VA HQ Veterans News for Monday, August 22, 2011.  Thanks to Kevin Secor at VA HQ

1.     Standing guard against out-of-town 'veteran.  Naples Daily News  Investigators from the Collier County Sheriff's Office with real military backgrounds checked their fatigues, asking why one had a Veterans Affairs health-care tag clipped on, and the other had no markings at all. The line of questioning followed a new ...

 

2.     Remembering region sacrifices in the Civil War.  nwitimes.com  The six new headstones installed Friday and Saturday are among 29 that have been obtained from the US Department of Veterans Affairs by the Calumet Region Civil War Preservation Project. The group of private businesses, local historians, ...

 

3.     AL Post 91 gives $41K for veterans.  The Star Democrat  Members of the American Legion Dorchester Post 91 in Cambridge recently donated more than $41000 to the Veterans Affairs (VA) Maryland Health Care System to benefit veteran patients throughout the state. A total of $8000 was donated to the ...

 

4.     State to assist those who serve in the military.  Asbury Park Press  Glenn K. Rieth, the adjutant general of New Jersey who oversees the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and serves as commander of the New Jersey National Guard, said in a statement. “These bills reaffirm the governor's commitment to our ...

 

5.     Bartlett quadriplegic veteran gets gold in wheelchair games.  Chicago Daily Herald
He has been involved in several community organizations, most notably Paralyzed Veterans of America, which puts on the Wheelchair Games along with the US Department of Veterans Affairs. He stays active by exercising on his handbike. ...

 

6.     Viewpoint: Maui County veterans to honor Akaka.  Maui News  His commitment and vision, coupled with his own veteran heart, led to 15 years of meetings with our Maui veteran leaders and the US Department of Veteran Affairs managers in Honolulu and Washington, DC, to determine what was needed to restore the ...

 

7.     Veteran wins fight of his life.  Topeka Capital Journal  For years, Hall was dismissed privately and publicly as a belligerent opportunist by staff members at the Wichita regional office of the US Department of Veterans Affairs and at the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs. The Topeka Capital-Journal ...

 

8.     Veteran Peer Support Helpline Bill Gets Governor's Signature.  Atlantic Highlands Herald  Through S-1731, an annual appropriation will be designated for the Veteran to Veteran Peer Support Program telephone helpline. The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMAVA), in conjunction with the University of Medicine and ...

 

9.     Veteran caregivers eligible for payments, first stipends have been awarded.  Billings Gazette  The US Department of Veterans Affairs in Montana has received 12 applications for the caregiver program since May. Two have been approved; one is in Great Falls and the other in Helena. The program is so new that not many people know about it yet, ...

 

10. Former NT resident recognized.  Tonawanda News  After the war, Gill went on to serve in Panama, before settling down in Long Island as an employee of the US Department of Veterans Affairs, which was then known as the Veterans Administration. But Jeffords said she never forgot about the place she ...

 

11. Authorities seek source of oxycodone pills trafficked at VA medical center.  Sun-Sentinel  On Friday, he was ordered held on a $20000 bond amount. Local authorities began investigating the medical center after the Office of Inspector General of the US Department of Veterans Affairs alerted them to the drug trafficking allegations.

 

12. Closing in on the bulls-eye.  So Md News  The games were founded in 1981 with about 74 veterans competing in Richmond, Va., said Susan Varcie, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The games have grown over the years, she said. “Especially now that we have younger veterans ...

 

13. A St. Cloud man was indicted on a charge of stealing veterans.  St. Cloud Times  ... according to court records. If convicted, Pederson faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The incident was investigated by the US Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General and Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force.

 

14. Widow of decorated Iraqi vet files wrongful death suit against VA hospital.  Deseret News  The family of Iraqi war veteran Christopher Scott Anglesey has filed a wrongful death suit against the VA hospital. Last summer, he went to the George E. Whalen Veterans Administration Hospital in Salt Lake City after falling over some toys in his ...

