What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans
1. Mullen: Defense, VA Must Do Better Job Healing Mental Wounds Of War.
2. VA Asking For Patience On Pending GI Bill Claims.
3. Obama To Award Medal Of Honor To Parents Of Slain US Soldier.
4. VA Criticized For Decision On Veterans Center In Arizona.
5. With VA Support, UH Nursing Program Enrollment At An "All-Time" High.
6. Gainesville VAMC To Host POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony.
7. Significance Of Electronic Medical Records System Touted.
8. VA Official Says Innovation Competition May Have Wider Impact On Federal Government.
9. Stimulus Money To Fund Veterans Project In North Carolina.
10. Veterans Center In New York Faces Discrimination Charges In Firing Of Worker.
HAVE YOU HEARD?
Recently-injured Veterans will learn how to surf, kayak, sail and enjoy other summer sports at the second annual National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic September 20 – 25 in San Diego, Calif. The clinic introduces recently-injured Veterans to adaptive sports to renew their self confidence through sports activities. Participation is open to military Veterans who are eligible for VA medical care and who have orthopedic amputations, traumatic brain injuries, burn injuries, psychological trauma, certain neurological conditions, visual impairment, spinal cord injuries and other injuries incurred in the last six years. Events at this rehabilitation clinic include adaptive kayaking, sailing, track and field, cycling and surfing, using venues throughout San Diego, including the U.S. Olympic Training Center. The clinic is one of VA’s six rehabilitation events held each year, with sponsorship support for the summer clinic provided by original founding sponsors Help Hospitalized Veterans and the Veterans Canteen Service and national sponsor Health Net. The VA San Diego Healthcare System hosts the Summer Sports Clinic. For more information, visit www.summersportsclinic.va.gov.
1. Mullen: Defense, VA Must Do Better Job Healing Mental Wounds Of War. The AP (9/17, Hefling) notes that while he was speaking Wednesday "at a defense forum on the nonphysical injuries of war in Alexandria, Va ," Adm. Mike Mullen, "chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed frustration…with the pace of government work to heal the mental wounds of war." After pointing out that Tammy Duckworth, a Veterans Affairs assistant secretary, also spoke at the forum, the AP reports Mullen "said the Defense Department and the VA must do a better job in the decades to come to jointly solve the problem." Duckworth, meanwhile, "told the audience the agency is dedicated to further improvements. ‘We are not going to give up on our veterans with mental health challenges,’ Duckworth said." The AP adds that Duckworth "said in an interview after the forum that she would look into the matter" of Leslie Kammerdiener, who, "moved from East Brady, Pa., to Riverview, Fla., so her son," a "soldier acutely injured" in Afghanistan, "could get care at a Veterans Affairs polytrauma unit in the area." Concern about the mother’s situation came to light when Kammerdiener, who was "speaking at a panel" on caregivers, "said she doesn’t feel that when she told VA officials about her son’s gestures that it was taken seriously."
Psychiatrist Defends VA. The KNSD-TV San Diego, CA (9/16, Bledsoe) website also noted Mullen’s comments, saying he "talked about the thousands of soldiers and Marines leaving the military who are or may eventually suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. ‘I think it’s going to be coming in waves over time,’ said Dr. Jeffrey Matloff, a psychiatrist who provides care to veterans in San Diego. ‘We’re seeing, certainly, a far greater proportion of people come in from the current conflicts than we have in any earlier ones.’" KNSD, which noted that Mullen also discussed his concerns about homeless vets, added, "Contrary to Mullen, Matloff said he is impressed by the efforts made by the Department of Veterans Affairs. He said there is far more being done than after Vietnam and that there is 30 years of research available to care providers not available back then."
VA Proposes Expanded PTSD Compensation, Establishes Suicide Prevention Hotline. The last item for the syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (9/17, Fales, 74K), notes that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki recently "announced the Department of Veterans Affairs is taking steps to assist veterans seeking compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)." According to the Times, the VA "is publishing a proposed regulation in the Federal Register to make it easier for a veteran to claim service connection for PTSD by reducing the evidence needed if the stressor claimed by a veteran is related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity." The agency "also has established a suicide prevention help line (800/273-TALK) and Web site available for online chat in the evenings at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/veterans."
