Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 2-19-09

1. Lingle To Meet With Obama, Shinseki.  
2. Look At The VA – A Health Care System That Works.   
3. Modesto Vet Center Assisting New Veterans.  
4. Disabled Vet Praises Computerized Prosthetic Leg.  
5. New VA Clinic Opens In Alabama.  
6. Vets Said To Be Due Share Of Annual Insurance Dividends.  
7. Faster Citizenship In Uniform 
8. Bacteria Seen As Potentially Key To More Effective Delivery Of Anthrax Vaccine.  
9. Hispanic Immigrants Thought To Be At High Risk For Emotional, Mental Problems.  
10. Stimulus Package Includes Money For VA Construction.

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HAVE YOU HEARD?
VA’s Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program has gone paperless. The BDD program provides transition assistance to separating or retiring service members who have disabilities related to their military service. Participation is open to service members who are within 60 to 180 days of release from active duty, who provide a copy of their service medical records, and who remain in the area in order to complete necessary medical examinations. BDD began at three Army installations in 1995; national expansion began three years later. In 2006, VBA piloted the use of imaging technology to speed BDD claims. Separating service members’ medical records and supporting claims information are imaged at the outset of the claims process, and VA benefits staff make decisions based solely upon review of the imaged records rather than the paper claims file. During the past year, VA began accepting BDD claims from all separating service members, regardless of their duty station, provided they can meet the BDD claim submission criteria. Now all new BDD claims are processed in a paperless environment. VA benefits and health facilities, Homeland Security Coast Guard sites and DoD military installations, including five locations overseas (three in Korea and two in Germany) participate in the BDD program.

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1.      Lingle To Meet With Obama, Shinseki.   At the end of story noting that Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle will meet with President Barack Obama during her "nine-day trip" to Washington, DC, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin (2/18, Reyes) said Lingle "and various state officials also have scheduled meetings" with several Obama Cabinet members, including Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. The Star Bulletin added that Lingle’s trip begins Thursday.

2.      Look At The VA – A Health Care System That Works.   An op-ed in the Eugene (OR) Register-Guard (2/19) by Frank Turner, M.D., "a member of Physicians for a National Health Program."

3.      Modesto Vet Center Assisting New Veterans.   The Turlock (CA) Journal (2/18, Hacker) reported, "Nobody would mistake the Central Valley for Iraq or Afghanistan," but helping "returning servicemembers to adjust to life outside of the military, and specifically a war zone, are what Stephen Lawson and the team" at the Modesto Vet Center "specialize in." The facility is "one of only approximately 240 nationwide," and since its opening "a little over a year" ago, it has "served about 300 veterans."

4.      Disabled Vet Praises Computerized Prosthetic Leg.   The Yuma (AZ) Sun (2/18, McDaniel) said Vietnam vet Ronald Neu was one of three amputees "given the opportunity to try out a state-of-the-art piece of technology Saturday afternoon" in Arizona. Neu and the two other amputees tried on "the ‘C-Leg,’" a "computerized prosthetic leg intended to help those who have lost a leg above the knee live an easier and more independent life." Neu praised the technology, saying, "It’s very expensive but I can see why" the Army "is giving it to all of the amputees returning from the Iraq war. I hope" the Veterans Affairs Department "will make them available to Vietnam" vets.

5.      New VA Clinic Opens In Alabama.   On its "Breaking News" blog, the Birmingham (AL) News (2/18, Gordon) said a new US Department of Veterans Affairs "outpatient clinic officially opened for business in Childersburg, Alabama," Wednesday, "and will serve veterans from six surrounding counties." The facility "will be under the Birmingham VA Medical Center," which "oversees seven other VA outpatient clinics in north Alabama." Another VA "outpatient clinic will be opening in Guntersville…in 2010."

6.      Vets Said To Be Due Share Of Annual Insurance Dividends.   The last story in the syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (2/19, Fales), notes, "One million veterans are in line to share $319.8 million in annual insurance dividends during 2009, according" to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The column, which says payments "are being sent to an estimated 1 million holders of VA insurance policies on the anniversary date of their policies," adds that when the dividends were announced in a VA press release, former VA Secretary James B. Peake said they "are tangible evidence of VA´s continuing commitment to…veterans."

7.      Faster Citizenship In Uniform.   The Boston Globe (2/19) editorializes regarding the expansion of accelerated citizenship for legal immigrants serving in the US military. The benefit, previously offered to legal immigrants with green cards, will now be extended "to immigrants who are refugees or on temporary work or student visas. While thorough background checks will be needed to make sure the recruits aren’t sleeper agents for enemy states or terrorist organizations, the program should help the Pentagon cope with two wars and the need to be prepared for other conflicts." Stating that "veterans — and active-duty troops — should be the first to recognize the value of service members who can be the voice and ears of the military on unfamiliar ground," the Globe urges the Army to "move on" this "sound" program "as quickly as possible."

8.      Bacteria Seen As Potentially Key To More Effective Delivery Of Anthrax Vaccine.   McClatchy (2/18, Avery) reported, "Bacteria common in yogurt may be more effective vehicles for delivering the anthrax vaccine than injections," scientists at North Carolina State University (NCSU) "have found. In a study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an NCSU team and others reported attaching anthrax vaccine to ordinary L. acidophilus, benevolent bacteria that have a unique ability to deliver a drug payload to the immune system in the gut." It is "not clear whether a new delivery system would eliminate much of the controversy surrounding the anthrax vaccine. The shot is suspected of being linked to Gulf War Syndrome," which has been "reported by veterans of the 1991 Gulf War."

9.      Hispanic Immigrants Thought To Be At High Risk For Emotional, Mental Problems.   In its "Breaking News" column, the Birmingham (AL) News (2/18, Stock) reported, "Hispanic immigrants are thought to be at a high risk for emotional and mental problems because of the loss, discrimination and poor living conditions they often face, doctors said" Wednesday "at a panel discussion on mental health and immigration at Cooper Green Mercy Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Sylvia Colon, a psychiatrist who…works for Veterans Affairs in Tuscaloosa, and two other doctors presented information on Hispanic immigrants and mental health to about 40 people." Immigrants "are prone to depression, anxiety, substance abuse and other mental and emotional problems, Colon said."

10.    Stimulus Package Includes Money For VA Construction.   At the end of a story examining how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will impact the construction industry, the Engineering News-Record (2/19, Ichniowski) reports, "The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments must report to Congress within 30 days on how they plan to spend their stimulus construction allocations." However, the "bill does not penalize" the DOD or the VA "if they do not obligate money in 120 days."
      Filipino World War II Vets To Receive Compensation.   In continuing coverage, the AP (2/19, Teves) reports a $198 million US "compensation package for Filipino World War II veterans who fought under the American flag against Japanese forces shows America’s ‘great respect’ for their bravery and service," the US Embassy "said Wednesday." The "compensation…is part of the $787 billion economic stimulus measure signed into law Tuesday by President Barack Obama." The US Embassy "in Manila said it will start accepting applications next week for lump-sum payments of $15,000 for veterans who have become" US citizens and $9,000 for non-US citizens.