 

15. VA assists rural Vets with Telehealth clinics.  Capital Flyer  by US Department of Veterans Affairs Kenneth Winn, 48, suffered a head injury while deployed in Operation Desert Storm. Since then, he has experienced many challenges in life. He has been looking for a job now for two years. "I want to work," he said. ...

 

16. VA Hospital's Fate Up In Air.  Omaha World-Herald VA Secretary Shinseki says it is "too early to tell" if a "plan to spend almost $600 million on a new hospital for veterans in Omaha" will "survive the new era of austerity that seems to be taking hold in Washington." But Shinseki termed a new Omaha hospital "much-needed." The VA is planning to replace the 60-year-old facility now serving over 167,000 veterans in Nebraska and parts of Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. Shinseki earlier held a roundtable with rural veterans to gather their views, and in the discussions heard that "the department's push to increase use of 'telemedicine' faces a barrier in the lack of broadband service in many parts of the region." While refusing to speculate on whether budgetary pressures might bring delays, Shinseki called a new hospital "necessary because the current facility doesn't provide the support the veterans in the area deserve."

 

17. On The Home Front, Reminders Of The Wars In Afghanistan, Iraq Come In Small Doses.  Washington Post "After almost 10 years of fighting, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq surface on the home front in fleeting, sentimental and sanitized glimpses. Camouflage-clad soldiers lug rucksacks through civilian airports at the beginning and end of their leaves." The article shows three episodes of combat veterans and the general public encountering one another. Injured troops recovering at Walter Reed at a Washington Nationals baseball game assemble in the stands behind home plate and appear on the big screen in center field, with cheers and applause, but little personal contact with other attendees. The article also shows an adman putting together a beer ad featuring a military homecoming, and a wounded combat vet explaining his experience to his business school classmates.

 

18. Shinseki Addresses Vietnam Veterans Of America Convention.  KRNV-TV Shinseki was in Reno on Thursday, serving as the keynote speaker at the national convention of the Vietnam Veterans of America. Shinseki "addressed his department's progress, priorities, and biggest challenges." After his speech, Shinseki spoke to reporters "about the growing problem of homeless vets in this country." He was shown saying VA's "effort is to both get folks off the street and housed and prevent the ones that are at risk of being homeless" from winding up on the street.

 

19. The New Greatest Generation.  Time  Joe Klein says that while "most of the news we seem to hear about the veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan is pretty bad," focusing on "suicides, domestic violence" and post-traumatic stress disorder, some veterans of both conflicts have come home and "decided to continue to serve their country." Such "returning veterans are bringing skills that seem to be on the wane in American society, qualities we really need now: crisp decisionmaking, rigor, optimism, entrepreneurial creativity, a larger sense of purpose and real patriotism (as opposed to self-righteous flag waving)." Among those vets profiled by Klein is Paul Rieckhoff, founder of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Of America (IAVA), which Klein calls the "most important organization representing the new generation of veterans."  Forbes (8/19, 924K) blog, Rieckhoff writes, "In a week when the media is covering 2012 candidate feuds as if polls open tomorrow, the TIME cover story shows the entire world the face and potential of a powerful new generation of leaders for America." And "it's going to take all of us, from the owners of the smallest businesses to the most powerful Senators in DC, to make sure America maximizes all of that potential."

 

20. Military Sexual Trauma Is Commonplace, Women Vets Say.  Orange County Register Dr. Lori Katz, director of the Women's Mental Health Center at the Long Beach VAMC, calls military sexual trauma "a huge issue," noting that it is more like to produce PTSD than is combat. In the article, several female veterans describe their experiences.

