Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 4-9-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1.  VA Hospital In Arizona To Honor Former POWs.  
2.  VA Psychiatrist Touts Benefits Of Consolidated  Supervision.  
3.  FDA Panel Recommends Some Expanded Use Of Antipsychotic Drug.  
4.  Tomah VAMC Launches Fitness Challenge For Vets.
5.  Blue Star Moms Lease House At VA Hospital.  
6.  Sheriff’s Office Honored For Helping Vets.  
7.  Yellow Ribbon Support Center Now Assisting Vets.  
8.  After Touring Miami VA Hospital, Meek Praises VA’s Infection Alert Efforts.  
9.  Vet Pleads Guilty To Faking Paralysis For Money.
10. Local Official, Vets Urge Renovation Of Louisville VA Hospital.  

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HAVE YOU HEARD?
During the 2008 holiday season, staffers from the VA Medical Center in Manchester, N.H., stood kiosk duty at a popular shopping mall. Although you wouldn’t typically expect to find a VA outreach team at a shopping mall, it is where you can find many young veterans. “One of our top priorities right now is to reach out to our returning OEF/OIF veterans, and this project has proven that locations such as this are an effective means of interacting with this group of younger veterans,” said Marc F. Levenson, M.D., medical center director. The kiosk, conveniently positioned near a major department store entrance, was the suggestion of James F. Thompson, public affairs officer at the medical center. In total, more than 140 veterans offered their contact information for follow-up calls and emails, and hundreds of veterans, families and friends stopped to ask about VA programs and benefits.

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1.      VA Hospital In Arizona To Honor Former POWs.   The Arizona Daily Star (4/8, 119K) reports former prisoners of war (POWs) "will tell their stories at Tucson’s veterans hospital on Thursday." The Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System’s "annual tribute to ex-POWs" is "open to the public."

2.      VA Psychiatrist Touts Benefits Of Consolidated Supervision.   The San Gabriel Valley (CA) Tribune (4/9, Steinberg) profiles psychiatrist Jay M. Otero, the "chief of Behavioral Medicine Service at the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veteran’s Administration Medical Center in Loma Linda," where he supervises "a staff of 150," including "other psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, psychiatric nurses and others." Otero’s "position as a supervisor of divergent mental health service providers is not standard in the VA system," where psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers sometimes "function autonomously in their own departments, each with their own boss." But Otero says, "Consolidation is a much more efficient way of delivering care," because it allows him to redeploy professionals to where they are needed. The Tribune notes that while "much of Otero’s time is spent with administrative matters, he still sees patients," the number of which have been growing for the VA since the US "sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001." Otero says that with these vets, the VA is "trying to catch" cases of post-traumatic stress disorder early. The Tribune adds, "From 2002 to 2008, the number of mental health outpatient visits at the Loma Linda VA increased 76 percent, from 47,489 to 83,728."

3.      FDA Panel Recommends Some Expanded Use Of Antipsychotic Drug.   The Philadelphia Inquirer (4/9, Hill, 376K) says that on Wednesday, a "government panel opened the door a crack…toward allowing AstraZeneca P.L.C. to sell its Seroquel XR more widely, after an emotional meeting that included stories from two families who say their loved ones," Iraq vets Eric Layne and Andrew White, "died after taking the powerful antipsychotic. The Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommended the agency approve Seroquel XR for use as an additional therapy in patients suffering from depression who do not respond adequately to their current medications." AstraZeneca "had asked the panel to approve Seroquel much more broadly, to treat depression and anxiety as a single therapy." The Inquirer notes that the Department of Veterans Affairs "said it could not ‘draw conclusions about the relationship between medication regimens’" and the deaths of Layne and White.

4.      Tomah VAMC Launches Fitness Challenge For Vets.   The Wausau (WI) Daily Herald (4/9) reports, "Veterans’ Canteen Services at Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center has launched its ‘Champions’ Challenge’ to help improve the health" of veterans. The "national wellness initiative is aimed at getting" vets "to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. Veterans who meet their goals will be eligible for the National Champions’ Challenge in July."

