Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

From the VA:

Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

1.      Lawmaker: Committee Will Investigate Death Benefit Accounts. Bloomberg News (8/12, Capaccio, Silva) reports that US Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said his panel will investigate” death benefit accounts held for families of fallen US soldiers. After noting that Prudential Financial Inc. “earns profit on the money held and pays beneficiaries interest,” Bloomberg adds, “Four Cabinet members,” including Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, “have joined members of Congress and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki in calling for an examination or overhaul of the way death benefits are paid to the families of fallen soldiers.”
     FDIC Reviewing Whether Insurers Misled Customers. In a separate story, Bloomberg News (8/12, Frye) says the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is “reviewing whether life insurers misled customers about retained death benefits” and has “urged companies to clearly disclose that the funds aren’t guaranteed by the US government. Chairman Sheila Bair said an initial review indicates consumers may mistakenly believe the accounts are insured by the FDIC, according to a letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.” Bloomberg adds, “Benefits retained from soldiers are the subject of probes” by the US VA and the “House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.”

 2.      Survey: Doctors Are Slow To Prescribe Pill To Prevent Prostate Cancer. In continuing coverage, “Shots,” an NPR (8/12) health blog, reports, “A generic drug called finasteride reduces the risk of prostate cancer by 25 percent, according to a 2003 study of 18,000 men.” However, according to a new survey that “appears in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention,” nearly “two-thirds of urologists and 80 percent of primary care doctors in the Veterans Health Administration system…say they never prescribe finasteride to prevent prostate cancer.” Dr. Ian Thompson of the University of Texas Health Science Center, who “conducted the 2003” study, “thinks more doctors ought to prescribe the drug to prevent prostate cancer,” an opinion shared by Dr. Linda Kinsinger “of the Veterans Health Administration, who led the new survey.”

 3.      Baker: Progress Made On Lifetime Records, VistA Decision Expected By Year’s End. Government Computer News (8/12, Lipowicz) reports, “The Veterans Affairs and Defense departments have taken a major step forward in developing a joint lifetime record system by the VA’s recent adoption of DOD’s personal identifier system for each service member, VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker said” this week. Government Computer News adds, “Meanwhile, the VA expects to make a decision by year’s end about modernizing its Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) record system and will issue several requests for information from industry before that decision, Baker said in a conference call with reporters.”
     According to Government Health IT (8/12), VA and the Defense Department “have agreed on a single common personal identifier, one of the keys to its efforts to build an electronic record that can…follow military service members throughout their lifetimes. The agreement is a significant step toward making the complex Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) project a reality because it will identify a service member whether they are seeking healthcare services or payment benefits and on active duty or retired, according” to Baker, who made his comments “during an Aug. 11 briefing with reporters.”

 4.      VA Offering Assistance To Homeless Vets In Oregon, California. The KMTR-TV Eugene, OR (8/11, McKee) website said new “funding and expansion for a Douglas County program” is “getting veterans off the street and into new homes and saving lives.” The Veterans Affairs Roseburg Health Care System’s “‘HUD-VASH’ or ‘Supportive Housing’ program has received 25 more housing vouchers for homeless veterans,” which “will allow the program to serve a total of 60 homeless veterans in Douglas County.”
     The KCOY-TV Santa Barbara, CA (8/11) website said that while recent “budget cuts have taken a big bite out of funding for alcohol, drug and mental health services” in Santa Barbara County, which through its “Healthcare for the Homeless program treats thousands of people every year,” including veterans, help is available to such vets at shelters and VA clinics. KCOY, which pointed out that homeless shelters are “overcrowded…as more veterans return from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” went on to say the US VA has “launched a campaign to end veteran homelessness in five years.”
     Stand Down Event Held In Tennessee. WPTY-TV Memphis, TN (8/11, 6:16 p.m. CT) broadcast, “Homeless veterans in Memphis” got “some much needed help” on Wednesday, during a “stand down…held in Court Square.” After noting that “stand down is a military term used to describe brief periods of rest and recovery that are provided to battle-fatigued soldiers,” WPTY said Wednesday’s “stand down was part of National Health Care for the Homeless Day. It’s an annual event that was first sanctioned in 1988 by the Department of Veterans Affairs in an effort to serve homeless veterans.” The Memphis (TN) Commercial Appeal (8/12, Sells) also noted Wednesday’s event.

