Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 10-15-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. Shinseki: VA Is Committed To Improving. 
2. Vietnam Vets In Florida Pleased By VA’s Recent Agent Orange Announcement. 
3. Thousand Of Students Waiting For New GI Bill Benefits. 
4. Older Vets Reaching Out To Help Next Generation. 
5. Program Hopes Return To Iraq Will Benefit Wounded US Soldiers. 
6. WW II Battleship To Undergo "Major Refurbishment." 
7. Code Talker Dies At VA Facility in Arizona. 
8. Companies Discuss Modeling National Health Record Network On Updated VA System. 
9. VA To Open New Clinic In Arizona. 
10. City In Idaho Notified Of VA’s Decision On Clinic Location. 

1.      Shinseki: VA Is Committed To Improving.  In continuing coverage, the AP (10/15, Hefling), after first noting that the Veterans Affairs Department "has proposed reducing the paperwork required for veterans to show their experience caused combat-related stress," says VA Secretary Eric Shinseki "told lawmakers on Wednesday he’s committed to improving trust in the claims process between veterans and the VA, and to helping veterans receive benefits they are entitled to. ‘We will change the culture,’ Shinseki said. ‘I will assure you of that.’"
      On its website, however, CNN (10/14, Levine) reported, "The Department of Veterans Affairs is still struggling with an enormous backlog in claims for medical and educational benefits that are piling up despite efforts to diminish the paperwork, the secretary of the department admitted Wednesday" while testifying before the House Veterans Affairs Committee. CNN went on to say that problems "facing veterans are even more acute for female service members, who have more difficulty accessing veterans programs, according to the advocacy group" Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association, which just "released a study…highlighting" women veterans’ concerns. But the VA "got some good news…on its budget," because on Wednesday, the "House and Senate finalized a bill to provide the department with funding for medical programs one year in advance."
      Advance VA Funding Bill Clears Congress.  The Air Force Times (10/15, Maze) reports, "Historic legislation aimed at preventing Congress’ inability to get its work done on time from hurting veterans’ medical care is on its way to the White House for President Barack Obama’s expected signature after clearing Congress on Tuesday night." The Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009 "provides funding one year in advance for veterans medical programs so there will be no lapse if Congress fails to approve the traditional budget by the start of the fiscal year. Advance funding for medical services, facilities and research programs takes effect with the fiscal 2011 budget."
     The Washington Times (10/15, Hudson), meanwhile, reports, "The Veterans Affairs Department committed grave safety mistakes at several of its medical centers and delayed other needed educational and financial services to thousands of veterans, agency chief Eric Shinseki said Wednesday to a congressional panel. ‘While this process is at times painful, it is the right thing to do for veterans and the nation and will ultimately result in greater trust and better quality,’ said Mr. Shinseki about disclosing" problems with prostate cancers treatment procedures at a VA hospital in Philadelphia. According to the Times, "VA personnel" also "failed to properly clean endoscopic equipment at hospitals in Tennessee, Georgia and Florida," and most recently, the VA "apologized to nearly 2,000 veterans who erroneously received letters for patients diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease."
      The third item in the syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (10/15, Fales), takes note of another problem the VA has had, in this case processing benefits under the new GI Bill. But according to the column, "emergency checks should now be available to eligible students through VA regional offices, according to Mr. Shinseki’s office. ‘It is heartening to see the Secretary and his department responding so swiftly and decisively to this unfortunate situation,’ said National Commander Clarence E. Hill of the American Legion."
      The WSPA-TV Greenville, SC (10/14) website also reported on difficulties with the new GI Bill benefits, saying that "several months into the school year, about half" of the more "than 100,000 veterans…taking advantage" of the benefits "are still waiting" for their money. One of those who was waiting until recently is Zach Pitts, a "young Upstate veteran" who served in Iraq and is now attending Clemson. WSPA continued, "Ten of thousands of students like Zach are in limbo, waiting on money" because "when the new GI bill went into effect," the US VA "didn’t have enough people to process claims." After "not getting results from his local VA benefits representative, Pitts says he contacted Senator Lindsey Graham’s office," and his benefits soon "just started coming in." The South Carolina State Office of Veterans Affairs, however, "confirms…emergency checks have been released." 

