Veterans News for Thursday, June 2, 2011.  Thanks to Kevin Secor at VA HQ!

1.    Delta Solutions Wins New Contract with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.  PR Newswire  ... and Technologies, Inc., a fast-growing provider of federal financial management systems, business analytics, IT services and consulting to the US Government, has been awarded a new five-year contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). ... 

2.    Legislative briefs for June 1, 2011.  2TheAdvocate  The options include the US Postal Service, a parish office of the state Department of Veterans Affairs where the veteran resides or by the governor or his designee in a ceremony conducted by Veterans Affairs. HB28, sponsored by state Rep. ... 

3.    Website finds help for injured veterans.  East Valley Tribune  Interested donors can tailor any donations to a specific state where veterans are requesting help, or even a specific veteran. By Mike Sakal, Tribune USA Together is becoming known as the Craigslist for wounded warriors. And so far, nearly 600 American ... 

4.    Vets can enroll for benefits locally.  Mail Tribune  Standiford is an Iraq War veteran and a Wounded Warrior Program fellow while Howard is a retired Navy officer. Brian Guinther, a veterans service representative from the Portland VA Regional Office and a retired Navy senior chief petty officer, ... 

5.    A simple gesture.  Allentown Morning Call  Casner, 61, of Bethlehem, isn't a veteran. What makes him keenly sensitive to these matters is that he spent 21 years as a social worker with the US Department of Veterans Affairs at the Allentown Outpatient Clinic. He retired last month with a long ... 

6.    Awarepoint Vice President - Government Business Development Chris Doran.  PR Newswire   The conference, which is sponsored by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, will be attended by approximately 350 individuals representing all of the VA's Veterans Integrated Service Networks, which are comprised of more than 150 medical centers ... 

7.    Construction on state-run veteran cemetery on schedule – News.  Keith Gwinn, director of the state Division of Veterans Affairs, ... the choice of burying them at local cemetery, or, if they wanted a veterans cemetery, ... 

8.    A patriot awarded.  His service and support of veterans' affairs is unsurpassed,” the letter stated. “For 11 years, he has toiled to meet the needs of every person that has ... 

9.    Obama To Award Medal Of Honor To Army Sergeant.  AP "President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Honor to an Army sergeant for courage on the battlefield in Afghanistan." In an announcement, the White House "says Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry will receive the nation's highest military decoration" during a July 12th ceremony. The White House also "says Petry will be the second living, active-duty service member to receive a Medal of Honor for actions in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars."

10.                       Walter Reed Doctors Call For Delay In Move To Bethesda. Washington (DC) Examiner  "Doctors and nurses at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are warning that the region's military hospitals won't be able to properly care for wounded troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan unless the Pentagon delays its plans to consolidate the hospitals this fall." The plan is for the Defense Department to "begin shutting down Walter Reed in August, transferring patients and staff from the District facility to the newly expanded military medical center in Bethesda and to a new community hospital at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. But not all operating rooms and patient services at Bethesda will be ready by the moving deadline established by law, Sept. 15, according to medical personnel who spoke on the condition of anonymity."

11.                       VA's Post-9-11 Assistance Program Starts Strong. Watertown (NY) Daily Times "Applications for a program to support family caregivers of post-9-11 veterans opened with strong response. In the week after May 9, more than 625 families received assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs under the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010. VA "partnered with Easter Seals - an organization that helps the disabled - which will provide training to families who are caring for a veteran."  

12.                       VA Studying Whether New Caregiver Benefits Program Can Be Expanded.  Columbus (OH) Dispatch  VA's new program is for caregivers of Iraq and Afghanistan vets but the law that gave rise to it "requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to study the new benefits to see whether they can be extended to family caregivers of all veterans. 'It is something we will look at closely'...said" Deborah Amdur, the "department's chief consultant for care management and social work." 

13.                       Evidence Links PTSD With Heart Disease.  Reuters A study in the American Journal of Cardiology has found that heart disease risk may be elevated for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ramin Ebrahimi of the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center led the study of US veterans.  Medical News Today Study authors "say better interventions are required to prevent" heart disease from developing in those with PTSD. Reports of vets "returning from active service developing depression, avoidant behavior and other mental issues are common, and the military has been under constant pressure to set up a more effective strategy to help those with PTSD."

