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foxnews.com/tech/microsoft-teams-up-with-the-va-to-help-wounded-warriors
As part of a new pilot program, 22 VA facilities around the country will be receiving a gift from Microsoft: X-Box Adaptive Controllers, which are specially designed for gamers with mental or physical disabilities. "We owe so much to the service and sacrifice of our Veterans, and as a company, we are committed to supporting them," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a press statement. "Our X-Box Adaptive Controller was designed to make gaming more accessible to millions of people worldwide, and we're partnering with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to bring the device to Veterans with limited mobility."
The military hospitals will be using them to help rehabilitate wounded warriors, and X-Box chief Phil Spencer says if it's successful - the program could expand. The collaboration aims to improve rehabilitation and recreation for veterans by challenging muscle activation and hand-eye coordination, and encouraging greater participation in social and recreational activities. That will include participation in e-sports as well as traditional solo gaming.
(Score: 2) by sshelton76 on Monday May 06 2019, @05:26PM
Well I agree with you on most of that. Also I wasn't considering acute mental health care in my assessment because I've never needed to avail myself of it.
The military changes you. You are not the same person coming out that you were going in. Many of us get out and our family loses the ability to relate. We see things, things we can't really talk about, things we don't really want to talk about. But if you don't want to be homeless, you need family. No one can live a life being completely alone. You lose that family connection and you end up homeless. Some turn to drugs and alcohol and that exacerbates the problem.
As for me. I've availed myself of acute care at the VA on 3 occasions at 2 different hospitals, SLC and Grand Junction of all places. The GJ hospital seems to be there more for mental health support, but I had an accident involving a finger and a saw. I was seen right away, got stitched up and I was on my way in the space of four hours. Honestly spent more time answering questions about how the saw manage to do what it did and if it was in fact a cry for help, no it wasn't, but a word of personal advice don't sneeze when running a power saw.
Personally I've had no problems with the VA. For all other care, we've used third party providers mostly because of locale. We don't live anywhere near a VA hospital and so tend to use contract facilities. Either way I've never had a problem and my family has been in the military for literally generations. Maybe we've just gotten used to it. But prior to service I had Blue Cross and Blue Shield through an employer and wouldn't go back to that level of service if they paid me.