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.    Posted: October 11, 2011 – 12:00 pm ET Blue Button use blows away VA expectations.  ModernHealthcare.com  More than 430000 veterans have downloaded their healthcare claims information through the US Veterans Affairs Department’s Blue Button initiative—far exceeding initial predictions for use of the service. The results to date for the technology, …
2.    Homeless vets in Rochester/Canandaigua topic of expo.  MPNnow.com   A director with the US Department of Veterans Affairs speaks Oct. 12 about what the VA is doing to eliminate homelessness at an event at the Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside, 120 East Main St. Peter H. Dougherty, …
3.    N.J. firm tasked with treating brain injuries among returning veterans.  NorthJersey.com  Bancroft NeuroHealth’s 20 years of experience in dealing with such injuries has allowed it to land the only contract in New Jersey from the US Department of Veterans Affairs to serve moderately and severely brain-injured members of the armed services. …
4.    ApeniMED Connects HIE-Bridge to Department of Veterans Affairs in VLER. MarketWatch  This project connects the Community Health Information Collaborative’s HIE-Bridge(TM) HIE and the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for exchange of veteran health data via the ApeniMED NHIN Platform. VLER is a multi-faceted business and technology …
5.    Panetta: U.S. must succeed in wars, cut Pentagon budget wisely.  The United States, facing economic challenges and deep political divides at home, can’t allow itself falter in Iraq and Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday in the first major policy speech of his term.
6.    New study to look at bereavement in military families.  The Center for Study of Traumatic Stress has launched a five-year study of thousands of military families who have lost someone since 9/11. Since many servicemembers are so young, the study will include their parents.
7.    House lawmakers tackle new veterans jobs bill.  At least one jobs bill appears poised to pass Congress this year: The House is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the Veteran Opportunity to Work Act afternoon, and supporters are optimistic it could become law before Veterans Day next month.
8.    Former DODEA chief Miles fired by DOD after investigation confirms misconduct.   Shirley Miles, the former head of the Department of Defense Education Activity, has been fired following an Inspector General’s office investigation that found she had abused her authority.
9.    Macomb County proposes photo IDs for veterans.  Detroit Free Press  But many like him — a Vietnam veteran — weren’t issued ID cards upon discharge and don’t have a Department of Veterans Affairs veterans ID card for health care. Humig said veterans often don’t carry their military service papers because they contain …
10.  WWII veteran receive service medal.  Middletown Press  Cromwell resident and World War II veteran Salvatore Rosano receive a special medal from the state of Connecticut. Rosano on Wednesday went to the Capitol to meet Carpino, who helped him apply for the Connecticut Veterans War …

 Have You Heard?

Helping a Homeless Veteran is only a phone call away. VA’s Homeless Veterans Program Office is on a mission to ensure that everyone from VA employees, to first responders and civilian personnel know who and where to call should they encounter a homeless Veteran or a Veteran at-risk of becoming homeless. A major homeless outreach and awareness campaign is under way in 28 cities across the nation as part of VA’s commitment to eliminate Veteran homelessness by 2015. The initial phase of the massive outreach effort is designed to inform and educate those in frequent contact with homeless Veterans have them serve as messengers by directing Veterans to three primary channels: the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans (1-877-424-3838); the VA Homeless Veterans Website at http://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/) and local VA medical centers. These major events will include brochures and other information as well as advertising posters at bus stops and radio and TV ads to promote “Make the call.”

More Veteran News

• AZ Owned, Service-Disabled Veteran Technology Firm Attends National Veteran. PR Web   The largest nationwide conference of its kind, hosted by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the National Veteran Small Business Conference and Expo provides Veteran-Owned and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs and SDVOSBs) …

• Seeks funding for additional Veterans Center in state.  Billings Gazette  Nearly 40 percent of these veterans did not receive services at any other VA health care facility, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. While popular among veterans, the services provided by Veterans Centers are not readily accessible to …

• Military Research Money For Eye Trauma Caught In Cuts.  USA Today  “A Congress intent on slashing the budget has cut military research money for finding ways to treat damaged eyes, an injury that has affected about 50,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.” The article notes that “the House reduced research funds from $4 million in 2011 to $3.2 million in 2012 for an injury that ranges from uncoordinated vision to blindness.” Meanwhile, “the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to include vision-trauma study with 32 other non-combat illnesses to share a $50 million military research fund,” which is no “guarantee that battlefield eye trauma will get funded,” according to the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research.

•  Finding Jobs A Challenge For Iraq, Afghanistan Vets. Bloomberg News’ Fast Forward  For the “2.2 million veterans who’ve served since 9/11, swapping war for the work force has been anything but a smooth transition.” Unemployment “among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan outpaces civilians by almost three percentage points.” In Washington, DC, there has “been no real fix, despite attention from the President and some half dozen bills languishing on Capitol Hill.”

•  Alfonso Batres: A Leadership Veteran.  Huffington Post  Alfonso Batres, who “has spent nearly three decades working with the community-based Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Readjustment Counseling Vet Centers.”

