Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 10-28-08

1. Study Details Reports Of Sexual Assault Among Female War Veterans.  
2. VA Official Says New GI Bill Program Will Begin On Schedule.  
3. VA To Deploy Counseling Vehicles In Salt Lake, 49 Other Cities.  
4. Veterans Health Care Act Said To Be Good For TBI Victims.  
5. VA Providing Assistance To Homeless Vets In Wisconsin.  
6. Manchester VAMC Expanding.  
7. Congress Urged To Create VA Office For Saipan.  
8. Public Becoming More Aware Of PTSD.  
9. VA-Backed Home Loans On The Rise..  
10. VA, DoD Complete Pilot Information Sharing Program.

HAVE YOU HEARD?
The success of last year’s “Valentines for Vets” concert by rock and roll legends Little Anthony and the Imperials in Prescott, Ariz., has led to a VA partnership with Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame will feature Little Anthony and the Imperials as the headline act for a 2009 National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Valentines for Vets in Cleveland, Ohio, February 13. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will proclaim Saturday, Feb. 14, as National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Day at the Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and will have free admission for every veteran and member of the military on that day. In addition, concerts at two other venues have been added as part of the 2009 National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans. And organizers hope to develop more Valentines for Veterans concerts in 2009 and beyond in coordination with VA medical centers, Veterans Service Organizations and the business community. Plans are being finalized to again feature Little Anthony and the Imperials and the nationally renowned Motown soul group The Spinners at a concert on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009 at the Florida State Fair in Tampa. Other concerts featuring well known national and regional musical groups will be held on Feb. 13 in Charleston, S.C., and on Feb. 14 in Prescott.  

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From the VA Boston Healthcare System – Worcester Outpatient Clinic – 605 Lincoln Street – Worcester, MA 01605

Actively enrolled veterans in the VA Boston Healthcare System may obtain a flu vaccine on Monday November 11th  at a flu vaccine walk-in clinic at the Worcester VA Outpatient Clinic. The vaccine will be available between
8:00 AM – 3:00 PM located at 605 Lincoln Street, Worcester.  There is no charge for the flu vaccine for veterans actively enrolled in the Boston VA Healthcare System.

Eligibility will be verified prior to administration of the vaccine.  No other services will be available on that day. For information regarding VA Healthcare eligibility call 508-856-0104.  

1.      Study Details Reports Of Sexual Assault Among Female War Veterans.   USA Today (10/28, Elias) reports, "About one out of seven female veterans of Afghanistan or Iraq who visit a Veterans Affairs center for medical care report being a victim of sexual assault or harassment during military duty, a study reports today." The study "is the first of its size to screen veterans for sexual assaults and harassment, covering more than 125,000 who received VA care from October 2001 to October 2007." USA Today adds, "Mental disorders are more prevalent among those who had sexual traumas in the military, says Rachel Kimerling, a psychologist at the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." Kimerling is "co-author of the report," which is "to be released" Tuesday "at the American Public Health Association meeting in San Diego."

      The Los Angeles Times (10/28, Maugh) says that according to the study, which was conducted by VA researchers, women "who reported harassment or assault were 2.3 times as likely to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder as those who did not, and were also more likely to suffer from depression or engage in substance abuse." Similar "data have been found in other studies of the military, ‘but these are the first data specifically coming from veterans deployed" in Iraq or Afghanistan, "said clinical psychologist Amy Street of the National Center for PTSD at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System." Street is a "co-author of the research."

2.      VA Official Says New GI Bill Program Will Begin On Schedule.   In continuing coverage, Tom Philpott (10/26) reported in his syndicated "Military Update" column that the "new Post-9/11 GI Bill…will be launched on schedule next August and begin making payments to students and colleges next fall, just as Congress intended, said a senior Department of Veterans Affairs official." Keith M. Wilson, the "director of education service for the Veterans Benefits Administration, told Military Update on Wednesday that concerns expressed by some lawmakers and veterans’ service organizations that the new GI Bill might not start Aug. 1, as the law requires, are unfounded. However, Wilson said, payments will have to be processed manually…because an automated processing system won’t be ready for two more years."

3.      VA To Deploy Counseling Vehicles In Salt Lake, 49 Other Cities.   The Deseret (UT) Morning News (10/26) reported, "Salt Lake City is one of 50 cities where the Department of Veterans Affairs this week said it will begin using 38-foot motor coaches that will serve as counseling centers for the department’s Vet Center program." In a statement, VA Secretary James Peake "said…staff in the coaches will provide confidential, high-quality readjustment counseling over a broad area." 

4.      Veterans Health Care Act Said To Be Good For TBI Victims.   The Victorville (CA) Daily Press (10/25, Thatcher) reported the US Department of Veterans Affairs "is reporting that a large number of veterans returning from Iraq suffer from traumatic brain injury – as many as one in four Iraq veterans have some form of TBI." But in August, Congress "passed the Veterans Health Care Act," which "includes the establishment of TBI specialized residential care facilities." With the "passage of the congressional bill, TBI is coming to the forefront, victims are given the care they need and not just placed in a facility and ignored," said Rosa Hurtado, owner and founder of Casitas Desert Paradise. The Daily Press said Hurtado’s facility "is the only specialized" one in Southern California for residential care of TBI victims.

