Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

Veterans!  Here’s your Top 10 News stories of the day compiled from the latest sources

We encourage you to browse our list so that you can take what you want and keep what you need…

1. Wall Street Journal: Data comparisons trigger changes in VA care.  News-Medical.net…The US Department of Veterans Affairs in November started posting online comparisons of the nation’s 152 VA hospitals based on patient outcomes: essentially, how likely patients are to survive a visit without complications at one hospital compared with …

2. Utility request clogging VA plan.  Stockton Record  Though it sounds mundane, Stockton’s impending decision on whether to promise those utilities outside of its city limits could play a role in the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ site selection later this spring. Top city officials are hesitant to …

3. Committee attempts to attract veterans to Vassar.  The Miscellany News  The committee was formed as part of Vassar’s 2009 decision to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program, a program offered through the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in accordance with the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. …

4. State declares day in honor Vietnam veterans.  Shreveport Times  The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs has declared today “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” to honor the return home of armed services members after serving in the Vietnam War. The authority to declare the days stems from a resolution by US Sen …

5. Community college tuition waiver is topic of Senate bill.  Molalla Pioneer  Tom Mann, of the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, said that the addition would not add that many more eligible waivers to the program and that the change would make the law consistent whether a spouse or child of a disabled or deceased veteran …

6. AMVETS’ Pro Bono Legal Clinic Fills Veteran Need.  EON: Sgt. Ramirez, like many returning injured military, was given little direction regarding veteran’s affairs, benefits and rights upon his discharge from active duty. “There was a serious lack of preparation for me and my aftercare wasn’t really thought …

7. Former VA secretary to head Fort Rosecrans, Miramar Cemetary group.  La Jolla Light…A former secretary of the US Department of Veterans Affairs will become chairman of the board of the Fort Rosecrans and Miramar National Cemetery Support Foundation in June, the organization announced Tuesday. Anthony Principi, 66, who served under …

8. VA to visit 6 potential sites for veterans cemetery near here.  Rochester Democrat and Chronicle  The US Department of Veterans Affairs plans to visit six potential veterans’ cemetery sites in western New York today, Sen. Charles Schumer, DN.Y., announced Monday. Three of the sites are in Alden, Erie County, and the others are in Le Roy and East …

9. Michels Pushes For Federal Funding For Hot Springs Veterans Home. AP South Dakota Lieutenant Governor Matt Michels “spent much of last week” in Washington, DC, “looking for federal help” from the US Department of Veterans Affairs “for a new $34.6 million veterans home in Hot Springs

10. Prince Harry Heading To North Pole With Wounded Vets. ABC World News Prince William’s best man, Prince Harry, is “on top of the world right now in Norway, heading to the North Pole on a mission with wounded war vets. Prince Harry was says, “I’m here for these guys and for these guys alone.”

HAVE YOU HEARD?

The Department of Veterans Affairs is reaching out to Veterans in crisis and their families in a new public service announcement to raise awareness about suicide prevention resources, such as the Veterans Crisis Line. “As more Veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan, the critical need for mental health care is rising,” said Sonja V. Batten, assistant deputy chief patient care services officer for mental health. “VA is increasing its efforts to reach out to Veterans in need and their families, to inform them about available services and programs.” The new television spot encourages Veterans in crisis to call the crisis hotline number at 1-800-273-TALK begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-800-273-TALK end_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-800-273-TALK begin_of_the_skype_highlightin 1-800-273-TALK end_of_the_skype_highlighting (8255) to reach a trained VA mental health professional who can assist the Veteran 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To date, more than 379,000 people have called the hotline, and more than 200,000 have identified themselves as Veterans, family members or friends of Veterans. The hotline has led to more than 13,000 rescues of actively suicidal Veterans. The hotline also operates an online Veterans Chat program, with the ability to communicate anonymously online in real-time with a trained VA mental health professional. Veterans Chat can be accessed at http://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/Veterans/Default.aspx.

IN OTHER NEWS

• Vets’ Charity Hopes Trek Will Raise Millions. AP Prince Harry is “taking part in the first section of a charity hike to the North Pole, accompanying wounded soldiers on a 200-mile (320-kilometer) trek aimed at raising money” for Walking With The Wounded. The British veterans’ charity “hopes to use the trip to raise 2 million pounds ($3.2 million) to help injured military personnel find work and peace of mind.”

