Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 1-23-09

1. IT Said To Be Key To Shinseki’s Agenda At VA.  
2. GAO: VA Is "Still Lowballing" Budget Estimates.  
3. VA: Freeze On Bush Regulations Will Not Delay GI Bill.  
4. New Shuttle Service In Operation At Hefner VAMC.  
5. Native American Seeks To Host Gathering For Veterans.
6. Iraq War Vet To Testify On DC Voting Rights Bill.  
7. Painkiller Addiction Said To Be A Growing Problem For US Army Soldiers.  
8. Emergency Department Expanded At Bay Pines VA. 
9. VA Panning To Open New Clinic In Idaho.  
10. VA Renovation Project Under Way In Long Beach, California. 

     1.      IT Said To Be Key To Shinseki’s Agenda At VA.   In continuing coverage, Healthcare IT News (1/23, Merrill) reports, "Eric K. Shinseki, a retired Army general, was sworn" in this week "as the seventh Secretary of Veterans Affairs. His agenda includes using information technology to bring the department into the 21st Century" by "leveraging information technology to accelerate and modernize service." Shinseki "said he also wants to streamline the disability claims system."

     Shinseki’s Schedule Already Full In New Post.   In his "Federal Eye" blog for the Washington Post (1/22), Ed O’Keefe noted that there "will be no formal welcome" at the VA "for Sec. Eric Shinseki — at least not yet. ‘He has a full afternoon of briefings ahead of him, especially the budget and related issues,’ VA spokesman Phil Budahn."
      Shinseki Described As A Wise Choice For VA Secretary.   In an editorial, the Las Vegas Sun (1/22) noted, "On Tuesday," the US Senate "quickly confirmed" Eric Shinseki’s nomination for Veterans Affairs secretary, "and in so doing set a new course for the VA," which the Bush Administration "never prepared for the increased workload that two wars would bring." The Sun added, "Our view is that Obama could not have chosen a more qualified person to head the VA."
      In a similar editorial, the Honolulu Star Bulletin (1/22) said the VA "has been scandalized by reports of substandard medical care at Walter Reed Hospital and insensitive care of mentally disturbed veterans during" the Bush Administration. The "choice of Shinseki to run the government’s second-largest bureaucracy, behind the Pentagon, shows" the Obama Administration’s "determination to correct the problems rather than conceal them."

2.      GAO: VA Is "Still Lowballing" Budget Estimates.   The AP (1/23, Yen) reports, "Two years after a politically embarrassing $1 billion shortfall that imperiled veterans health care, the Veterans Affairs Department is still lowballing budget estimates to Congress to keep its spending down, government investigators say." A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), "set to be released Friday, highlights the Bush administration’s problems in planning for the treatment of veterans that President Barack Obama has pledged to fix. It found the VA’s long-term budget plan for the rehabilitation of veterans in nursing homes, hospices and community centers to be flawed, failing to account for tens of thousands of patients and understating costs by millions of dollars." The GAO "noted the VA was in the process of putting together an updated strategic plan. Retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, who was sworn in Wednesday as VA secretary, has promised to submit ‘credible and adequate’ budget requests to Congress."

3.      VA: Freeze On Bush Regulations Will Not Delay GI Bill.   The Navy Times (1/23, Maze) reports President Barack Obama’s "government-wide freeze on implementing regulations prepared" by the Bush Administration "will not delay work on rules covering the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Veterans Affairs Department officials said Thursday. After months of negotiation with Bush administration regulators at the White House Office of Management and Budget," the VA "published proposed rules for the benefits program Dec. 23. It is accepting comments through" Friday "that will be used in preparing final regulations." The Times says the "final rules…will be reviewed by the new VA secretary, Eric Shinseki, who was sworn in on Wednesday, and by Obama’s team at the Office of Management and Budget," VA spokesman Steve Westerfeld said.

4.New Shuttle Service In Operation At Hefner VAMC.   The Salisbury (NC) Post (1/23) reports the Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center "is offering a new shuttle service in addition to its current valet services. The shuttle service, which began" earlier this month, "consists of two 10-passenger vehicles which will be in operation weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m." Hefner "plans to expand the service with additional vehicles based on feedback from veterans and visitors."

