Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 4-2-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. VA Nominees Emphasize Communication, Transparency.  
2. Gates Asked To Provide Burn Pit Study Data.  
3. Seminar Offers Advice On Helping US Military Children Cope.  
4. Economy Leading Some Americans To Contemplate Suicide.  
5. Celebration Of Government Payment "Bittersweet" For Filipino Vets.  
6. One Pennsylvania VA Clinic Shutting Down As Another Opens.  
7. Lebanon VAMC Program Helping Sight-Impaired Vets.  
8. VA To Discuss Potential Louisville Hospital Sites During Forum.  
9. Disabled Vet Praises Winter Sports Clinic.  
10. Former Commerce CIO Chosen For IT Post In VA.

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RAND STUDY ON POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER RELEASED
Assessing Combat Exposure and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Troops and Estimating the Costs to Society. Implications from the RAND Invisible Wounds of War Study
Testimony presented before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs on March 24, 2009.
Download the Report

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HAVE YOU HEARD?
VA’s online Personal Health Record for veterans — My HealtheVet – received 1st Honors for outstanding health information technology, Personal Health Record and electronic medical record (EMR) innovations and solutions at the 25th Annual TEPR (Towards the Electronic Health Record) Conference in Palm Springs, Calif., February 2. My HealtheVet was awarded the top honor for Personal Health Record Systems, based on criteria such as data, data integrity, security, and consumer control by the Medical Records Institute at the conference. My HealtheVet offers Veterans anywhere, anytime access to VA health care, services and benefits. Veterans who enroll and are patients at VA health care centers can order VA prescriptions online, store and access military and health history, research trusted health information and create a Personal Health Record that is linked to their Electronic Health Record. My HealtheVet registration recently topped 700,000. Medical Records Institute Vice President and organizer of the TEPR Awards, “Our goal in holding this yearly awards program is to recognize investments in producing valuable health IT products and to help potential consumers make their selections. We congratulate the honorees on their outstanding products.”

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1.      VA Nominees Emphasize Communication, Transparency.   In continuing coverage, CQ (4/2, Johnson) reports, "Communication and transparency…were the themes running through the confirmation hearing of two of President Obama’s nominees for the Department of Veterans Affairs." While speaking to senators on the Veterans Affairs Committee Wednesday, "W. Scott Gould and L. Tammy Duckworth, the nominees for deputy secretary and assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs, respectively, both raised these issues as critical to modernizing the massive bureaucracy." Also critical, Gould "said, is improving the electronic claims-processing system and streamlining bureaucratic rules to eliminate the backlog of claims." The committee "could approve the nominees by Thursday and the full Senate by voice vote before the spring recess, a spokesman for Chairman Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, said."
      Gould Says VA Needs Career Employees’ Ideas.   The Federal Times (4/2, Maze) reports Obama’s "choice to manage day-to-day operations" at the VA "said the agency needs leadership, not management, and needs career employees to come forward with ideas. Big organizations don’t respond to my-way-or-the-highway edicts, said…Gould, tapped to be deputy VA secretary because of his experience in transforming bureaucracies at the Treasury and Commerce departments and at IBM." Akaka "said the fact Gould never worked at VA and is not a former official with a veterans’ service organization…could make it harder for him to establish trust and a strong working relationship with career employees. But Akaka liked what Gould had to say about the workforce."
      Duckworth Planning To Modernize VA Outreach Efforts.   The Honolulu Advertiser (4/2) reports Duckworth told senators that if she is confirmed, "she would try to bring a more modern approach to helping veterans." Duckworth, a University of Hawaii-Manoa graduate, stated, "In order to become a 21st Century organization," the VA "must develop social networking strategies, use non-traditional outlets such as blogs, and employ the wide variety of new media available to get the message of available benefits to our veterans." Akaka, meanwhile, "urged senators to quickly confirm Duckworth."
      Duckworth Said To Have "Breezed Through" Hearing.   The Chicago Public Radio (4/1) website said Duckworth, the former head of Illinois’ Department of Veterans Affairs, "breezed through" Wednesday’s hearing, during which senators praised her "for her work in Illinois and her courage in Iraq."
      Nominees Personally Invested In New Jobs.   The Federal Times (4/2, Maze) says VA Secretary Eric Shinseki "is about to get some company: two more presidential appointees who say they have personal reasons for making sure" the VA works. After noting injuries suffered by Duckworth in Iraq and that Gould’s father "spent the last 11
years of his life as a patient at a veterans hospital," the Times says both nominations "are on a fast track, with plans for confirmation by the full Senate before Congress takes a two-week break. If the Senate votes by Thursday night, the nominees could be sworn in Friday." The Navy Times (4/2, Maze) publishes the same story.
      Burr Delays Swearing-In Plans For Duckworth.   In a later story, the Marine Corps Times (4/2, Maze) reports Duckworth’s "hopes of having a Friday swearing in ceremony at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to become part of the Obama administration have been put on hold because" the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee "won’t be voting Thursday on her nomination. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, ranking Republican on the committee, objected to allowing a vote on Duckworth’s nomination but will allow a Thursday vote to confirm…Gould to take the No. 2 post at the VA, as deputy secretary." Republican aides "said the senator is not blocking her nomination, describing the delay as a matter of paperwork and timing. The committee has had full information on Gould longer than the paperwork on Duckworth, which is why the vote was put off."