 

21. Annual Veterans Affairs' "Stand Down" Sept. 9.  New London (CT) Day"The Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs' annual 'Stand Down' will be held Sept. 9." The Connecticut VA is "expecting more than 1,000 homeless and needy veterans at 'Stand Down 2011,' an event that provides free services, assistance and information from federal and state agencies as well as local businesses and corporations for Connecticut veterans. It will take place at the State Veterans Home Campus, 287 West St., Rocky Hill, from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m."

 

22. Veterans Summit Set For Aug. 26 In Fairbanks.  Seward (AK) Phoenix Log  "Veterans from across Alaska are invited to participate in the third annual statewide Veterans Summit at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks Aug. 26." After "presentations by the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the State of Alaska, the summit will break out into a workshop-type forum with leaders from Alaska's communities. The workshops will focus on compensation, pensions, the medical system and educational/vocational rehabilitation."

 

23. Impulsive Alcoholics Likely To Die Sooner.  Science Daily  "Alcohol and impulsivity are a dangerous mix: People with current drinking problems and poor impulse control are more likely to die in the next 15 years, a new study suggests." Daniel Blonigen, "Ph.D., a research health science specialist at the Center for Health Care Evaluation of the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Medical Center," was the lead author of the study, which "also found that a strong social support network buffers the toxic effects of impulsivity." According to "Kenneth Sher, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at University of Missouri," findings "such as Blonigen's...support the health value of interventions to reduce impulsivity, both on a population-wide and individual level."

 

24. Pentagon Denies Burying Agent Orange In Okinawa.  Japan Times The Pentagon "has once again denied allegations that the US military buried the highly toxic defoliant Agent Orange in Okinawa, the Foreign Ministry said." The Foreign Ministry added that it will take additional steps to determine "further details of the facts," after media reports of former US military members saying that Agent Orange had been used and stored on the island in the late 1960s.

 

25. Dad, Brother Of Navy Veteran Sue VA Over His Suicide.  Spokane (WA) Spokesman-Review  Relatives of a Navy veteran who killed himself three years ago "are suing the federal government, alleging negligence by the Spokane Veterans Affairs Medical Center." Lucas Senescall, 26, who had previously attempted suicide, had sought help from the VAMC's behavioral health unit "before returning to his Spokane home and hanging himself" in July 2008. The federal lawsuit seeking $1.35 million in damages says Steve Senescall witnessed a VA psychiatrist fail to offer any treatment to his despondent son, but instead chastise him "for missing three mental health appointments in the prior three years." When Lucas called the VA later that day, saying he was "not doing well," the VA failed to inform his father, the police or anyone else that Lucas should be on suicide watch, the suit also alleges. Saying he had not seen the lawsuit, a VAMC spokesman declined comment.

 

26. Veterans Struggle To Get Needed Care.  Courier Post A huge demand for healthcare services, especially home care, "is creating a concern among veterans and their advocates that the VA is not able to meet the supply. There is no VA hospital or medical center in New Jersey. South Jersey veterans must go to the VA center in Philadelphia or Wilmington, Del., to make a claim for medical care." Several local veterans service officers point to delays, especially in the Philadelphia VAMC, and a public affairs officer for the Wilmingtown VAMC "admits VA offices everywhere are backlogged."

 

27. NFLUENCE GAME: Some Groups May Want Debt Gridlock.  AP  "Gridlock, as much as it's derided, may be the best outcome for the elderly, health care providers and poor people in this fall's fight over further deficit cuts. A new congressional supercommittee, split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, has until Thanksgiving to propose a gargantuan $1.5 trillion in budget savings over 10 years," or "$1.2 trillion in spending cuts" will automatically be "unleashed on hundreds of programs." Some programs, though, including veterans' pensions, "have been exempted from the automatic cuts." The AP also points out that veterans groups were "gleeful" when US Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) was named to the supercommittee, because, as Barry Jesinoski, executive director of the Washington office of Disabled American Veterans, put it, Murray is a "strong supporter of veterans."

