Joint Personnel Support Unit a "One-Stop Service"
for Injured Soldiers Opens its Doors

The first Integrated Personnel Support Centre (IPSC) of the Joint Personnel Support Unit (JPSU) for the care of wounded, injured and ill CF personnel (Regular Force and Reserve), veterans, and their families opened in CFB Edmonton on March 3, 2009 with an official opening expected later in the month. The new unit replaces the Service Personnel Holding List (SPHL) administrative structure. The JPSU is the umbrella unit with regional headquarters, and the Unit Identification Code to which the wounded, injured and ill are posted. The IPSC is where they report to and receive the services.

Although the delivery of casualty support services at the base, wing, and formation level had been occurring as long as the CF has been training, employing and sending members into theatre of operations, leadership has recognized that the case management system was overly complex and disjointed and needed to be improved. The JPSU, a combined Canadian Forces and Veterans Affairs Canada service delivery model, was developed to address the shortcomings.

One-Stop Service
"The IPSC provides a CF and VAC integrated "one-stop service" with the following core functions: Return to Work Program Coordination; Casualty Support Outreach delivery; Casualty Tracking; Casualty Administrative and advocacy services; Support Platoon structure to provide military leadership, supervision, and administrative support; VAC client and transition services; CF case management services; SISIP services; Liaison for Military Family Resource Centers with local Base support representatives and local Unit Commanding Officers, " said Lieutenant-Colonel Joe Pollock, Officer Commanding of the Regional JPSU HQ for Alberta and Northern Region.

"The primary goal of the JPSU, and their IPSCs is to retain as many as possible of our wounded injured and ill soldiers through the above mentioned programs, provide the required rehabilitation that the soldiers require or make available a full range of top-level support to allow for a transition to civilian live through vocational rehabilitation in a manner that is dignified and responsive to the soldiers’ needs," added LCol Pollock.

Universality of Service
The CF care of the wounded, injured and ill policy provides that, after assignment of a permanent medical category, an administrative review will be conducted to place the member in one of the following categories:

• Those who meet universality of service standards: Members are fit for retention, rehabilitation, return to work, and/or full employment in their own or a new occupation;

• Those who do not meet universality of service standards but are employable: Members will have access to a range of treatment and support programs and may be retained for up to three years subject to service requirements; and

• Those who do not meet universality of service standards and are not employable: Members will be provided medical rehabilitation and be released into care under the purview of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).

Criteria for Being Posted to the JPSU
Under the old system, soldiers who were wounded, injured or ill were either administered through their unit or posted to the SPHL as they reached the end of their service. Unfortunately the administration and level of services that were afforded to these soldiers and their families were not standardized or equitable across all SPHLs or units. The IPSCs with their full-time staff with their expertise will help to standardize the level of service. Their expertise and their multi-functional staff will also ensure that all avenues for rehabilitation, return to work or transition training can be provided to the injured and ill soldiers, no matter what unit they come from or where their support base is located.

Those personnel who were on SPHL status have already been posted to the IPSC in Edmonton, but the criteria for posting other wounded, injured or ill soldiers is under development. These criteria are being developed by Chief of Military Personnel (CMP) in conjunction with the Environmental Chiefs of Staff. In general terms, a soldier would only be transferred to the IPSC after a case management team, consisting of the current CO (or representative), IPSC, medical case manager and the soldier evaluate the condition and prognosis. Each soldier's case is unique so there is no hard and fast rule on which injured soldier must be posted to the IPSC. It should be noted that all soldiers on posted to the JPSU will be managed by a newly appointed Career Manager whose primary responsibility is to look after the military careers of soldiers posted to the JPSU.

IPSC Stand-up In LFWA
The JPSU is a unit of the CMP Command through Director Casualty Support Management. The CFJPSU is comprised of a national headquarters in Ottawa with six regional headquarters across Canada and a total of eight subordinate sites that provide the services - called Integrated Personnel Support Centers (IPSCs) - commanded under the regional HQs. In LFWA there are three IPSCs , located in Shilo, Edmonton and Vancouver that fall under the regional HQs: JPSU Edmonton.

Across the CF there are over 600 soldiers who will be posted to an IPSC. In Edmonton it is estimated that up to 160 soldiers will be posted to IPSC Edmonton, and many of those soldiers are "complex cases,"- soldiers who have been very seriously injured for example, those living with double amputations. The IPSC is temporality located at CFB Edmonton in building 201 and is expected to transition to its new facility within five years.

Progressive and Seamless Transition
The transition of soldiers in Edmonton from the SPHL to the IPSC had begun before the official opening on March 3rd. In January 110 soldiers were posted from the Edmonton SPHL and a further 40-50 were added this month. This phased approach has been adopted to ensure that there is adequate staff members on hand to support the transfer and redundancy has been built into each transfer (i.e., each injured soldiers file had been copied) to make certain that the transition is uninterrupted. From an injured soldier's point of view, he should not notice a break in service; rather each soldier is welcomed into the IPSC by receiving a letter from the OC which informs the soldier that he has been posted to the new establishment, lists the services available, and at the same time lays out what is expected of the soldier.

“I want to reassure all soldiers who are coming onto the IPSC and their COs that the IPSC is up and running and we are ready to receive wounded, injured and ill soldiers and start providing the enhanced level of services that they are so deserving of," said LCol Pollock. “One of the chief complaints of soldiers who have been on SPHL in the past is the sense of isolation that they feel when they are not able to engage in normal unit activity. Soldiers who come on to the IPSC and are capable within their medical limitations will be afforded all the routine of a traditional unit and will be fully supported by 22 military members whose responsibility will be to effectively manage their administration and lead these soldiers in their daily recovery.”

A further 15 Support Partners from VAC, OSISS, MFRC,SISIP, Case Management LO, PSP and Healthcare professionals like doctors, social workers occupational therapists and physiotherapists are all part of our larger team with one goal in mind-helping in every possible way to assist the injured soldier in his or her recovery so that he or she can be retained in the military or transitioned to a civilian life.”

Measuring Success
Each IPSC will have the same basic structure and services available but the number of staff will vary dependant on need. As with any new structure it will take time to determine how successful the JPSU is at delivering on its promise. Success will be evaluated quarterly with the first assessment occurring in April where all stakeholders – wounded, injured and ill soldiers, military and civilian staff and care workers - will be afforded the opportunity to share observations, comments, lessons learned and best practices or raise questions. Retention percentage will be monitored in comparison to past rates as a performance measure.

“Soldiers - in order to be top performers - need to feel confident that should they become injured they and their families will be looked after in a caring and professional manner,” said Brigadier-General Mike Jorgensen, Commander Land Force Western Area./Joint Task Force West. “The IPSC, comprised of military members, support partners and healthcare providers, along with the injured soldiers' chain of command are striving to provide all the tools possible to assist each soldier through his recovery. We owe it to our soldiers and to their families.”

JPSU Core Functions

Story by: Captain Lena Angell, LFWA Public Affairs