5.      Blue Star Moms Lease House At VA Hospital.   The Canandaigua (NY) Daily Messenger (4/9) reports, "New York Chapter No. 1 of Blue Star Mothers of America signed a lease Tuesday" with the Federal government on a house at the Canandaigua Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus. The "house will serve as a headquarters for the organization’s military support programs, project coordinator Ann Wido said." The Daily Messenger says the Blue Star Mothers organization "collects and ships medical supplies and blankets to bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, offers free suits to returning veterans going on job interviews, and performs other services."

6.      Sheriff’s Office Honored For Helping Vets.   The Tampa (FL) Tribune (4/8) reports, "Retired Navy Capt. Robert J. Silah recently presented a plaque to Sheriff David Gee for support offered by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to the active-duty wounded and injured" at the James A. Haley Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Silah is president" of the Tampa Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) "and chairman of Operation Helping Hand, a special project of the Tampa chapter of the MOAA." The Tribune adds that the nonprofit MOAA helps "families of wounded and injured active-duty service members who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan."

7.      Yellow Ribbon Support Center Now Assisting Vets.   The AP (4/9, Kinney) reports, "For years, the Yellow Ribbon Support Center sent thousands of boxes of snacks, toiletries and games to troops on active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan." Now, however, "it’s also helping veterans readjust to civilian life." The center, which was established in 2004 by Keith Maupin and his former wife, Carolyn, "a few months after their son, Matt, was captured and murdered in Iraq," does not "operate its own programs, but many soldiers and their families gravitate to the center for referrals." And on Thursday, April 9th, the "anniversary of…Matt Maupin’s capture," the center will hold a fundraiser, "where scholarships of $1,000 each will be awarded to college students in the name of each of the 53 Cincinnati area-soldiers who died in Iraq or Afghanistan."

8.      After Touring Miami VA Hospital, Meek Praises VA’s Infection Alert Efforts.   Florida’s Westside Gazette (4/9, Sharon) reports, "Just recently," US Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (D-FL) "toured the Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare Center in an effort to attain the current status of the ongoing investigation into the recent medical mishaps" at the facility, which Meek had been notified of on March 23rd, when the Miami VA Healthcare System (MVAHS) told him that between May 2004 and March 12, 2009, "approximately 3,260 veterans who received a colonoscopy using endoscopic equipment at the Miami VA were exposed to possible risks of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV." Approximately "2,500 former patients are believed to be in the Miami area and letters were mailed to those veterans asking them to undergo tests at the Miami VA Medical Center, the Broward County VA Clinic, the Homestead VA Clinic and the Key West VA Clinic." And after his tour of the VA hospital in Miami, Meek "commended the VA for its outreach efforts and expressed his satisfaction on how veterans are being treated once they come in for testing."

9.      Vet Pleads Guilty To Faking Paralysis For Money.   In continuing coverage, the Bonner County (ID) Daily Bee (4/9, Kinnaird) reports, "A Bonner County man accused of faking paraplegia to obtain Veterans Affairs benefits has pleaded guilty," the US Department of Justice "announced on Monday. James M. Sebero pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of making false statements in a case" Federal prosecutors "say is the largest single instance of disability compensation benefits fraud in VA history." US Attorney James McDevitt "said the successful resolution of the case was due to the cooperative efforts of U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, Office of the Inspector General and the VA." The Bee notes that Sebero’s agreement requires him "to forfeit unspecified assets and pay $950,000 in restitution," Federal officials said.

10.    Local Official, Vets Urge Renovation Of Louisville VA Hospital.   In continuing coverage, the Madison (IN) Courier (4/9, Denhart) says the US Department of Veteran Affairs "was looking for public opinion on whether to build or renovate its hospital in Louisville," and Carroll County Judge-Executive Harold Tomlinson "thought the opinion of rural county veterans should be heard." So he "attended the public hearing and expressed his opinion on behalf of the area’s veterans." The VA "is considering three options: Build a new facility in downtown Louisville near University Hospital; build an inpatient facility in downtown Louisville and use the current facility for outpatient care; and renovate the existing hospital on Zorn Avenue off Interstate 71." Tomlinson "recommended that the department renovate" the Zorn Avenue location "because of the downtown traffic and the accessibility to the hospital from the interstate." Tomlinson "said 200 to 400 veterans…attended the public hearing, and a large number" shared his opinion.