Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 2-10-09

1. Lawmaker Asks For IAVA’s Help On Substance Abuse Treatment Initiative.  
2. Concerns About Climate Change Said To Take Mental Toll.  
3. Screenings Offered To VA Patients At Risk Of Infection In Tennessee.  
4. Lease Signed For New Clinic In Florida.  
5. Federal Agencies Said To Be Getting Better At Fraud Benefits Detection.  
6. Concern Expressed About Funding For Florida Vets’ Homes.  
7. Louisiana Veterans Honor Medal Authorized For Issue.  
8. Senate Stimulus Package Provides More Money To VA Than House Version.  
9. Robert G. Ferry, 85; Helicopter Test Pilot Flew Record Nonstop Solo Flight.  
10. VA Facilities, Officials Salute Hospitalized Veterans.

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HAVE YOU HEARD? February 10, 2009
Recent changes to the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program are helping veterans in financial difficulty. The new VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface (VALERI) system provides banks and lending institutions more opportunities to help veteran borrowers retain their homes in this difficult mortgage environment. VALERI is a rules-based system designed to identify veterans who are experiencing financial difficulty. VALERI automates VA’s previously paper-based processes. Now, via the Internet, servicers can electronically report delinquencies and major loan events, apply VA rules to help borrowers become current, send electronic documents, and file claims. VA completed the transition of all VA-backed loan servicers nationwide to the new electronic reporting system in November. Servicers now report on daily activities for more than 1.2 million VA-guaranteed loans. As a result of VA’s efforts to help veteran borrowers retain their homes, VA’s serious delinquency rate (loans more than 90 days delinquent) has dropped over the past six years. According to the most recent Mortgage Bankers Association National Delinquency Survey, VA’s serious delinquency rate is three percent, as compared to 17.85 percent for subprime loans. Three hundred VA loan technicians at nine regional offices assist veterans and service members with VA-guaranteed loans avoid foreclosure by helping establish repayment plans, special forbearance, or loan modifications. VA loan technicians also provide as much assistance as possible to other veterans who do not have their home loans guaranteed by VA. Information about VA’s home loan guaranty program is available at www.homeloans.va.gov. 

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 1.     Lawmaker Asks For IAVA’s Help On Substance Abuse Treatment Initiative.   The Army Times (2/10, Maze) says on Monday, US Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) "turned the tables" on the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) "at a Capitol Hill briefing in which the group was pressing lawmakers for help in passing veterans legislation." IAVA leaders "had been talking about their top priorities for the year at the briefing for legislative aides," but McCaskill, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, took the opportunity to ask IAVA "for their help – with her initiative to improve prevention and treatment programs for alcohol and substance abuse." The Times adds that IAVA’s "top legislative priority is the same as that of other major veterans groups: advance funding for health care programs."

2.      Concerns About Climate Change Said To Take Mental Toll.   In a report on climate change-related anxiety, the Boston Globe (2/10, Anthes) notes, "Though much of the anxiety centers on the possibility of extreme weather events, global warming will also transform the natural environment in a more gradual way, they say." Such changes "could have their own effect on mental health," according to Carol North, "a psychiatrist who runs the trauma and disaster program" at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Indeed, climate change "may eventually deplete natural resources, make it more difficult for people to live off the land, and disrupt the global food supply. ‘That will mean declining socioeconomic status and quality of life across the world,’ North said, and ‘depression, demoralization, disillusionment.’"

3.      Screenings Offered To VA Patients At Risk Of Infection In Tennessee.   The Murfreesboro (TN) Daily News Journal (2/10) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs will notify approximately 6,400" veterans "who have undergone colonoscopy procedures at the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System’s (VA TVHS) Alvin C. York Campus in Murfreesboro" that they "may have been exposed to a minimal risk of infection from equipment outfitted with an incorrect tube/valve connection. ‘Our top priority is to ensure our patients are safe,’ said" VA TVHS Director Juan Morales, who added that "there is a very small chance patients were exposed to infection." The Journal notes that the VA is also "calling for a special training campaign on safety — called a ‘Step-Up’ — from March 8 to 14 at all medical centers and outpatient clinics." The Tennessean (2/10) runs the same story, while WKRN-TV Nashville, TN (2/9, 10:14 p.m. CT) and WZTV-TV Nashville, TN (2/9, 9:28 p.m. CT) aired similar reports.
      Situation In Murfreesboro Leads To Nationwide Response By VA.   The WSMV-TV Nashville, TN (2/9, Lambert) website, meanwhile, says, "The colonoscopy scare" at the VA hospital "in Murfreesboro has gone from what was called an ‘isolated incident’ to a nationwide alert. Channel 4 first broke the story on New Years Eve. A week later," the hospital "admitted someone put the wrong valve on a colonoscopy machine, possibly exposing at least two people to contaminated fluids. Now it has come out that the improper valve could have been used for more than five years, along with faulty cleaning procedures, and 6,400 veterans could be at risk." This "problem originally started in Murfreesboro, but is now prompting a nationwide special training campaign happening next month at every" VA facility in the country. 

