Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 08-21-08

1.      Peake Says Almenoff Will Not Oversee VA Quality Control.   The Southern Illinoisan (8/21, Homan) reports, "Responding to a letter sent to him late last month by four Illinois legislators, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James Peake said Dr. Peter Almenoff will not lead the VA’s quality and safety efforts in his new position as Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health and Quality Safety in Washington." Peake "told Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, and Barack Obama, D-Chicago, as well as Congressmen Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, and John Shimkus, R-Collinsville" that Almenoff, who "formerly directed the VA Heartland Network, which is responsible for all activities" at the Marion VA Medical Center, will "report to…the VA’s Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Quality and Safety." The VA reviewed the Marion facility after nine confirmed deaths occurred there last year, and Durbin "said Wednesday he believes Peake addressed the concerns that" had been raised about Almenoff.

2.      VA Preparing To Transfer Texas Facility To State.   The Marlin (TX) Democrat (8/21, Stone) reports, "The reopening of the vacated Thomas Connally Veterans Affairs facility as a prison hospital is expected to bring more than 100 jobs back to Marlin, but it may be several years before the first patients arrive. The property was originally to be transferred" from the US Department of Veterans Affairs to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) "this past spring but was delayed because asbestos was found during an environmental study of the facility, according to VA spokesman Ozzie Garza. Garza said the cleanup has been completed, and representatives from TDCJ and the company responsible for the cleanup inspected the facility Friday." Once the VA "receives a ‘concurrence letter’" on the asbestos cleanup from TDJC, VA Secretary James Peake "can make the transfer official.  

3.      Veteran Calls For Stand-Alone Facility.   In a letter to the editor of the Rocky Mountain (CO) News (8/21), veteran Arthur Guerrero criticizes the Department of Veterans Affairs for going in an "entirely" different direction from its "January plan" to build a stand-alone hospital in Colorado. He argues, "The rental of space at a private facility smacks of privatization," and "that is not a cheaper alternative." Besides, if "cost were the real issue, why did Secretary James Peake not investigate a scaled-down version of the January plan?" Golden concludes, "We need and demand a stand-alone VA facility that follows all department construction and staffing regulations."

4.      Labor Department Launches Veterans Employment Initiative.   The AP (8/20, Hefling) reported that because of mental health problems brought on by their time in service, "some veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan" have had a difficult time returning to work. Now, however, the Labor Department "is making available to current or potential employers resources to help them better understand the mental health issues veterans may face." The agency "is rolling out" a website, "America’s Heroes at Work, and has created a toll-free number, 800-526-7234, for employers with questions." The effort "was praised by veterans groups, which say a lingering stigma about veterans and mental health keeps some of them from getting jobs."
      VA Proposes Preferences For Veteran-Owned Businesses.   Federal Computer Week (8/20, Weigelt) reported, "The Veterans Affairs Department proposed revising its acquisition regulations to boost federal dollars going to businesses owned by military veterans, according to a notice" in the Federal Register Wednesday. According "to the proposed changes, VA contracting officers would be able to restrict competitions for contracts to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and veteran-owned small businesses. They also could award sole-source contracts to those companies." The VA "proposed the new regulations because of a 2006 law that requires the department to create an acquisition program that offers preferences for veterans."
      Task Force To Help GSA Contract With More Firms Owned By Disabled Vets.   Government Executive (8/20, Newell) reported, "The Veterans Entrepreneurship Task Force signed an agreement on Tuesday with the General Services Administration to help the agency reach its goal of spending 3 percent of contracting dollars with companies owned by service-disabled veterans." Under the agreement, "VET-Force will use its network of veterans to expand training and information on federal opportunities for these firms. VET-Force is composed of more than 200 organizations and affiliates — many small businesses — representing thousands of veterans." The organization "was organized in 1999 to lobby for the Veterans’ Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act, which became law, and provide assistance to veterans who are starting businesses."
      Congressional Hearing Discusses Employment Problems Encountered By Veterans.   In continuing coverage, the Benton County (AR) Daily Record (8/20, Lookadoo) reported that at a field hearing conducted by members of the Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity in Arkansas on Monday, "some expert witnesses" looked at employment problems "encountered by veterans and took suggestions about how to solve or avoid them." Arkansas National Guard member Michael Merritt, who testified at the hearing, said that while many employers want to support employees in the service, there is not much knowledge of legislation meant to alleviate disadvantages that occur for such employees.

5.      Veterans From Vermont, New Hampshire Participating In Golden Age Games.   Vermont’s Valley News (8/21, Mahler) reports Reggie Rogers, a resident of Bethel, Vermont, and Gary Preedom, a resident of Claremont, New Hampshire, "are going for the gold…in Indianapolis at the 22nd National Veterans Golden Age Games." The two men are "part of the 10-person Vermont-New Hampshire contingent. It will be the second year the Twin States have participated in the program, open to all military veterans over the age of 55 who are receiving inpatient or outpatient care at a VA facility."

