26.                       Walter Reed Doctors Concerned About Readiness Of New Operating Rooms.  Washington (DC) Examiner  "Doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center fear that two new military hospitals won't be ready to properly treat wounded soldiers, retired veterans and other military patients by the time the District's Army hospital is closed in September." Vice Adm. John Mateczun, "commander of the Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical, said last week that the combined operating room capabilities at Bethesda and Fort Belvoir would be capable of handling treatment of all those now at Walter Reed. But neither of the new hospitals will be fully functional by the deadline, according to sources familiar with the plans."

 

27.                       Solar Energy Project Slated For VA Medical Centers In West Los Angeles.  Beverly Hills Courier  "Veterans Administration medical centers in West Los Angeles and Loma Linda could have working solar energy systems in place by next summer, it was announced" this week. The Courier said VA "awarded $56.7 million in contracts to install the renewable energy systems at VA hospitals in Los Angeles, Loma Linda and three other locations." In a news release, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said, "With these investments in clean energy and other renewable energy projects, we are marching forward with the president's initiative to expand innovation in the federal government and create new jobs."

 

28.                       El Monte Gets Vet Hunters Off To Promising Start For Trip. San Gabriel Valley Tribune On Wednesday, a "group of 10 hearty souls, known as 'The Vet Hunters,' gathered in preparation for a bike ride" to St. Louis. Sometime "between Aug. 4 to Aug. 7, the group will arrive in St. Louis for the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans' annual Stand Down event. They will tell Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki just how desperate it is on the streets for veterans" who "can't find a decent place to spend the night."

 

29.                       House Panel Approves Measure To Curb Sexual Assaults In VA Medical Facilities. CQ  "Responding to reports of high numbers of sexual assault incidents within the Department of Veterans Affairs," the Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health approved "legislation Thursday that would require the department to take steps to drive those numbers down." According to CQ, HR 2074 is the "first bill of its kind that would require the department to develop an official policy to prevent sexual assaults in its medical facilities, and to change the process by which such assaults are reported." Also on Thursday, the subcommittee approved a "bill (HR 1154) that would bar the VA secretary from prohibiting service dogs in any VA facility or VA-owned property."

 

30.                       Pit Bull Puppy Saves Air Force Veteran From Committing Suicide. New York Daily News  "Air Force veteran Dave Sharpe survived two near-death experiences serving in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - but it was his six-month-old pit bull puppy that saved his life. His dog, Cheyenne, licked his ear and brought a suicidal Sharpe back from the brink when he had put his service pistol in his mouth.

 

31.                       VAMC Builds Program To Help Vets With PTSD.  Muskogee (OK) Phoenix  "As the number of military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder increases, local help is being emphasized." The Jack C. Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center is "building a program to serve personnel with PTSD from military conflicts. Dr. Beth Jeffries, PTSD team supervisor, said the medical center is offering a variety of services," including "evidence-based psychotherapy, which has been re-tooled to better fit combat veterans."

 

32.                       Ways To Better Treat Injured Vets Devised. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review "With more controversial and sweeping changes in military medical care put off until next year, the Recovering Warrior Task Force moved steadily Wednesday to shore up problems dogging wounded, sick and injured military personnel and their families. 'I was very happy with the progress we made today, and I'm very hopeful,' task force co-chair Suzanne Crockett-Jones, the wife of a severely wounded soldier, told the Tribune-Review." She added, "I think that we're finally getting to the actual issues" that need to be addressed by the Pentagon or the US Department of Veterans Affairs should address.

 

33.                       Documentary Focuses On Returning Veterans. Medford (OR) Mail Tribune "A documentary film focusing on the healing journey for war veterans and their families will be shown today, July 28, at the US Department of Veterans Affairs' Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics in White City. 'The Welcome' will be shown at 6 p.m. at the SORCC's theater, 8495 Crater Lake Highway, White City. All veterans and their families are invited to the free showing" of a film that aims to "help traumatized veterans and their families, including troops returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars."

