Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 09-21-088

1. Organization Modifies Home For Disabled Iraq Veteran. 
2. VA To Continue With Chantix Study Despite "Unacceptable Safety Failures."  
3. NAVAHCS Workers Part Of VA Effort To Assist Hurricane Ike Victims.  
4. Some Criticize VA’s Use Of Religious Chaplains For Treatment.  
5. Local Veterans Call On Congress For Vets Hospital.  
6. County Officials Approve Resolution In Support Of Veterans Clinic.  
7. New Housing Facility For Homeless Veterans Set To Open.  
8. Six Sites Chosen For Rural Veterans Clinic.  
9. VA Awards Contract For Mayfield Vets Clinic.  
10. VA Announces New Alaska Outpatient Clinic.

     1.                1.      Organization Modifies Home For Disabled Iraq Veteran.   The Mechanicsville (VA) Local (9/20, Kinser) profiles Staff Sergeant Brian Pearce, a veteran who suffered traumatic brain injury in Iraq, and whose home was modified by Rebuilding Together volunteers.

2.      VA To Continue With Chantix Study Despite "Unacceptable Safety Failures."   On its front page, the Washington Times (9/20, Hudson, 83K) reports, "The Veterans Affairs Department is responsible for numerous ‘unacceptable failures’ in ensuring safeguards for soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder who were enrolled in a medical experiment to help them stop smoking, an internal review found Friday. Despite the stinging report, the agency has decided to proceed with the experiment, including allowing participants to take a drug that carries risks of suicide and other psychotic behavior, officials said." VA spokeswoman Alison Aikele said Chantix, the drug used in the study, "is an FDA-approved medication, and guidelines have been distributed to providers and information to patients."

3.      NAVAHCS Workers Part Of VA Effort To Assist Hurricane Ike Victims.   The Prescott (AZ) Daily Courier (9/19, Shultz) reported, "Three workers from the Northern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System recently returned" from Ruston, Louisiana, "where they pitched in to help victims of Hurricane Gustav." The workers went to Ruston "as part of the VA’s Disaster Emergency Management Personnel System (DEMPS)."

4.      Some Criticize VA’s Use Of Religious Chaplains For Treatment.   The Winston-Salem (NC) Journal (9/20) reports that religious chaplains "are one of the newest treatment methods used by the Department of Veterans Affairs to treat the nation’s veterans. Their job is to assess the spiritual and emotional health of veterans…and report back to nurses and doctors, in hopes of developing a more ‘holistic’ course of treatment." But "critics say that the program runs afoul of the separation of church and state, and say a patient’s ‘spiritual’ health should have no bearing on his or her physical treatment." While "there are allegations of improper proselytizing in VA hospitals," proponents argue "that the presence of these religious advisers has changed [veterans’] lives."

5.      Local Veterans Call On Congress For Vets Hospital.   The Brownsville (TX) Herald (9/20, Saldaña) reports that "more than 100 Valley veterans gathered" this week "in the latest organized push for a Veterans Affairs hospital in the Rio Grande Valley. Summit organizers said Wednesday’s event was the last opportunity for local veterans to gather before Congress adjourns later this month. If Congress fails to address the issue before then, Valley veterans will have to wait until next session to continue the fight, organizers said." And "although many of the local residents that attended the summit were veterans of America’s past wars, conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have infused a younger generation of veterans into the fight for more accessible health care," a spokesman for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America said.   

6.      County Officials Approve Resolution In Support Of Veterans Clinic.   The Hendersonville (NC) Times-News (9/20, Schulman) reports, "When it comes to health care, Henderson County’s more than 11,000 veterans may have a shorter commute if a VA clinic is constructed locally. Henderson County commissioners approved a resolution Wednesday in support of building a community-based outpatient clinic. County officials will push hard to make it happen, said Bill Moyer, chairman of the Henderson County Board of Commissioners. … Although Henderson County is under consideration by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs for a community-based outpatient clinic, a timeline has yet to be determined."

7.      New Housing Facility For Homeless Veterans Set To Open.   KXLY-TV Spokane, WA (9/20) reports, "By the end of the month a new housing facility will open up to homeless veterans living in the Spokane area." The facility "will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will be run by Pioneer Health Services in connection with Spokane’s VA Medical Center. The VA will forward referrals to the house and residents will get help finding a job, be encouraged to stay sober and can live in the home for up to two years."

8.      Six Sites Chosen For Rural Veterans Clinic.   The Escanaba (MI) Daily Press (9/20, Mead, 86K) reports, "By August 2009, Schoolcraft County veterans will be able to receive mental and physical health care close to home. Manistique was one of six rural areas in the country approved for an outreach veterans clinic." The Iron Mountain Veterans Affairs Medical Center project officer "said the Manistique outreach clinic will most likely be a part-time clinic, operating 20 hours a week. Basic primary care services will be available two days a week, and a psychiatrist will be available one day a week for basic mental health services."

9.      VA Awards Contract For Mayfield Vets Clinic.   The AP (9/20, Greathouse) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded a contract to build a VA clinic in Mayfield," Kentucky. "The clinic will be able to serve up to 4,800 veterans with a medical staff of physician assistants or nurse practitioners, at least one doctor, and a behavioral health unit, said Ronald McClure, a Mayfield veterans benefit field representative."

10.    VA Announces New Alaska Outpatient Clinic.   The Anchorage Daily News (9/20, 64K) reports, "The U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs in early 2009 will open a new outpatient care clinic for military veterans between Wasilla and Palmer." The clinic "will offer routine primary care services including disease prevention, early detection and health promotion, along with mental health services."