Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 09-26-08

1. VA Grants To Help Pay For Homeless Facilities In Several States.  
2. VA Grants Full Access To Benefits, Care For Those With Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  
3. VA Involved With Attempt To Improve Care Of Wounded Soldiers.  
4. VA Secretary’s Advisor To Speak At Women Veterans Conference.  
5. VA Clinic Now Open In Branson, Missouri.  
6. New VA Clinic To Open Next Week In Oklahoma.  
7. VA To Open Temporary Clinic In Indiana.  
8. Vets Warned There Could Be Fewer Services At Clinic In Ohio.  
9. VA Facilities Offering Free Flu Shots.  
10. VA Patient Granted Last Wish To Fly In Helicopter.

     1.                VA Grants To Help Pay For Homeless Facilities In Several States.   The Gainesville (FL) Sun (9/25, Voyles) reported, "The Alachua County Housing Authority and about 112 military veterans were the big winners Wednesday" when the Department of Veterans Affairs "announced approval of a $1.9 million grant to build or buy a 112-bed facility to house veterans in Gainesville. VA officials said it was the largest award for homeless veterans made anywhere in the nation this year by two measures – number of dollars and number of beds."
      The Billings (MT) Gazette (9/25, Tode) reported, "Montana’s homeless veterans will soon have an alternative to life on the streets in a new transitional living facility on the 700 block of Lake Elmo Drive." Volunteers of America Montana & Wyoming was "awarded a $1.3 million grant" from the US VA "to build a 20-bed transitional living facility" at that address. The grant "will pay for 65 percent of the construction costs."
      On its website, WOWT-TV Omaha, NE (9/25, McIntire) reported, "A Council Bluffs homeless shelter known as Mohm’s Place has been helping those in need for years," and now, a "similar transitional housing unit is coming to Omaha." The facility, "to be called New Visions," will "be almost identical to the facility in Council Bluffs." The US VA "says a $1.8 million grant will cover 65 percent of the funds needed" for the Omaha shelter.
      The Great Falls (MT) Tribune (9/26) reports, "Housing for 40 homeless veterans in Montana will become available as part of a $2.1 million grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a VA news release." The funding is part of the VA’s Grant and Per Diem program, which "has identified public and community nonprofit groups eligible to receive payments for housing and supportive services to homeless veterans." The program will hand out "grants totaling $36.7 million to create 1,526 beds for homeless veterans this year." In a press release, VA Secretary James B. Peake said, "These grants provide a helping hand to veterans who have served our nation in uniform."
      The Helena (MT) Independent Record (9/26) reports the $2.1 million going to Montana "will help fund two new 20-bed homeless centers….and three new vehicles." The KRTV-TV Great Falls, MT (9/25) website published a similar story.
      The Clarksville (TN) Leaf Chronicle (9/26, Lowary) reports Buffalo Valley Inc., a Tennessee-based organization, received a $19,937 grant Tuesday from the US VA to "increase its bed count for homeless veterans in Clarksville." According "to a VA news release, the funding is part of $36 million in grants that are being awarded to organizations in 35 states to keep veterans from being homeless."
      The Deseret (UT) Morning News (9/25) reported, "Utah is among 35 states getting a cut of $36.7 million" in VA grants "that will help create 1,526 beds for homeless veterans, the VA announced Tuesday. Utah’s share will be $113,607 to be used by the Homeless Veterans Fellowship in Ogden, adding eight beds in a new building for homeless vets in that area."
      The Lynn (MA) Daily Item (9/26) reports, "A Lynn shelter was among the six Massachusetts homeless veterans’ refuges that received over $3 million in grants Wednesday" from the US VA. The shelters "will be able to use the funding to renovate buildings, purchase new vehicles and provide additional beds for the state’s homeless veterans."
      The third story in the Worcester (MA) Telegram & Gazette‘s (9/26) "Regional Digest" column reports, "The Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center has been awarded $14,755 in federal homeless grants" from the US VA. The money "was part of about $3,124,000 granted" by US VA.
      The Council Bluffs (IA) Daily Nonpareil (9/26, Rohwer) reports the "Christian Worship Center, in partnership with other agencies, has just received a $1.8 million federal" VA "grant to help build a 26-unit transitional housing complex at 16th and Nicholas streets in Omaha. It will serve veterans from Council Bluffs, as well as in Omaha, officials said."

2.      VA Grants Full Access To Benefits, Care For Those With Lou Gehrig’s Disease.   In continuing coverage, the Orlando (FL) Sentinel (9/25, Santich) reported the US Department of Veterans Affairs this week "granted all veterans" with Lou Gehrig’s disease "full access to VA health and disability benefits, regardless of where or when they served in the military. The new rules take effect immediately." In commenting on the news, VA Secretary James Peake said, "Veterans are developing [the disease] in rates higher than the general population, and it was appropriate to take action." The Hampton Roads (VA) Daily Press (9/25) published the same story, while the Gainesville (FL) Sun (9/25) and Indiana’s Evening News And Tribune (9/26, Moody) published similar reports.

