Bill > S4009

This bill, known as the Veterans STAND Act or the Veterans Spinal Trauma Access to New Devices Act, aims to improve the provision of preventative health evaluations and access to assistive technologies for veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders. The key provisions include: 1. Requiring the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide annual preventative health evaluations to veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders, which will assess the veteran's risk of health complications, chronic pain management, dietary and weight management, and the need for prosthetic equipment and assistive technologies. 2. Mandating the Secretary to consult with spinal cord injury and disorder program managers, clinicians, and veterans' organizations in developing guidance and regulations for these evaluations. 3. Requiring the Secretary to ensure veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders are informed about the availability of these evaluations and their benefits. 4. Directing the Secretary to consider the provision of these evaluations when reviewing the performance metrics of the Veterans Integrated Service Network. 5. Requiring the Secretary to submit biennial reports to Congress on the number of veterans using and assessed for assistive technologies, as well as the year-to-year change in the percentage of veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders who received the annual evaluation. The overall goal of this bill is to improve the comprehensive care and support provided to veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders, particularly by increasing their access to preventative health evaluations and assistive technologies.