2.      Vietnam Vets In Florida Pleased By VA’s Recent Agent Orange Announcement.  In continuing coverage, Florida’s Villages Daily Sun (10/15, Corder) says Tony Curtis and other Vietnam vets living in Florida’s The Villages, a retirement community, "just received some reassuring news." On Tuesday, the US Department of Veterans Affairs "announced…that it has established a service connection to three diseases linked to the use of the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War." Curtis "applauded the VA for linking B-cell leukemias, Parkinson’s and ischemic heart diseases to the widespread use of the herbicide as a defoliating agent during the war." Under the
"decision, Vietnam veterans who suffer from these conditions won’t have to prove an association between the disease and their military service, the VA announced. Such presumption should accelerate the application and benefits distribution process." The agency "relied on an independent study published by the Institute of Medicine, a National Academy of Sciences affiliate, to make the decision, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said. ‘We must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will,’ Shinseki said," adding, "Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence." 

3.      Thousand Of Students Waiting For New GI Bill Benefits.  In continuing coverage, the WSPA-TV Greenville, SC (10/14) website reported, "More than 100,000 veterans are taking advantage" of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, "which helps veterans and military families earn undergraduate or advanced degrees; but several months into the school year, about half are still waiting for that money." One of those who was waiting until recently is Zach Pitts, a "young Upstate veteran" who served in Iraq and is now attending Clemson. WSPA continued, "Ten of thousands of students like Zach are in limbo, waiting on money" from the Federal "government, because when the new GI bill went into effect in August, the US Department of Veterans Affairs didn’t have enough people to process claims." After "not getting results from his local VA benefits representative, Pitts says he contacted Senator Lindsey Graham’s office," and his benefits soon "just started coming in." Meanwhile, the South Carolina State Office of Veterans Affairs "confirms to News Channel 7 emergency checks have been released to help veterans." 

4.      Older Vets Reaching Out To Help Next Generation.  On its website, WTHR-TV Indianapolis, IN (10/14, Essex) reported, "When a soldier snaps, the Veterans Administration calls it PTSD — post traumatic stress disorder." WTHR continued, "According to the VA, more than 30 percent of all returning soldiers are coming home with some type of psychiatric issue," but for "those who need help, ‘Vet to Vet’ is a group talk therapy that is specifically geared toward veterans." WTHR added, "One particular group was formed nine years ago. Most of the veterans in the group had been out of the service 35 years before coming to their first meeting," but they "have encouraged new veterans to join them — with limited success."
 

5.      Program Hopes Return To Iraq Will Benefit Wounded US Soldiers.  In a front page story, the New York Times (10/15, A1, Nordland) reports, "Americans wounded in the Iraq war are being ferried back to the scenes where they were maimed to help achieve psychological closure, the first time such visits have been tried while a war is still in progress. The seven-day program, called Operation Proper Exit," arranged its first visit last June, but it "was kept secret because no one knew for sure how the soldiers would handle their return. ‘The amount of developmental growth and closure was phenomenal,’ said Col. David Sutherland, the former brigade commander in Diyala, who came along on that first trip and said it turned out better than had been hoped." The operation, which this week returned "eight wounded men…to Iraq," has "been approved by the Army surgeon general, according to Dr. John Olsen, an Army surgeon who referred to it as ‘an important psychological step.’"  