 

34.                       Veterans Invited To Focus Group. Muskogee (OK) Phoenix Jack C. Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center "would like to welcome all Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn (post-combat phase in Iraq) veterans to a focus group opportunity at 6 p.m. Aug. 11 at Southern Hills Baptist Church, 5590 S. Lewis Ave., Tulsa." During the event, there "will be a presentation by 'Folds of Honor' on college scholarships for children of combat veterans. There will also be information booths on services available to veterans."

 

35.                       Resources For Post-Combat Trauma. KWWL-TV "New research out of Vanderbilt University shows soldiers serving in the Middle East may be at risk for a lung disease called constrictive bronchiolitis," which experts say may result from exposure to sulfur fires and burn pits. KWWL continued, "In addition to lung diseases, service members face a variety of possible pains, according to Janann Anderson," the program director for Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn at the Iowa City VA Health Care System. KWWL added, "Veterans can get treatment at VA hospitals and active duty service members can call the number on their TRICARE Health Care card to find a nearby eligible facility."

 

36.                       VA Will Renovate, Expand Roseburg Facility. AP  Veterans Affairs "says the Roseburg veterans' hospital will stay open and expand." Local vets had "feared the VA would reduce the facility to a clinic." Earlier this week, VA "said...it plans to keep the hospital open with a $55 million renovation and the addition of cardiology and ophthalmology services."

 

37.                       Virtual Care Veterans Clinic Will Soon Open In Holbrook. Holbrook (AZ) Journal "Within two weeks, area veterans will be able to receive medical care closer to home, with the opening in early August of a veterans' clinic in Holbrook, offering telehealthcare. The Department of Veterans Affairs is equipping the new facility, located at 33 W. Vista Drive, with telemedicine technology to serve veterans from Winslow, Holbrook, Navajo and Hopi reservation communities, and the surrounding area, up to the New Mexico border." Ame Callahan, who is the "public affairs officer for the Northern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System, explains the clinic will use videoconferencing to allow patients to interact with a physician based in the Prescott regional Veterans Affairs facility."

 

38.                       Residents Want Log Home At Veterans Cemetery Saved. Burlington County Times An "old log home" is "one of two historic buildings constructed in the early 19th century" that is located at the federally owned Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Upper Makefield. Local residents who attended a meeting this week on the future of the buildings "made it clear" to Veterans Affairs "and its consultants that they want the properties to be rehabilitated and maintained." The Times adds, "While demolition is possible, the VA is willing to lease the Scott Farm if someone commits to funding and rehabilitating it, according to Jason Vendetti, vice president of A.D. Marble & Co., the environmental consultant working on the project."

 

39.                       Agent Orange And Vietnam Ending A Fifty Year Legacy. Gilmer (TX) Mirror  A recent trip to Vietnam led by Edgar, for the Ford Foundation, which has a major project to alleviate damage from Agent Orange herbicide. Noting that the US "now compensates Vietnam-era vets for 15 serious health conditions and one birth defect related to exposure to the dioxin that was part of those herbicides," but says that less than 10% of Vietnam's rehabilitation needs have been met. The article notes optimistic signs, including inclusion of $18.5 million in 2011 appropriations and an already-begun AID remediation project for the Da Nang airport. It also recommends that the US adopt "a long-term action plan like that drawn up by the US-Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin."

 

40.                       Veterans Hospital In Wichita To Pay Almost $18,000 For Hazardous Waste Violations.  AP  The Veterans Affairs hospital in "Wichita will pay almost $18,000 in fines for several hazardous waste violations." Earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "announced...that the hospital will pay $17,979 for violations that included improper handling of used oil, oil filters and antifreeze." The EPA "also said the hospital has agreed to spend about $61,900 to erect a building to house accumulated hazardous waste."