•  Obama, Bush Spend Time With Wounded Warriors. ABC World News  On Monday, “President Obama spent some private time…visiting with wounded service members at Walter Reed Medical Center. More than 46,000 American troops have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Some of those injured were sent to combat by former President George W. Bush, who on Monday “opened his Wounded Warriors Golf Tournament.” ABC interviewed Bush, pointing out that a recent poll found one in three veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan believes the wars were not worth fighting. In response, Bush said, “I hope history proves them wrong, that the only way for there to be peace is for free societies to emerge. … History takes a while to unfold.” Bush told ABC that he wants to work with veterans for as long as he is alive.

• Shocking Ending: Implanted Defibrillators Can Bring Misery To Final Hours.  MSNBC  “Advise patients who are nearing their last months, days, or hours to turn off the implanted cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD – or at least explain what can happen if they don’t, a new report suggests.” The study appears in the American Journal of Nursing, according to MSNBC. After noting that ICDs can “make a dying patient’s last hours agonizing,” MSNBC added, “But, doctors, as it turns out, are often reluctant to broach the subject with their patients, says Jim Russo, a registered nurse who works at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York City.” Russo, who “hopes that by writing the paper he’ll spur more discussions,” said, “Regardless of a provider’s comfort level with the subject, patients have a right to be informed of all treatment options, including ICD deactivation.”

•  Service Sends Three On Their Final Journey With Respect And Honor At Washington Crossing National Cemetery.  Advance Of Bucks County  “Three veterans were remembered with dignity and respect by a group of veterans, military personnel, administrators and others who gathered at the Washington Crossing National Cemetery on Monday for an ‘Unattended Veterans Service.’ ‘Unattended’ means that a veteran was laid to rest with no one in attendance at the service,’ explained David Kolmetzky, administrative officer of the cemetery,” who added, “We do this because all of us here at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, the various veterans’ organizations and grateful citizens feel strongly that no veteran should take this final journey alone.”

•  Homeless Veterans Outreach Campaign Event Is Hosted By VA San Diego Healthcare System.  East County Magazine  “As part of its national drive to end veteran homelessness by 2015,” the US Department of Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) “and its community partners will host a Homeless Veterans Outreach Campaign event on Oct.12, 2011. T he event will inform the public about the many programs available for veterans who are currently homeless or at risk of becoming homeless in San Diego County. Michael Cardarelli, VA principal deputy undersecretary for benefits, will speak at the event, to be held at the Veterans Memorial Center in Balboa Park, 2115 Park Boulevard, San Diego from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.”

• Officials Break Ground On State Veterans Cemetery.  Baldwin County (AL) News  “It will be an estimated 15 months until the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Spanish Fort conducts its first interment, but at the groundbreaking ceremony Friday, it was already being treated as hallowed ground.” Veterans Affairs Memorial Affairs Under Secretary Steve Muro and over “200 veterans were among the visitors at the 103-acre site in a ceremony steeped in tradition.” The News quotes Muro, who said, “I love doing groundbreakings because I know what we do is right for those veterans that serve. We’re giving them a nice resting place that their loved ones can come to and be able to reflect on their service.”

•    Sequoyah Memorial Hospice Partners With VA On End-Of-Life Care.  Fort Smith (AR) Times Record  “Sequoyah Memorial Hospice has partnered and trained with the Veterans Administration to provide end-of-life care to veterans and is the only agency in the Sequoyah County area to do so, according to a news release.” The Times Record added, “Veterans who choose Sequoyah Memorial Hospice will receive special recognition and be honored at an appreciation pinning ceremony, the release states. Hospice patients also qualify for respite care at Sequoyah Memorial Hospital.”

•  Veterans Expo This Week.  MetroWest Daily News  “Help is available for veterans from Framingham and area communities trying to make sense of available federal benefits and services. A veterans expo and Town Hall meeting is scheduled for Wednesday in Nevins Hall at the town’s Memorial Building, 150 Concord St., starting at 5:30 p.m.” Representatives from the US Department of Veteran Affairs in Boston “will be on hand to talk about the sometimes complicated process of obtaining benefits.”

•   Disabled Veteran Gets New Home Help From Cash-Strapped Programs.  KION-TV After disabled veteran Andrew Jacobs and his wife attended a Veterans Affairs-hosted “Stand Down” event, they got help from the Veterans Transition Center in Marina. At “Stand Down” events, said KION, multiple “agencies gather to help homeless vets organize their lives.”

• Beyond The Battlefield: How To Help. Huffington Post  “While the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs provide a continuum of care and support, a number of gaps have widened as the roster of wounded has swelled. Volunteer, non-profit organizations have proliferated — and they’re looking for help.” For example, “Operation Homefront offers a wide array of programs and more than a dozen specific ways to get involved, helping wounded warriors and their families directly with everything from car repair to grocery shopping.”

• Group Helps Veterans Who Bring The War Home.  WIS-TV  “The Veterans Affairs Department says eighteen veterans commit suicide every day. According to the VA, access to care can play a huge role in preventing those deaths.” The Columbia-based group Hidden Wounds is “working to make sure every vet that needs that help has a chance to get it” by connecting such vets with counseling.