Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 12-29-08

1. VA Focusing On Addressing Mental Trauma Of Returning Soldiers.  
2. Salisbury VA Hospital’s Emergency Room Closing Delayed.  
3. To Correct Error, VA Will Release Payments To Veterans’ Surviving Spouses.  
4. Hawaiians To Be Involved In VA.  
5. Fund Seeks To Help Veterans With TBI.  
6. Economy’s Problems Causes Concerns About Services For Next Waves Of Veterans.  
7. Blind Veteran Builds Bikes.  
8. Expected Surge In Student Veterans Will Require Campuses To Understand Their Needs.  
9. VA Implements Suicide Prevention Programs.  
10. Elks Give Presents To Patients At VA Hospital.

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HAVE YOU HEARD?
Happy Anniversary VistA! December 2008 marks the 30th Anniversary of the first national planning meeting for the Decentralized Hospital Computer Program. The Veterans Administration Patient Care Conference, held December 11-14, 1978 in Oklahoma City, would prove to be a significant milestone in the development of what we know today as VistA, VHA’s world-class health IT system. Special thanks to all of the health care and IT professionals who paved the way, and who continue to make great advances for future generations.

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1.      VA Focusing On Addressing Mental Trauma Of Returning Soldiers.   The Washington Times (12/28, Hudson, 83K) reports, "Service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq increasingly are suffering from mental trauma that dampens their homecomings, hobbles their re-entry into civilian life and imperils their continued military service — a situation" the Department of Veterans Affairs "has sought to address with treatment, counseling and even drug experimentation. But even as the VA has worked to provide quality health care for millions of veterans at its facilities across the country, it has endured a series of failures – from not notifying test subjects about new drug warnings to ignoring safeguards during experiments. Those failures have damaged the reputation of the agency charged with supporting vulnerable veterans. But it also has compromised the speedy recovery of those vets." President-Elect Obama, "who has named retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki as incoming VA secretary, will have to deal with those long-standing discrepancies in the agency, as well as seek out new solutions to remedy the mental health problems plaguing an ever-growing population of veterans. ‘Wars are supposed to end when the last shots are fired, but some of our new veterans will unfortunately have to cope with internal demons that may last their lifetime,’ said Joe Davis, spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars." The Washington Times "has focused throughout the year on the VA and scrutinized the agency’s handling of human subject drug tests using veterans, its treatment of veterans and the impact it has on service members and their families. An often disturbing picture of a bureaucratic health care system that is disconnected from its charges has emerged. The situation at the VA is becoming more urgent, though. A recent study by the Rand Corp. shows that one in five veterans returning from theater in Iraq or Afghanistan will suffer from depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)."

2.      Salisbury VA Hospital’s Emergency Room Closing Delayed.   The Fayetteville (NC) Observer (12/29, Calhoun) reports, "A recent brouhaha over closing the emergency room at Salisbury’s Veterans Affairs hospital has some critics worried that unwarranted changes could be coming to veterans’ health care." The move "is part of a national movement to shift the VA’s focus from inpatient to outpatient care, reduce delays in care and cut back on costs, according to James Peake, secretary of Veterans Affairs." Meanwhile, "communitywide protests in Salisbury forced VA officials to put the plan on hold until 2013." Dr. Dave Rainey, spokesman for the VA’s Mid-Atlantic network, "said the VA will use the next five years to educate veterans on the changes." While "critics said the loss of the Salisbury emergency room would hurt veterans, who would pay more for emergency services, while clogging up busy, private hospital emergency rooms that don’t specialize in veterans’ health issues," Rainey said "the changes would help, not hurt, veterans."

3.      To Correct Error, VA Will Release Payments To Veterans’ Surviving Spouses.   The Lake County (CA) News (12/28) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has identified nearly 11,000 surviving spouses of deceased veterans who will receive a lump-sum payment before the new year to correct an error in their VA benefits." Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake said, "I am pleased that our task force working to correct this problem has been able to identify this first group this week." The "payments will be released to these survivors on Dec. 29. The total value of the payments is about $24 million."

4.      Hawaiians To Be Involved In VA.   The Lihue (HI) Garden Island (12/28, Rabasa) reports, "The Veterans Council extends its very best wishes for the coming year to all veterans and their families and asks that we remember the men and women in uniform." In "2009, Hawai’i veterans will be well represented at our nation’s capital. From our island, retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki has been appointed as the Veterans Affairs Secretary. Sen. Daniel Akaka has been re-appointed as the Senate Committee Chairman on Veterans Affairs. Sen. Daniel Inouye is the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which can only help in the funding of the US military and our veterans." The AP (12/28) also notes Shinseki’s appointment.

