Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

From the VA:

Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

1.      Shinseki To PVA: Department Will “Never Give Up” On Any Veteran. The Providence (RI) Journal (8/27, Freyer) notes that on Thursday, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki told the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), “who have been holding their 64th annual convention at the Westin Hotel” in Providence, that the VA “will never give up…on any” veteran. Shinseki also discussed the $125 billion budget request for VA in 2011, saying it would “provide ‘much-needed firepower’ for his priorities: increasing access to benefits and services, clearing up the backlog of disability claims and eliminating homelessness among veterans by 2015.” While Shinseki’s “speech made no mention of VA initiatives in Rhode Island,” the “VA Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine, a collaboration among the Providence VA Medical Center” and two colleges, is “developing advanced prosthetic limbs, including ‘bio-hybrids’ integrating mechanical devices with living tissue and brain chips that could enable people to move prostheses with their thoughts.”
     Head Of PVA Praises Shinseki. In its “Projo 7 To 7 News” blog, the Providence (RI) Journal (8/27, Freyer) reports, “Maurice Jordan, deputy executive director” of the PVA, “said in an interview that Shinseki has addressed all his group’s concerns, particularly expediting the claims of Vietnam veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange. ‘Because he has been so engaging, we’ve been able to work through issues we’ve had for years,’ Jordan said,” adding, “We’re very satisfied.”

2.      Shimkus Praises VA Secretary. The Decatur (IL) Herald & Review (8/27, Barricklow) reports, “Central Illinois veterans, concerned about how new federal health care mandates could affect their coverage and about services at area Veterans Administration hospitals and clinics, had a chance to voice their concerns” to US Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), “during a town hall meeting Wednesday in Shelbyville. Shimkus, an Army Reserve officer, told about 25 veterans that he thinks changes for the good are coming to area VA hospitals, thanks in part” to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, whom Shimkus described as a “military man” who “understands the system.”

3.      Shinseki To Give Keynote Address At Clinic Renaming Ceremony. In continuing coverage, the Alexandria (MN) Echo Press (8/27) notes that next month, the “St. Cloud Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center will officially rename the VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Alexandria in honor of Max J. Beilke,” who on March 29, 1973, “was the last official US combat soldier to leave Vietnam.” According to the Echo Press, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki is “scheduled to give the keynote address” at the renaming ceremony, which is to be “held on Saturday, September 11 at the clinic.” The Echo Press points out that on September 11, 2001, Beilke was “among the first to be killed when hijackers rammed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon,” just after Beilke attended a meeting there to “advocate for military retirees and veterans.”

4.      VA Hospital, Private Healthcare Organizations To Exchange Vets’ Health Information. In continuing coverage, Modern Healthcare (8/27, Conn, 72K) reports, “The Veterans Affairs Department hospital in Indianapolis will participate in a pilot project to exchange veterans’ health information with private-sector healthcare organizations via the Indiana Health Information Exchange, the VA announced” this week. The project is “part of a broader government effort…that President Barack Obama announced last year to create a virtual lifetime electronic record for active-duty and retired armed-services members. ‘This new technology allows safer, more secure and private access to electronic health information, which, in turn, enhances our ability to continue providing veterans with the quality care that they have earned,'” VA Secretary Eric Shinseki “said in a news release” announcing the pilot project. Healthcare IT (8/26, Warner), Becker’s Hospital Review (8/27, Oh), Health Imaging & IT (8/27, Byers) and iHealthBeat (8/27) all publish similar stories.
     Study Finds Problems With Electronic Health Record Adoption At US Hospitals. The Health Affairs (8/27, Fleming) blog reports, “While the share of US hospitals that had adopted either basic or comprehensive electronic health records rose modestly between 2008 and 2009, from 8.7 percent to 11.9 percent, only 2 percent of this country’s hospitals reported having records that would meet the federal government’s ‘meaningful use’ criteria.” These findings were reported Thursday “in a Health Affairs Web First article by Harvard’s Ashish Jha, who is serving as a senior adviser to the under secretary for health of the Veterans Health Administration and coauthors. Even with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and with the new financial incentives soon to be offered by the federal government to Medicare and Medicaid providers who can demonstrate that they meet the criteria, the findings in this study – which was completed after the passage of the stimulus legislation – make it clear that the transition to a digital health care system will be a long one.”

5.      Vets, Community Activists Protest VA Plans For St. Albans Hospital. The Queens (NY) Chronicle (8/27, Fagan, 160K) reports, “Members of the United Coalition of Veterans and Community Rights gathered on the corner of Linden Boulevard and 179th Street in St. Albans Saturday in protest of…commercial development” of the St. Albans Veterans Affairs Hospital. The Chronicle adds, “Passionate veterans and community enthusiasts chanted and held picket signs in front of the historic hospital in hopes to sway…VA’s plans to demolish it and build rental units along with a new medical facility they deem inadequate.” The Chronicle, which notes that similar protests are “planned every Saturday at the same location,” says one of those in attendance last Saturday was “state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans),” who has “written a letter” to the VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, “expressing his opposition to…VA’s plan.”
     The Queens (NY) Times Ledger (8/27, Pereira, Sheets) also covers this past Saturday’s protest, stating that the goal of the protestors is to have VA dedicate the entire hospital site to healthcare services. After noting that John Mazzulla, a “spokesman for…VA, said the…55-year-old hospital will see great benefit because the developer will use the remaining acreage to build a brand-new, updated VA hospital,” the Times Ledger points out that St. Albans Village LLC, the developer in question, is affiliated with Rev. Edwin Reed, who was “once a board member of the now-defunct nonprofit New Direction Local Development Corp.” According to the Times Ledger, New Direction is “being investigated by the US attorney’s office for its questionable finances.”
     After noting that St. Albans Village LLC “consists of three firms,” one of which is GGT Development, whose chief executive officer is Reed, the Queens (NY) Chronicle (8/27, Costella) says Reed spoke Monday in Queens, at a forum on the St. Albans VA Hospital redevelopment plan. The Chronicle adds, “Monday’s event was one of three related to the project planned over a five-day period. A protest was held Saturday and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica) was to have held a meeting with community members on Wednesday at Grace Episcopal Church in Jamaica to discuss the VA development plans and elicit feedback from the community, which he would convey to…VA.”

