Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 3-5-09

1. Georgia Vet Attends Legion Conference.  
2. VA Making Progress On Clinic In Florida.  
3. Akaka’s Committee To Focus On Disability Compensation System.  
4. Estimate Puts Possible Number Of Brain Injured US Troops At 360,000.  
5. VA Clinic In Indiana Moving To Larger Location.  
6. Ohio Lawmakers Approve Plan To Pay Cash Bonuses To Veterans.  
7. Young Daughter A Concern For Fallen US Soldier’s Family.  
8. New Vet Center Expected To Open This Fall In Bakersfield, California.  
9. Nonprofit Converting Old School Into PTSD Treatment Center. 
10.     Tuscaloosa VAMC Offering Building For Homeless Rehab Program.

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HAVE YOU HEARD?
VBA is piloting a program at four regional offices that provides veterans and their families a comprehensive checklist that clearly lays out the information and evidence required to support their claims for disability compensation and pension benefits. The checklists identify the information and evidence that VA asks the veterans for in order to complete the processing of their claims. These lists serve as a handy, easy-to-read reference that veterans can use to record their progress in supplying the information and evidence needed. The Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 directed VA to assess whether providing such a checklist will result in faster and more frequent submission of evidence by claimants. Information and evidence gathering often makes up the largest percentage of time needed to process a claim. Over 3.7 million veterans and beneficiaries receive compensation or pension benefits from VA. In 2008, VA processed nearly 900,000 claims for disability benefits. The four regional offices selected for the pilot are: Cleveland, Ohio; Boise, Idaho; Waco, Texas; and Louisville, Kentucky.

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1.      Georgia Vet Attends Legion Conference.   In continuing coverage, the Americus (GA) Times-Recorder (3/5) reports, "After hearing presentations" by Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, as well as US Sens. Joe Lieberman and Charles Grassley, an "Americus veteran took to the Hill to meet with elected representatives to lobby for veterans and their families, a strong national defense, and action against illegal immigration." Bob Beauchamp American Legion Post 13 "also heard from former military members now in Congress, including Representatives John Fleming, and Tim Walz." Beauchamp, participating in the American Legion’s 49th Washington Conference, was part of "a delegation of Georgia Legionnaires" fighting "for funding to care for the nation’s veterans of past wars and to protect benefits for those now serving."

2.      VA Making Progress On Clinic In Florida.   Florida’s Villages Daily Sun (3/5, Corder) says, "Bricks and mortar built on sacrifice. Signs of building work at the Veterans Outpatient Clinic at The Villages meets that description." But in "light of new changes," the "block wall work that started this week on this new health center carries even more significance for those who served their country. The timing on the construction of this 90,000-square-foot outpatient clinic comes as the Department of Veterans Affairs embarks on a plan to expand medical-eligibility requirements for veterans previously unable to enroll in the VA health care system, "said Tom Murphy, a disabled" US veteran "who lives in the Village of Santiago and serves as commander of American Legion Post 347 in Lady Lake." Many "veterans in The Villages already know about the VA’s new health care expansion plan that Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki has promised." Meanwhile, VA planners "have completed all building specifications in collaboration with Wheatfield, Ind.-based Hamstra Group Inc., the general contractor on the construction project adjacent to the Mulberry Grove Plaza Shopping Center."

3.      Akaka’s Committee To Focus On Disability Compensation System.   In an op-ed in The Hill (3/4) US Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, wrote, "Today’s veteran disability compensation system is complicated and burdensome for both veterans and the government," so much Senate Veterans Affairs Committee’s "attention this Congress will be dedicated to determining how veterans should be compensated and improving the compensation process." President Obama and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki "have both expressed the desire for change at VA. I look forward to working with them to improve the system."
      Buyer Says VA Is Facing "Critical Challenges."   In a related op-ed also appearing in The Hill (3/4), US Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) said the VA "faces a number of critical challenges made even more imposing by the thousands of combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Among these are the disability claims backlog, treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide among veterans, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and implementation of the new GI Bill." Buyer added, "Bold action will be required to ensure" that the VA’s "health and disability systems are effective in delivering timely and quality services to our veterans, and I look forward to working with Secretary Shinseki on modernization and reform" at the agency.

4.      Estimate Puts Possible Number Of Brain Injured US Troops At 360,000.   The AP (3/5, Jelinek) says the number of US troops "who have suffered wartime brain injuries may be as high as 360,000 and could cast more attention on such injuries among civilians, Defense Department doctors said Wednesday. The estimate of the number injured – the vast majority of them suffering concussions – represents 20 percent" of the approximately "1.8 million men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where blast injuries are common from roadside bombs and other explosives, the doctors said. The estimate came in a Pentagon news conference on activities planned this month to bring attention to brain injuries." The "previous high estimate offered publicly was 320,000 in a study released a year ago by the private Rand Corp."
      USA Today (3/5, Zoroya), which notes that the Pentagon’s estimate was "provided…during a news conference about March as Brain Injury Awareness Month," reports that last year, following "direction from Congress," the US military "began to screen all troops returning from the war zones for brain injury." USA Today adds, "The Department of Veterans Affairs reports that it has treated about 8,000 former servicemembers for brain injury after their return from Iraq and Afghanistan."

