Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 7-17-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. Veteran, Shinseki Excited About Wheelchair Games.  
2. Schools, VA Partner On Education Benefits.  
3. VA, Concord Hospital Administrators Clarify Details Of Agreement.  
4. Funding Will Assist Homeless Vets In Several States.  
5. VA Urged To Reconsider VA Hospital For Southern New Jersey.  
6. Soldier Suicides Down But Many Vets Diagnosed With Mental Health Disorders.  
7. Concern Expressed About VA/DOD Health Record Interoperability.  
8. GAO Faults Care Provided To Female Veterans At VA Facilities.  
9. VA Program Offers Hands-On Training To First-Year Medical Students.  
10. New Director Of West Los Angeles VA Touts Quality Of Agency’s Care.  

     1.      Veteran, Shinseki Excited About Wheelchair Games.   In continuing coverage, the American Forces Press Service (7/16, Miles) profiled Iraq veteran Steve McGuire, a "peer counselor at his home Veterans Affairs clinic," and John Bennett, two of "more than 500 disabled veterans" competing in this week’s 29th National Veterans Wheelchair Games. Bennett, also an Iraq veteran, said, "It’s fabulous to see this many disabled veterans out here competing," while VA Secretary Eric Shinseki "noted during the games’ opening day," the "event enriches onlookers, too. ‘These games are not only great for the athletes, they’re even better for us as spectators,’ he said." The AFPS pointed out that in "addition to the wheelchair games, the VA co-sponsors three other national rehabilitative events: the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, the National Veterans Golden Age Games and the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival." And last "fall, the VA hosted a new summer sports clinic pilot program that introduces water and adventure sports such as sailing, surfing, kayaking, cycling, and track-and-field events to recently injured veterans."
      Athlete Says She Can Be Herself At Games.   The Air Force News Service (7/16, Bates) said swimming "100 meters is difficult," but swimming "this distance without the use of your legs seems near impossible. Yet, this is exactly what Terri Fuda did July 15," while taking part in the Games, "where she competed in the 100-meter freestyle swimming event at Whitmore College’s aquatic center. The former senior airman served as an administrative specialist in the Air Force for nearly 10 years before a tumor left her in the wheelchair she now occupies." For some time, Fuda "never thought people like her existed outside of her own bubble," until "she discovered the Wheelchair Games and everything changed. ‘I found a place where everybody was just like me,’ she said," adding, "It was a place where I could just be myself and not worry what everyone else thought." Matthew Allen, public affairs officer for the Spokane VA Medical Center, also commented on the Games, telling AFNS that they "allow disabled veterans to come together, have fun and show that just because they’re in wheelchairs this doesn’t mean they aren’t still athletes."
      Four-Time Participant "Inspired" By "Emotional" Games.   The Spokane Spokesman-Review (7/16, Sheehan, 92K) said, "Winning and losing doesn’t really matter this week to Loon Lake’s Roy ‘Bud’ Bemis," a Vietnam vet "who is competing in five events at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games. ‘Six hundred of the most fantastic people you can imagine are coming over to play,’ he said, ‘and they’re coming to my town to do it. What could be better than that?" Bemis, who has competed in three previous Games, "credits his involvement" in the event "to Julie Adams, who was his recreational therapist at the VA hospital in Seattle. ‘Bless her heart, she wouldn’t take no for an answer,’ he said. ‘I had no idea it would be such an emotional and inspiring spectacle.’"
      Veterans From Arizona Competing In Games.   Arizona’s West Valley Preps (7/16) noted that four "Valley veterans of military service are competing" in the Games, "one of the world’s premier events for disabled athletes this month. Three of the veterans – Surprise resident Diego Suazo, John Tuzzolino and Dan Koston – took home gold medals in the 2008 games," and with "support from the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System and the Paralyzed Veterans of America, these veterans" are also attending this year’s Games, which run "through July 18 in Spokane, Wash." KSAT-TV San Antonio, TX (7/16, 12:57 p.m. CT) also noted the Games during a brief, general report it aired.

