Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 09-25-08

1. US Government Asks Judge To Dismiss Lawsuit Against VA. 
2. VA Opening Three Rural Health Resource Centers.  
3. VA Grant To Help Pay For CSVC Upgrade.  
4. Northport VAMC Helping Patients Apply For Absentee Ballots.  
5. VA Involved With New York Training Sessions.  
6. VA To Provide Disability, Health Benefits To ALS Veterans.  
7. Seniors Urged To Get Pneumococcal Disease Vaccination.  
8. VA Opens New Clinic In Georgia.  
9. Officials Say More People Are Using VA Clinic In Wisconsin.  
10. VA Planning To Open New Facilities In Kentucky, Indiana.

     1.      US Government Asks Judge To Dismiss Lawsuit Against VA.   The AP (9/25, Suhr) reports the US government "has asked a federal judge to toss out a Kentucky widow’s wrongful-death lawsuit involving" the Marion Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Illinois, "arguing that it was filed prematurely." But the woman’s attorney "called the matter a technicality easily remedied by refiling the lawsuit." Surgeries at the Marion VAMC "were halted after the VA found at least nine deaths between October 2006 and March 2007 were ‘directly attributable’ to substandard care there." During "a tour of the Marion site this month," VA Secretary James Peake "said the hospital still must hire a surgeon and a chief of staff before any major operations can resume there." The AP added, "On Wednesday, a bipartisan contingent of Capitol Hill lawmakers from Illinois…urged Attorney General Michael Mukasey to review" VA findings on the hospital for possible criminal violations.                                                                                          Marion‘s Former Director Retires.   The Southern Illinoisan (9/25, Homan) reports Robert Morrel, the man who served as director of the Marion VAMC when "mortality levels skyrocketed in 2006 and 2007 recently announced his retirement, according to Marion’s new communications director, Peggy Willoughby." Morrel "served as director in Marion from 2001 until September of last year before being reassigned to the network office in Kansas City following multiple internal investigations. Those investigations concluded that Morrel was a disruptive force with employees and fostered an adversarial work environment." Morrel "officially" retired "on Sept. 3."

2.      VA Opening Three Rural Health Resource Centers.   The syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (9/25, Fales), reports the Department of Veterans Affairs "will open three Veterans Rural Health Resource Centers…to better understand rural health issues for veterans and develop special practices and products to implement across the country." In commenting on the news, VA Secretary Dr. James B. Peake said his agency’s "commitment is to provide the best quality care to veterans, regardless of their address. These centers are a major step toward ensuring that commitment is met."

3.      VA Grant To Help Pay For CSVC Upgrade.   The Monte Vista (CO) Journal (9/25) reports, "Colorado’s oldest veterans center is getting on board the new energy economy, thanks to grant of more than $5 million to upgrade its domiciliary cottages and historic chapel." Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. James B. Peake "announced earlier this month that Colorado State Veterans Center (CSVC) at Homelake east of Monte Vista would receive a grant of up to $5.2 million for upgrades to the facility’s resident support and activities area." The "use of ‘green’ technology and energy efficiency are major components of the domiciliary project, which will be done with an eye toward obtaining LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) project certification. LEED is a recognition project through the US Green Building Council."

4.      Northport VAMC Helping Patients Apply For Absentee Ballots.   Newsday (9/25, Evans) reports social workers at the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, "whose parent agency was accused this year of discouraging voter registration at the nation’s 153 VA hospitals, are helping patients apply for absentee ballots." Melanie Brodsky, a "section chief overseeing the effort, said social workers have collected 48 applications for absentee ballots since they began canvassing patients last week – most from the 124 long-term residents of the center’s nursing home." Newsday notes, "Earlier this year," the VA was "accused…of discouraging voter registration drives at VA hospitals" by banning outside groups doing voter registration. But "in a Sept. 8 ‘clarification,’ VA Secretary James Peake" reversed the ban "and required VA hospitals to help register patients who can’t do so on their own." The American Forces Press Service (9/25) also notes the VA’s change in voter registration policy.

5.      VA Involved With New York Training Sessions.   The Albany (NY) Times Union (9/24, Crowley) said a "four-part training series" has been organized "to educate doctors, nurses and social workers on the subtle signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries in veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. ‘People are hungry for this information,’ said Dr. Anna Engel," a psychiatrist at the Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Engel is also "president of the Capital District chapter of the American Psychiatric Association," which "organized four lectures at Albany Medical College." The first lecture, scheduled to take place on Wednesday night, was to feature Dr. Matthew Friedman, "director of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, a research center under" the US Department of Veteran Affairs. The "first two lectures are open only to health care professionals, but veterans and their families are welcome to attend the last two," which "will be presented by staff from the Stratton VA."
      The Rome (NY) Observer (9/25) reports that during the "second annual CNY Veteran’s Expo at SUNY-IT" in Marcy, New York, on October 14, Charles Kennedy, Ph.D, the lead psychologist and program director for the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) program at the Stratton Veterans Affairs Center in Albany, New York, will lead a session on why so many veterans experience PTSD and what can be done to help them. At the same expo, Dr. Allan Landes of the Syracuse VA will lead a similar session on traumatic brain injuries. Finally, Pat Chase, team leader for the Syracuse Vet Center Readjustment Counseling Services, will lead a session on working with vets in crisis. 

6.      VA To Provide Disability, Health Benefits To ALS Veterans.   In continuing coverage, the Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser (9/25) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs published groundbreaking new regulations" this week "that grant military veterans diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease full access to health and disability benefits, regardless of where or when they served in the military." The "decision to establish a presumption of service connection for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a victory for veterans living with the disease and is the culmination of years of work by the ALS Association to expand benefits for those diagnosed with the fatal neurodegenerative disease made famous by baseball legend Lou Gehrig." The Advertiser notes, "The new rules take effect immediately."

7.      Seniors Urged To Get Pneumococcal Disease Vaccination.   In an article noting that "public health officials are urging Americans as young as six months to get a flu shot," the San Francisco Chronicle (9/25, Fernandez) reports that on Wednesday, experts "also urged seniors to be vaccinated against pneumococcal disease, which can cause pneumonia, meningitis and other illnesses. For most people, this vaccination is given once in a lifetime," but "according to the most recent data, only 57 percent" of US seniors have received the vaccination, said Dr. Kristin Nichol, chief of medicine at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

8.      VA Opens New Clinic In Georgia.   In continuing coverage, the AP (9/24) reported a new US Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in St. Marys, Georgia, "will save thousands of veterans long drives for medical treatment and advice about benefits. The clinic opened Wednesday," and its "chief medical officer, Dale Brown, says it will be fully staffed by December."

9.      Officials Say More People Are Using VA Clinic In Wisconsin.   The Sawyer County (WI) Record (9/25, Boettcher) reports that during a Sept. 17 meeting of the Sawyer County American Legion Council, officials from the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center "told Sawyer County veterans last week that the new VA medical clinic in Hayward is seeing" increased use and that "they have contingency plans to open it more than the current two days per week."

10.    VA Planning To Open New Facilities In Kentucky, Indiana.   Business First Of Louisville (9/25) reports the US Department of Veterans Affairs will open VA healthcare centers "in Carrollton, Ky., and Scottsburg, Ind."