Tag: Veterans’ Health

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Texarkana, Texas, Plymouth, Massachusetts, Spokane, Washington, Benicia, California, Jefferson City, Missouri, Los Angeles, California, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Bristol, Connecticut, Batavia, New York, and Pendleton, South Carolina.

Survivors of the Buchenwald concentration camp have been joined by U.S. veterans and German dignitaries at a ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of its liberation. The U.S. Army freed Buchenwald on April 11, 1945. Some 56,000 people died at the Nazi camp, including Jews, communists, Gypsies and others from across central Europe.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Harlingen, Texas, Oceanside, California, Norton, Massachusetts, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Grants Pass, Oregon, Nashville, Tennessee, Vineland, New Jersey, Swartz Creek, Michigan, and Stockton, California.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Parsippany, New Jersey, Salem, Oregon, Lafayette, Louisiana, Bellingham, Washington, Santa Cruz, California, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Jacksonville, Illinois, Glens Falls, New York, Bernardsville, New Jersey, and South Weber, Utah.

The men were saying goodbye once again to those who did not come home from Vietnam. Inside the stainless steel-lined coffin-shaped vault were flowers, letters, photos, jewelry and other mementos left at the base of the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall during its 10-day stay earlier this month at Rose Hills.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Redondo Beach, California, Clarksville, Tennessee, Schaumburg, Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, Washington, DC, Whittier, California, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Salt Lake City, Utah, Charlotte, North Carolina, Bay City, Michigan, and Dallas, Texas.

South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS) in San Antonio, Texas, is among six organizations recognized by The Quality Texas Foundation for Achievement in Organizational Excellence for effective and systematic approaches to organizational management. South Texas is in good company with Raytheon and Baylor Medical Center among those recognized by the Foundation. The Quality Texas Foundation is a non-profit corporation focused on quality assessment and feedback, education, training, and recognition to help businesses, schools, hospitals, non-profits, and government agencies improve performance.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Hernando, Mississippi, Oroville, California, Rochester, Minnesota, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Lompoc, California, Ottawa, Illinois, Harrington, Delaware, Santa Cruz, California, St George, Utah, and Bath, New York.

The U.S. Navy Veterans Association, a group that claims to raise money for vets and their families, has been ordered to stop fundraising in New Mexico. The office of state Attorney General Gary King determined two of the officers of the state chapter are listed at fictitious addresses, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Springfield, Illinois, Natchez, Mississippi, Plant City, Florida, North Platte, Nebraska, Seattle, Washington, Yountville, California, Royal Oak, Michigan, Grand Island, Nebraska, New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Hillsboro, Oregon.

Louisville-area Veterans are another step closer to receiving expanded access to high quality, state-of-the-art medical care. The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced plans to acquire land to expand the VA’s 21st century health care locally.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Marshalltown, Iowa, Norristown, Pennsylvania, Victoria, Texas, Manchester, Missouri, Roanoke, Virginia, Clearlake, California, Bangor, Maine, Superior, Wisconsin, Jackson, Michigan, and Austin, Texas.

Did you know that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month? About one in five women and one in a hundred men seen in VA medical facilities report that they experienced Military Sexual Trauma (MST); that is, sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment that occurred during military service. MST can affect veterans' physical and mental health many years after the event.

The Supreme Court will soon consider whether to hear an appeal from David L. Henderson, who was discharged from the military in 1952 after receiving a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. He sought additional government help for his condition in 2001, and he was turned down in 2004.

* From the VA * VA's spending obligations under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 have surpassed $1.1 billion, a tribute...

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Harlingen, Texas, Abbeville, Louisiana, Bismark, North Dakota, Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Amarillo, Texas, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Little River, North Carolina, Whittier, California, Ventura, California, and Palmer Lake, Colorado.

Labeling an illness “presumptive” means that vets who served in Vietnam and have one of these conditions do not have to prove its association with their service, speeding up and simplifying the application for and processing of benefits.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Gardner, Massachusetts, Rutgers, New Jersey, Baltimore, Maryland, Rolling Meadows, Illinois, Bend, Oregon, Kerrville, Texas, Corvallis, Oregon, Providence, Rhode Iskand, Austin, Minnesota, and Broomfield, Colorado.

ust weeks after Chris Goehner, 25, an Iraq war veteran, got a dog, he was able to cut in half the dose of anxiety and sleep medications he took for post-traumatic stress disorder. The night terrors and suicidal thoughts that kept him awake for days on end ceased.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from

VA is establishing new partnerships with five of the country’s finest nursing schools to strengthen its nurse corps. These new VA Nursing Academy partnerships will expand the number of collaborations between the department and nursing schools from 10 to 15. “The expanded role of VA in the education of nurses will ensure the department has the nurses needed to continue our world-class health care for Veterans,” said Dr. Linda D. Johnson, director of VA Nursing Academy.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Ocala, Florida, Springfield, Missouri, Montgomery, Alabama, Sierra Vista, Arizona, San Diego, California, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Pensacola, Florida, Albany, New York, Okaloosa, Florida, and Rothschild, Wisconsin.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Dickinson, Murphysboro, Illinois,, North Dakota, Las Cruces, New Mexico, La Salle, Illinois, Painesville, Ohio, Chicago, Illinois, Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and Evanston, Illinois.

