Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 10-23-08

1. VA Shifting To Backup Plan For New GI Bill Benefits.  
2. Expert Concerned About US Troops Becoming Addicted To Painkillers.  
3. Spokane VAMC Gets Suicide Prevention Coordinator.  
4. VA At Forefront Of Electronic Medical Consent Technology.  
5. FDA Wants Available Data For Electronic Safety System.
6. Veterans "Eagerly Awaiting Construction" of Orlando VAMC.  
7. Biloxi VA Expanding.  
8. Free Flu Shots Available To Veterans Through VA.  
9. Big Spring VAMC Cuts Ribbon On Domiciliary Program.
10. VA Hosts Second Annual Women Veterans Expo.  

1.      VA Shifting To Backup Plan For New GI Bill Benefits.   The Marine Corps Times (10/23, Maze) reports, "Unable to find a qualified contractor to help launch a new and generous GI Bill education benefits package next year, the Department of Veterans Affairs is shifting" to its backup plan, which involves manually processing the benefits. The "process is slower…and might include more errors than the 98 percent accuracy rate that was expected of contractors," so concerns have been raised "over whether the department will be ready" to process the new benefits by next summer. VA Secretary James Peake "said in a statement that the controversy" over the VA’s original plan to bring in outside assistance "may have been the reason why contractors were uninterested. ‘Many private contractors were apparently reluctant to offer proposals because of external misconceptions as to the scope of the work involved,’ Peake said." He added, however, that the "VA can and will deliver the benefits program on time."
      The Shreveport (LA) Times (10/23) reports Patrick W. Dunne, the VA’s Under Secretary for Benefits, "said the Department would have been remiss if it had failed to assess the ability of the private sector to assist" with the technology aspects of implementing the "unusually complex" Post-9/11 GI Bill.

2.      Expert Concerned About US Troops Becoming Addicted To Painkillers.   In continuing coverage, UPI (10/22) reported a US Army pain expert "says increased use of narcotic pain-relief medications by injured troops has raised concerns about addiction. Army Col. Chester ‘Trip’ Buckenmaier III of Walter Reed Army Medical Center said narcotic painkillers are the most abused drug" in the US military, "USA Today reported Tuesday." The newspaper "said pain is the most common complaint of the nearly 350,000 recent war veterans treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs." Stars And Stripes (10/23) publishes a similar story.

3.      Spokane VAMC Gets Suicide Prevention Coordinator.   In continuing coverage, the AP (10/22) reported, "The Spokane Veterans Affairs Medical Center has appointed a suicide prevention coordinator to oversee mandatory training for every hospital employee." The facility "says it’s raising awareness about…suicide risk" following the "July death of a former Navy fireman with a history of mental health problems." The fireman "was the sixth suicide in 2008 of a veteran treated" at the Spokane VAMC.

4.      VA At Forefront Of Electronic Medical Consent Technology.   Government Health IT (10/23, Pulley) reports Dr. James Gottesman "created what is believed to be the first electronic medical consent form," and now, a "quarter-century later, the mainstream medical community is catching up" to him, with physicians "adopting new technology to improve the…process." The "Defense and Veterans Affairs departments, which train a large percentage of the country’s doctors, are also driving the adoption of informed-consent technology," and Gottesman "predicts that the involvement of large government programs will lead to a standard for obtaining and documenting informed consent." Government Health IT adds, "Seeking to reduce medical errors, improve patient outcomes and avoid lawsuits," the VA "has adopted a system…named iMedConsent" to "obtain and document informed consent at its 155 medical centers." And to "further improve" the informed consent process, VA officials "are testing a new tool that lets patients who have been briefed about a procedure show their knowledge by explaining it to their doctor. They expect to release the results of that study later this year."

