VETERAN CENTERS AS EXAMPLE OF COMPREHENSIVE CARE FOR CROATIAN HOMELAND WAR VETERANS

Sa？etak In countries with a long military tradition such as the United States or Israel, veteran centers are the backbone of the care system for veterans and their family members. For many y ears in Croatia, there has been a discussion about the need to establish veteran centers, but for now, only the Croatian War Veterans Home in Lipik has been established, which is considered a pilot project, or a predecessor of veteran centers. The Republic of Croatia spends a considerable amount of money to meet the Croatian Homeland War veterans’ expectations and resolve their problems , but reactions of our Homeland War veterans have triggered a perception that the offered solutions provide no final results. The Croatian Ministry of War Veterans recognized the need for a systematic approach to address the Homeland War veterans’ problems. In 2019, the Ministry will start the process of building five veteran centers in Daruvar, Petrinja, Osijek, ？ibenik, and Sinj with the help of EU funds. In this paper, we have tried to analyze the socio-economic and health care issues that directly affect the position of Homeland War veterans in the society and the levels of their satisfaction. The conclusion is that veteran centers, with professional leadership, adequate structure and organization, could solve the most acute problems of the Homeland War veterans’ population