Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 10-22-08

1. Peake Visits Charlie Norwood VAMC.  
2. VA Temporarily Suspends Document Shredding.  
3. Peake To Attend Groundbreaking For New Florida Facility.  
4. Peake Says Guam Is Eligible For State Home Grant Assistance Program.  
5. Spokane VAMC Takes Steps To Address Rise In Suicides.  
6. Few Vets Injured In Iraq Decide To Complete MHS Survey.  
7. Army Hospital To Begin Giving Post-Deployment Health Assessments.  
8. Roseburg VAMC Holds Ceremony For New MRI Unit.  
9. Chillicothe VAMC Hosts Breast Cancer Awareness Event.  
10. VA Offering Free Flu Shots To Veterans.  

HAVE YOU HEARD?
Legendary actress Jane Powell was honored by VA last week for her legacy of service to military personnel and veterans. Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake presented the stage and screen star the Secretary’s Diamond Award for her service to America’s veterans, especially her support of the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival. The Diamond Award is VA’s highest honor to private citizens for helping the Department carry out its mission. Peake noted that Ms. Powell, who starred in MGM musicals in the 1940’s and 1950’s and is still active on stage, has volunteered her time and talent for nine years to serve as mistress of ceremonies for the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival. The National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, presented by VA, Help Hospitalized Veterans and the American Legion Auxiliary, is the culmination of a year-long fine arts talent competition involving more than 3,000 veterans nationwide. "I have been associated with our servicemen and women for most of my life” said Ms. Powell. “In my opinion, this award represents one of the greatest honors I have ever received."

1.      Peake Visits Charlie Norwood VAMC.   On its website, WRDW-TV Augusta, GA (10/21, Jeffery) reported the Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center "is home to hundreds of wounded warriors who are recovering here in Augusta and today those soldiers were able to meet" VA Secretary Dr. James Peake, "the man running the whole VA system." Peake "says with Augusta’s growing veteran population, this is one of the places he’s considering to expand services." WRDW added that US Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and US Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) joined Peake "as he visited the wounded warriors at Fort Gordon and veterans at the Downtown Division of the VA."
      Secretary Praises Work Being Done In Georgia.   The Augusta (GA) Chronicle (10/22, Edwards) says the "upper echelons" of the US VA "have noticed what Augusta’s hospitals do for war-wounded troops, and President Bush’s appointed head of the agency visited Tuesday to have a look for himself." This month, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center "finally got a federal recovery coordinator, a medical expert charged with helping severely injured troops wade through bureaucratic processes." Peake’s "tour of Eisenhower and…Norwood," accompanied "by two members of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, should also bode well." The Chronicle notes that Peake "heaped praise" on an "active-duty rehabilitation unit — a collaboration between Eisenhower and the Augusta VA — and hinted at expanding its mission."

2.      VA Temporarily Suspends Document Shredding.   In continuing coverage, Federal Daily (10/21) reported the US Department of Veteran Affairs "announced Oct. 16 that it has suspended all file shredding until inspectors figure out why a handful of unduplicated documents related to veterans’ applications for financial benefits were headed for the agency shredder. The documents were discovered by employees" of the VA’s Inspector General "during an audit at three of VA’s 56 regional benefits offices, which process applications for disability pay, VA pensions, educational assistance, home loans and similar financial benefits. The loss of the documents could have been critical, because no duplicates exist and the potential benefits for the veterans involved could have been affected, said VA Secretary James Peake."

3.      Peake To Attend Groundbreaking For New Florida Facility.   On its blog, the Lakeland (FL) Ledger (10/21, Adams) said a groundbreaking for the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center, "to be located at Lake Nona, will take place at 10 a.m. Oct. 24 with Secretary of Veterans Affairs James D. Peake as keynote speaker."

4.      Peake Says Guam Is Eligible For State Home Grant Assistance Program.   Guam’s Pacific News Center (10/22, Arroyo) reports, "Guam will be included for eligibility in the state home grant assistance program, opening up the possibility that Guam will soon have" its own state "home to serve aging and ailing veterans." A news release from the office of Congresswoman Madeline Bordallo (D-GU) said US Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake "has acknowledged that…territories should be eligible for this program and the VA will amend its regulations to allow territories to participate."