2.      Schools, VA Partner On Education Benefits.   In continuing coverage, the Salisbury (NC) Post (7/16) reported, "Thirty-eight colleges, universities and schools across North Carolina – including Livingstone College and Pfeiffer University – have entered into Yellow Ribbon Program agreements with the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve financial aid for veterans. More than 3,400 agreements were received from the 1,100 schools participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program," a "provision of the new Post-9/11 GI Bill," which "funds tuition expenses that exceed the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition rate." The Post noted that Keith Wilson, director of the VA’s Education Service, called this a "strong response to a new benefit," while VA Secretary Eric Shinseki stressed the importance of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, saying it "is an important part of fulfilling our promise to the men and women who have served our country so honorably." The Army News Service (7/16), which said more "than 1,100…schools across" the US "have entered into" Yellow Ribbon Program agreements, offered the same quotes from Shinseki and Wilson.

3.      VA, Concord Hospital Administrators Clarify Details Of Agreement.   In continuing coverage, the Concord (NH) Monitor (7/16, Sanger-Katz) said administrators from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Concord Hospital "have clarified the details of a contract expansion announced earlier this week. The change will mean that more veterans who require hospital stays will be given the choice to stay in New Hampshire for their care," but "veterans will still need to travel out of state for some specialized care." Dr. Marc Levinson, director of the Manchester VA Medical Center, "said…the contract expansion could become a test case for how the VA serves patients who live far from VA facilities."
      Papers Praise Deal.   In a related editorial, the New Hampshire Union Leader (7/16) said the "question of whether veterans in New Hampshire ought to have a full-service VA hospital in-state has been put to rest, at least for now — and in a good way," because on Monday, the VA "announced a contract with Concord Hospital to provide acute care not currently provided" at the Manchester VAMC. This is a "wonderful development for New Hampshire’s veterans not only because more services will be provided, but because it takes a step away from a bureaucratic, government-run system and toward one that gives veterans more options." The Nashua (NH) Telegraph (7/15), which published a similar editorial, noted that "in a statement released Monday," VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said, "Our partnership with Concord Hospital significantly improves access to acute care for the Veterans residing in New Hampshire."

4.      Funding Will Assist Homeless Vets In Several States.   The Bossier (LA) Press-Tribune (7/16) noted that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development this week "announced…the final allocations vouchers to Louisiana public housing authorities for permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans. Housing authorities in Bossier Parish, Kenner and Lafayette will administer a total of 105 vouchers in conjunction with local" Veterans Affairs "centers. ‘Numerous men and women voluntarily leave their families and put their lives on the line to ensure that we, their fellow Americans, live safely in our homes,’ said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, who announced the $75 million in funding last month" with VA "Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. ‘These vouchers offer veterans a permanent home and critically needed supportive services to those who have served our nation.’"
      On its website, WCJB-TV Gainesville, FL (7/16) said HUD "announced…the distribution of more than 10,000 vouchers to local public housing authorities across the

country to provide permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans. Support services and programs in the Gainesville area received 210 vouchers and more than $1,410,000 in funding to help support homeless veterans, according" to the HUD website.
      The Maine Public Broadcasting Network (7/16) website, meanwhile, noted that US Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) recently "announced…that the Portland Housing Authority will be getting over $277,000 to help homeless veterans in southern Maine." The money, which "will fund a program that is administered by local housing authorities in cooperation" with the VA, "will help the Housing Authority find affordable housing for 35 homeless veterans and their families."
      The Boston Herald (7/16, Crimaldi, 154K) said an "infusion of $3.4 million" in Federal "funding is about to end the painful experience of homelessness for 350 veterans in the Bay State, according" to Federal officials. HUD "has given 350 rental assistance vouchers to housing authorities in eight Bay State cities. The allocation is part of $75 million national effort to provide 10,000 homeless veterans with permanent housing." The Herald added, "All voucher recipients will be assigned a case worker from the VA Healthcare System."