Formerly homeless Veteran, Jeffery Anderson has stabilized home and family thanks to his new job at the Waco, Texas, VA Regional Office. In response to Secretary Shinseki’s charge to end homelessness among Veterans within five years, the Waco VA Regional Office began a Homeless Veterans Hiring Initiative.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Coos Bay, Oregon, Albuquerque, New Mexico, St. Paul, Minnesota, Roseburg, Oregon, Palm Beach, Florida, Washington, DC, and Madison, Wisconsin.

The VA Regional Office in Boise, Idaho, was recently recognized by an independent group for reducing its environmental impact. The U.S. Green Building Council recently awarded its “gold” rating for the construction design of the 25,000 square-foot facility. Three other VA facilities have been cited by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for their programs. The Reno Regional Office in Nevada received a LEED “silver” rating. The Fort Harrison Regional Office in Montana and the Oakland Mental Health Clinic in California each received a LEED-certified rating. LEED is a leading, independent rating system based on environmental assessments of buildings

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Gaylord, Michigan, Austin, Texas, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Williston, North Dakota, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Hartford, Connecticut, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Cleburne, Texas, and Mecklenburg, North Carolina.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Mountain Home, Arkansas, Wichita, Kansas, New London, Connecticut, Centralia, Washington, Contra Costa, California, Las Cruces, New Mexico, Tacoma, Washington, Snowmass, Colorado, and Rochester, Minnesota.

Toxic Chemicals CONUS As most are aware, seen on TV, in the newspapers, and from veteran sites across the country, TCE/PCE is a major issue. TCE...

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from South Bend, Indiana, Jacksonville, North Carolina, Lynn, Massachusetts, Billings, Montana, Norwich, Connecticut, Dartmouth, Massachusetts, Murphysboro, Illinois, Rapid City, South Dakota, Buffalo, New York, and Hilo, Hawaii.

Chris Thornton fought in the first war in Iraq, Operation Desert Storm. A lot of guys who fought then came back and found their jobs had been given away. In response, Congress passed a law that says employers have to rehire returning vets who give up their jobs to serve and can’t lay them off for at least a year, except for cause.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from North Platte, Nebraska, Lafayette, Louisiana, Chicago, Illinois, Corpus Christie, Texas, Port Angeles, Washington, Boston, Massachusetts, Savannah, Georgia, Kirtland, New Mexico, Wilmington, North Carolina, and Berlin, Pennsylvania.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Hayward, Wisconsin, Fremont, Nebraska, Las Cruces, New Mexico, Lexington, Missouri, Canandaigua, New York, New Britain, Connecticut, Edmond, Oklahoma, St. Petersburg, Florida, Pendleton, South Carolina, and Portage, Wisconsin.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Bullhead City, Arizona, St. Cloud, Minnesota, Ft. Hood, Texas, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Sandusky, Ohio, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Cleveland, Ohio, and Hilo, Hawaii.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Farmington, New Mexico, LaSalle, Illinois, Sioux City, Iowa, Snowmass, Colorado, Salt Lake City, Utah, Kennewick, Washington, Canyonville, Oregon, Batavia, Ohio, and Augusta, Georgia.

VA Pittsburgh’s University Drive Division hosted a Post Deployment Health Reassessment (PDHRA) for more than 335 members of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Pennsylvania Army National Guard earlier this year. Members of the National Guard, who returned from Iraq this past fall, received information about VA health care services and resources available to them through VA Pittsburgh and local veteran service organizations.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Snowmass Village, Colorado, Whittier, California, Pullman, Washington, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Haverhill, Massachusetts, Mankato, Minnesota, Frankfort, Kentucky, La Grange, Illinois, and Rockwood, Tennessee.

The last item in the Washington Times (3/24, Fales, 77K) "Sgt. Shaft" column offers thanks "to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki for directing VA attention to Persian Gulf War veterans." After noting that a "special task force has nearly completed a comprehensive report that will redefine how VA addresses the pain and suffering of ill veterans who deployed during the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991," the Times quotes Gulf War vet John R. Gingrich, the task force's chairman, who said, "Reaching out to Gulf War veterans is not only essential to our transformation of VA; for many of us it is also personal."

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Regional stories today from: Tonawanda, New York, Hartford, Connecticut, Orangeburg, South Carolina, Temecula California, Palm Springs, California, Jensen Beach, Florida, Tampa, Florida, and Lansing, Michigan.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Greenwood, South Carolina, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Seattle, Washington, Chicago, Illinois, Atlantic Maryland, Portland, Maine, Tampa, Florida, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Redwood City, California.

VA Attempting To Make It Easier For Iraq, Afghan Vets To Obtain Disability Benefits. In a story published by at least 74 news sources, the AP (3/19, Hefling) reports, ―The Veterans Affairs Department took steps Thursday to make it easier‖ for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans ―to get disability benefits.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from