Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 10-27-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans 

1. During Appearance With Shinseki, Gates Says Injured US Troops Face Too Much Bureaucracy. 
2. World Series Game To Be Dedicated To Veterans Support Initiative. 
3. VistA Seen As Potential Model For Providers Striving To Meet IT Requirements. 
4. Controversy Surrounds Payment To Deceased Vietnam Vet. 
5. OMB Advisor: IT Projects To Benefit From Second Wave Of Stimulus Spending. 
6. Planned Swap Would Secure Land For Veterans Cemetery In Tennessee. 
7. Vet Says No Dermatologist At El Paso VA. 
8. Stork Gets Lost, Stops At VA Center. 
9. Program Provided Support, Info To New Veterans. 
10. Dinah Cohen: Helping Wounded Veterans Re-Enter The Workforce. 

1.      During Appearance With Shinseki, Gates Says Injured US Troops Face Too Much Bureaucracy.  The AP (10/27, Hefling) reports, "Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that troops injured in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to face too many bureaucratic hurdles. Paperwork alone for them can be ‘frustrating, adversarial, and unnecessarily complex,’ Gates said" as he "spoke at a mental health summit with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. By appearing publicly together," the two men, who earlier "this year…pledged with President Barack Obama to create a system that would make it easier for the Pentagon and VA to exchange information so there is less of a wait for veterans to get disability" benefits, "sought to reinforce their commitment to tackling veterans’ health issues and the stigma associated with seeking mental health care." The Washington (DC) Examiner (10/27, Lamb) published a similar story.
      Two Secretaries Open To Suggestions On How To Improve Mental Health Treatment.  The NC8-TV Washington, DC (10/26) website reported that at Monday’s summit, health "experts from within the military and government" joined "with representatives from more than 50 private mental health organizations to talk about how to best deal with mental wounds from war." The "mental health professionals are planning to put together a list of recommendations on how the Defense Department" and the VA "can improve things. They’ll send that list" Shinseki and Gates, who both "say they’ll look at any and all suggestions that come out of these meetings."
      The first item in the Washington Post‘s (10/26, O’Keefe) "Federal Eye" blog said Shinseki and Gates "have agreed to collaborate on veterans" healthcare "issues since the start of Obama’s Presidency," while the New York Times‘ (10/26, Shanker) "At War" blog noted that when Shinseki convened Monday’s summit, he "said the Department of Veterans Affairs had adopted three goals: enhancing the existing level of mental health assistance; working with the Pentagon on cutting-edge advances in mental health care, including prevention programs; and looking to American society at large to build support networks for veterans, beyond families, to include places of work, schools and religious organizations."
      McMahon, Rooney Introduce TRICARE Mental Health Counseling Bill.  The Army Times (10/24, Maze, 104K) reported, "Two freshman lawmakers who crossed party lines to collaborate on a military mental health screening bill that is about to become law are now working on their next joint venture." Reps. Michael
McMahon (D-NY) and Thomas Rooney (R-FL) "teamed up in March to sponsor legislation requiring mandatory and confidential one-on-one mental health screening for all returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans." The bill, "HR 2647, received final approval from Congress" last week. McMahon and Rooney’s "new joint effort is a bill introduced Oct. 15 that would give TRICARE beneficiaries direct access to mental health counseling without requiring a referral from a primary care doctor. For this bill, HR 1308, they include active-duty service members among TRICARE beneficiaries even though most service members receive their medical care and counseling directly from military providers rather than from the private sector."
      Shinseki Praised For Choosing Veterans Over Reporters.  In his "What’s Brewin’" blog for NextGov (10/26), Bob Brewin wrote, "Last week, I traveled to Duke University in Durham, N.C., for dedication of a memorial to Duke graduates who lost their lives in action since WW II." Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki "was the featured speaker" at the event, and "VA press secretary Katie Roberts promised me some time with Shinseki after his speech." However, "I — and other the reporters — had to wait for more than an hour after the ceremony for a chance to talk with him." According to Brewin, Shinseki had taken "time to talk with veterans and their families, and then finally turned to the press, many of who, Roberts noted, had already decamped. I did not mind the wait at all – it’s better to watch leaders living up to their promises rather than to hear those promises."
      NextGov (10/27, Brewin) reports, "Next month, the Veterans Affairs Department will deploy an automated tool that will make a ‘big difference’ in the processing of claims for education benefits for veterans attending college under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki told" NextGov "late last week. Speaking at the dedication of a memorial at Duke University for graduates who have lost their lives on active duty since World War II," Shinseki "said he believed the surge of claims under the GI Bill waiting to be processed has passed." Shinseki also "told NextGov he has made solving information technology problems at VBA ‘a top priority’ to help eliminate" a disability claims backlog at his agency. NextGov adds, "Another VA priority, Shinseki said, is development of the Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record in cooperation" with the DOD.
      Duckworth Discusses New GI Bill.  The AP (10/26) noted that on Monday, US VA Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth was scheduled to make an appearance "at the University of Missouri-St. Louis," where she was "to discuss the new" GI Bill, which "has been described as the most sweeping educational assistance program since passage of the original GI Bill in 1944."
      The Daily Texan (10/26, Price) reports, "When students dial the number to check the status of their Post-9/11 GI Bill claims, they are greeted by an automated message urging them to be patient – not all of the requests have been processed yet. But with registration for the spring semester approaching, some students don’t have time to be patient." Jo Schuda, a VA spokeswoman, "said the department anticipated a backlog of claims because the program is new and the benefits can be used any time in the next 15 years. Students who weren’t planning on enrolling in college this fall still applied as early as possible, which
further backed up the system. ‘This new program has a lot more required data than the existing GI Bill,’ Schuda said," adding, "It requires a more complex IT system that we are in the process of installing."  