5.      VA Urged To Reconsider VA Hospital For Southern New Jersey.   In continuing coverage, New Jersey’s Tri-Town News (7/16) said, "Ocean County freeholders are urging" the Veterans Affairs Department "not to abandon a proposal that could result in a veterans hospital to better serve southern New Jersey. In a letter sent" to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, "Ocean County Freeholder Gerry P. Little urged the VA to take a closer look at whether Kessler Memorial Hospital in Hammonton could be used for a veterans hospital. ‘There is a growing need for medical services to veterans living in Ocean County,’ said Little, who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Veterans Services Bureau. ‘Currently our veterans have to travel to Philadelphia, East Orange and Newark to access’" VA hospitals, according to Little, who stated in the letter that the "Kessler site is far closer than these other facilities and would provide a needed and desirable option to our veterans."

6.      Soldier Suicides Down But Many Vets Diagnosed With Mental Health Disorders.   The AP (7/17, Jelinek) reports, "Suicides reported among" US soldiers "have tapered off from extreme highs of early this year amid intense Army efforts to stem the deaths, but officials are not yet ready to say they have turned a corner on the problem." On Thursday, "Army leadership said…they hope a newly launched mental health study will help identify what is causing the self-inflicted deaths and what programs are best for preventing them. Separately Thursday, other researchers reported that 37 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking care at Veterans Affairs clinics for the first time are being diagnosed with mental health disorders." That figure is "higher than some other estimates of the conflicts’ toll, and researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center said that may be because people still in the military are more reluctant to seek care."
      The New York Times (7/17, Dao, A10, 1.06M) says the VA study "found that more than one-third of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who enrolled in the veterans health system after 2001 received a diagnosis of a mental health problem, most often post-traumatic stress disorder or depression." The study, which "also found that the number of veterans found to have mental health problems rose steadily the longer they were out" of the service, "joins a growing body of research showing that the prolonged conflicts,

where many troops experience long and repeat deployments, are taking an accumulating psychological toll."
      Bloomberg News (7/17, Olmos) reports, "More than 1.6 million" US soldiers "have served since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001, many of whom have been exposed to prolonged combat and multiple tours of duty, according to the study. In an earlier, smaller study," VA "researchers found that 25 percent" of US "veterans who sought treatment from 2001 to 2005 suffered from mental health disorders. ‘It’s fair to say that there is a striking rise in numbers’ between the earlier study and the new data published" this week, "said Karen Seal, the principal author" of the later study, which "recommended screening and early intervention programs that would target mental health problems of specific groups of soldiers, such as women and younger men."
      HealthDay (7/17, Reinberg) reports, "More than 40 percent" of the US "soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars seen at VA hospitals suffer from mental health disorders or psychosocial behavioral problems, a new study shows. Curiously, the researchers" from the San Francisco VAMC "found that most mental health diagnoses were not made in the first year that a veteran entered the VA health-care system, but several years after. This finding supports the recent move to extend VA benefits to five years of free" healthcare, "which allows VA doctors the time to detect and treat more mental illness in returning combat veterans, the researchers noted." Their "report is published in the July 16 online edition of the American Journal of Public Health."
      Vets Suffering From PTSD Said To "Need Help In All Areas."   The Washington (DC) Examiner (7/16, Bright) interviewed Kathyrn Mustard, a licensed clinical social worker with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem, Virginia. Mustard "works in the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit," where "she helps treat several mental illness forms," including PTSD, a condition that many "new veterans returning from the Middle East are suffering from." Mustard told the Examiner that such veterans "need help in all areas," and it is "hard to gauge the level of ‘success’" in treating them "because I see the most acute patients. However I think the long term counseling tends to deal the best with symptoms from what I’ve seen."
      The WSPA-TV Greenville, SC (7/16, Coursey) website, meanwhile, said the family of 23-year-old Iraq veteran John David Chapman, who recently committed suicide, "would like to see more programs to help our veterans and for families to recognize the signs of depression." WSPA added, "If you need help, there are resources available. The Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center Program operates a system of counseling centers for veterans who have served in combat," and there is one in Greenville. Just call 864-271-2711 for help."