2.      Gates Asked To Provide Burn Pit Study Data.   In continuing coverage, the Army Times (4/1, Kennedy) noted, "Troops exposed to fumes from open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan face ‘significant danger,’ according to independent scientists hired by Congress to look at a study conducted by the military on the burn pit at Joint Base Balad, the largest" US "facility in Iraq. ‘Independent scientists who have reviewed the joint study of Balad Air Base have informed us that there is a significant danger that veterans may become ill as a result of exposure to fumes emanating from such burn pits,’ states a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates signed and sent by eight lawmakers on March 30. ‘They also noted that the underlying data supporting the study was not included and that it will be difficult to ascertain the potential health care implications of exposure to the fumes without this data.’" The letter asks Secretary Gates "to provide that data to Congress and the Government Accountability Office." The Times added, "Lawmakers also have sent letters to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Erik Shinseki, who said VA is working with the Defense Department to connect troop exposure data with possible ailments; and to Gen. David Petraeus," chief of US Central Command, "asking that the burn pits be monitored for safety. Petraeus said the military would" do so.

3.      Seminar Offers Advice On Helping US Military Children Cope.   Stars And Stripes (4/2, Robbins) reports "some 60 educators, health professionals and family readiness group leaders who attended a seminar Monday and Tuesday" at Ramstein Air Base in Germany "learned about ways to help children" of servicemen and women "with trauma and grief. Patty Shinseki, a member of the board of directors for the Military Child Education Coalition, led the class. It’s a topic she knows intimately" because she "is the mother of two children, a former teacher and wife of retired Army Gen. Eric K. Shinseki," the current secretary of Veterans Affairs. The "course, Living in the New Normal: Supporting Children Through Trauma and Loss, started in 2004 after teachers and parents saw children troubled by soldiers’ first deployments to Iraq, Shinseki said." In the "past two years, the class has been taught at Heidelberg and Grafenwöhr, in Germany, and in Vicenza, Italy, as well as at bases throughout the United States."

4.      Economy Leading Some Americans To Contemplate Suicide.   On its website, ABC News (4/1, Goldman) said the faltering US economy has "exacted a psychological toll, leading some" Americans, including 29-year-old homeless veteran LaTasha Peeler, to contemplate suicide. Just this week, however, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) launched a website "to aid those facing a mental health crisis in light of the difficult economic times." ABC added, "In the initial wake of the Iraq War, many mental health professionals were critical of the government’s handling of soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder." A. Kathryn Power, director of SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services, "said that, although the Veteran’s Administration and other government agencies had sometimes been less than proactive when dealing with mental health issues," SAMHSA "had been proactive."

5.      Celebration Of Government Payment "Bittersweet" For Filipino Vets.   In continuing coverage, the San Luis Obispo County (CA) NewTimes (4/2, Cone) notes that the Federal Economic Stimulus bill "included legislation awarding surviving Filipino veterans a one-time lump sum payment: US citizens get $15,000, while citizens of the Philippines get $9,000. The money marked a long-awaited victory for the veterans, but the celebration was bittersweet" because some "of the veterans found the funds to be offensive. And for others, it was too late. By most estimates, there are only about 18,000 Filipino World War II veterans still alive."

