Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 09-10-08

Today’s Local News for Veterans

What’s Inside

1. Prior To Peake’s Visit, Final Report On Marion VAMC Is Released. 
2. Panel Praises VA’s Suicide Prevention Strategy.  
3. House Expected To Pass Rural Veterans Health Care Bill  
4. Peake Stresses Importance Of Paralympic Games.  
5. Wilkes-Barre VAMC Reaching Out To Younger Vets.  
6. NRC Investigating VA Hospital.  
7. VA, Defense Advising Recruits To Continue Signing Up For Old GI Bill.  
8. Event For Homeless Vets To Be Held In California.  
9. Lake City VAMC To Host Hospice Memorial Service.  
10. Head Of Utah VA Says Work Week Hours Will Not Interfere With Veteran Burials.

     1.      Prior To Peake’s Visit, Final Report On Marion VAMC Is Released.   WPSD-TV Carterville, IL (9/9, 6:07 p.m. CT) broadcast, "The final report on patient deaths" at the Marion Veterans Affairs Hospital in Illinois "was released" Tuesday. WPSD said it had "requested the report" but had "yet to receive a copy." Meanwhile, VA Secretary Dr. James Peake "is coming to the area to address employee and veteran concerns. Dr. Peake will hold a town hall meeting at the Marion High School auditorium this Saturday, September 13th, from noon to 1 p.m."      Peake To Tour Marion VAMC.   The AP (9/10) reports Durbin’s office "says…Peake will tour" the Marion VAMC and participate in a town hall meeting about conditions there. Durbin "is expected to accompany Peake during the trip to Marion," where investigators "say at least nine deaths between October 2006 and March 2007 were deemed ‘directly attributable’ to substandard care."

2.      Panel Praises VA’s Suicide Prevention Strategy.   The AP (9/10) reports, "A blue-ribbon panel has praised the Department of Veterans Affairs…for its ‘comprehensive strategy’ in suicide prevention that includes a ‘number of initiatives and innovations that hold great promise for preventing suicide attempts and completions.’" Called "the ‘Blue Ribbon Work Group on Suicide Prevention,’ the five-member group was composed of suicide prevention experts from VA, the Department of Defense, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration." The group, which was created by VA Secretary James Peake, made several "recommendations to further enhance" the VA’s suicide prevention programs. One such recommendation was to improve the VA’s "screening for suicide among veterans with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder." The VA is currently "in the process of designing a new screening protocol."
      Army, VA Statistics Reveal Increasing Suicide Rate.   On its website, CNN (9/9, Mount) reported, "The rate of suicides among-active duty soldiers is on pace to surpass both last year’s numbers and the rate of suicide in the general" US population "for the first time since the Vietnam war, according to" US Army officials. Officials "attribute the rise in suicides to anxiety and stress from increased operations and more deployments." On Tuesday, the Department of Veterans Affairs "also announced findings from a study showing that suicides hit an all-time high in 2006 among younger" US military veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In response to the findings, VA Secretary James Peake "said the department would try to reduce the number of suicides by using recommendations" from a mental health expert panel he put together. In a statement, Peake said, "The report of this blue-ribbon panel, and other efforts under way, will ensure VA mobilizes its full resources to care for our most vulnerable veterans." The KNVC-TV Phoenix, AZ (9/9, Raml) website also notes the VA’s findings on 2006 veteran suicides.

3.    House Expected To Pass Rural Veterans Health Care Bill.   The AP (9/10) reports, "Military veterans in rural areas would have access to medical care closer to home under a measure expected to pass" the US House of Representatives. The "bill would let veterans living in remote areas get treatment at a local hospital or doctor’s office instead of having to drive long distances to Veterans Affairs facilities

4.      Peake Stresses Importance Of Paralympic Games.   China Daily (9/10, Xiang) reports, "The Paralympic Games will be tremendously beneficial to Chinese society, and especially the disabled community, a senior US official said" Tuesday in Beijing. James Peake, the US Secretary of Veterans Affairs and head of the US Paralympic delegation, said, "When people see what people with disabilities can accomplish, they realize what power the Games has and how it can help make society better." Peake added, "It’s a gradual thing for governments to make things more accessible to disabled people. But something like the Paralympics can help things to move forward more quickly." China Daily adds, "Peake, who arrived in Beijing on Thursday and left late yesterday, visited several competition venues" during his trip.