• Camaraderie, Challenge Inspire Wounded Warriors. American Forces Press Service “Camaraderie and the opportunity to challenge themselves are proving to be some of the best therapy possible for wounded warriors attending” the 25th anniversary of the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, being held this week in Colorado.

• VA Patient Outcomes Data Motivate Change At Hospitals. Becker’s ASC Review “Public data on patient outcomes in Veterans Affairs hospitals has motivated hospitals with poor results to make changes, according to a Wall Street Journal report.” Last fall, the US Department of Veterans Affairs “compared its 152 hospitals on measures such as rates of surgical death, ventilator-acquired pneumonia and intravenous-line infections. VA posted this information online to educate patients, provide accountability and trigger hospitals to improve their performance.”

• Report, Hearing Focus On Disease Clusters. A new report released by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the National Disease Clusters Alliance “highlights 42 locations throughout the US that have alarmingly higher incidences of certain diseases, including cancer and birth defects.” One “particularly bizarre cluster is occurring in Camp Lejeune, N.C., where 64 male Marines living on the base have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

• Problems Persist To Coordinate Wounded Warrior Care. Health Data Management “Medical and benefits information systems at the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs do not classify service members and veterans as severely wounded, ill or injured. That’s hindering …

• New Disability Evaluation System Goes Worldwide. Army Times “The Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Departments are ‘moving aggressively’ to put in place a new, faster, simpler disability evaluation system for wounded warriors at 141 military installations in the US and abroad.

• VA Plans IT To Improve Healthcare Claims Management. Government Health IT “The Veterans Affairs Department plans to contract for management services to streamline and modernize the processing of its healthcare claims and develop tools to detect fraud and waste.”

• Veterans Affairs Clinic To Stay In Area After Fort Monmouth Closure. Asbury Park (NJ) Press “The Veterans Affairs health clinic will remain in Monmouth County after the closure of Fort Monmouth, members of the Shore Area congressional delegation said in a media release Tuesday.

• NJ Vets Program Touted As National Model.Asbury Park (NJ) Press Linda Bean, “whose Army reservist son took his life” in 2008, after serving two tours in Iraq, “says Congress should use a New Jersey suicide prevention program as a national model.” Bean, “who lobbied Congress recently to approve legislation named for her son, said the country needs more programs like Vets4Warriors, run by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and funded by the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.”

• Confusion Over GI Bill Benefits Costs Student Veterans. Chicago Tribune “Moraine Valley Community College, Joliet Junior College and South Suburban College” have been taking “steps to help veterans keep school-related benefits flowing,” after some students had difficulty understanding their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.

• Defense Officials Concerned About Transferability Of Unused New GI Bill Benefits. Navy Times “More than 180,000 service members are approved to share Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits with spouses or children, but defense officials remain concerned that the ability to transfer unused benefits to family members is not enough to prevent troops from leaving the military to use the benefits themselves.”

• Shelter To Help Homeless Female Veterans. KELO-TV “Soon homeless women veterans will get a fresh start” at the Woman of War shelter in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Russ Surdez, manager of a $900,000 project that “being funded through the VA, grants,” and private donations, “said the shelter will be able to hold up to 28 woman and their families.”

• Dalrymple Signs Bill Honoring N.D.’s Women Veterans. Grand Forks (ND) Herald “Gov. Jack Dalrymple has signed into law a bill that honors North Dakota’s women veterans who have served and sacrificed on behalf of the US throughout the nation’s history.

• American Legion Team Visiting VA Hospitals. AP “A team from the American Legion is visiting two” Veterans Affairs hospitals in Kentucky. The “visits are part of a nationwide program to assess the quality and timeliness of care provided to veterans by medical facilities run by…VA.

• VSO Partnership And VA Hospital Proposed, Provide Counseling. Daily Cougar “A program designed to help veterans transitioning from the military to the classroom is expanding to more campuses and similar help could be on the way” to the University of Houston (UH). Under the “VetSuccess on Campus program, a full-time Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and a part-time Vet Center Outreach Coordinator are assigned to campuses to provide VA benefits assistance to ensure that all veteran benefits are met.”