to other wounds or injuries.

Getting the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs to work together on such issues is important, Boozman said.

“Adequate communication and a smooth transition from the military to VA is important on many fronts, including those who have suffered severe eye injuries,” he said. “This type of communication is what I learned was needed when I looked into the eye care programs at Walter Reed this past July.”

Co-sponsors include Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman, and 11 other House members: Democrats Shelly Berkley of Nevada, Marion Berry of Arkansas, Robert Brady of Pennsylvania, Bart Gordon of Tennessee, John Hall of New York, James McGovern of Massachusetts and Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia, and Republicans Gus Bilirakis of Florida, Robin Hayes of North Carolina, Jeff Miller of Florida and Heather Wilson of New Mexico.

A similar bill, which also has bipartisan support, has been introduced in the Senate.