Lawmakers Urged To Pass Veterans Court Legislation. In continuing coverage, the San Antonio (TX) Express-News (9/17, Simons) reports, "Judges, lawyers and veterans urged lawmakers on Wednesday to pass legislation that would encourage states to set up special courts and give judges more latitude in
sentencing veterans who return from wars only to run afoul of the law." One lawmaker, US Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX), "said he favors the idea and plans to ask San Antonio officials to implement a similar program in the city, which has both a large veteran population and a high incarceration rate. ‘I think this is what we owe these young people coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq,’ said Rodriguez," a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, which "heard from the organizers of a veterans court in Buffalo, N.Y., that has had success helping veterans accused of nonviolent crimes get their lives back on track. Officials say the program works because it takes veterans who have returned from deployments with post-traumatic stress disorder and ‘self-medicating’ with alcohol or illegal drugs, and places them in a regimented environment that incorporates both the strict expectations and the camaraderie of the military."
Program Aims To Help Troubled Vets. The Boston Globe (9/17, Kowalczyk, 349K) notes that on Thursday, the "Boston Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital will announce…the launch of a $6 million program to treat the rising number of men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries and to encourage reluctant" vets to seek services. The "Home Base Program will include a clinic at Mass. General to evaluate and treat" vets "and to counsel family members." It "will also provide training" for community psychiatrists "and expand research into post-traumatic stress and combat brain injuries."
Mullen Also Concerned About "New Generation" Of Homeless Vets. On its website, KNSD-TV San Diego, CA (9/16, Bledsoe) reported, "’They are alone,’" said Admiral Mike Mullen, "the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Wednesday when talking about veterans. Mullen said he is frustrated at the amount of help being given to war veterans. He said he’s worried about a new generation of homeless veterans like seen after the Vietnam war." KNSD noted that officials "with the local Department of Veterans Affairs said there are an estimated 2,000 homeless vets in San Diego and that the need for help is increasing. ‘The need is now greater than when we started,’ said Phil Landis, the CEO of Veterans Village near Old Town," which "celebrated the opening of its two newest buildings on Wednesday." KNSD added, "Currently, there 157 homeless vets are living at the village, and there’s a waiting list. ‘The nation is doing more for their veterans than they have ever done before,’" but "there is a lot more to be done." KNSD later noted Mullen’s comments on PTSD.
2. Veterans’ Disability Compensation To Be Discussed At Senate Hearing. In its "Today at a Glance" column, CQ (9/17) notes that on Thursday, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee is scheduled to hold a "hearing on veterans’ disability compensation" at 9:30 a.m. in 418 Russell.
3. Obama To Award Medal Of Honor To Parents Of Slain US Soldier. In continuing coverage, the Wall Street Journal (9/17, A5, Phillips, 2.01M) notes that on Thursday, President Barack Obama will award a posthumous Medal of Honor to the parents of Jared C. Monti, who was killed in Afghanistan while attempting to save a wounded, fellow US soldier. The Journal adds that this will be the first Medal of Honor awarded by Obama.
4. VA Criticized For Decision On Veterans Center In Arizona. In an editorial, the Willcox (AZ) Range News (9/17) writes, "You would think that Cochise County, home of a very large Army base," would "be a logical place to open a veterans care center," but "you would be wrong." Eric Shinseki, secretary of the US Department of Veterans Affairs, "recently decided the county was not a good place for a care center even though it had the heartfelt support of veterans groups" and US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who called the VA’s "decision…shortsighted and dismissive of the many veterans who live in rural Southeastern Arizona." The Range News, which notes that Shinseki "said the VA has established criteria for new care centers that Cochise County does not meet," concludes, "Perhaps" the VA "should worry less about statistics and instead focus on how a community serves and respects its veterans." The Willcox (AZ) Range News (9/17, Hess) also runs an article on the VA’s decision, publishing a story that first appeared in the Sierra Vista (AZ) Herald (8/26, 9K).