5.      VA Clinic In Indiana Moving To Larger Location.   In continuing coverage, WISH-TV Indianapolis, IN (3/4, 12:05 p.m. ET) broadcast that the Muncie Veterans Affairs Clinic "will double its size" next month "when it moves to a new location. A Delaware County VA officer says he expects a spike in demand because of the continued involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan." The clinic is "set to open April 1st" at its new location. WNDY-TV Indianapolis, IN (3/4, 10:02 p.m. ET), WXIN-TV Indianapolis, IN (3/4, 8:07 a.m. ET) aired similar reports.

6.      Ohio Lawmakers Approve Plan To Pay Cash Bonuses To Veterans.   The AP (3/4, Majors) reported, "The Ohio Legislature has given final approval to borrowing $200 million to pay cash bonuses to veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq wars." On Tuesday, the "Ohio House voted 92-3 to approve the plan," which was approved by the Ohio Senate last month. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland "vetoed a similar bill last year but is expected to sign this version because it raises money by selling bonds instead of tapping the state’s rainy-day fund." The AP notes that voters "must still support" the plan "in November because it would increase the state’s debt."

7.      Young Daughter A Concern For Fallen US Soldier’s Family.   The Chicago Tribune (3/5, Bowean, Janega, 577K) reports, "Since Illinois National Guard Spec. Simone Robinson died of her wounds over the weekend, dashing her family’s hopes for recovery weeks after a suicide bombing in Afghanistan, relatives have struggled with how to tell" Nyzia, "the young woman’s 2-year-old daughter," that "her mother is gone. ‘She doesn’t understand,’ said Robinson’s mother, Regina Byther, who has been telling…Nyzia that her mommy is in heaven." The 21-year-old Robinson, the "eighth Illinois National Guard soldier killed in Afghanistan in five months," was "critically wounded Jan. 17 by a suicide bomber in Kabul."

8.      New Vet Center Expected To Open This Fall In Bakersfield, California.   On its website, KGET-TV Bakersfield, CA (3/4) reported, "Bakersfield is one of 39 cities nationwide chosen as sites for new Veterans Administration centers, which will focus on providing mental health services for war veterans struggling to readjust to civilian life." Bakersfield’s new Vet Center "should be open for business by this fall."

9.      Nonprofit Converting Old School Into PTSD Treatment Center.   The Allentown (PA) Morning Call (3/4, Kraus) reported, "An Allentown nonprofit organization is converting a vacant 90-year-old church school in center city into a residential ‘veterans sanctuary’ that would specialize in treating post-traumatic stress disorder." Treatment Trends "is transforming the 30,000-square-foot brick structure at Fifth and Walnut streets into a short-term therapeutic home for 60 veterans, with room for counseling, training and group therapy." The project "unites two extremes of neighborhood politics — an often unpopular treatment center with well-liked veterans services. Supporters are gearing up to win over neighbors with two weeks of open houses starting in two weeks."

10.    Tuscaloosa VAMC Offering Building For Homeless Rehab Program.   The Tuscaloosa (AL) News (3/4, Avant) reported, "The Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center is offering a vacant 30,000-square-foot building with seven acres of land to any organization that is willing to use the facility to help reduce homelessness locally. But the VA does not want the building or land used for a one-night stay shelter, said Alan Tyler," the hospital’s director, "during a Tuesday night public meeting to discuss the VA’s plan. ‘We want some true rehabilitation, not just a shelter or overnight stay,’ Tyler said. ‘We expect [a program] that provides good, supportive, ongoing care to break the cycle of homelessness.’" The VA "will seek proposals from interested organizations until July. Ideally, the property could be leased within about eight months after that," according to Jay Halpern, national director of the VA’s Homeless Initiative.

VA Seeking Nominations for Award for Service to Homeless Veterans

The Office of lntergovernmental Affairs Homeless Veterans Program is seeking nominations for the 2009 Secretary’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Service for Homeless Veterans. The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding achievements of VA employees, VA organizations, and partners including but not limited to veteran service organizations, businesses, community groups and faith-based organizations that provide exceptional service to homeless veterans and contribute to breaking the cycle of chronic homelessness among veterans. Nominations should be submitted no later than April 22, 2009. They should be submitted via electronic email to [email protected]. They may also be mailed or hand delivered to the Office of the Director of Homeless Veterans Programs (075D), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20420. For more information on the award and the nomination process, click here