Every day is veterans’ day for Sherri Vogt, who has evolved a family legacy of military service into serving the military.
A third-generation U.S. Army veteran who served during Desert Storm, Vogt is continuing her mission as the Hartford HealthCare veterans’ liaison, connecting them with benefits, entitlements and services available, often ones they didn’t even know existed.
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Veterans’ assistance
Some of the ways Vogt can help veterans include:
- Obtaining rightful medals, including the Connecticut Veterans Wartime Service Medal, those earned during service time, France’s Knight of the Legion of Honor Medal and Korea’s Ambassador of Peace Medal
- Registering them at the National Museum of the U.S. Army, National Museum of the U.S. Navy, and/or WWII Registry of Remembrance
- Assisting with end-of-life planning by providing information on burial options, free footstone and military honors; and obtaining burial allowances when eligible
- Obtaining discharge papers (DD214)
- Connecting to financial assistance when eligible
- Discussing possible disability and “presumptive diseases” claims
“We know that when veterans are connected to the right resources, they have better overall health outcomes,” said Carla Schnitzlein, DO, a veteran and provider with the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network. “The system can be challenging to navigate, especially if a veteran is struggling with depression, PTSD or other behavioral health concerns. It’s so important to have a Battle Buddy like Sherri to make the process that much smoother and certainly less stressful.”
Thank a veteran
“I believe every day is Veterans Day,” Vogt said. “We as an organization strive to honor, teach and embrace patients, families and veterans about benefits and connect to them to the appropriate resources.”
This Veterans Day, she urged everyone to take a moment to thank a veteran for their service.