7.      Concern Expressed About VA/DOD Health Record Interoperability.   In his "What’s Brewin’" blog for NextGov (7/16), Bob Brewin noted, "The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments will achieve full interoperability of electronic health records by Sept. 30, Rear Admiral Gregory Timberlake, acting director the Defense and VA interagency program office, told" lawmakers Tuesday. Timberlake, "testifying before the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight" of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, "quickly added this achievement is based on the definition of interoperability, developed by a critter called the Defense/VA Interagency Clinical Informatics Board, which at least from my perspective, erects a rather small fence around an all-encompassing term." Brewin later "said I have to agree with Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., who described progress on Defense and VA electronic health record interoperability as ‘dismally glacial.’"
      The Federal News Radio (7/15, Cacas, McKenna) website, which also noted Timberlake’s comments, pointed out that a Government Accountability Office "report on the VA-DOD electronic health records interoperability project is scheduled to be released at the end of this month."
      Federal Computer Week (7/15, Bain), meanwhile, said that in a "recent study, GAO investigators found that although the departments have made progress in creating the DOD/VA Interagency Program Office, that office is not effectively positioned to be accountable for the project." The study, which was "conducted from April to July, showed that the office isn’t executing key information technology management responsibilities for planning, scheduling and measuring the project’s performance."

8.      GAO Faults Care Provided To Female Veterans At VA Facilities.   In continuing coverage, the lead story in HealthDay‘s (7/16) "Health Highlights) column reported, "Female veterans aren’t assured of privacy when they bathe and undergo physical examinations at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics," Federal "government auditors say. No VA facility under review is complying fully" with Federal "privacy regulations, said the Government Accountability Office, the Associated Press reported." But privacy "isn’t the only issue for female veterans. VA hospitals lack child care and it can be difficult to find diaper-changing tables, the AP reported." HealthDay added, "The VA knows that services for women need improvement, but changes are being made to ‘build the system that will provide care equal to the health care needs of all America’s veterans, regardless of gender,’ said Patricia Hayes, chief consultant of the veterans strategic health care group at the VA."
      Rieckhoff Praises Women Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act.   In an op-ed on the Huffington Post (7/17) website, Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, calls the GAO’s report "stunning," before endorsing the Women Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act, which "would help assess, expand, and improve VA care for women veterans, especially those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the female veteran population growing daily, it will also equip the VA with the tools necessary to plan long-term for this historic growth."

9.      VA Program Offers Hands-On Training To First-Year Medical Students.   On its website, WCVB-TV Boston, MA (7/16) said a "local hospital is offering a unique program to first-year medical students," and it "believes this first-of-its-kind program could change the face" of healthcare. According to Dr. Michael Charness, the chief of staff for Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare, "this summer, 22 first-year medical students from Harvard University and Boston University are learning what to do by getting hands-on training as part of the unique program at the VA Hospital in West Roxbury." Charness refers to the program as "’Back to the Future’ because in way what we’re trying to do is recapture what physicians had in their earlier training 30 or 40 years ago, where doctors and nurses worked more closely together." WCVB added, "According to the VA, other hospitals have expressed interest in the program, both in Boston and across" the United States.

10.    New Director Of West Los Angeles VA Touts Quality Of Agency’s Care.   California’s Westside Today (7/16, Hall) said that when "one thinks about the 388-acre West Los Angeles Veterans Administration campus," it is "natural to think about all the land use issues that have dominated the conversation in recent years." But those "days now seem to be fading into the rear-view mirror as Donna M. Beiter takes over as new director of the West Los Angeles VA. Beiter…said it’s now all about providing the best medical care possible. ‘People don’t realize how cutting edge we are,’ said Beiter," who added, "As the country debates national healthcare issues, the VA can help lead the way.’" Westside Today added, "As a result of an earmark submitted by Senator Dianne Feinstein to a 2008 appropriations act, the VA property is no longer a potential site for commercial development," so Beiter "is free to focus on quality healthcare – and this is exactly how she wants it."