 5.      Spokane VAMC Takes Steps To Address Rise In Suicides.   The Spokane (WA) Spokesman Review (10/22, Graman) reports, "Following a marked increase in the number of veterans who killed themselves in the first half of this year, the Spokane Veterans Affairs Medical Center has taken steps to reduce the risk of suicide among its patients." A policy adopted recently by the "Spokane VA outlines procedures for saving the lives of high-risk veterans." These procedures include the appointment of a suicide prevention coordinator and mandatory suicide awareness training for every medical center employee. In addition, veterans at risk of suicide will now be "placed on a 90-day watch list." The "spike in suicides at the Spokane VA mirrored an alarming national trend. In testimony before the House Veterans Affairs Committee in May, VA Secretary James Peake said male veterans ages 18 to 29 had a suicide rate more than double the rate of men in that age group in the general population."

6.      Few Vets Injured In Iraq Decide To Complete MHS Survey.   The Fort Wayne (IN) News Sentinel (10/22, Boen) reports, "The response from…military personnel hurt while serving in the two Iraq wars to an extensive survey has been a minute percentage of the total hurt or coping with post-traumatic stress disorder." As of October 14th, "more than 15,000 men and women, serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom, had been injured and unable to return to active duty within 72 hours, according to the Department of Defense. Yet fewer than 1,000 of those individuals have responded to a questionnaire seeking input from the Military Health System (MHS) on the military personnel’s experience and satisfaction with care they received." The survey "is the most extensive one that wounded service members have ever done, said Michael Kilpatrick, director for strategic communications" for the MHS, "which is a Department of Defense…enterprise." The News Sentinel notes that Jeffrey Hull, a spokesman with the Veterans Affairs Northern Indiana Health Care Systems said the DoD has "not asked for our help with the survey."

7.      Army Hospital To Begin Giving Post-Deployment Health Assessments.   The Clarksville (TN) Leaf-Chronicle (10/22, Lowary) reports, "When about 12,500 soldiers from Fort Campbell return from…Iraq" in a "few weeks, Blanchfield Army Community Hospital will set another precedent in the military health system." Each of the returning soldiers "will go through" a post-deployment health assessment "aimed at identifying physical and psychological injuries," such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), "that might otherwise go unnoticed." Suicide "remains the worst possible result from TBI and PTSD," so the Army "is working to destigmatize treatment for mental health disorders." Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network Executive Director Scott Ridgway, who "has…been tapped by Fort Campbell to sit on a committee to identify ways to prevent" suicide, said the Department of Veterans Affairs has also boosted its effort in this area by designating staff for suicide prevention work.  

8.      Roseburg VAMC Holds Ceremony For New MRI Unit.   The Roseburg (OR) News-Review (10/22, Harshman) reports, "The culmination of a two-year project was marked Monday" with a "dedication and grand opening of the Roseburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s first and only magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit." The "new unit…will serve veterans who live in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Before the VA acquired the unit, veterans needing an MRI had to travel to Portland for care and oftentimes ended up waiting five to six weeks for the scan."

9.      Chillicothe VAMC Hosts Breast Cancer Awareness Event.   The Jackson County (OH) Times-Journal (10/21) reports, "October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month," and on October 15th, the Women’s Health Clinic at the Chillicothe Veterans Affairs Medical Center "sponsored an Open House." At the event, VA employees were given "breast health literature, self breast exam reminder shower instruction cards, and various other Breast Cancer Awareness tokens."

10.    VA Offering Free Flu Shots To Veterans.   The Medford (OR) Mail Tribune (10/22, Fattig) reports, "The annual free drive-through flu vaccination clinic for eligible veterans will be held Wednesday" at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics (SORCC). This "marks the third year for the fall drive-through vaccination program, which draws more veterans each year, observed Yvonne Chilcoat, infection control and occupation health nurse at the facility."
      The second story in the Craig (CO) Daily Press’ (10/22) "Craig Briefs" column reports, "Free flu shots for veterans who are registered patients with the Grand Junction VA Medical Center are available on a walk-in basis" Monday through Friday.