County veteran services officer honored
May 9—The members of VFW Post 7128 honored Otsego County veteran services officer Jamie Carkees at its meeting Thursday, May 9 at the Veterans Club in Cooperstown in recognition of her work supporting local veterans.
Carkees, a veteran herself who has been working for the county's Veterans Service Agency for two years, helps veterans navigate the VA system, addresses the needs of spouses after veterans die and provides resources for suicidal veterans.
Post Commander Floyd Bourne presented Carkees with an appreciation award at the start of the meeting.
"More and more of our members have come to me and tell me how wonderful she is," Bourne said.
He cited specifically her work to help suicidal veterans.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there were 16.8 veteran suicides on average per day in 2020. Other studies have estimated the number could be as high as 25 per day.
"We've all hear that over 20 guys are taking their own lives," Bourne said, "because they don't know that there's service out there. This young lady makes sure that there's service out there all the time."
Carkees said that her office is seeing a huge increase in the need for medical needs compensation, as more veterans experience health problems caused by burn pit and Agent Orange exposure, in addition to the number of veterans who need mental health care.
In fact, the county veterans agency just received a grant from the Joseph P. Dwyer Veteran Peer Support Project for peer to peer interaction with veterans to help reduce the risk of suicide needs. Carkees said she was unsure of the grant amount without checking with the agency director.
"We have several programs we work with for suicidal veterans to help them in crisis," she said. "It's dear to both my heart and my director's heart."
Dr. Joon Shim, a surgeon who works at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, is the program director for the residency training program for surgeons.
She was the one who contacted the VFW about honoring Carkees after she supported her during chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer.
Shim, 47, served two tours in Afghanistan as a combat surgeon, operating on soldiers in the field from 2011 to 2013.
She was diagnosed with cancer last July. After speaking to other women who were deployed with her to Afghanistan who also developed cancer, she and her husband Jonathan Pincus started investigating and trying to understand cancer from a veteran standpoint.
That is how they connected with Carkees.
"Jamie [Carkees] was pivotal in making sure that I received compensation," Shim said. "When I was going through chemotherapy, I was very weak. She was always available and supportive."
Shim said she was motivated by Carkees' passion for her work to reach out to the VFW about recognizing her efforts.
"She's a fellow veteran who is supporting other veterans," Shim said, "and I think that's the most selfless act, because she doesn't just treat it like a job. I feel like she feels like that's her purpose, and I love when people are motivated by a higher purpose, rather than a job where you're clocking in and clocking out. She truly cares."
