Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 7-23-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. Baker Says VA Will Publish Summary Of Every Major IT Investment.  
2. VA To Take Wait-And-See Approach On Rio Grande Valley Hospital.  
3. Healthcare Forum Attendees Question Shinseki, Three Other Agency Heads.  
4. Three New Jersey Schools Participating In New GI Bill.  
5. VA Planning To Open New Clinic In Jacksonville, Florida.  
6. Filner Announces Passage Of Two VA-Related Bills In House.  
7. Study Reveals Increase In Mental Health Issues For Veterans.  
8. VA Hospital In Kentucky Opens New Facility.  
9. Big Spring VAMC Prioritizing Women’s Care.  
10. Group Defends Palo Alto VA’s Optometry Chief.

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Rural Health Community Forum
Secretary Shinseki, along with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis hosted a rural health community in St. John Parish, La. The Secretaries shared information about the federal government’s efforts to rebuild and revitalize rural America. During the 90-minute community forum, the Secretaries listened to local residents’ perspectives and discussed solutions to the challenges that face rural communities. This leg of the tour launched by President Obama, is showcasing how communities, states, and the federal government can work together to help strengthen rural America. You can follow the Rural Tour’s progress online, or on Twitter.

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1.      Baker Says VA Will Publish Summary Of Every Major IT Investment.   In continuing coverage, the FederalNewsRadio (7/21, Miller) website reported, "The Veterans Affairs Department will take its use of the Office of Management and Budget’s IT Dashboard a step further by publishing a one-page summary for every project under each of their 41 major investments." On Friday, Roger Baker, the VA’s chief information officer (CIO), told "FederalNewsRadio’s In-Depth with Francis Rose…that he has committed" to Federal CIO Vivek Kundra "to add this feature to the agency’s page on the dashboard" website. Baker, who "says the IT Dashboard played a role in its recent decision to temporarily stop 45 technology projects that have gotten off track," noted that all 45 projects "fall under one" of the "41 major investments, but each of those major investments are made up of multiple projects."
      VA Approaching IT Projects In New Way.   In a related story, the lead item in Ron Seman’s syndicated "Veteran’s Beat" column, appearing in Ohio’s News-Leader (7/22), said the VA "has announced that it is implementing a new, department-wide information technology management approach. Effective immediately, all new IT programs and projects at VA must be implemented using the Project Management Accountability System," or PMAS. According to Seman, the PMAS "is an incremental development approach that ensures frequent delivery of new functionality to customers, coupled with a rigorous management approach that halts programs that fail to meet delivery milestones. This new system will ensure early identification and correction of failing IT programs, the department announced." Seman noted that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said the PMAS will "ensure that we are successfully delivering the functionality we need to serve our veteran clients."

2.      VA To Take Wait-And-See Approach On Rio Grande Valley Hospital.   The San Antonio Express-News (7/23, Christenson, 223K) reports, "Rio Grande Valley veterans who have long complained about making a five-hour drive to San Antonio for medical care aren’t likely to get" a Veterans Affairs "hospital anytime soon." While in San Antonio on Wednesday, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki "said…that an expanded clinic in Harlingen will serve all but about 5 percent of area veterans. Others still would have" to go to San Antonio "for major procedures. While not ruling out construction of a hospital, Shinseki told reporters that he wanted to see how well the new health care clinic serves Valley vets. ‘I would say let’s put it up and let’s see what the response is, and then if there is more discussion – as I’m sure there will be – then let’s take one on,’ he said," adding, "But let’s at least provide them what they’re asking for, and that is save them the five-hour drive for a shot or a blood test or an X-ray. That we can do." The Express-News noted that in addition to it plans for expanding the Harlingen clinic, the VA has also "awarded a multiyear contract to a pair of private hospital systems to augment inpatient and emergency care." But "Valley veteran Treto Garza said doctors in those systems wouldn’t know their patients or have fast access to records."

3.      Healthcare Forum Attendees Question Shinseki, Three Other Agency Heads.   In continuing coverage, Louisiana’s L’Observateur (7/22, Shannon) reported, "An overflow crowd of about 400 turned out in Reserve Monday to voice their questions and concerns to a panel" of US "Cabinet members about proposed changes" to the healthcare "system in America. The forum, held at the National Guard

Readiness Center, was part of a series of town-hall meetings scheduled across the country that are designed to get feedback from residents in rural areas." The "residents who spoke at the forum were…critical" of President Barack Obama’s "healthcare overhaul, which includes a public insurance plan and promises lower medical costs and increased access." Meanwhile, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and three other Cabinet members, "fielded questions about the misuse of government money, unequal coverage under the proposed plan, the future of Medicare and a lack of access in rural areas. The four department heads also announced that millions" of Federal "stimulus dollars would be coming to the state to help rural areas."

4.      Three New Jersey Schools Participating In New GI Bill.   In continuing coverage, the Trenton (NJ) Times (7/21, Sturgis) reported, "Three Mercer County-based colleges are among the 28 across New Jersey that have signed on to participate in the new GI Bill, the most extensive educational assistance program authorized since the original GI Bill was signed into law in 1944." The "two public institutions involved locally are Thomas Edison State College and The College of New Jersey. The private institution is Rider University." The Times noted that Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki offered a comment on the new GI Bill, saying it "is a top priority for the VA, and we are grateful so many schools are joining us as partners in this unprecedented effort."