4.      Lease Signed For New Clinic In Florida.   The Bradenton (FL) Herald (2/8) reported, "The expansion and consolidation" of Veterans Affairs "health services in Manatee County are one step closer with the signing of a property lease in east Bradenton," US Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) "said Friday. The location of a planned VA clinic will be a 12,455-square-foot facility in the Morgan Johnson Office Park on State Road 64 East, just west of Interstate 75. Officials are hoping to open" the facility "in late summer." The new clinic "will consolidate the services at two Manatee locations: the Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Ellenton and the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic in the Peridia office complex on State Road 70. Those two facilities will be closed." The "new clinic will remain an arm of Bay Pines VA Healthcare System."

5.      Federal Agencies Said To Be Getting Better At Fraud Benefits Detection.   The Charleston (WV) Daily Mail (2/9, Anderson) reported, "Federal agencies that provide benefits to the disabled and elderly are getting better at detecting fraud in the system," an assistant US Attorney says. Booth Goodwin, head of the economic crimes division of West Virginia’s Southern District US Attorney’s office, "said federal agencies like the Social Security Administration," US Railroad Retirement Board, "and the Veterans Administration are becoming more adept at noticing possible fraud by cross-referencing death records and beneficiary information through improved databases."

6.      Concern Expressed About Funding For Florida Vets’ Homes.   The Panama City (FL) News Herald (2/9, Hogg) reported, "With the state budget looking dismal, funding even for programs once thought sacrosanct has come under the knife." The Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, "most visible locally through the Chester A. Sims State Veterans’ Nursing Home, is no exception. The good news, according to communications director Steve Murray, is the state VA budget is only funded in part from the rapidly decomposing general fund. The balance is fed from a trust fund, which is buoyed from a variety of sources including the ‘Florida Supports Veterans’ and military-branch specific license plates." Rep. Jimmy "Patronis, Panama City, said the legislature has been eyeing the fund as a safety net for the veterans’ homes throughout the state."

7.      Louisiana Veterans Honor Medal Authorized For Issue.   In continuing coverage, the Leesville (LA) Daily Leader (2/10, Mahl) reports, "The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs has authorized for issue the Louisiana Veterans Honor Medal, which honors all Louisiana Veterans." Louisiana Gov. Bibby Jindal, who "signed legislation in 2008 to create" the honor, "presented the first set of medals recently in Alexandria."

8.      Senate Stimulus Package Provides More Money To VA Than House Version.   CQ (2/10, Johnson) reports, "The House stimulus legislation would provide more money for Defense Department projects than the Senate version," which "favors programs in the Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs and State departments." CQ points out that in the Senate measure, VA programs would be provided with $4 billion, while the House bill "would provide $1 billion for VA programs."
      Final Numbers In Senate Measure Reportedly Still Uncertain.   The lead story in the Washington Times‘ (2/10, Lengell) "Health Care Report" column says the current version of the Senate stimulus measure includes $3.7 billion for VA hospitals "and medical facility construction and improvements, long-term care facilities for veterans and improvements at VA national cemeteries. Whether these items will make it into the final stimulus bill is uncertain, as senators already have scaled back heath care spending by $7 billion on their way to a compromise deal brokered Friday." 

9.      Robert G. Ferry, 85; Helicopter Test Pilot Flew Record Nonstop Solo Flight.   The Los Angeles Times (2/10, McLellan).

10.    VA Facilities, Officials Salute Hospitalized Veterans.   In continuing coverage, WFXP-TV Erie, PA (2/9, 8:09 a.m. ET) broadcast that the Erie Veterans Affairs Medical Center "is inviting the public to participate with local vets as they celebrate this week’s" National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans. WFXP noted that Erie Mayor Joe Sinnot is already scheduled to visit in honor of the occasion. WICU-TV Erie, PA (2/9, 11:17 p.m. ET) and WJET-TV Erie, PA (2/9, 6:04 p.m. ET) aired similar reports.