5.      Native American Seeks To Host Gathering For Veterans.   New York’s Indian Country Today (1/22, Capriccioso) noted that Bill Silaghi, "a member of Echota Cherokee Tribe of Florida, owns a stretch of nearly seven miles in Geneva County, Ala., which he proudly calls the Eagle’s Nest. He and his wife, Teresa, have incorporated a nonprofit organization that allows them to host an annual Native American intertribal gathering and pow wow at the site each fall." Recently, Silgahi "sent a proposal to various" US Department of Veterans Affairs officials "in an attempt to raise awareness of his desire to hold an annual gathering focused on treating the mental health needs of returning Native combat veterans in his region." Silaghi is "shooting to get his first program, with support from the VA or not," off "the ground in late October."

6.      Iraq War Vet To Testify On DC Voting Rights Bill.   The lead story in the Washington Post‘s (1/23, B4, Nakamura) "District Briefing" column reports, "An Iraq war veteran, a Georgetown University law professor and a civil rights activist are among witnesses scheduled to testify Tuesday at a hearing" on the DC "voting rights bill, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) said" Thursday. A "House Judiciary subcommittee will meet at 10 a.m. to consider the bill, which would add two seats to the House, one for the overwhelmingly Democratic District and the other for Utah, the next state in line to add a seat based on census figures." Norton "said the witnesses lined up to testify on behalf of the bill include Yolanda Lee, a captain" in the DC National Guard.

7.      Painkiller Addiction Said To Be A Growing Problem For US Army Soldiers.   The AP (1/23, Zagier) reports, "As more troops return home with war injuries," the US Army "is prescribing more pain medication." But the Army is also "drawing fire from some prominent critics, including those inside the system. ‘It’s a terrible problem,’ said Barbara McDonald, a civilian social worker and Army drug abuse counselor, describing a recent surge in prescription drug abuse and the Army’s handling of the problem." The AP noted that legal "painkiller use by injured troops has increased nearly 70 percent since the start of the Iraq war six years ago, according to Army records." Surveys, meanwhile, "show that more soldiers are struggling with prescription drug addiction — and seeking help from Army doctors and counselors."

8.      Emergency Department Expanded At Bay Pines VA.   In continuing coverage, BN9-TV Tampa, FL (1/22, 5:33 p.m. ET) broadcast, "The emergency room" at Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Health Care System "is new and improved." Administrators "at Bay Pines VA say their renovated and expanded emergency department is now triple the size. They say the enhanced ER means better quality care and improved access to emergency care for veterans." The "new expansion will open to the public Monday." The BN9 (1/22) website also covered this story.
      The WUSF-FM Tampa, FL (1/22, O’Brien) website reported, "Until now, there were 10 beds separated only by curtains" in the Bay Pines emergency department. With the expansion, however, "the number of rooms is doubled, 20, and they’re private. There also are four ‘safe rooms’ for patients with mental health problems." And according to Larry Diehl, "chief nurse for primary care," the expansion also "includes significant technological advances."

9.      VA Panning To Open New Clinic In Idaho.   The Mountain Home (ID) News (1/22, Taylor) noted that the Boise Veterans Affairs Medical Center has gotten "approval to open an out-patient clinic in Mountain Home." The facility "is expected to be open within the next year, said Grant Ragsdale, associate director" of the Boise VAMC. The Mountain Home clinic "is part of an ongoing process to improve" patient access, "Ragsdale said, pointing to clinics in Twin Falls, Caldwell and Salmon as part of that effort."

10.    VA Renovation Project Under Way In Long Beach, California.   In continuing coverage, the Long Beach (CA) Gazette (1/22, Oca) reported, "Officials with the Veterans Affairs Long Beach Healthcare System broke ground last week on a multi-building, $100 million project that will include new primary care facilities and a blind rehabilitation center, among other upgrades." The project "will bring three new structures to VA grounds over the next couple years, according to Richard Beam, director of communications and public affairs with the VA Long Beach Healthcare System." Three buildings will also "be demolished during" the project. The "Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services, or CARES, study determined these buildings to be seismically outdated, Beam said."