Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 10-31-08

1. VA Hospital In Missouri To Host Welcome Home Event.
2. Salvation Army Planning To Build Veterans’ Apartments In California.  
3. National Disabilities Awareness Forum Held At VA Facility In West Virginia.  
4. VA Co-Hosts Stand Down Event In South Carolina.  
5. VA Helps Set Up Veterans Health Fair In Ohio.  
6. Clinic In Wisconsin To Expand Hours, Add Staff.  
7. VA Reps To Discuss Iowa Clinic During Town Hall Meeting.  
8. VA To Test Relapse-Prevention Game At Treatment Center.  
9. Carl T. Hayden VAMC To Conduct Drive-Through Flu Shot Clinic.  
10. Federal Money Pays For Upgrades At Rhode Island Veterans’ Cemetery.

HAVE YOU HEARD?
Two VA researchers — Sterling C. Johnson, Ph.D. and Dr. William S. Yancy Jr. — were among 60 scientists from 11 federal agencies honored this year with the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. The annual awards recognize top young scientists and engineers for their “innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology” and for their scientific leadership and community outreach. Johnson is a clinical psychologist and neuroscience researcher at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wis., and an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He uses brain imaging and neuropsychological measurement to study disorders that affect memory and self-awareness. One of his current VA-funded studies involves combat veterans with traumatic brain injury. Yancy is a physician at the Durham VA Medical Center in North Carolina, an investigator at that site’s Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, and an assistant professor at Duke University Medical Center. He studies the effects of diet and exercise on obesity and its complications. A study by his group made headlines in 2004 when it showed that people on a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet lost more weight over six months than people on a low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie diet. The study was the first randomized, controlled trial of an Atkins-style approach to eating. As part of their awards, Johnson and Yancy each receive $125,000 over five years from VA’s Office of Research and Development in support of their research.

1.      VA Hospital In Missouri To Host Welcome Home Event.   The Moberly (MO) Monitor Index (10/30) reported, "A Welcome Home event for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans and their families will take place at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Columbia, on Saturday, Nov. 1." The celebration "is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m." at the Columbia Veterans Affairs hospital.

2.      Salvation Army Planning To Build Veterans’ Apartments In California.   The San Bernardino County (CA) Sun (10/29, Edwards) reported, "The Salvation Army plans to build new apartments and refurbish an existing homeless shelter to provide a roof to more than 100 women and children who might otherwise be" out "on the streets. The charity will also set aside space for women veterans." According to the Salvation Army, the Department of Veterans Affairs "provided a $150,000 grant for the planned apartments." The Sun also said the VA "reports that as of May, the agency’s homeless outreach coordinators across the United States have seen 1,819 veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past three fiscal years."

3.      National Disabilities Awareness Forum Held At VA Facility In West Virginia.   On its website, WVNS-TV Bluefield, WV (10/30, Fritz) reported, "The National Disabilities Awareness Forum was held at the Beckley VA center" on Wednesday. Organizers "say that more than 200 people were there."

4.      VA Co-Hosts Stand Down Event In South Carolina.   On its website, WCSC-TV Charleston, SC (10/30, Kelderman) reported, "The 9th annual Stand Down Against Homelessness is going on Thursday and Friday in North Charleston," and organizers "are already seeing record turnout. In just the first two hours" of the event, which is sponsored by the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Goodwill Industries, "670 people came through the doors seeking help." Last year, "1,300 people were helped," but that "number…is expected to be shattered by the end of the event this year." The WCIV-TV Charleston, SC (10/30) website ran a similar story.

5.      VA Helps Set Up Veterans Health Fair In Ohio.   Ohio’s Herald Star (10/31, Gossett) reports, "Military veterans will have the opportunity to participate in a free health screening Saturday at the Commons Area at Steubenville High School. The 15th-annual veterans health fair" starts "at 9 a.m. and continue through 3 p.m. According to Ed Mascio, service officer at the Jefferson County Veterans Service Commission, the health fair has been arranged in partnership with the Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System and the Steubenville City Schools."

6.      Clinic In Wisconsin To Expand Hours, Add Staff.   In continuing coverage, the KUWS-FM Superior, WI (10/30, Simonson) website reported, "Veterans in northwestern Wisconsin will be getting better medical care with less of a wait," when the "Hayward Veterans Affairs Clinic will expand its services from two to three days a week beginning November 24th. Along with more hours," the clinic "is expanding its facility and adding more staff." Ralph Huessner of the Minneapolis VA Medical Center "understands that some vets would like to see more service but says the need isn’t there yet. ‘We acknowledge that veterans in northwest Wisconsin would like to see a five-day-week clinic but we just don’t have the numbers.’"

7.      VA Reps To Discuss Iowa Clinic During Town Hall Meeting.   Iowa’s Valley News Today (10/31, Nelson) reports, "With the Shenandoah Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) scheduled to open in early 2009, representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs will be holding a town hall meeting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Gladys Wirsig-Jones Auditorium in Shenandoah. Will Ackerman, public affairs officer" with Veteran Affairs in Omaha, "said the public meeting is open to all veterans, their families and caregivers." Ackerman "added the actual CBOC presentation takes about 30 minutes but they plan to spend an additional hour answering questions from the audience. ‘It’s a really good informational meeting. The questions that veterans may have are the same questions other veterans have.’"

8.      VA To Test Relapse-Prevention Game At Treatment Center.   The East Orlando (FL) Sun (10/30, Stokes) reports, "The University of Central Florida is developing a relapse-prevention game called Guardian Angel that will hopefully provide a virtual supplement to Alcoholics Anonymous programs by allowing recovering alcoholics the chance to navigate their new," alcohol-free lives. The game "will be tested in 2009 at the Charleston VA, where over 700 veterans were treated within the Substance Abuse Treatment Center last year alone. If it is successful," the VA’s Dr. Marcy Verduin "said the program could be rolled into the Orlando VAMC treatment plan."

9.      Carl T. Hayden VAMC To Conduct Drive-Through Flu Shot Clinic.   On its website, KTAR-AM Phoenix, AZ (10/30) reported, "The Carl T. Hayden Veterans Administration Medical Center will conduct a drive-through flu shot clinic Saturday." The VA "also offers free flu shots during regular appointments, as well as visits to its clinics around the state. The VA said that about 83 percent" of the US population "falls within a high-risk category for getting the flu, but less than 40 percent of the population received a vaccination during the 2007-2008 flu season."

10.    Federal Money Pays For Upgrades At Rhode Island Veterans’ Cemetery.   The AP (10/30) reported, "A new building named after a World War II airman who flew 50 missions over Nazi-occupied Europe has opened at the Rhode Island Veterans’ Cemetery in Exeter." On Thursday, the "George Panichas Administration Building opened…as part of a $5.7 million federally funded package of upgrades at the cemetery." Panichas is on Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri’s "Advisory Committee on Veterans Affairs and chairs the cemetery’s Oversight Subcommittee. The federal money also is paying for road improvements and cemetery expansions."
      The Providence (RI) Journal (10/31, Naylor) reports Carcieri "dedicated $5.7 million in improvements" at the cemetery Thursday morning, "saying the federal grant had helped create a ‘phenomenal facility.’" A related story in the Providence (RI) Journal (10/31, Naylor) profiled some of the people attended the ceremony.