5.      Wilkes-Barre VAMC Reaching Out To Younger Vets.   The Wilkes-Barre (PA) Times-Leader (9/10, Zera) reports Colleen Kaskel, acting manager of the Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom programs at the Wilkes-Barre Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said the VA recently made a "concentrated effort…to reach every person who has served" in those operations. As a result, many more of those veterans have sought services at Kaskel’s hospital than they had when she first began working there last year. The Times-Leader adds, "Kaskel focuses on providing a lot of coaching and support to the veterans, as well as adjusting her work schedule to meet theirs. ‘It’s about gaining their trust, so that eventually they accept help. Sometimes they just need a friendly face to get into the building,’ Kaskel said."
      Iraq Veteran Praises VA.   In a related story, the Wilkes-Barre (PA) Times-Leader (9/10, Zera) profiles 28-year-old Iraq veteran Travis Squadrito, who was pleased to learn of the many services offered by his local Veterans Affairs hospital in northeast Pennsylvania.

6.      NRC Investigating VA Hospital.   The AP (9/10, Loviglio) reports, "Some 55 prostate cancer patients were given too-low doses of radiation treatment" at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center "in the past 6 1/2 years, and federal investigators want to know why. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Tuesday it is inspecting" the hospital’s "facilities and procedures to figure out what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again." The AP points out that the "55 affected veterans" underwent "brachytherapy, which involves implanting radioactive iodine pellets (often called ‘seeds’) in the prostate to kill cancer cells."
      KYW-TV Philadelphia, PA (9/9, 4:36 p.m. ET) broadcast that the VA is evaluating the affected veterans "to see what kind of additional care" they might need. Meanwhile, the hospital’s "treatment program is suspended while the investigation is underway." Government Executive (9/10, Peters) also notes the NRC investigation.

7.      VA, Defense Advising Recruits To Continue Signing Up For Old GI Bill.   The Marine Corps Times (9/10, Maze) reports, "Recruits are being advised to continue signing up for the old GI Bill while details are being worked out about what types of education are covered under the Post-9/11 GI Bill program that became law June 30." Following "this advice comes at a cost for recruits," but officials at the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense "said it is worth the $1,200 contribution for recruits to ensure they have more options available for post-service education." The Times adds, "The Department of Veterans Affairs is offering a…more detailed warning about not passing up the Montgomery GI Bill, saying the Post-9/11 GI Bill includes graduate and undergraduate courses, and covers only vocational and technical training offered by a VA-approved institution of higher learning. ‘Post-9/11 GI Bill can only be used for training offered at an institute of higher learning,’ said Steve Westerfeld, a VA spokesman."

8.      Event For Homeless Vets To Be Held In California.   The Compton (CA) Bulletin (9/10, Scott) reports, "Veterans from the Los Angeles area will gather in Compton from Sept. 13 to 15 for the 5th Annual Veterans Stand-Down." Stand-Downs "are part of the Department of Veterans Affairs’…effort to provide services to homeless veterans."

9.      Lake City VAMC To Host Hospice Memorial Service.   The Lake City (FL) Journal (9/10) reports the Lake City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, "along with the Palliative Care/Hospice Unit," will "host the 5th Annual Hospice Memorial Service on Thursday, September 11, at 5 p.m." The service, which takes place in the medical center’s chapel, will be "followed by a Dove and Balloon Release on the front lawn. ‘It is with care, concern and compassion, on behalf of the entire staff of the Lake City VAMC that we remember and celebrate the lives of those who have passed from this life on our hospice unit,’ said Acting Associate Director Maureen Wilkes." 

10.    Head Of Utah VA Says Work Week Hours Will Not Interfere With Veteran Burials.   In continuing coverage, KSL-TV Salt Lake City, UT (9/9, 12:34 p.m. MT) broadcast, "Utah’s new four day work week for certain state employees has hit a snag. The Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery…is one of the state-run facilities now on the schedule, meaning that if families want to hold services there, they can only do so Monday through Thursday." However, the "executive director of the Utah Department of Veterans Affairs say they will work with families to plan burials even if they are taking place on days when the cemetery is closed." The AP (9/10) publishes a similar story.