Top 10 News For Veterans from Around the Country 08-07-08

     1.       Peake, Lawmakers Visit Overseas US Military Healthcare Facilities.   The AP (8/7) reports US Rep. Michael Michaud (D-ME) and "five other lawmakers are visiting US military healthcare facilities in Iraq, Kuwait and Germany. The delegation "included three members" of Michaud’s House Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee, "along with Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake and two other congressmen." Michaud "said Wednesday he organized the trip to get a firsthand look at the quality" of healthcare provided to US military personnel. In a statement from Germany, Michaud said, "It is crucial that my fellow committee members and Secretary Peake understand" the healthcare services that "our brave men and women receive before they enter the VA…system."

2.      Advocate Excited To Have VA Official Speak At Convention.   In a Clarksville (TN) Leaf Chronicle (8/7) op-ed, veteran Stacey Hopwood notes that the Women Veterans of America (WVA), a nonprofit organization that advocates for women veterans, will hold its national convention in Nashville next month. Hopwood, a WVA member, says her group "scored a major coup" when it secured Dr. Irene Trowell-Harris, director of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Center for Women Veterans, as keynote speaker, because Trowell-Harris is the "primary advisor" to the VA Secretary "on all matters related to policies, legislation, programs, issues and initiatives affecting women veterans."

3.      Court Sides With VA On Religion Case.   The AP (8/7, Foley) reports taxpayers cannot sue the US Department of Veterans Affairs "for incorporating religion into its health care programs for the nation’s veterans, an appeals court has ruled." On Tuesday, the "7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled…the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation and three of its members have no legal standing to bring the case. The group was trying to end the agency’s practice of asking patients about their religion in ‘spiritual assessments,’ its use of chaplains to treat patients, and drug and alcohol treatment programs that incorporate religion." The foundation "claimed those practices violated the separation of church and state," but the court "ruled that federal taxpayers cannot challenge those expenditures."

4.      Rhode Island School Joins Up With VA Nursing Academy Program.   On its website, WLNE-TV Providence, RI (8/7) reported, "A new partnership is aiming to improve the quality of care at hospitals in Rhode Island, especially the well-being of American veterans of war." US Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) "was on hand Wednesday as Rhode Island College’s School of Nursing" and the Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center "were chosen to be part of the National VA Nursing Academy," a program "that pairs VA’s with top nursing schools across the country." Rhode Island College "is 1 of 10 nursing schools selected in the country,: and the "only school chosen from Rhode Island."

5.      VA Signs Long-Term Lease For Clinic In Wisconsin.   The Sawyer County (WI) Record (8/7, Boettcher) reports the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center "has signed a long-term lease with owners of the River’s Edge Professional Building to operate a community-based outpatient clinic" in Hayward, Wisconsin. Since March, the VA "has been operating in temporary facilities on the second floor of the building at 15954 River’s Edge Drive." The KUWS-FM Superior, WI (8/6, Simonson) website published a similar story.

6.      Security Increased At VA Nursing Home In California.   The AP (8/7) reports, "Security around a nursing home for US veterans has been increased after a worker at risk of losing his job allegedly threatened to buy a machine gun and kill everyone in the facility, according to court records." On Wednesday, 41-year-old Felicisimo Belleza "was charged…with threatening an officer of the United States Wednesday for allegedly making the statement to an employee benefit counselors at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Palo Alto on July 31. A special agent with the VA’s inspector general’s office wrote in an affidavit" filed in US District Court that Belleza was spotted later that same day dressed in desert fatigues at the VA nursing home in San Francisco. Earlier, "he had threatened to harm other nursing employees after he was given a letter stating he would be fired for sexual harassment and abusiveness behavior to staff members, the affidavit states."

7.      VA Offering New Online Service.   The Shreveport (LA) Times (8/7) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs is offering a new online service, My HealtheVet," which "provides access to…health information, links to federal and VA benefits and resources," and "online VA prescription refill service." The Times adds, "My HealtheVet is a powerful tool to help veterans better understand and manage their health, according to VA officials."

8.      Purple Hearts To Be Presented At VA Hospital In Arkansas.   The Northwest Arkansas Times (8/7) reports, "Members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart," the "only congressionally chartered veterans organization exclusively for combat-wounded" veterans, "will be honored at a 10 a.m. ceremony Thursday at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Fayetteville." Two recipients "will be awarded the Purple Heart" during the event.

9.      Citizens Raise Funds For New Equipment At VA Rehab Facility In California.   The Contra Costa (CA) Times (8/6, Guzzetti) reports, "Laptops and fun are not budgeted items" at the Northern California Veterans Affairs Center for Rehabilitation and Extended Care in Martinez, California, "but they are needed to help rehabilitate" Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. So now, a "senior citizen, a young woman and a high school student have joined forces to raise funds for laptops, along with a large flat-screen TV and ‘Wii-hab’ games" to be donated to the center. The senior citizen, Cmdr. R. ‘Pete’ Loechner of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1525, explained that the "VA is not allowed to ask for donations," so he and 17-year-old Jeán-Nathan Monteclaro, along with recent Cal Poly graduate Beth Dunn, took it upon themselves to seek donations from local sources. The Times adds, "The VA Center in Martinez is expanding with a new Neurological Cognitive Building, and its ground-breaking ceremony is set for Aug. 21."

10.    American Legion To Host Picnic For Bob Stump VAMC.   The Chino Valley (AZ) Review (8/7) reports, "The American Legion Riders will host their third annual picnic" for the Bob Stump Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Prescott, Arizona, on August 16. The Chino Valley American Legion Post 40 will provide "all the food, drink and utensils" for the picnic. Other American Legion posts, meanwhile, will "bring small gifts for the guests of the hospital."