6.      One Pennsylvania VA Clinic Shutting Down As Another Opens.   The Bradford (PA) Era (4/2, Schellhammer) reports, "The Veterans Health Administration clinic in Smethport is closing, and a new one is opening soon in Old City Hall in Bradford. Dr. Michael Walt, a board-certified specialist in osteopathic family medicine, will be" the new clinic’s physician. On Monday, Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC) "officials said Walt will remain full-time on active medical staff with the hospital until he starts his new position." Officials with the BRMC also "said…that the VA Clinic at the Smethport Family Practice will be closing as of May 31." In a "press release, Rhonda Chilson, director of practice management, said, ‘The VA itself bid the contract to provide services to our veteran population and they recently awarded the bid to another company.’"

7.      Lebanon VAMC Program Helping Sight-Impaired Vets.   The Sunbury (PA) Daily Item (4/2, Pursell) reports some local, sight-impaired veterans "have learned to live a quality life with a little help from a special program offered at the Lebanon Veterans Affairs Medical Center." The 10-day program, "called VISOR (Visual Impairment Services Outpatient Rehabilitation)," provides "training, rehabilitation and prosthetics for veterans with low vision."

8.      VA To Discuss Potential Louisville Hospital Sites During Forum.   The Business First Of Louisville (4/2) reports the US Department of Veterans Affairs "plans to hold a forum for Louisville residents to see presentations on three potential sites for a planed, $700 million VA hospital in Louisville, and to offer input on the selection process." The event is scheduled to be held "Monday, from 1 to 3 p.m., at The Clifton Center, 2117 Payne St. ‘The location of the new hospital will be a decision that affects our entire community, and I hope that people take advantage of the opportunity to give input to the VA,’" US Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) "said in a news release."

9.      Disabled Vet Praises Winter Sports Clinic.   In continuing coverage, the American Forces Press Service (4/2, Miles) profiles disabled Afghanistan veteran Bill Roy, "a first-timer at the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic." Roy "praised the…clinic, an annual event jointly sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Disabled American Veterans. Now in its 23rd year, it uses recreation as a rehabilitative tool for veterans with disabilities ranging from spinal cord injuries and orthopedic amputations to visual impairment and neurological conditions." The AFPS adds, "For many participants, like Roy, the experience can be life-changing. ‘I’d recommend this clinic to anybody,’ he said. ‘This has really rejuvenated my soul.’"
      Two West Virginia Vets Participating In Clinic.   The Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch (4/2) notes that 49-year-old Steven Cobb and 61-year-old Daniel O’Connor, two disabled veterans from West Virginia, are also participating in this year’s clinic.

10.    Former Commerce CIO Chosen For IT Post In VA.   CongressDaily (4/2) reports, "President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated Roger Baker — former CEO of Dataline Inc., a mid-sized technology company headquartered in Norfolk, Va. — to become assistant secretary for information and technology at the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is familiar territory for Baker, who served as chief information officer for the Commerce Department from 1998 to 2001." The VA’s IT infrastructure "has been in the spotlight since May 2006 when a laptop computer containing the social security numbers of 26.5 million" US veterans "was stolen from an analyst’s home."
      BetaNews (4/2, Gunn), which publishes a similar story, notes that in addition to his stint as Commerce CIO, Baker "has also held executive-level positions at Dataline, General Dynamics Information Technology, CACI International and Visa, and served on the administration’s transition team."
      Allan Holmes, writing for NextGov‘s (3/31) "Tech Insider" blog, also noted the nomination, saying that based on Wednesday’s NextGov story about problems with the VA’s Replacement Scheduling Application Development Program, Baker has a "tough job" ahead of him.
      VA Scheduling Application "Close To Collapse."   Government Health IT (4/2) reports, "A scheduling application that is critical to the effectiveness" of the VA’s "new myHealtheVet electronic health platform is close to collapse, NextGov.com reports. Development of the Replacement Scheduling Application Development Program began in 2001, and is needed to manage the expected dramatic increase in the number of veterans that will be treated at VA facilities in the next several years." However, "no scheduling capability can yet be delivered to the field, according to an internal VA memo, nor is there an expectation that one will be delivered in the near future. Top officials at

 the Veterans Health Administration worry about the effect the news about the scheduling software will have on the confidence the Obama administration, Congress and health care providers will have on other aspects of the VA’s eHealth programs, given recent assurances of progress, NextGov says."