5.      FDA Wants Available Data For Electronic Safety System.   In an article on difficulties faced by the Food and Drug Administration as it attempts to assemble Sentinel, "an electronic risk assessment and surveillance system," Government Health IT (10/23, Buxbaum) reports, "As a first step, FDA made information-sharing agreements with the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments." Such cooperation is a goal of Dr. Rachel Behrman, the director of the FDA’s Office of Critical Path Programs, who wants Sentinel to be a national network that will "capitalize" on already available information. Government Health IT says databases operated by the Military Health System, or MHAs, "would form one of the pillars of that network." The FDA already "has a similar arrangement with the Veterans Health Administration," but that relationship only allows the FDA "to use VHA’s investigations of its data – a far cry from the direct access to raw data envisioned under Sentinel." Government Health IT adds, "Although VHA and FDA officials have discussed" a system that would share more information, the VHA "has not committed to the venture" because of concerns about the potential misuse of VHA data.

6.      Veterans "Eagerly Awaiting Construction" of Orlando VAMC.   The Daytona (FL) News Journal (10/23, Parente) reports thousands of veterans "are eagerly awaiting construction" of the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Lake Nona, "which will break ground on Friday. Completion is scheduled for 2012."

7.      Biloxi VA Expanding.   On its website, WLOX-TV Biloxi, MS (10/22, Thomas) reported Veterans Affairs officials "say a $5 million emergency room expansion" of the Biloxi VA will be finished by the end of the year. And with "one expansion is almost complete, another at the VA clinic is just beginning. VA officials say Project Acorn is $310 million in federal money that will expand the clinic by 150,000 square feet. That funding will also build a new mental health facility, community living center, a 500 space parking garage, and an inpatient blind rehabilitation center." The "Project Acorn work is to be complete by 2012."

8.      Free Flu Shots Available To Veterans Through VA.   The lead story in the Emporia (KS) Gazette’s (10/23) "About Town" column reports the Veterans Affairs Eastern Kansas Health Care System "will have free flu shot clinics for enrolled veterans at the Emporia Community Based Outpatient Clinic" on October 27th, November 3rd, and November 10th. In addition, the Colmery-O’Neil VA Medical Center in Topeka "will have a walk-in and drive-up flu shot clinic in the north outpatient lobby of Building One from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays through Nov. 8."
      On its website, WSFA-TV Montgomery, AL (10/22) said the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) "will be offering veterans an additional opportunity to receive" their flu "and Pneumovax vaccinations when they conduct ‘Walk-in Flu Clinics’ Saturday October 25 from 8 am through noon at the medical centers in Montgomery and Tuskegee, as well as the Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Columbus, Ga. and CAVHCS’ Mental Health Clinic in Dothan, Ala."
      The Muskogee (OK) Phoenix (10/23) reports the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee "is offering several opportunities for veterans to receive flu shots." On November 1st, a "free ‘Drive Thru Flu Clinic’ for all enrolled veterans will be held" in a parking lot located across the street from the hospital. A clinic will also "be held in the facility’s second floor auditorium" on November 3rd thought November 7th, November 10th, and November 12th through November 14th. Veterans "can also receive a flu vaccination during their regularly scheduled appointments."
      On its website, KOLD-TV Tucson, AZ (10/22, White) reported, "Tucson’s VA hospital is trying to make it as easy as possible for enrolled vets to get their flu shots" by "offering drive-through shot clinics from now until the end of the month, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m." In addition, there "will be one weekend drive-through clinic this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m."

9.      Big Spring VAMC Cuts Ribbon On Domiciliary Program.   In continuing coverage, the KOSA-TV Odessa, TX (10/22) website reported that the Big Spring Veterans Affairs Hospital "had a special ribbon cutting" Wednesday "to open its new domiciliary program. The program is in 170 hospitals nationwide and helps treat military veterans who have a substance abuse problem." Big Spring’s "new 40-bed facility for the program…is expected to be" operating "by the beginning of next year." In a related story, the KOSA-TV Odessa, TX (10/22) website noted that US Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony.

10.    VA Hosts Second Annual Women Veterans Expo.   The Grand Junction (CO) Free Press (10/23, Vader) reports dozens of women veterans "took advantage of health care information disseminated at Tuesday’s" at "second annual Veterans Administration Women Veterans Expo in Grand Junction." Army "veteran Amanda McSweeny, M.D., works as a general surgeon at Grand Junction’s VA Hospital," and at Tuesday’s expo, she gave the women in attendance "a primer on breast cancer and colon cancer, encouraging them to be screened annually for both." The KREX-TV Grand Junction, CO (10/22) website also took note of the expo.