6.      Former Marine Appointed As Interim Head Of Florida VA. The AP (8/27) reports, “Former state Comptroller Bob Milligan will head the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs on an interim basis.” On Thursday, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist “and the Florida Cabinet…appointed Milligan, a retired Marine Corps. lieutenant general, to replace the late Leroy Collins Jr.,” who “died last month when hit by an SUV while riding his bicycle in Tampa.” The Fort Myers (FL) News-Press (8/27, Cotterell) quotes Milligan, who said Collins was his “good friend” and classmate at the “Naval Academy in 1952. He leaves large shoes to fill but he did build an excellent staff.”
     The Tampa (FL) Tribune (8/27), meanwhile, notes that Milligan will serve in his new post “until a new governor and Cabinet take over in January.” Milligan “said his biggest challenge is making sure the state’s veterans nursing homes are properly staffed.”

7.      Schweitzer Cooking Up New Plan For Cheap Drugs. The AP (8/27) reports, “Gov. Brian Schweitzer, cooking up a new plan to get cheaper prescription drugs for state residents, said he wants to let every Montanan get discounted medicine through Medicaid.” Schweitzer, who “said he is drafting a federal request to let any Montanan voluntarily sign up for a special Medicaid prescription drug program,” has “previously been shot down with plans to get federal approval to bring in cheaper drugs from Canada and to buy cheaper medicine given” to the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

8.      VHA Patient Data Used In Rheumatoid Arthritis Study. HealthDay (8/27) reports, “The prevalence of extra-articular manifestations (EAMs) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has declined in recent years, with the timing and pattern of the decline indicating that disease-modifying RA treatments may be changing the natural history of the disease, according to a study in the September issue of Rheumatology.” According to HealthDay, the study used a “data set including both inpatients and outpatients with RA in the US Veterans Health Administration system.”

9.      Opinions Differ On Whether VA Should Retain MUMPS For VistA Modernization. Federal Computer Week (8/27, Lipowicz, 90K) reports, “As the Veterans Affairs Department considers an open source development program to modernize its Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) medical record system, officials eventually will have to decide whether to retain all or part of the existing computer language of the system, according to industry members involved in the project.” After noting that the language is called MUMPS, which stands for Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System, Federal Computer Week says the question of whether VA “should…quit or retain MUMPS before, or during,” a VistA modernization program is “generating strong opinions among industry members,” like Rick Jung, chief operating officer of OpenVista provider MedSphere, who supports retaining MUMPS, and Ed Meagher, chair of the “American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council VistA Modernization Working Group,” who thinks MUMPS is outdated. Both men, however, “said they were pleased with…VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker’s recent statements about making a decision on whether to proceed with an open source VistA modernization by year’s end.”

 10.    Walter Reed Acknowledges Mishandling Radioactive Material. In continuing coverage, the AP (8/27) says the US military’s “flagship hospital has acknowledged it mishandled two packages of radioactive material in May, possibly exposing staff and patients to elevated radiation levels.” On Thursday, spokesman Chuck Dasey “said…that Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington doesn’t dispute…allegations made” by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which has “said the packages sat beneath a lobby counter for nearly two days after they were delivered.” Dasey, however, also “says the hospital has since reinforced its nuclear medicine safety program and retrained staff on the proper handling of radioactive material.” The “Capital Land” blog for the Washington (DC) Examiner (8/27, Klopott, 93K) publishes a similar story, while the WTOP-FM Washington, DC (8/26) website says the NRC’s Neil Sheehan “tells WTOP the level of radiation given off by the material is not high enough to cause concern.”
     In its “DoD Report,” Federal News Radio (8/26) notes that Walter Reed officials “say there are no reports of any illness or adverse effects from the exposure” to radioactive material in its lobby last May. Federal News Radio added, “Officials will meet with NRC staff on Wednesday.”
     Former Government Contractor Sentenced To Jail For Walter Reed Travel Scam. The first “Local Digest” item for the Washington Post (8/27, Hsu) reports, “A former government contractor working as an administrative assistant at Walter Reed Army Medical Center was sentenced to one year and one day in jail Thursday for stealing $165,477 through phony travel reservations, said Ronald C. Machen Jr., US attorney for the District.” According to the Post, US District Judge Paul L. Friedman “sentenced Ronnita N. Dunbar, 29, of Landover Hills for theft of government property and ordered her to repay the medical center.” The defendant had “pleaded guilty May 4 to misusing her position arranging government travel for doctors and residents at the center’s department of surgery from January 2004 until May 2008.” The Washington Post (8/27, Hsu, 684K) also covers this story in “The Crime Scene,” one of its blogs, which notes that Dunbar was sentenced on Thursday.