2.      World Series Game To Be Dedicated To Veterans Support Initiative.  On its website, Major League Baseball (10/26, Newman) said community service "will be front and center just about everywhere you look this week, and Major League Baseball will be right at the forefront with the World Series on FOX." For example, game 1 of the series "will be dedicated to WelcomeBackVeterans.org, an MLB Charities initiative designed to support returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families with mental health treatment and job opportunities." Recognition "for WelcomeBackVeterans.org at the World Series will feature special pregame ceremonies, a first pitch by a military veteran, broadcasting of the WelcomeBackVeterans.org public service announcement featuring First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, and a visit to a local" Veterans Affairs "hospital by players, coaches and MLB executives."  

3.      VistA Seen As Potential Model For Providers Striving To Meet IT Requirements.  The Wall Street Journal (10/27, Zhang, 2.08M) points out that the Department of Veterans Affairs electronic system could be looked to as a model by healthcare providers trying to meet IT stimulus-funding requirements. The VA began developing its VistA system in the 1970s and significantly upgraded it in 1990s. The Department says the system has served to substantively reduce medication errors, hospital admissions, and hospital lengths of stay. Having patient records in one system has also enabled providers to be more efficient, avoid unnecessary tests, and monitor patients at home. Moreover, the Journal adds, independent studies corroborate the VA’s success. Recent studies using efficacy and care qualifiers indicate that the VA does better than the private sector or Medicare on such measures as providing preventive services and quality care for chronic diseases. A Wall Street Journal (10/27, Landro, 2.08M) column, meanwhile, touts the Veterans Health Administration’s electronic medical records systems.
  

4.      Controversy Surrounds Payment To Deceased Vietnam Vet.  On it website, WBAL-TV Baltimore, MD (10/26) said that prior to his death earlier this year, Vietnam veteran Daniel Hoeck had been worn "down from Agent Orange exposure and disease." He "sought medical help from the Department of Veterans Affairs in Baltimore." A "lump sum retroactive payment" was sent to Hoeck, but it arrived after his death. When the VA learned of Hoeck’s passing, it got the money back but estate attorney Gina Shaffer argues that Hoeck "was owed" that money. Officials with the VA, however, "insisted they only acted according to Federal law, which mandates the money be reclaimed if the recipient has died but, if Hoeck had a wife or children, they could petition the VA to get that money returned to his estate. That’s not the case for single" vets like Hoeck, whose sister is still alive.   

5.      OMB Advisor: IT Projects To Benefit From Second Wave Of Stimulus Spending.  Federal Computer Week (10/27, Beizer, 90K) reports, "A second wave of spending under the economic stimulus law will happen over the next year, and information technology projects will get a lot of the green, said Edward DeSeve, special advisor to the Office of Management Budget and director for implementation of the Recovery Act." After noting that DeSeve made his comments during an "Executive Leadership Conference sponsored by IAC and ACT" on Sunday, Federal Computer Week adds, "In a recent meeting, William Corr, deputy secretary of Health and Human Service Department, William Wynn, deputy secretary of Defense Department and Scott Gould, deputy secretary of Veterans Affairs Department, pledged to open the Defense Department’s health IT to the civilian community, DeSeve said. ‘This wasn’t a bunch of people who were visionaries or trying to give me a snow job; these were the deputy secretaries who will be held accountable if it doesn’t happen,’ DeSeve said."  

6.      Planned Swap Would Secure Land For Veterans Cemetery In Tennessee.  The Knoxville (TN) News Sentinel (10/27) notes that on Monday, "Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam’s office announced tentative plans…for a major land swap with the state of Tennessee that would secure 68 acres for a new state veterans cemetery and net the city an additional 17.2 acres for Lakeshore Park. A special Knoxville City Council meeting is set for 5 p.m. Wednesday to vote" on Haslam’s "request for $35,000 to extend the city’s current
option on the 68-acre tract along the French Broad River in South Knox County. Terms of the draft plan call for the city to purchase family-owned acreage on Old French Road for $1.4 million, which would then be exchanged for 17 acres at Lakeshore Park. The state had expected to use the West Knoxville property for an eventual expansion of the East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery at Lyons View Pike," but "Bill Lyons, the city’s senior director of Policy & Communications, said the relatively small Lakeshore site has been deemed insufficient for the state’s long-term needs, and city agreed to help the state find a more suitable site." WATE-TV Knoxville, TN (10/26, 11:07 p.m. ET) aired a similar report, while the WBIR-TV Knoxville, TN (10/26, Shands) website published a similar report.  

7.      Vet Says No Dermatologist At El Paso VA.  The KFOX-TV El Paso, TX (10/26, Marshall) website. 

8.      Stork Gets Lost, Stops At VA Center.  The AP (10/26). 

9.      Program Provided Support, Info To New Veterans.  The Exponent (10/26, Norell), Purdue University’s student newspaper. 

10.    Dinah Cohen: Helping Wounded Veterans Re-Enter The Workforce.  A submission to the Washington Post (10/26) from the Partnership for Public Service.