5.      Fund Seeks To Help Veterans With TBI.   On CNN’s Lou Dobbs This Week (12/28, 7:31 p.m. EST, Dobbs), Arnold Fisher, honorary chairman of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, said he became involved with dealing with traumatic brain injury after he "was fortunate, or unfortunate enough, to have been selected on the DOD committee to investigate the Walter Reed situation with the mold and everything. And going through the intensive care units of both Walter Reed and Bethesda, I noticed there were a lot of these service people that came home whose brains were shaken up." Bill White, President of the Intrepid Museum and author, said, "The center that Mr. Fisher is now building with Rick Santully, our chairman, our board trustees and all supporters is to combat this signature wound of the war. … We’ve raised $44 million out of $65 million and we’ve got to raise the rest of it."
      Military Urged To Track Down Veterans Who Weren’t Screened For Brain Injuries.   The Palm Beach (FL) Post (12/28, Megerian) reports that it wasn’t until 2007 that "the military instituted widespread testing" for brain injuries. "The delay allowed hundreds of thousands of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan to return to civilian life unchecked for a little-understood and potentially debilitating medical condition." Now, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America organization, "is pushing for a registry of all service members who suffered from a head wound while deployed," which would allow the military to "track down veterans who left the service before screenings were put in place."

6.      Economy’s Problems Causes Concerns About Services For Next Waves Of Veterans.   The Arkansas Democrat Gazette (12/28, Wood, 195K) reports, "At first caught unprepared, federal and state veterans departments have responded in recent years with new and expanded programs for tuition assistance and financial aid, employment counseling, and physical and mental health programs." However, "across the nation, officials are bracing for new waves of war veterans to return home amid worries that federal and state budget cuts will threaten programs that offer a lifeline for those facing health and career problems. Demand for jobs and mental health services among veterans is swelling as public and nonprofit organizations struggle to build and maintain a support network to address issues that might not emerge for months or even years."

7.      Blind Veteran Builds Bikes.   The Baltimore Examiner (12/27, Mann) reports that Brian Tinsley was blinded by a bullet. "Brian went to the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ Eastern Blind Rehabilitation Center in West Haven to learn how to read Braille." Mike Wolf, owner of a local bike shop, "hired him. Since he started in April Brian has assembled more than 220 bikes."

8.      Expected Surge In Student Veterans Will Require Campuses To Understand Their Needs.   The Detroit Free Press (12/29, Erb, 348K) reports, "With a new GI Bill effective this fall, student veterans…say it’s critical that campuses understand the needs of veterans who become university students, whether their needs are financial, mental or related to housing and other college-life decisions." Keith Wilson, education services director of the Veterans Benefits Administration, said that "the Post 9/11 Veterans Assistance Act of 2008 offers some of the most generous benefits since the original GI Bill in 1944," and it is "expected to send a surge of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and other military personnel and dependents onto US college campuses."

9.      VA Implements Suicide Prevention Programs.   The Roseburg (OR) News-Review (12/28, Harshman) reported that Colleen Denny, VA Roseburg Healthcare System suicide prevention coordinator, said that the VA "region that includes Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska has the highest suicide rate in the country," and in "that region, the Roseburg Healthcare System…has the highest suicide rate." This has "prompted Denny and other VA officials to find ways to enhance the system’s suicide prevention programs." According to Denny, "getting veterans enrolled in VA services…is the biggest form of intervention." the Roseburg VA Medical Center has also "implemented forms of intervention to help identify veterans who have suicidal thoughts and to offer assistance to those who continue to have such thoughts. The VA has implemented a program called Operation SAVE, "and "the VA also added a veteran-specific option for vets who are calling the National Crisis Hotline." Meanwhile, a "program at the VA flags the medical records of a veteran who is identified as being at high risk of attempting suicide," and "if a veteran in the system who is flagged misses a scheduled appointment without calling to cancel, VA staff try to contact the veteran or other known family members" and send the police to check on them if they can’t be reached.

10.    Elks Give Presents To Patients At VA Hospital.   The Crossville (TN) Chronicle (12/27, Steadman) reported, "The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) have made a promise that ‘So long as there are veterans, they will never forget them.’" The Cumberland County Elks Lodge 2751 has "been making regular visits to the nursing home unit of the Alvin C. York Veterans Hospital in Murfreesboro, TN for the past 20 years." This Christmas, "18 Elk members played Santa Claus by presenting a flat-screen TV to be used in the activities room. In addition, gifts were given to every veteran and their nurses who serve them."