5. With VA Support, UH Nursing Program Enrollment At An "All-Time" High. The Honolulu Advertiser (9/17, 135K) notes that on Wednesday, the "University of Hawai’i at Manoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene announced….that nursing student enrollment for the fall semester is at an all-time high, up 58 percent from 2004 and 15 percent from last year." The "school was able to extend admission to prospective nurses because of the support" from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2009, the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System "and the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene were selected for the VA Nursing Academy’s Enhancing Academic Partnership Program after submitting a collaborative grant to the VA earlier in the year. While recently visiting veterans at the Spark M. Matsunaga VA Medical Center and Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawai’i," VA Secretary Eric Shinseki "personally congratulated Hawai’i’s VA Nursing Academy team members for their commitment to providing the education and training necessary for health care providers to deliver the care that veterans need. ‘The Hawai’i VA Nursing Academy will allow our young men and women in the local area to stay close to their homes and receive the education necessary to assist our veterans,’ Shinseki said."
6. Gainesville VAMC To Host POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony. The Gainesville (FL) Sun (9/17, Voyles) reports the Gainesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center "will host a 2009 National POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony on Friday morning." Organizers "said the ceremony is one of hundreds that will be held across the nation and around the world to help Americans remember their ‘responsibility to stand behind those who serve our nation and do everything possible to account for those who do not return.’ In addition to ceremonies at VA medical centers, there are also ceremonies planned for venues such as military installations, ships at sea, state capitols, schools, churches, national veteran and civic organizations, police and fire departments and fire stations."
7. Significance Of Electronic Medical Records System Touted. In an interview with the Oregonian (9/16, Sullivan, 291K), Dr. James Tuchschmidt, who recently moved on from his longtime post as director of the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The Oregonian noted that when it asked Tuchschmidt how things are "different from 1998," when he became director, he said "we’ve more than doubled the number of vets we care for…and tried to decentralize primary care to improve access and convenience." Later in the interview, when Tuchschmidt was asked what "lessons at the VA might be applied" to national healthcare reform, he said, "An electronic medical records system. … That tool, along with business processes that focus on the quality of the outcome, have made the VA one of best health care systems in the country."
8. VA Official Says Innovation Competition May Have Wider Impact On Federal Government. In continuing coverage, the Federal News Radio (9/16, Kubota) reported, "When President Obama announced an innovation competition at the Department of Veterans Affairs, he called for the best ideas Federal employees had to offer with one ‘simple mission: cut those backlogs, slash those wait times, deliver your benefits sooner.’ What has resulted may have been unexpected: a model of innovation that will serve the entire" Federal government. VA’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Peter Levin "tells FederalNewsRadio" that the competition "has really been seen as a benchmark process…across Federal government." FederalNewsRadio added, "Other agencies are already showing interest in the program and have reached out to the CTO for ‘everything from…what we said’" to employees taking part in the competition to "what we’re using as incentives to keep people interested in going. It’s been a really wonderful experience and I think a very helpful" one to the Administration.
9. Stimulus Money To Fund Veterans Project In North Carolina. In continuing coverage, the Jacksonville (NC) Daily News (9/17, DeWitt) reports, "Federal stimulus funds will once again benefit certain area residents," now that a "$900,000 workforce development grant" has been received by the Military Growth Task Force (MGTF) "from the N.C. Department of Commerce and the Division of Workforce Development. The grant will benefit The Veteran’s Initiative Project in an effort by the MGTF to attract and retain veterans who are no longer active duty as well as active duty spouses." The "project aims to provide training and additional skills in high growth demand occupation sectors such as health care, education, child care, emerging green jobs, aviation and aerospace, advanced manufacturing and construction and skilled trades."
10. Veterans Center In New York Faces Discrimination Charges In Firing Of Worker. The Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle (9/17, Andreatta) reports, "Veterans Outreach Center, a Rochester nonprofit dedicated to reintegrating troubled veterans into civilian life, is under scrutiny by the state Division of Human Rights for a claim that it discriminated against" case worker Jerry Hines Jr., a veteran, "when it fired him while he was on leave with health problems. A state investigator called the timing" of Hines’ dismissal "’suspect’ and found sufficient evidence to hold a public hearing on the matter. The division determined ‘probable cause’ for discrimination," but Veterans Outreach Center spokeswoman Ellen Warren "denied the discrimination charge and said the organization looked forward to ‘documenting the justification for its actions’ at the public hearing."
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