Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 12-19-08

1. VA To Issue Retroactive Checks To Widows.  
2. AFGE Says It Will Keep Fighting Against Proposed Changes At Hefner VAMC.  
3. Environmental Angle Pursued To Slow Residential Development At Montrose.  
4. Columnist Says US Veterans Will Benefit From Shinseki’s Leadership At VA.  
5. VA Agrees To Reimburse Cemetery Fees For Six Montana Families.  
6. VA To Conduct Suicide Prevention Training Class In New York.  
7. Leaders From South American Country Conduct PTSD Fact-Finding Mission.  
8. SSA Becomes First Agency To Use National Health Network.  
9. VA Reps Discuss New Clinic At Meeting In Tennessee.  
10. Construction Contract Awarded For New Psychiatric Care Facility

     1.      VA To Issue Retroactive Checks To Widows.   In continuing coverage, the Washington Times (12/19, Harper) reports that on Thursday, the US Department of Veterans Affairs "announced…it has corrected a faulty computer program that wrongfully denied benefits to the surviving spouses of veterans for the past 12 years. Retroactive checks will be issued" and "a new toll-free number has been established to help the wronged," of which, "there are many. An estimated 600,000 widows and widowers were entitled to receive a one-time ‘month of death’ benefit paid to them when their spouse died — a benefit guaranteed by law since 1996." VA Secretary James B. Peake commented on the benefit payments, saying they are "long overdue to many of our beneficiaries."

2.      AFGE Says It Will Keep Fighting Against Proposed Changes At Hefner VAMC.   In continuing coverage, the Salisbury (NC) Post (12/19) reports, "The American Federation of Government Employees announced last Friday it will continue to fight proposed changes" to the Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center, "despite claims" by the US VA "that the process has been halted." The VA "announced last Thursday that it would not implement any proposed changes to the Hefner VA until 2013," but union officials "criticized the VA’s continued commitment to privatize" Hefner. AFGE National Secretary-Treasurer J. David Cox commented on the situation, saying that all VA Secretary James Peake has "really done is committed to giving" the hospital "a slow death."

3.      Environmental Angle Pursued To Slow Residential Development At Montrose.   The Westchester (NY) Journal News (12/19, Marchant) reports, "The town of Cortlandt is trying a new legal strategy to slow or even block large-scale residential development" of the Veterans Affairs campus in Montrose, New York. The "Town Board is seeking to make its case in federal court in White Plains" that the VA "must abide by environmental regulations and go through a significant review process before allowing any development at the veterans facility." The "Town Board unanimously authorized" attorney Tom Wood "to file a ‘declaratory judgment’ that would compel the VA to carry out an extensive environmental review of building plans through the National Environmental Policy Act." But Jay Halpern, "the special assistant to the VA secretary, said, ‘Before any lease is signed…we follow the (federal) statues.’ He said litigation from the town over the point was unnecessary."

4.      Columnist Says US Veterans Will Benefit From Shinseki’s Leadership At VA.   In her "Dimensions" column in the Jewish Times Of Southern New Jersey (12/19), Joyce Anderson writes that Shinseki will become the head of the VA "at a time when it has been severely criticized for not meeting the needs of hundreds of thousands of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." The "past and current heads of the VA, James Peake and Jim Nicholson, have been besieged by veterans organizations and advocates to correct the up to six-month waits for disability benefits," but Shinseki "has proven in his long and distinguished career that he will give his all to his new position. America’s veterans can now trust that they will be in good hands."
   

   Shinseki, New VA Clinic In California Said To Be "Bright Spots" For Veterans’ Medical Care.   The North County (CA) Times (12/19) editorializes, "We take heart in at least two bright spots for those concerned about veterans’ medical care: an excellent choice by…Obama to head" the VA, "and the groundbreaking for a new state of the art VA clinic in San Diego’s North County.
      As Army Chief Of Staff, Shinseki Made Efforts To Transform That Branch Of Military.   US News & World Report (12/19, Sauer) listed some background facts on Shinseki, including that during "his four years serving as Army chief of staff," he "was a proponent of transforming the Army." Shinseki "wanted ‘to make the Army lighter, more modular, and-most importantly-more deployable.’ The ‘Future Combat System’ was created by the Army to help with the transformation."
      Yamaguchi, Shinseki To Collaborate On Children’s Book About Famed US Combat Team.   In a story noting that the "Dancing With the Stars"’ tour will be making an appearance in San Jose on Friday, the San Jose (CA) Mercury News (12/18, Matsumoto) reported that one of the tour’s stars, former figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, is involved with "a children’s book about the 442nd Infantry, the most highly decorated military unit in the history" of the US armed forces. The "combat team, which fought in Europe during World War II, consisted almost entirely of Japanese-Americans. Yamaguchi says she will collaborate on the book with…Shinseki," Obama’s "choice to become" VA secretary.
      NYTimes Praises Survival Guide For Veterans.   The New York Times (12/19, A44) editorializes, "Far too often, military veterans find themselves desperately short of the information they need as they make the torturous quest for benefits within" the VA, "one of this country’s most daunting bureaucracies." So "it is heartening to see that" the nonprofit advocacy group Veterans for America has published "The American Veterans’ and Servicemembers’ Survival Guide," which is "available as a free download at veteransforamerica.org." The Times adds, "Unless and until the government significantly improves its treatment of veterans – and our hopes are high for progress under…Shinseki," they "will have to keep looking to one another for help, as they always have."

