Today’s Local News for Veterans
What’s Inside
1. Vet Center Outreach Vehicle Coming To Arkansas.
2. Peake’s Proposal For A Replacement Hospital In Colorado Endorsed.
3. Council Defends Rhode Island Veterans Home
4. Smoking Among US Troops In Iraq Said To Be Up.
5. GAO Recommends Changes To VA Nursing System.
6. VA Official Says Clinic Has Been Delayed By Partnership With IHS.
7. Togus VAMC To Offer Assistance To Homeless Veterans.
8. Flute Choir To Perform At VA Hospital In Florida.
9. Burn Pit On US Base In Iraq Said To Pose Health Risks.
10. State Seeks Public’s Input On New Vets Home In Washington.
HAVE YOU HEARD?
ROLLIN’, ROLLIN’, ROLLIN’ … MOBILE VET CENTERS ARE ROLLIN’ — VA unveiled the first of 50 mobile counseling centers for use by Vet Centers in Washington, DC, last week at VA Central Office. Each vehicle will be assigned to one of VA’s existing Vet Centers, enabling the center to improve access to counseling by bringing services closer to veterans. The 38-foot motor coaches, which have spaces for confidential counseling, will carry Vet Center counselors and outreach workers to events and activities to reach veterans in broad geographic areas, supplementing VA’s 232 current Vet Centers, which are scheduled to increase to 271 by the end of 2009. The vehicles will also be used to visit events typically staffed by local Vet Center staff, including homeless "stand downs," veteran community events, county fairs, and unit reunions at sites ranging from Native American reservations to colleges. While most of their use will be in Vet Centers’ delivery of readjustment counseling services, the local manager may arrange with VA hospitals or clinics in the region to provide occasional support for health promotion activities such as health screenings. The normal counseling layout can be converted to support emergency medical missions, such as hurricanes and other natural disasters. The fleet will be activated during the next three months.
1. Vet Center Outreach Vehicle Coming To Arkansas. The Benton County (AR) Daily Record (10/29, Lookadoo) reports, "The Fayetteville Vet Center was one of 50 centers selected to receive a Vet Center Community Outreach Vehicle," US Rep. John Boozman (R-AK) said in a "joint press release with Arkansas’ two" US senators, "Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both Democrats." The Daily Record adds, "The distribution of the fleet of vehicles around the nation will help the VA reach an underserved constituency," VA Secretary Dr. James B. Peake said on his agency’s website.
2. Peake’s Proposal For A Replacement Hospital In Colorado Endorsed. In an editorial, the Rocky Mountain (C) News (10/29) notes that President Bush recently signed a bill authorizing $568 million for a Veterans Affairs hospital "to replace the aging Denver Medical Center. VA Secretary James Peake has suggested that would be enough money to build a new facility that shares some space with the University of Colorado Hospital. Unfortunately, the legislation does not specify a shared arrangement." But "Peake’s proposal…should be adopted. We believe veterans would benefit from the synergies of a partnership," and "medical care would not be compromised."
3. Council Defends Rhode Island Veterans Home. The Providence (RI) Journal (10/28, Macris) reported, "The Rhode Island Veterans Home, sharply criticized in a recent report for past management practices that intimidated some residents and alienated their families, has turned a corner," according to "The Governor’s Advisory Council on Veterans Affairs." The council "held an emergency meeting" Monday "to discuss the recent release of a caustic report from a Special House Commission to Study Potential Administrative and Functional Improvements to the veterans’ home. All agreed with a recommendation that the state needs a new veterans home, but members of the advisory council took issue with the way the report characterized the facility as ‘dilapidated.’" The WJAT-TV Providence, RI (10/28, McGee) website also noted Monday’s meeting.
4. Smoking Among US Troops In Iraq Said To Be Up. At the end of a report on a new study which found that nearly "75 percent of current smokers trying to kick the habit are now highly nicotine-dependent," HealthDay (10/28, Reniberg) noted that in another new study, US Navy researcher Michael A. Wilson "reported that the prevalence of smoking among Marines and sailors serving in Iraq is more than two times" the US average. Wilson warned that such "abuse will likely cause a greater negative impact on the long-term health" of US veterans "than combat-related injuries and will have great financial consequences for both" the VA and US healthcare systems.
5. GAO Recommends Changes To VA Nursing System. In continuing coverage, Government Executive (10/28, Ballenstedt) said Veterans Affairs "medical centers face significant hurdles in recruiting and retaining" nurses, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. According "to VA nursing officials, retention problems stem from nurses spending too much time performing non-nursing duties such as housekeeping and clerical tasks, GAO said." Also, while the VA’s "medical centers were authorized in 2004 to offer" registered nurses (RNs) alternative work schedules, "few nurse executives reported" doing so. The GAO recommended that the VA "implement a new staffing system and assess the barriers to alternative work schedules." The VA "agreed with GAO’s…recommendations, noting that it plans to develop a new nurse staffing system. The Office of Nursing Service also plans to create a special task force to identify options for expanding alternative and flexible work schedules."
6. VA Official Says Clinic Has Been Delayed By Partnership With IHS. The Wagner (SD) Announcer (10/29, Wepking) reports, "The partnership between" the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Services to build a veterans clinic in Wagner "has caused delays in construction," according "to Shirley Redmond of the Sioux Falls VA office. ‘This is the first time anything like this has been done–a partnership of this magnitude between the VA and IHS. We’re still working through legal negotiations,’ said Redmond." The clinic "was originally scheduled to be up and running last August or September, 2008," and Redmond "admitted that people in the Wagner area are quite nervous." She added, however, that the clinic is still coming, even though getting it put in place "has taken so much longer than we ever thought" it would.
7. Togus VAMC To Offer Assistance To Homeless Veterans. The Central Maine Morning Sentinel (10/29, Cover) reports the Togus Veterans Affairs Medical Center "will host the 11th annual Maine Homeless Veterans Stand-Down at 9 a.m. Saturday." The event will allow homeless veterans "to take advantage of a variety of services, including medical/dental screening," counseling and "legal advice." There "will also be a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings for the veterans and volunteers."
8. Flute Choir To Perform At VA Hospital In Florida. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel (10/29, Sorocka) reports "Flutes for Fun, a Boynton Beach-based flute choir," is "preparing for a performance on Nov. 8 at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 7305 N. Military Trail, in Riviera Beach."
9. Burn Pit On US Base In Iraq Said To Pose Health Risks. The Air Force Times (10/28, Kennedy) reported, "An open-air ‘burn pit’" at Joint Base Balad, the "largest" US base in Iraq, "may have exposed tens of thousands of troops, contractors and Iraqis to cancer-causing dioxins, poisons such as arsenic and carbon monoxide, and hazardous medical waste, documentation gathered by Military Times shows." Health risks "from breathing chemicals and smoke" generated by the burn pit "were discussed in April at a meeting of the Defense Health Board." Mark Brown, the "director of the Environmental Agents Service in the Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards for the Department of Veterans Affairs," attended that meeting, and he told the Times, "You couldn’t get away with this kind of waste disposal" in the US. Brown went on to say the VA has already heard concerns about burn pits from returning veterans, but Defense officials "say burn pits do not pose serious health risks."
10. State Seeks Public’s Input On New Vets Home In Washington. In continuing coverage, the KVEW-TV Kennewick, WA (10/28, Kuiang) website reported that on Tuesday afternoon, "about 60" people "attended a community meeting in Walla Walla. The state wanted public input on a new vets home" that it "proposes to build the home on the campus" of the Walla Walla Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The "earliest the home would be built is 2011."
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