6.      VA To Open Resource Center In Vermont.   The Brattleboro (VT) Reformer (8/20, Audette) reported, "In the tri-state region of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, veterans often have to drive an hour or more to get care in Manchester, N.H., Northampton, Mass.," or White River Junction, Vermont. Now, however, making "health care more accessible for rural veterans is the focus of a new program set to go into effect Oct. 1 at White River Junction and two other facilities in the United States. The Veterans Rural Health Resource Center will serve as a research center and clearinghouse for those studying the health needs of veterans who live far from a VA health facility." Along "with White River Junction, medical centers in Iowa City, Iowa, and Salt Lake City were chosen to participate in the program."

7.      Report Touts Feasibility Of Charity Hospital Renovation.   The AP (8/21) reports, "Renovating the flooded public hospital in New Orleans would be cheaper and faster than building a new hospital, a team of architects said Wednesday after studying the shuttered Charity Hospital." The facility, "known as Big Charity, has been closed since Hurricane Katrina swamped it with water in 2005. Rather than gut and rebuild the hospital," the state and Louisiana State University (LSU), which runs it, "plan to build a replacement facility." But "a study by RMJM Hillier, a New York-based architecture firm, says the building can be renovated for $484 million," compared "to its estimates that a new hospital would cost $620 million." The administration of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal "is recommending a new 424-bed medical center in collaboration" with the US Department of Veterans Affairs, but administration "and LSU officials said they will review the new report in detail." The New Orleans Times-Picayune (8/21, Moller), which publishes a similar story, notes that state facilities director Jerry Jones" said he doubted the report’s timetable and cost projections."
      Veteran Praises Collaborations Between VA, Universities.   In a related letter to the editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune (8/20), veteran Claude Brickell wrote, "Residents of the neighborhood on the edge of the Central Business District who stand to lose their homes to a new" VA medical center "have a right to be unhappy. However, as veteran and a person new to New Orleans, I have experienced VA medical centers in Los Angeles and Little Rock, Ark., both of which benefit from adjacent university medical centers." And "I can testify to the overwhelmingly high level of care veterans receive there." Brickell said New Orleans "veterans deserve the same."
      New Orleans Mayor Says He Planned To Ask For Commitment From Bush On VA Hospital.   In a story on President Bush’s latest visit to New Orleans, the New Orleans Times-Picayune (8/21, Krupa) reports, "Before Bush’s arrival Wednesday, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said he planned to ask the president to…commit to building a Veterans Administration hospital downtown."
      Louisiana Veterans Complain About Post-Katrina Services.   In a story on a town hall meeting hosted Monday by US Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), the Tri-Parish (LA) Times (8/21, Jeff) reports veterans attending the meeting "spoke out about what they view as poor quality of treatment and services since" the VA hospital in New Orleans flooded during Hurricane Katrina." In response to these complaints, Vitter said, "There is just going to be one big VA hospital in southeast Louisiana," so "I asked the VA to look at where veterans are located to meet veterans’ needs and locate it in the best place for all veterans in southeast Louisiana."
      New Orleans Resident Urges Support For Downtown Hospital.   In a letter to the editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune (8/21), New Orleans resident Jeffrey Schwartz urges Louisiana leaders, the VA, and LSU decision makers "to renew their commitment to the downtown site, and get on with building the joint VA-LSU hospital already."

8.      VA Rehab Center Helps Veteran Adjust To Blindness.   The Dayton (OH) Daily News (8/21, Bowman) profiles 85-year-old World War II veteran Emma Warren, who "left earlier this month for a two-month stay" at the Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital Central Blind Rehabilitation Center in Hines, Illinois. There, "she is learning how to remain mobile and to take care of herself and her home while learning to use a series of devices designed to assist in daily tasks." 

9.      Vandals Target National Cemetery In Arizona.   On its website, KPHO-TV Phoenix (8/20) reported, "Vandals are stealing headstones, ripping down signs and plastering graffiti on pillars at the Valley’s Veteran’s National Memorial Cemetery, Phoenix police said." Cemetery director Wayne Ellis said the incidents are "very offensive."
      The Arizona Republic (8/20, Kline) reported veterans in Arizona "say they have no idea why someone would treat the fallen this way." The Department of Veterans Affairs, meanwhile, "has spent thousands of dollars to replace the stones and name plates."

10.    Repair Plans Being Developed For Tomb Of The Unknowns.   The AP (8/20) reported, "Arlington National Cemetery says it’s working to develop a maintenance and repair plan for the cracked Tomb of the Unknowns." In an August 11 report to Congress, cemetery officials "say they’re in the process of beginning repairs to the…monument." However, the study also "says replacing the structure has not been ruled out as a long-term solution."