Top 10 News For Veterans from Around the Country 08-11-08

1.      VA Ready To Open New Clinic In North Carolina.   The Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times (8/11, Ostendorff) reports, "The federal government this month plans to open" a new veterans clinic "in Franklin, North Carolina, "a move that will cut the time patients in North Carolina’s westernmost counties spend driving for routine health care." The clinic "is expected to serve 3,300 veterans in the six western counties in its first year. If there is space, it could also serve veterans in parts of north Georgia, east Tennessee and South Carolina, said Susan Pendergrass," director of the Charles George Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Asheville, "which will operate the clinic." The ribbon cutting for the clinic "is Aug. 18 and the doors open for patients on Aug. 20."

2.      West Virginia To Receive VA Mobile Unit.   The Times-West Virginian (8/10, Burnside) reported, "North Central West Virginia will be one of four regions in the country that will receive money to fund a mobile veterans medical unit as part of a pilot program. ‘We’re in the development phases at this time,’ said William E. Cox," director of the Louis Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Clarksburg, "which applied for and received a three-year, $1.3 million grant from the Veterans Administration’s Office of Rural Health." The West Virginian added, "Officials at the VA’s Office of Rural Health had been looking for ways to enhance care to veterans in rural areas and decided to try mobile units, said director Kara Hawthorne." Seven "veterans hospitals across the country applied for grants and four were granted, Hawthorne added."

3.      Population Of Homeless In US Dropping, But VA, HUD Still Renew Assistance Program.   The Antelope Valley (CA) Press (8/10, Shoaf) reported, "The number of chronically homeless people in the United States is dropping, according to a new report from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development." Nearly "32,000 fewer people lived on the nation’s streets and in emergency shelters in 2007, said the HUD report, which highlights a 15% average yearly reduction in chronic homelessness since 2005." The Press added, "Many of the individuals hit hardest by homelessness are veterans of the armed forces, the HUD report showed," but HUD and the Department of Veterans Affairs have renewed the Supportive Housing Program, which "will provide some 10,000 new vouchers for homeless veterans and their families this year." Meanwhile, President George W. Bush "requested an additional $75 million in next year’s budget to" help "an additional 10,000" vets.

4.      IRS Planning To Remind Veterans, Retirees About Stimulus Payments.   In his "Veterans’ Journal" column in the Providence (RI) Journal (8/11) George W. Reilly reports, "The Internal Revenue Service wants retirees and veterans to know that it is not too late to file for an economic stimulus payment." The IRS is planning "to send a second set of information packets to 5.2 million people who may be eligible but who have not yet filed for their stimulus payment." Reilly adds that in Rhode Island, US Rep. James R. Langevin (D-RI) "will join IRS representatives tomorrow at the Providence VA Medical Center…to help raise awareness about" the stimulus payment.

5.      Golden Age Games Coming To Indianapolis.   Inside INdiana Business (8/10) reported, "In less than two weeks, a national, multi-sport event will come to Indianapolis. The 22nd annual National Veterans Golden Age Games," sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs, "will feature more than 600 veterans 55 and older, many with physical disabilities as a result of service to their country." While being interviewed by Inside INdiana Business, Linda Jeffrey, the executive director of the games, said "there will be 14 different events" held at the games, and "most" of those events will be located within Indianapolis city limits.

6.      VA Assistance Gives Iraq Vet "Direction And Hope."   The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (8/10, McQueen) profiled 23-year-old Scott MacKenzie, who suffered a traumatic brain injury during a stint in Iraq. After returning to the US, MacKenzie "learned the Department of Veterans Affairs would pay for a two-year program at NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C." MacKenzie "said the help for school gave him direction and hope." The Journal-Constitution adds that VA spokesman Jim Benson "said the military is adapting its education programs for the new wave of veterans," and there are programs to help wounded vets learn different skills.

7.      VA Nurse In Charge Of Medical Mission To Philippines.   The AP (8/10, Ugolik) reported that in January 2009, "dozens of…medical professionals and volunteers" from around the country "will travel to Davao City in the southern Philippines to provide free medical care and surgery to the impoverished indigenous population for several days." The US "coordinator for the Davao City mission, Jesse Pasion, is an intensive care nurse at the VA Medical Center in Durham."

8.      College, Military To Help Navy Families Dealing With Deployment.   The Ventura County (CA) Star (8/10, McGrath) reported, "Military families stationed at Naval Base Ventura County will be given more support services to deal with the emotional and psychological effects of long-term deployment and combat readiness, officials said." Beginning this September, "a three-person team specializing in ‘resiliency-building’ will be based at the chaplains’ offices at Port Hueneme in what officials describe as ‘a unique partnership’ between academics at UCLA and the military." The Families OverComing Under Stress (FOCUS) project "is based at the Semel Institute at UCLA."

9.      UAV Pilots Experiencing Battle Stress.   The Washington Times /AP (8/11, Lindlaw) reports, "The Air National Guardsmen who operate Predator drones over Iraq via remote control, launching deadly missile attacks from the safety of Southern California 7,000 miles away, are experiencing some of the same psychological stresses as their comrades on the battlefield." Predator pilots, notes the AP, "observe the field of battle through a bank of video screens and kill enemy fighters with a few computer keystrokes. Then, after their shifts are over, they go home and sleep in their own beds." That "whiplash transition," it adds, "is taking a toll on some of them mentally, and so is the way the unmanned aircraft’s cameras enable them to see people getting killed in high-resolution detail, some officers say." 

10.    Panel Recommends TRICARE Fee Changes.   In his "Veterans’ Journal" column in the Providence (RI) Journal (8/11) George W. Reilly notes, "In a report to the Defense Department, the Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation panel has recommended fee changes to TRICARE," the military’s healthcare system. The fee changes "would mostly affect retirees; not affected would be active military and their dependents, said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Jan Eakle, the director of the study, in a Pentagon briefing last week. The panel believes fees need to be fair to all retired military members, Eakle said, with the higher-value plans having higher premiums." Reilly adds that the fee structure for TRICARE "has not changed in 13 years." In his syndicated "Military Update" column, Tom Philpott (8/11) also notes the recommended fee changes.