5.      VA Planning To Open New Clinic In Jacksonville, Florida.   The Florida Times-Union (7/23, Gibbons, 137K) reports, "With more than 1,000 military veterans moving to Jacksonville each year and more of the ones already here relying" on the US Department of Veterans Affairs "for health services, the department plans to expand its capacity to provide these services in the area over the next two years." According "to a letter sent by the secretary of Veterans Affairs" to US Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), "the department will have a new clinic in place by 2012. Before then, the department will expand the amount of space it leases in the city as a stop-gap measure." The Times-Union noted that in a statement, Brown said, "This announcement represents a huge victory for Jacksonville veterans, and I look forward to working with VA officials to coordinate a timely opening for both the temporary and the permanent facility."

6.      Filner Announces Passage Of Two VA-Related Bills In House.   In continuing coverage, the last item in the syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (7/23, Fales, 74K), notes that US Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, recently "announced that the House…voted to approve" HR 1037, which "directs the secretary of veterans affairs to conduct a five-year pilot project to test the feasibility and advisability of expanding the scope of qualifying veterans’ work-study activities and authorizes student veterans to participate in work-study positions in academic departments," and HR 402, which would "designate the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Knoxville, Tenn., as the William C. Tallent Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic." Tallent, a World War II veteran, "was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his bravery and service to our country."

7.      Study Reveals Increase In Mental Health Issues For Veterans.   In continuing coverage, the Air Force Times (7/23, Kennedy) reports a study "published in the September issue" of the American Journal of Public Health "shows that 106,726 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans within the Veterans Affairs Department" healthcare "system have been diagnosed with mental health issues. That’s 37 percent of the 289,328 veterans who have sought care." The study "sought to find out whether" the number of veterans diagnosed with mental health problems "have increased as the wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan have "continued. Clearly, they have" because from the "beginning of the study in April 2002 to the end in March 2008, mental health diagnoses increased from 6 percent to 37 percent." The authors of the study "recommended targeted screening and early intervention to prevent chronic mental health problems."
      Sports Psychology Techniques Being Used To Help Soldiers Deal With Combat Stress.   The Washington Times (7/23, Waterman, 74K) reports a US Army "pilot project is teaching soldiers techniques drawn from sports psychology such as visualization and bio-feedback to help deal with stress and other mental consequences of combat. ‘People that study human performance the most carefully recognize the connection between the physical and mental elements of success … especially at moments of truth,’ said Lt. Col. Greg Burbelo," who directs the Army Center for Enhanced Performance, which "is also piloting the techniques with injured and maimed soldiers as part of the Army’s Warriors in Transition program.
      Pentagon Urged To Track Success Of Suicide Prevention Efforts.   After noting in an editorial that the US military has recently been plagued by a high suicide rate, the Washington Post (7/23, 652K) says the "volume and variety of programs directed against suicide" by the Pentagon "show a welcome commitment. But even if more programs are the solution, there needs to be a way of measuring their effectiveness," and that is "why a heartening aspect of the Pentagon’s anti-suicide efforts is a promise to gather and share data," which "could result in strategies with applications in the struggle against suicide nationwide." The Post adds that it is "critical…there be follow-up to identify programs that are successful and to fix or end those that are not."

8.      VA Hospital In Kentucky Opens New Facility.   The WDRB-TV Louisville, KY (7/23) website said, "It will save thousands of local veterans time and money – Louisville’s" Veterans Affairs medical center "is expanding." On Wednesday, the hospital celebrated the opening of a "new facility in Carrolton, Kentucky." According to WDRB, the facility will allow "thousands of vets in the surrounding area" to avoid having "to drive to Louisville for treatment.

9.      Big Spring VAMC Prioritizing Women’s Care.   The Big Spring (TX) Herald (7/22, Reagan) reported, "With more women than ever serving in the armed forces," the Big Spring Veterans Affairs Medical Center "has decided to make women’s health care issues a full-time concern. The hospital, along with other VA medical centers in the country, has significantly expanded medical services aimed at women’s veterans." The Herald added that registered nurse Sharon Settles, "formerly a clinical nurse at the facility, was named full-time director of the Women Veterans Health Program in October. Gearing a health care program strictly for women makes sense, she said."

10.    Group Defends Palo Alto VA’s Optometry Chief.   In continuing coverage, the San Jose (CA) Mercury News (7/23, Bernstein-Wax) reports, "A state optometrists association Wednesday publicly declared its support for an optometry chief placed on administrative leave as part of an investigation at the Palo Alto veterans hospital." The California Optometric Association’s "statement came in response to story Wednesday in The Daily News that reported VA Palo Alto Health Care System officials put Optometry Chief Curtis Keswick on paid administrative leave and assigned another optometrist to non-clinical duties while reviewing 381 eye patients’ charts." The News adds that after "a three-month probe, the facility concluded that 23 glaucoma patients experienced ‘progressive visual loss’ while under care in the hospital’s optometry department," the US VA "confirmed. The VA informed seven of those patients that doctors might have botched their treatment, resulting in serious vision loss." Two of those "seven patients…have filed lawsuits, the VA said." The Santa Cruz (CA) Sentinel (7/23) publishes the same story.