Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

From the VA:

Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

1. Public Hearing On VA Medical Safety Lapse Set For July 13. KMOV-TV St. Louis (7/2) reports, “A public hearing will address a recent safety lapse at the John Cochran VA Medical Center, Missouri Congressman Russ Carnahan said Friday morning. Speaking to reporters via conference call, Carnahan said the hearing will take place July 13 in St. Louis. He said U.S. House Veterans Committee Chairman Bob Filner will be present, along with various members of Congress from Missouri.”
HIV/AIDS Websites Comment On VA Exposure. AIDS/HIV information websites also report the controversy. The blog Helium (7/2, Tyson) reports also notes that 3,400 patients at a San Diego VA facility were exposed to infectious diseases due to improper sterilization of colonoscopy equipment. Noting previous exposures for colonoscopy patients at Nashville, Miami, and Augusta, Ga. VA centers, the site observes that “there appears to be a trend of issues in the VA hospital system pertaining to infection control,” but adds that “it is hard to determine whether or not the incidence rate of this problem is higher than that found in public hospitals.”
TheBody.com (7/2), which bills itself as “the complete HIV/AIDS resource,” reports that the VA provided warnings and offers of free screenings to 1,812 veterans who received care at the St. Louis VA Medical Center John Cochran Division between Feb. 1, 2009, and March 11, 2010. It adds that the hospital suspended dental services on March 11, after an inspection in early March discovered a problem, although the VA Clinical Risk Assessment Advisory Board has determined that the risk of infection to be “extremely low.”
Other Analysis And Reaction. AllGov (7/2, Brinkerhoff) reports that the inspection team “discovered that the center’s dental operation was failing to clean equipment according to accepted standards.” It also adds that “Some veterans were angered by the news and the poor customer service treatment they received when they called the hospital to learn more.” An unnamed veteran is quoted as saying that a VA official “talked to me like he was telling me how to change my oil. He was so insensitive.”
Technology site Tech Jackal (7/2) adds that thus far “only 184 people had signed up to have a blood test.”
Lawyers and Settlements (7/2, Gibb) notes that the issue “appears to be the hand washing of dental instruments with soap and water prior to placing them in a sterilization machine. While this may appear thorough on the surface, experts in such matters cite that hand washing actually contributes to contamination.”

2. Illinois Governor Hails Exhibition Honoring Fallen Soldiers. The Illinois Government News Network (7/2) announces that Governor Pat Quinn “today joined Gold Star Families to unveil the Portrait of a Soldier memorial exhibition at a ceremony held in the James R. Thompson Center.” The exhibition “viewed by thousands of people in more than 50 cities and towns throughout Illinois, is a series of hand-drawn portraits of more than 250 Illinois men and women who have died in service to our country since September 11, 2001.”

3. Montana Officials Warn Of Scams Aimed At Veterans. KTVQ-TV Billings, MT (7/2, 7:32 a.m. EDT) reports, “Montanans are being warned about scams targeting veterans. The state attorney general, auditor, and director of veterans affairs say their offices have received reports of such scams showing up across the state. Scammers set themselves up as financial advisors who say they can maximize benefits for elderly or disabled veterans.” Attorney General Steve Bullock appeared on-camera to urge veterans to do background checks before using any broker or financial advisor. The station added that the officials “say it’s safer to go through the VA to sign up for benefits than using an outside source that will charge a hefty fee.”

4. New Jersey Will Honor Distinguished Veterans. The website of the Cape May County (NJ) Herald (7/2, 1K) reports that the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs next Tuesday “will present the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal and other state military awards to three dozen veterans mostly from Atlantic and Cape May counties.” The ceremony is part of an outreach program by the state agency.

5. Illinois DVA Sponsors Veterans Fair. WTVO-TV Rockford, IL (7/3, 2:36 a.m. EDT) reports on a local “hometown Heroes” veterans fair, noting that it was sponsored by the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.

6. South Dakota VA Contracts Noted. A round-up of recent local federal contracts in the Rapid City (SD) Journal (7/2) reports three VA contracts, including renovations of offices for the Black Hills Health Care System; roadway, curb and parking lot work at a national cemetery; and replacement doors in Sioux Falls.

7. Study Examines Alternative Treatment For VA Patients With Diabetes, Hypertension. Medscape (7/2, Nichols) reports on a study of structured group interaction as an alternative in treating VA patients with both diabetes and hypertension. The reviewer found “equivocal results” since the reductions achieved in blood pressure did not generally bring it under control. The study found that 22% of patients in the small groups saw their blood pressure reach desirable levels, compared with 12% receiving usual care, but the two groups did not differ in their ability to control blood sugar levels. Even so, the relatively modest cost of the intervention, and less hospitalization for those receiving the alternative treatment in small groups suggested further study ought to examine the long-term success of that option.

8. Texas Man Convicted Of Feigning Blindness In VA Benefits Fraud. The Houston Chronicle /AP (7/2) reports that a federal jury in Texarkana “has convicted a Mount Pleasant man of fraud over decades of veterans benefits for blindness. No sentencing date was immediately set Thursday for 60-year-old Jim Bob Shipp, who remains free. Shipp faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 on each of seven fraud-related counts.”

9. VA Seeks To Use Employee-Generated Health IT Ideas. Nextgov (7/2, Brewin) reports that the Department of Veterans Affairs “wants to turn ideas its employees generated under an innovation contest into reality. Since late May, the department has released 17 proposals to develop some of the winning ideas in its health information technology competition. Peter Levin, VA’s chief technology officer, said in an interview the fact that the department has put out 17 of the 26 winning ideas for refinement and development on the Federal Business Opportunities website ‘shows we are serious about institutionalizing innovation.'”

10. Wheelchair Games Open This Weekend In Denver. KUSA-TV Denver (7/2, Wolf, Vanderveen) reports that over 600 athletes are “making their way to Denver for the 30th Annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG). Opening ceremonies are on Sunday. The events, which are scattered in and around Denver, begin in earnest on Monday and go through Friday. ‘There’s a lot of serious competition, but there’s also a lot of camaraderie,’ Tom Brown, the national director of the NVWG, said. ‘We don’t want the veteran to stay in the hospital, we want ’em to get out into the community.'” The article notes that the games, the world’s largest annual competition for wheelchair sports, began in 1981 at the Richmond VAMC.
The Denver-based weekly Westword (7/2, Asmar) reports, “On Sunday, hundreds of military veterans in wheelchairs will gather in Civic Center Park to kick off the 30th annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games, which are being hosted for the first time in Denver. Events include wheelchair basketball, weightlifting, trap shooting and quad rugby — a fast-paced game so rough it was once called ‘murderball.'”
Two subsidiaries of Health Net issued a Business Wire release (7/1) announcing their sponsorship of the Games, as well as their contributions to the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Rehabilitation Fund to assist recently disabled veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan to participate in the Wheelchair Games.