5.      VA Agrees To Reimburse Cemetery Fees For Six Montana Families.   Montana’s Missoulian (12/19, Moy) reports, "The federal government has agreed to reimburse several families from western Montana who had to wait more than two years to bury their loved ones in the new, much-delayed state veterans cemetery" in Missoula, Montana. Last week, US Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake "agreed…to reimburse six Montana families for a $300 burial fee at the new Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery. The federal government covers the cost of a veteran’s burial fees in a designated veterans cemetery if they are buried within two years of their death, said Wayne Carlson, cemetery program manager for the state." However, the "new cemetery in Missoula took seven years to build."

6.      VA To Conduct Suicide Prevention Training Class In New York.   The Elmira (NY) Star-Gazette (12/18) noted that the US Department of Veterans Affairs "will conduct an Operation S.A.V.E. suicide prevention training class from 6 to 7 p.m. Jan. 8 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 901, 113 Keefe St. in Elmira. The program will be presented by Karen Aikman, suicide prevention coordinator" for the Bath VA Medical Center. The "Operation Enduring Freedom / Operation Iraqi Freedom coordinator, Dawn Smith, will also be available for questions related to newly returning veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq."

7.      Leaders From South American Country Conduct PTSD Fact-Finding Mission.   In a story submitted by Roger C. Anderson of the South Dakota National Guard, the Rapid City (SD) Journal (12/18) reported, "Nearly two decades after the Republic of Suriname’s Interior War, government and military leaders of this South American country are pressed to understand and treat the symptoms" of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). So, last week, "three top" Surinamese "leaders began a fact-finding mission in the Rapid City area last week to learn what" US governmental agencies "are doing to treat its veterans. By meeting with local mental health physicians and support organizations, the group hopes to return with a better understanding to develop a template for the treatment of PTSD." The "three-day forum included visits with trained counselors from…the Rapid City Vets Center." The Surinamese "group also met with doctors" at Veterans Affairs medical centers in Hot Springs and Fort Meade.

8.      SSA Becomes First Agency To Use National Health Network.   NextGov (12/18, Brewin) reported the Social Security Administration (SSA) "announced on Wednesday that it will become the first agency to use" the Nationwide Health Information Network, which "the federal government is promoting to exchange electronic health records." The framework for the network "was developed and embraced by a range of federal agencies besides SSA, including the…Veterans Affairs Department." NextGov added, "The software glue that connects" the SSA "to private health care providers is gateway software that provides speedy, secure and interoperable exchange of medical information with health care providers," according to Debbie Somers with the SSA. Vish Sankaran, program director for federal health architecture at the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, added that the Defense Department’s Military Heath System and the VA "need the gateway to support exchange of medical information with private providers." He "expects the Military Health System and VA will use the gateway to exchange information with private health care providers in late 2009."

9.      VA Reps Discuss New Clinic At Meeting In Tennessee.   The Jackson (TN) Sun (12/19, Simer) reports, "Starting early next year, West Tennessee veterans will no longer have to drive to Memphis for primary health care." On Wednesday, representatives "from Veterans Affairs held a meeting with about 30 to 40 local veterans…to talk about the new clinic opening in Jackson within the next month." The "meeting also was attended by state Sen. Lowe Finney, D-Jackson, state Rep. Johnny Shaw, D-Bolivar, a spokesman for US Rep. John Tanner, D-Union City, and Jackson Mayor Jerry Gist. Finney said he is working to increase the number" of VA employees "across the state." 

10.    Construction Contract Awarded For New Psychiatric Care Facility.   The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (12/19) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday that it has awarded a $75.8 million contract to P.J. Dick Inc. in West Mifflin to build a psychiatric care facility on the VA Pittsburgh HealthCare System’s grounds in Oakland." While a "date for groundbreaking has not been scheduled," VA officials "believe it will be sometime early next year. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2011."