 

41.                       Comrades Question Iraq Veteran's Memoir, Memories.  AP  "For the past four years, Luis Carlos Montalvan has been advocating for injured Iraq war veterans. Since serving two tours of duty, for which he received two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart, the former Army captain has become a strong critic of the war and a promoter of better care of those who served," even inspiring a "program designed to give service dogs to wounded veterans." Now, though, "several men who served with Montalvan allege that he has exaggerated or fabricated details of key events in 'Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him.'"

 

42.                       Navy Strips Silver Star From Former Navy Official. AP  The US Navy has "revoked the Silver Star Medal from a top Navy official in the Clinton administration who is now serving time for child pornography. The Navy stripped Wade R. Sanders of the military's third-highest honor last year, according to an Aug. 9, 2010, memorandum to the chief of naval personnel from Navy Secretary Ray Mabus." The AP adds, "Sanders received the Silver Star in 1992 for his courage in battling the Viet Cong in 1969 as a swift boat captain."

 

43.                       Former Denver VA Nurse Charged With Stealing Patients' Painkillers. Aurora (CO) Sentinel  "A 35-year-old Aurora woman is facing federal drug charges after federal prosecutors say she stole pain killers from patients at the Denver Veterans Affairs hospital where she worked as a nurse. A federal grand jury in Denver indicted Sharon Jones late Tuesday on charges of attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud, according to a statement from the United States Attorney Office in Denver." The Sentinel adds, "If convicted, Jones faces up to four years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each of the 35 counts against her, the statement said."

 

44.                       Tombstone Removal Begins At Historic Camp Floyd Cemetery. Provo (UT) Daily Herald  "With sledge hammers and shovels, work began at the historic Camp Floyd cemetery on Friday to dig up more than 80 tombstones. A group of Scouts helped to begin the work, which is expected to take a week or more." After a survey with ground-penetrating radar showed that burials do not march with existing markers, officials "have decided to remove all the existing tombstones and replace them with new stones provided by the Veterans Administration."

 

45.                       DAV Stages "Virtual March" Of Facebook Comments On Debt Ceiling Impasse.  KYMA-TV  Uncertainty from the debt ceiling stalemate "could put American soldiers in a tough financial spot. US veterans are using social media and coming together all across the country to have their voice heard." It notes that the Disabled American Veterans "has started what it calls a virtual march. Thousands have already commented on the group's Facebook page."

 

46.                       Women Veterans To Be Honored At Fair. Cherokee One Feather  The American Legion Steve Youngdeer Post 143 and the Eatsern Band of Cherokee Indians Veterans Honor Team "are planning a veterans honors ceremony on Friday, Oct. 7 at the 99th Cherokee Indian Fair." The event will honor female veterans and women currently serving in the military.

 

47.                       Elite All-Stars Pay Visit To Veterans. WFN: World Fishing Network The Bassmaster Elite Series All-Stars "went to the Montgomery VA hospital on Thursday morning" to meet with veterans there, most of whom reportedly are avid fishermen. The professionals "signed autographs and posed for photos with the veterans."

 

48.                       Q&A With State VFW Head. San Diego Union-Tribune

 

49.                       VFW: Wi-Fi, Microbrews To Attract Young Vets. San Diego Union-Tribune

 

50.                       Vietnam Vets Still Fight For Respect, Benefits. Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News

 

51.                       Scott Pulls Name From Vets Hall Of Fame Request. AP

 

52.                       Our Wars, Our Veterans. Renton (WA) Reporter

 

53.                       HPH Hospice Offers Unique Support For Caregivers, Families. Land 'O Lakes (FL) Patch

 

54.                       Local VFW Leader Vargas Is Illinois Veteran Of The Month. New Lenox (IL) Patch

 

55.                       15 Chaplains Graduate From VA Center. KSL-TV

 

56.                       State Police Donate Books To VA Hospitals. WKBW-TV

 

57.                       Months After Death, WWII Vet Gets Proper Burial. KPTV-TV