” John is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working on a collaborative basis with like-minded organizations to accomplish mutually aligned goals.”
Veteran Service Organizations and social and medical organizations are among some of the organizations John has been successful in establishing meaningful relationships.
John has also formed relationships with Congress and Committee members with the intention of bettering the lives of veterans and their families.
As a result of the above relationships, John has been instrumental in linking a Congressional Sponsor and a Senate Sponsor of separate bills. Together they formulated what eventually became known as the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA Act). John along with various VSOs, then assisted to pass earlier versions and then the completed Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. Among other activities, this legislation is the ordered initiation of pilot programs on complementary medicine modalities.
John also worked with US Congress to initiate a Government Accountability Office Investigation (GAO) that resulted in the GAO findings, that there was no VA evidence that veterans were informed of both the side effects of medications and the treatment options that were available.
He also initiated legislation to analyze if there were links between veteran suicides and medications that carried a black box warning.
Part of his legislation was tagged onto the National Defense Authorization Act. It was then passed by both Houses of Congress and signed into law by the President. It caused the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to carry out a study, into veteran suicides and whether there exist any links to opioids and benzodiazepines.
It is essential that medical doctors reinstate their optimum operating basis:
First, do no harm. Perform a comprehensive case history. And then follow this up with a differential diagnosis (eliminate all possible causes, until the correct cause is isolated and confirmed).
John views a correct diagnosis as foundational. This is key to resolving the underlying problem and as a result, the veteran’s symptoms.
It is the treatment of symptoms, with medications, that can create more symptoms, that should be scrutinized. The medications may provide needed temporary relief. However, it is still crucial to tenaciously pursue the source of the ailment. Such is in the best interest of the veteran. Doing so also will result in a true appreciation and confidence in the medical establishments and medical system in general.