6.      WW II Battleship To Undergo "Major Refurbishment."  The AP (10/15) reports, "Four tugboats gently maneuvered the iconic World War II battleship USS Missouri into a dry dock on Wednesday, where it will undergo a major refurbishment." The ship, "now a memorial and museum, is a symbol of the fiercest Pacific battles." USA Today (10/15, Nakaso) reports, "The battleship nicknamed ‘Mighty Mo’ took a 2-mile journey Wednesday from historic Battleship Row to Pearl Harbor’s Naval Shipyard for dry dock and $18 million in repairs and improvements. It was the Missouri first trip since its arrival in Hawaiian waters 11 years ago to become a floating museum, sitting bow to bow with its sunken sister warship, the USS Arizona." The Missouri "is scheduled to be in dry dock until Jan. 7, Carr said. Tours are set to resume Jan. 29." 

7.      Code Talker Dies At VA Facility in Arizona.  The AP (10/15) reports 88-year-old Willard Varnell Oliver, "a member of the Navajo Code Talkers who confounded the Japanese during World War II by transmitting messages in their native language, died Wednesday." Lawrence Oliver "said his father died at the Northern Arizona Veterans Administration Health Care System Hospital in Prescott, Ariz." Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. "ordered flags on the Navajo Nation to be flown at half-staff from Oct. 15-19 in honor of Oliver, who is at least the fifth Code Talker to die since May." 

8.      Companies Discuss Modeling National Health Record Network On Updated VA System.  NextGov (10/15, Brewin) reports the Industry Advisory Council (IAC), a "blue-chip group" of information technology (IT) companies, "met on Wednesday to consider the work required to modernize a decades-old" Federal "electronic health record system that stores the medical files for millions of veterans and their families, with the underlying implication the system could become a platform for the national health record network President Obama envisions." The council, a "550-member group of technology companies
that works to foster dialogue" with Federal "agencies about IT solutions and procurement, invited executives from about 40 high-tech corporations to form the VistA working group. VistA stands for the Veterans Health Information System and Technology Architecture, an electronic health record system that the Veterans Affairs Department has operated for two decades." The IAC "met behind closed doors on Wednesday in Tysons Corner, Va.," to "discuss the possibility of upgrading the system, which might include using open source code, a move that would make a relatively cheap electronic health records alternative to clinicians nationwide." Roger Baker, the VA’s chief information officer, "who requested that the IAC form the working group, said in an interview with NextGov that VistA is ‘the best in the world’ and he has asked the IT industry to look into leveraging the system ‘for the betterment of the country.’" 

9.      VA To Open New Clinic In Arizona.  The Phoenix (AZ) Business Journal (10/15) reports the US Department of Veterans Affairs "is planning to open a medical clinic" in Surprise, Arizona, "next year." The facility "is scheduled to open in summer 2010. It will neighbor existing locations of The Pain Center, Cigna and the Arizona Heart Institute."
      Existing Clinic In Northwest Part Of State Said To Be Popular With Veterans.  Arizona’s The Explorer (10/14, Petrillo) reported, "A new Veterans Administration clinic in the Northwest has proven popular with veterans." In fact, "more than 5,000 patients regularly seek care at the facility. The VA Northwest Tucson Clinic, located at 2945 W. Ina Road at the southwest corner of Ina and Shannon, has the capacity to see up to 7,000 veterans, according to Sally Petty, RN, a certified nursing executive who serves as chief of the clinic’s community clinic care line. ‘My mission and that of the staff is to provide quality care and service to our vets closer to home for healthier tomorrows,’ Petty said," adding, "We’re trying to give care closer to where our vets live so they don’t have to travel so far for care." The Explorer noted, "Overall, vets have responded well to the Northwest Clinic, Petty said." 

10.    City In Idaho Notified Of VA’s Decision On Clinic Location.  The Idaho Statesman (10/15) reports the US Department of Veterans Affairs "notified the city Wednesday that it will build a clinic in Sky Ranch near the city airport, Caldwell City Councilman Rob Hopper said." Caldwell "officials had hoped that the 10,000 square foot clinic would be part of its downtown Catalyst project and had been waiting for officials to decide between Sky Ranch and a creekside block between 6th and 7th avenues." The Statesman notes that Hopper addressed the VA choice, saying he is "not disappointed at all" because the VA is still "coming to Caldwell."