Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 1-30-09

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Today’s Local News for Veterans 

What’s Inside

1. Lawmakers Invite Shinseki To New Hampshire.  
2. US Army Announces Record Suicide Rate.  
3. Rally Will Tout California’s San Joaquin County As Best Site For New VA Facility.  
4. VA Agrees To $20 Million Lawsuit Settlement.
5. GAO Concerned About Skill Level Of VA’s Employment Counselors.
6. Local Officials Express Desire For New VA Clinic In Minnesota.  
7. Transitional Facility For Women Vets Soon To Open In South Carolina.  
8. Hundreds Attend Job Fair At Zablocki VAMC.  
9. Haley VA Hospital To Be Represented At Veterans Benefits Fair.  
10.     UPS Renews Valentine’s Day Operation For Vets, Active Duty Troops.

     

1.      Lawmakers Invite Shinseki To New Hampshire.   The AP (1/30) reports, "The New Hampshire Congressional delegation has invited" Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki "to tour state veterans facilities in hopes of drawing attention to the lack of access to full-service, in-state medical care. In a letter to…Shinseki, the delegation asked him to meet in Washington, as well."

2.      US Army Announces Record Suicide Rate.   In continuing coverage, the AP (1/30, Jelinek, Hefling) reports, "Stressed by war and long overseas tours," US soldiers "killed themselves last year at the highest rate on record, the toll rising for a fourth straight year and even surpassing the suicide rate among comparable civilians." At "least 128 soldiers committed suicide in 2008, the Army said Thursday." In a similar article, AFP (1/30) notes 15 deaths are "’still being investigated for a determination,’ said Lieutenant Michelle Martin-Hing, adding that on average ’90 percent of unconfirmed’" suicides "go on to be confirmed."
      USA Today (1/30) reports, "Suicides by soldiers, Marines and combat veterans have all hit records levels in recent years, records show. Last year, 41 Marines committed suicide, a 24% increase from the 33 suicides in 2007, according to Marine Corps statistics." The military "screens troops for mental health issues and servicemembers are usually healthier than civilians, Han Kang," a Veterans Affairs "epidemiologist, said in an interview with USA TODAY this month. That makes the higher suicide rates among active-duty troops and veterans more disturbing, he said."
      The New York Times (1/30, A19, Alvarez) reports, "The Army did not identify a specific reason" for the increased suicide rate, "but officials said 15-month deployments to war zones played a role." Such deployments, "which have allowed for little time away from the battlefield, have contributed to post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, alcohol abuse," and "family problems. Seven suicides took place in Afghanistan and 31 in Iraq."                                                                                                                                                           Army To Conduct Service-Wide Suicide Prevention Training.   On its website, CNN (1/29, Mount) noted that the Army "said Thursday…it will soon conduct service-wide training to help identify soldiers at risk of suicide." The program, scheduled to run from February 15th through March 15th, "will teach soldiers how to recognize behaviors that may lead to suicide, and how to intervene." The Army "will follow" that training "with another teaching program…focused on suicide prevention at all unit levels."
      Army Responds To Recent Suicides At West Point.   The Washington Post (1/30, A2, Tyson), which also notes the new Army suicide numbers, focuses it coverage on incidents involving West Point cadets, two of whom "have committed suicide since December." Two other cadets "attempted suicide in the past two weeks, prompting the military academy’s leaders to summon an Army surgeon general’s suicide team to the campus" Thursday "to investigate the causes." The suicides at West Point "are the first since at least 2005. The academy is passing out prevention cards, putting up posters and reviewing its procedures, and it…ordered fresh suicide-prevention training to be completed" by yesterday, said West Point spokesman Col. Bryan Hilferty.                           Report Says VA Psychologist’s E-mail Did Not Result In Fewer PTSD Findings.   Federal Daily (1/30) notes a VA "Inspector General (IG) report" has "concluded…an e-mail sent by a VA psychologist that appeared to discourage" PTSD "diagnoses did not result in fewer PTSD findings" at a Texas VA facility. The report, "released Jan. 28, looked at allegations regarding a March 20, 2008, e-mail written by a staff psychologist of the Central Texas VA Healthcare System (CTVAHCS) in Temple. The e-mail was interpreted by some as advocating" that the CTVAHCS PTSD "clinical team should make a diagnosis of ‘adjustment disorder’ over other psychiatric diagnoses, particularly PTSD." US Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), "chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, said he was encouraged by the report."
      VA Hospital In Missouri Treating More New Vets With Mental Health Problems.   On its website, KTVO-TV Ottumwa, IA (1/29, Derby) reported, "With soldiers returning home everyday, it’s no surprise that the Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital" in Columbia, Missouri, "and its community clinics are caring for more veterans than ever. Our Fact Finder Team discovered that a good portion of patients" are newly returned combat veterans, many of whom "are suffering with mental health issues. ‘The second most frequent diagnosis for those new combat veterans are mental health issues like depression,’" PTSD, "and substance abuse," said VA Public Affairs Officer Stephen Gaither. KTVO added that the VA hospital "has hired over 200 new employees," mostly "to work in the mental health department," over "the last two years."

3.      Rally Will Tout California’s San Joaquin County As Best Site For New VA Facility.   In continuing coverage, the Stockton (CA) Record (1/29) said that on Friday, elected officials, "community leaders and others are scheduled to appear at a rally…in favor of locating a proposed regional medical facility for veterans" in San Joaquin County’s French Camp. Stanislaus County "is also vying to be the site," and consultants hired by the US Department of Veterans Affairs "will soon select which county will house the medical facility and nursing home." The Record noted that Friday’s rally will be held "on the San Joaquin General Hospital campus in French Camp."