 5.      Disabled Vets Climb Africa’s Highest Mountain. In continuing coverage, the AP (8/12, Straziuso) says that while “three American veterans from three different wars had only one good leg among them,” that “didn’t stop them from summiting” Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, “Africa’s highest mountain,” on Saturday. After noting that one of the three vets served in Afghanistan, one served in Iraq, and one served in Vietnam, the AP adds, “The…trip” was partially “sponsored by Disabled Sports USA,” which tries to provide “opportunities for individuals with disabilities to develop independence, fitness and confidence through sports and recreational programs.”

6.      Store Replaces Money Stolen From Disabled Vet. In continuing coverage, the WTNH-TV Hartford, CT (8/11, Detelj) website said the Colchester Stop & Shop, a supermarket in Colchester, Connecticut, is “rallying to help” Martin Lopez, a disabled Vietnam veteran “who was robbed right outside the store. Three men,” who stole a “collection box full of money” that Lopez had been “raising to compete” in the “National Golden Age Games, a sporting event for senior veterans getting medical help through Veteran Affairs,” were “caught and are left facing charges.” According to WTNH, “Stop & Shop gave Lopez $250 to replace what was stolen.”

7.      Remains Of Two Vietnam Vets Being Returned To Families. According to the AP (8/12), the Department of Defense recently “announced…that the remains of 1st Lieutenant Paul G. Magers, of Billings, killed in action in 1971, has been located and will be returning home in the next several weeks.”
     The KULR-TV Billings, MT (8/11, Ussin) website published a similar story, as did the KXLH-TV Helena, MT (8/11) website, which said a “full military funeral” Majers is scheduled to take place on “August 27th at the Veterans Cemetery in Laurel. KXLH noted that US Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) commented on the return of Majers’ remains, saying the “homecoming is a reminder that all who have served our country deserve our gratitude.”
     The Billings (MT) Gazette (8/12, Falstad) reports, “The remains of US Army 1st Lt. Paul G. Magers of Billings” and “Chief Warrant Officer 2 Donald L. Wann of Shawnee,” Oklahoma, which were “missing for almost four decades after their helicopter was shot down during the Vietnam War, have been positively identified.” Those remains are “being returned to their families.”

 8.      Louisiana Vets To Mark End Of WWII. WAFB-TV Baton Rouge, LA (8/11, 6:27 p.m. CT) broadcast, “It is going to be a day of celebration and remembrance for Louisiana veterans this weekend in Baton Rouge,” because 65 “years ago this Saturday — August 14, 1945 — after 44 months of combat by US troops, World War II came to an end.” On Saturday, “that day will be recalled in ceremonies at the USS Kidd Veterans Memorial.”

 9.      Stimulus Funds Going To Fort Custer National Cemetery, Battle Creek VAMC. The Battle Creek (MI) Enquirer (8/12, Newkirk, 20K) reports, “Fort Custer National Cemetery is getting $93,905 in federal stimulus money to help improve its grounds and burial operations.” After saying the US Department of Veterans Affairs funds are “part of a nationwide effort to use stimulus money to improve national cemeteries,” the Enquirer adds, “The Battle Creek VA Medical Center recently tallied its total allocation of stimulus money at over $1.1 million.” The Enquirer points out that VA is “using about $1.4 billion in stimulus money to help veterans, including $700 million in payments to eligible veterans and survivors to offset the negative impact of the nation’s current economy.”

 

10.    VA Hospital Trying To Contact 33 Patients Overlooked In 2009 Infection Alert. The AP (8/12) reports, “The Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Augusta is trying to contact 33 patients who got overlooked last year when…VA alerted thousands of people they might have exposed to infectious body fluids.” On Wednesday, the hospital’s director “said…VA wants to test the patients for possible infections, though the risk is low. Improper cleaning of medical equipment at VA hospitals in Miami, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Augusta caused the VA to alert more than 10,000 veterans last year of potential exposure to HIV and other infections.” The Augusta (GA) Chronicle (8/12, Martin) publishes a similar story, as does the WRDW-TV Augusta, GA (8/11) website, which said that back “in 2009, six patients from the Augusta VA tested positive for viral infections.”