14.                       VA, DOD Have Slightly Different Views On Role Of Open Source In EHR Development, VA's Baker Says.  Federal Computer Week  "Although the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments are equally committed to deploying a joint electronic health record system in the next four to six years, the VA is more enthusiastic about the role of open-source development in the process, according to VA CIO Roger Baker. 'It is clear the VA is wholeheartedly embracing it [open-source development], while the DOD views it as an asset,' Baker told reporters in a conference call on May 27." Asked if VA, "under the business rules, would need approval from DOD for any joint applications to be developed through the open-source process, Baker said he did not view it that way," although he did say there would need to be a "lot of goodwill in doing this stuff, and there is at this point." 

15.                       Baker Says IEHR Will Be In Place 4 To 6 Years From Now. FierceGovernmentIT "A joint, integrated electronic health record between the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs should be in place 4 to 6 years from now, said VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker during a May 27 press call. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki announced an agreement between the two departments to merge their separate EHR systems into one new system, since dubbed the iEHR, earlier this year." Shinseki and Defense Department Secretary Robert Gates "are set to discuss" how a single database will be achieved "during their next scheduled meeting on June 23."  

16.                       Federal IT Humor Gets A Standing Ovation.  Federal Computer Week  "I believe we ought to give credit to executives in the federal technology community who can be entertaining while delivering important information." For example, Roger Baker, "assistant secretary for information and technology at the Veterans Affairs Department, not only gave a rundown on VA's recent major IT initiatives during a Deltek Input industry conference May 5, but he also entertained the audience with humorous insider stories about what his job is really like. For one thing, he has to answer to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. 'You do not tell a four-star general that you did not execute his major initiatives,' Baker said," during what Lipowicz calls a "great speech."

17.                       Vets Unemployment Higher Than Non-vets, Study Says. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review "Veterans of America's post-Sept. 11 wars have a higher unemployment rate than the general population, a problem that has persisted since the depths of the recession, according to a congressional report released" on Tuesday. Lawmakers are "considering a bill that would have veterans take part in the Department of Labor's Transition Assistance Program, designed to help them translate skills learned in the military into civilian jobs. The same bill, the Hiring Heroes Act of 2011, would start a government study of which civilian jobs most closely match those in the military."

18.                       Soldier Ride Gets Wounded Warriors Cycling On Adaptive Bikes For Mental And Physical Health. Chicago Tribune The success of "Soldier Ride, a program of the Wounded Warrior Project that outfits injured soldiers with adaptive bicycles for a ride to build awareness, solidarity and hope that life goes on." Founded "in 2004, Soldier Ride this year is holding 13 events across the country - next up is Chicago, June 3 and 4 - and is emphasizing community involvement," in the form of donations that "go to the Wounded Warrior Project."

19.                       WWII Vet Praises Lebanon VAMC.  Lebanon (PA) Daily News World War II veteran Andrew  Stoppi "speaks highly of the treatment he receives" as a patient at the Lebanon Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Lebanon "native Sandra Jones, a registered nurse, and Ken Hamill, a volunteer from Landisville, care for Stoppi and his fellow veterans at the South Lebanon Township hospital. A captain in the Army National Guard, Jones was deployed for most of 2009 in Iraq, where she served as a brigade nurse."

20.                       VA Outreach Coming To Demopolis. Demopolis (AL) Times The Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in "partnership with the Birmingham Vet Center and Alabama Career Center, will conduct an outreach event for veterans in and around Demopolis on June 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the 2101st Transportation Company on Highway 43." The event's purpose is to "provide information to veterans about services available to them from the Tuscaloosa VA and the other agencies. 'We hope by bringing information about VA health care to the Demopolis community, those who may have been interested but have not sought out information before will be able to come visit with us to learn about the services they have earned through their service to our country,' said Damon Stevenson, spokesperson for the Tuscaloosa VA," who adds. "Veterans from Demopolis and the surrounding communities have served our country with honor, and now it is our turn to serve them."

21.                       More Space Available For Military Families. WCCO-AM  A "new building has been built near" the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis. It is designed to "help military ad veterans' families in their time of need. A second Fisher House opened just last month in South Minneapolis where the families of those being treated at the VA hospital can stay free of charge."

22.                       VA Offers Lessons For US Health Care. Des Moines Register Donald C. Cooper, director of the VA Central Iowa Health Care System In Des Moines.

23.                       State VA Secretary Aims To Get Oklahoma Veterans The Assistance They Need.  Enid (OK) News & Eagle

24.                       Enfield Veteran Recognized For 9,253 Hours Of VA Service. Valley News (VT)

25.                       VA 2K Walk/Roll To Benefit Homeless Veterans. The Peekskill (NY) Patch

26.                       War Veterans Facing Criminal Troubles Get Help. North County Times