3.      VA Involved With Attempt To Improve Care Of Wounded Soldiers.   The Fort Leavenworth Lamp /Army News Service (9/26, Hasenauer) reports, "Some 400 representatives from the Army, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Labor and Social Security Administration, among others, are meeting" in Leesburg, Virginia, "this week to discuss ways to improve the care of wounded and ill" soldiers. Many of the discussions "have centered on revamping" the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) process by which those soldiers "are screened to determine whether or not they’re fit to continue to serve, said Brig. Gen. Gary Cheek, the Army’s assistant surgeon general for Warrior Care and Transition." Army leaders "are looking at ways to get current legislation governing the MEB process changed, to transition it from the Army to the VA." Lt. Col. Marie Dominguez, special assistant to the VA Secretary at the VA’s central office in Washington, DC, "is among the many people working to improve the MEB process."

4.      VA Secretary’s Advisor To Speak At Women Veterans Conference.   The Valencia County (NM) News-Bulletin (9/26) reports, "Workshops addressing problems and offering solutions to issues facing the nation’s women military veterans is the focus of the 2008 ‘Beyond the Yellow Ribbon: Proudly She Served’ conference in Albuquerque. The one-day conference, scheduled for October 2, "is sponsored by the New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services." The News-Bulletin says Irene Trowell-Harris will be the featured speaker during a luncheon that will be held at the conference. Trowell-Harris is the "primary advisor" to the US Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

5.      VA Clinic Now Open In Branson, Missouri.   Missouri’s Hometown Daily News (9/25, Clanton) reported the new Branson Veterans Affairs Clinic "is open and starting to see patients." And on Wednesday, during a meeting of the Branson Veterans Task Force, "office manager Arlen Lipper explained how local veterans could be transferred to the Branson clinic."

6.      New VA Clinic To Open Next Week In Oklahoma.   The Ardmore (OK) Daily Ardmoreite (9/25, Robinson) reported, "Veterans in the Ardmore area who need to see a doctor will be going to a new location" after the Oklahoma City Veterans Administration Medical Center opens "the Ardmore VA Outpatient Clinic at 2002 12th Ave. NW, Suite E on Oct. 1. A contract with Mercy Memorial Health Center to provide veteran services" at 921 14th Ave. NW "will expire on Sept. 30." The "new clinic will eventually employ five individuals, according to Stacy Rine, public affairs officer for the Oklahoma City VA Center."

7.      VA To Open Temporary Clinic In Indiana.   In continuing coverage, the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal (9/26) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs will open an outpatient clinic next week" in Scottsburg, Indiana. The temporary VA Healthcare Center at 279 N. Gardner St. is scheduled to open Tuesday." A "permanent clinic at 1467 N. Scott Valley Drive is expected to be finished next spring."

8.      Vets Warned There Could Be Fewer Services At Clinic In Ohio.   The Youngstown (OH) Vindicator (9/26) reports, "Veterans need to use the Veterans Affairs Youngstown Outpatient Clinic on Belmont Avenue or potentially lose services, VA officials said." Mark Bell, "clinical administrator for the Youngstown VA," said the situation amounts to "use it or lose it." The Vindicator adds, "Funding for VA facilities is based on usage, and while the number of patients treated at the Belmont VA Clinic has been up and down over the last few years, the trend is down, Bell said."

9.      VA Facilities Offering Free Flu Shots.   The third story in the Erie (PA) Times And News’ (9/25) "Local News Brief" column said the Erie Veterans Affairs Medical Center "will offer free flu and pneumonia vaccines Saturday to eligible veterans." Flu shots "also will be offered weekdays…at the hospital" and "its clinics in Meadville, Oil City, Warren and Ashtabula, Ohio."
      The Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch (9/25) reported the Huntington VA Medical Center "is offering free flu shots" on "Tuesday, Sept. 30, Saturday, Oct. 4, and Tuesday, Oct. 7." Flu shots "are also available during any scheduled primary care or specialty clinic appointment."

10.    VA Patient Granted Last Wish To Fly In Helicopter.   On its website, WDAY-TV Fargo, ND (9/25, Vincent) reported that 62-year-old Robert Hoel, a patient at Fargo’s Veterans Affairs hospital, was recently granted a last wish to fly in a helicopter. MeritCare physician and pilot Tom Naegle "donated his helicopter and time to take" Hoel, who is currently battling cancer, on the flight. WDAY added that Hoel "would like to start a program at the VA so other veterans can also experience their last wish."