4.      VA Agrees To $20 Million Lawsuit Settlement.   In continuing coverage, Federal Computer Week (1/29, Mosquera) reported, "The Veterans Affairs Department has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a lawsuit filed by veterans over the risk of potential identity theft when a VA laptop PC that contained their sensitive information was stolen in 2006." Attorneys "for the VA and the veterans filed legal papers Jan. 27" in US District Court for the District of Columbia "to settle the suit, and a judge must approve the terms of the settlement." Taxpayers "ultimately would pay for the $20 million proposed settlement through the Treasury Department’s Judgment Fund, the VA said."
      Lawmaker Say’s VA Decision To Settle "Was The Right One."   On its website, WAWS-TV Jacksonville, FL (1/29, Tolbert) noted that on Tuesday, US Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-FL) "made the following statement: ‘Identity theft and the exposure to it is no small matter and’" the VA’s "decision…was the right one." WAWS pointed out that settlement "money will be only doled out to veterans that can prove they’ve suffered emotional distress or expenses because of credit monitoring."
      Settlement Labeled "Nonsense."   In a related editorial, the Charleston (WV) Daily Mail (1/30) stresses that the information put at risk by the 2006 robbery "has not been used for identity theft," so it is "nonsense" that the VA has now "agreed that taxpayers should shell out $20 million" to settle the lawsuit.

5.      GAO Concerned About Skill Level Of VA’s Employment Counselors.   Government Executive (1/30, Rosenberg) reports, "The Veterans Affairs Department needs to use more sophisticated workforce planning tools to ensure" its Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Program "has staff with the skills to address the increasingly complicated needs of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan," according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Fifty-four percent of the "57 VR&E offices nationwide told GAO that they didn’t have enough counselors to meet demand, and 40 percent said they needed more employment coordinators." Meanwhile, thirty percent "of the offices reported that counselors’ skills only moderately met the needs of the veterans they served, while 30 percent said the same skills gap existed with respect to their employment coordinators." Former VA Secretary James Peake, "who responded to the report in a Dec. 29 letter, said the agency would award a contract for a workforce survey by September 2009. But he disagreed with GAO’s assessment" about the skill level of counselors and employment coordinators. 

6.      Local Officials Express Desire For New VA Clinic In Minnesota.   In continuing coverage, the Albert Lea (MN) Tribune (1/29, Stultz) reported, "The Albert Lea City Council voiced its unanimous support Monday to have a Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic come to the city. The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced it plans to open two new community-based outpatient clinics in Minnesota, one of which is planned for the south central portion of the state," and Albert Lea "is one of the locations in the running." The Albert Lea City Council’s resolution "will be sent" to the US Senate "and Congressional delegations of Minnesota."
      In a related story, the Austin (MN) Post-Bulletin (1/29, Ruzek) reported, "Mower County Board members want the planned" VA clinic "for south-central Minnesota to be in Austin," and on Tuesday, the county board "unanimously passed a resolution showing its support for the facility to be located here." However, board member David Hillier "wondered about the chance" for an Austin clinic "when there’s one already in Rochester. Hillier…guessed that" the odds are "slim and none."

7.      Transitional Facility For Women Vets Soon To Open In South Carolina.   South Carolina’s The State (1/29, Click) said that beginning "next month," Angels House, "will provide safe haven for up to six homeless female veterans," making it the "state’s first transitional housing facility of its kind for women." The "faith-based project…is a partnership of Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas and the Department of Veterans Affairs." The house, "in the roughly five-year-old Northeast Richland subdivision of Brookhaven, cost $158,000, with the VA supplying 65 percent of the purchase price and LFS paying the rest." Female veterans, "selected by Columbia’s William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center, will be able to stay for up to two years in Angels House," said LFS’s Gary Kirkbride.

8.      Hundreds Attend Job Fair At Zablocki VAMC.   In continuing coverage, WDJT-TV Milwaukee, WI (1/29, 10:14 p.m. CT) broadcast, "Hundreds" turned "out for a job fair" Thursday at the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Wisconsin. WMLW-TV Milwaukee, WI (1/29, 9:05 p.m. CT) aired a similar story.

9.      Haley VA Hospital To Be Represented At Veterans Benefits Fair.   The Tampa Tribune (1/29, Marrero) reported, "An event slated for this weekend aims to help veterans and their family members negotiate the often labyrinthine challenge of securing benefits. The second annual Veterans Benefits Fair," organized by US Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), "will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31 at Nature Coast Technical High School, 4057 California St. in Brooksville." According to the Tribune, one of the "organizations scheduled to be on hand" at the event is the James A. Haley Veterans Affairs Hospital.

10.    UPS Renews Valentine’s Day Operation For Vets, Active Duty Troops.   The Southwest Florida Herald Tribune (1/29) reported, "UPS Stores will once gain provide free first-class postage for one-ounce valentines and letters" to US "military personnel overseas or veterans" in Veterans Affairs hospitals. The service, "dubbed Operation S.W.A.K, or sealed with a kiss," began "Monday and continues through Feb. 14, but letters should be sent by Saturday to ensure timely overseas delivery."
      Students Prepare Valentines For VA Patients.   The Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record (1/29) reported, "As they have done every year for the past several years" while participating in a program known as "Valentines for Vets," middle school students "from Chester Academy have been busily creating valentines and other goodies for the veterans" at the Castle Point Veterans Affairs Medical Center. This year, the students have "been…practicing songs for the veterans as well."                                                  NEWS12-TV Long Island, NY (1/29, 6:27 p.m. ET) broadcast, "Local school children from the grammar schools in Nassau County" have "sent valentines to be distributed to veterans at Northport VA nursing home and the state medical home in Stony Brook."

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