5.      VA Providing Assistance To Homeless Vets In Wisconsin.   On its website, WIBA-AM Madison, WI (10/27) reported, "A transitional housing facility in Madison is being turned into an operation geared toward veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who are homeless and have mental health and addiction problems. The United Way of Dane County, Porchlight," and the Veterans Affairs hospital in Madison "are teaming up for the project, which is getting financial assistance" from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The "feds have awarded the facility a $240,000 grant." The "home is expected to be ready for veterans by this time next year."

6.      Manchester VAMC Expanding.   The Manchester (NH) Union Leader (10/27, Tuohy) reports the Manchester Veterans Affairs Medical Center, "one of the fastest growing in New England, will complete a $5 million addition by February." In addition, the hospital "has hired more than 100 new employees this year, and will add 20 to 40 more in early 2009, to meet the twin pressures of increasingly younger and older veterans. ‘One of our major challenges is the lack of space,’ Director Marc F. Levenson said in a recent tour of the Smyth Road facility. The addition will create 30 new exam rooms" at the hospital, but the facility’s "transformation" also "includes an expansion of mental health services and new radiation treatment services at non-VA hospitals for cancer-stricken veterans." The Leader adds, "The state’s congressional delegation continues to fight for a full-service VA hospital," despite the fact that VA Secretary James B. Peake "said this summer, after citing case loads, that the state is unlikely to get one."

7.      Congress Urged To Create VA Office For Saipan.   The Saipan Tribune (10/27, Donato) reports, "Lawmakers are urging" the US Congress "to create a Veterans Affairs office and clinic on Saipan to serve veterans" in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. In a resolution "adopted late last week, the House of Representatives said that approximately 1,400 veterans, reservists, and active duty members, including 400 now serving" in the US Armed Forces, "could benefit from having a VA benefits office and a VA community-based outpatient clinic on island." The Tribune adds, "In related news," the US VA "announced recently that it is amending regulations to…allow" to receive benefits under the VA State Home Program. A press release issued by the office of Rep. Madeleine Bordallo said" VA Secretary James Peake "has acknowledged that under the statute the territories should be eligible for this program and the VA will amend its regulations to allow territories to participate." 8.      Public Becoming More Aware Of PTSD.   In a related story, USA Today (10/27, Elias) says PTSD "is turning up on the public’s radar a lot more as growing numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seek treatment for the illness. About one out of seven service members have returned from deployments with symptoms of the disorder, according to a Rand Corp. study out in April." The Department of Veterans Affairs, meanwhile, "reported about a 70% jump in veterans seeking treatment for PTSD in the 12 months before June 2007 and an additional 50% rise in the next nine months." USA Today adds, "Because PTSD can impair so much of a person’s life, mental health experts are concerned about the fallout for young soldiers." However, the Pentagon "funneled an unprecedented $300 million this year into new research on PTSD and brain injury."

8.      Public Becoming More Aware Of PTSD.   In a related story, USA Today (10/27, Elias) says PTSD "is turning up on the public’s radar a lot more as growing numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seek treatment for the illness. About one out of seven service members have returned from deployments with symptoms of the disorder, according to a Rand Corp. study out in April." The Department of Veterans Affairs, meanwhile, "reported about a 70% jump in veterans seeking treatment for PTSD in the 12 months before June 2007 and an additional 50% rise in the next nine months." USA Today adds, "Because PTSD can impair so much of a person’s life, mental health experts are concerned about the fallout for young soldiers." However, the Pentagon "funneled an unprecedented $300 million this year into new research on PTSD and brain injury." 

9.    VA-Backed Home Loans On The Rise.   The Las Vegas Sun (10/27, McCloskey) says Veterans Affairs-backed loans, which give veterans and active-duty service members "the opportunity to buy homes…with no money down," are "up 31 percent nationwide over last year." In recent years, the "subprime mortgage mania lured many veterans away from VA-backed loans," but the VA "never lowered its underwriting standards." As "a result, those with VA-backed loans are somewhat insulated from the recent spate of foreclosures." But "even veterans who shunned the VA loan program to follow the subprime yellow brick road have a place to turn. More than 300 people at VA regional centers across the country are dedicated to helping veterans in default regardless of the loan type." 

10.    VA, DoD Complete Pilot Information Sharing Program.   In his "For Your Benefit" column in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin (10/27) Fred Ballard said the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department "recently completed a pilot program in which patient information between Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the polytrauma unit at the Tampa VA Medical Center in Florida is shared. Electronic medical information about severely wounded troops soon will be transferred to four VA special treatment centers." This "expansion of the pilot program will share data between VA polytrauma centers in Tampa: Richmond, Va.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Palo Alto, Calf.; and all Army medical treatment facilities."