Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 6-12-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans 

1. In Front Of Johnson’s Subcommittee, Shinseki Discusses Budget Request.
2. VA Reaching Out To Troubled Vets.
3. Despite Dying In US, Loved Ones Believe Vet Was Casualty Of Iraq War.
4. TV Program Bringing Together Artists, Veterans.
5. Report Seen As Evidence That VA, Government Need To “Retool” IT Approach.
6. VA Hospital Using PAs,
7. Telehealth Program To Help Treat Patients.
8. Clinic’s Home-Based Primary Care Group To Begin Seeing Patients Soon.
9. Erie VAMC Hosting Race For Homeless Vets.
10. VA Hospital Projects “Translates Into Hundreds Of Jobs” In Texas.

1. In Front Of Johnson’s Subcommittee, Shinseki Discusses Budget Request. The Mitchell (SD) Daily Republic (6/11) noted that on Thursday, US Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, held a hearing featuring testimony from VA Secretary Eric Shinseki examining President Obama‘s fiscal year 2010 budget request. According to a news release from Johnson‘s office, the lawmaker ¯was particularly interested in the implementation of the Rural Health Outreach and Delivery Initiative, which he crafted to provide vets in rural areas with better access to care. The VA recently announced plans to move forward with the $250 million plan, which seeks to give the VA secretary the latitude necessary to implement new programs based on the unique needs of rural veterans.

2. VA Reaching Out To Troubled Vets. On its website, WTVM-TV Columbus, GA (6/12, Bernstein) says that with 82 reported suicides in the US Army ¯this year, 17 alone in May, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a hot topic. The Army is tackling the problem head on, but prevention and outreach are also extending into the Veterans Affairs system. It all started in 2007, with the suicide of 22-year-old veteran Joshua Omvig, after which time suicide prevention coordinators were brought into every VA hospital, to make sure help was there for any veteran who needed it. A National Suicide Prevention Hotline was also set up. WTVM added, Coordinators say the best way to get in contact with a mental health professional is to call the suicide hotline.

3. Despite Dying In US, Loved Ones Believe Vet Was Casualty Of Iraq War. In a story syndicated nationally by McClatchy, the Sacramento (CA) Bee (6/11, Hubert) notes that 24-year-old Iraq veteran Trevor Hogue committed suicide last week by hanging himself in the backyard of his childhood home. According to the US Army, ¯soldiers are killing themselves at the highest rate in nearly three decades, but Hogue‘s death, because it occurred after he was discharged, is not included in those statistics. But his friends and loved ones believe he was a casualty of war as much as any soldier on active duty.

4. TV Program Bringing Together Artists, Veterans. The Cape Cod (MA) Times (6/12, Cassidy) says 52-year-old South Yarmouth artist Robert John Cook‘s ¯most recent accomplishment  really a group effort, he said — is a local cable television program designed to bring together military veterans and artists. On Tuesday night, Cook ¯hosted the first episode of Welcome Home‘ on Channel 17. The program will air each Saturday beginning on June 13th, Cook said. It will showcase artists who agree to teach free introductory classes for veterans, he said. The Times adds, Veterans often struggle with lifelong stress from their experience in the military, said Bonnie McIntosh, a team leader at the Department of Veterans Affairs Hyannis Vet Center. The creative arts provide a voice to express these struggles that is powerful and therapeutic,‘ she said.
 
5. Report Seen As Evidence That VA, Government Need To “Retool” IT Approach. In continuing coverage, Fierce Government IT (6/11, Hasson) said, ¯There‘s a headache every day somewhere in the Federal IT world. And this time, the Department of Veterans Affairs needs to take two aspirin and retool, after a report by the agency‘s Inspector General found ¯that the VA did not plan sufficiently on a 2006 initiative to centralize VA‘s IT management. That led to lax in management controls and oversight, according to an article in Government Health IT. In his ZDNet Healthcare (6/11) blog, Dana Blankenhorn also noted the IG‘s report, arguing that it shows the Bush-era system of centralizing all decisions and contracting IT jobs out to private industry is a bottleneck toward getting the larger job of healthcare reform done.

6. VA Hospital Using PAs, Telehealth Program To Help Treat Patients. KJCT-TV Grand Junction, CO (6/11, 6:00 p.m. MT) broadcast, Many doctors are so busy with their current load of patients, they just simply can‘t accept any more. But people still get sick and need to be seen. KJCT said the Veterans Affairs hospital in Grand Junction has found a way to manage these patients by hiring physician extenders in the form of physician assistants, or PAs, and nurse practitioners, to help treat them. And when it comes to handling ¯patients who can‘t even make it into town to see a doctor, the VA hospital has come up with a solution for that as well by using a telehealth program funded by…Rural Initiative money earmarked by Congress. The program allows medical professionals to care for patients via a camera and a computer.

7. Clinic’s Home-Based Primary Care Group To Begin Seeing Patients Soon. The Franklin (NC) Press (6/12, McCandless) reports, Franklin‘s Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) is poised to bring in a Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) group that will attend to the needs of area veterans whose physical limitations or other circumstances prevent them from making the trip to the Wayah Street facility. The HBPC is scheduled to start seeing patients sometime in early July, according to Barbara St. Hilaire, director of Home-Based Primary Care with the Asheville VA. More than two-thirds of the staff for HBPC has already been hired, according to St. Hilaire.

8. Erie VAMC Hosting Race For Homeless Vets. The Erie (PA) Times-News (6/11) noted that the ¯Erie Department of Veterans Affairs is hosting its 12th annual 5K race this Sunday to raise money to meet the needs of homeless veterans and their families in the area. Approximately 200 people are expected to participate.
 
9. VA Hospital Projects “Translates Into Hundreds Of Jobs” In Texas. On its website, News8-TV Austin, TX (6/11, Gonzalez) said, ¯Some big changes will come to the Veterans Affairs hospital in Waco, made possible by $8 million in Federal stimulus money, and that translates into hundreds of jobs for people in the area. Construction on the projects could start as early as this summer, with construction on the Center of Excellence starting July 1.

10. Sewage Line Work For VA Hospital Expansion Underway Without A Contract. The Fox Chapel (PA) Herald (6/12, Panizzi) reports, Construction has begun on O‘Hara sewage lines to accommodate expansions at a Veterans Affairs hospital, despite council not having yet awarded a contract. Township Manager Julie Jakubec said during council‘s meeting last week that $120,000 worth of upgrades are under way along North and South Margery drives, just off of Fox Chapel Road. However, officials at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System already have pledged 100 percent of the cost for sewer line upgrades in O‘Hara.