 

28. Working Women: Pride Winkenwerder.  WJLA-TV Alexandria, Virginia resident Pride Winkenwerder, a former corporate vice president turned gallery artist, came up with the idea for "Hero Miles," a program that lets anyone, not just a parent, benefit from donated frequent flyer miles to visit a wounded veteran. She spent a full year working with airlines, military officials and Congress to realize the plan, in the process receiving the highest civilian citizen's medal from the Secretary of Defense. This fall, the program will reach the milestone of providing its 25,000th free airline ticket to service members.

 

29. Microtechnology Used To Help Vets With Facial Injuries. CNN Newsroom Harry Stephanou, director of the Automation & Robotics Research Institute at the University of Texas at Arlington. He discussed advancements in microbot technology, including a "mask that is worn by veterans with severe facial injuries. And this microtechnology...will help reduce scarring and" allow such vets to "heal faster."

 

30. VA Medical Center Gears Up To Treat Women Veterans.  KPBS-FM  The Veterans Affairs hospital in San Diego is "going though a cultural shift to adapt" to the growing number of female vets that it treats. KPBS added, "The VA has started special training for doctors, says" Jennifer Roberts, "the VA's first full-time program manager for women veterans."

 

31. Army Vet With PTSD Sought The Treatment He Needed By Taking Hostages.  Stars And Stripes  "Fifteen months of carnage in Iraq...left" 29-year-old Robert Anthony Quinones, a former US Army sergeant, "debilitated by post-traumatic stress disorder. But despite his doctor's urgent recommendation, the Army failed to send him to a Warrior Transition Unit for help," while the "best the Department of Veterans Affairs could offer was 10-minute therapy sessions - via videoconference." Now, Quinones is in prison, after having demanded better mental health treatment while holding three soldiers hostage at Fort Stewart's hospital last year. In an interview with Stars And Stripes, Quinones said, "I feel as though [the VA] didn't care, that they were going through the motions with me." 

32. Blogger Dissatisfied With Way VA Diagnoses And Treats PTSD.  Wired David Dobbs says that "almost nothing...VA tries works for American vets with PTSD." Dobbs adds, "I'm questioning the way...VA diagnoses and treats PTSD. It's one of the great fails in psychiatry of the last 40 years - and that's saying a lot." 

33. Widow Of Decorated Iraqi Vet Files Wrongful Death Suit Against VA Hospital.  Deseret (MT) Morning News The widow of deceased Iraq veteran Chris Anglesey filed a Federal lawsuit "this week against" the George E. Whalen Veterans Affairs Hospital in Salt Lake City "and three doctors, alleging negligence and malpractice." The Morning News continues, "According to the lawsuit, Anglesey's death certificate says he died from 'mixed drug intoxication and pulmonary emboli due to (or a consequence of) recent right leg fracture.'" The Morning News adds, "VA doctors prescribed the medications and Anglesey took them according to the instructions he was given, the lawsuit says."

 

34. Rise In Homeless Female Vets Tied To Military Sexual Abuse.  Huffington Post The "number of homeless female veterans is on the rise and the high rate of Military Sexual Assault may be partly to blame. Between 2008 and 2009, women veterans made up 7.5 percent of the estimated 75,609 homeless service members, according to the Department of Veteran Affairs," which offers assistance to such vets. The Post added, "Recognizing the pressing need to cater to this specific population, the US Department of Labor's Women Bureau launched a guide for service providers in July to ensure that homeless veterans' unique challenges are adequately addressed."

 

35. Women At Medical Center Cut Off Hair For Charity.  New York Daily News Several female employees at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center had their hair cut to help cancer sufferers. The women were Heather Perillo, a "registered dietitian from Sunnyside, Queens;" Mary Ramirez, a "human resources specialist from the Bronx; registered nurses Ali Acevedo-Hernandez of Riverdale; Zoraida Cotto of the Bronx; Bridget Maybury of Westchester;" and "social worker Melissa Mendelson of Scarsdale." Their hair was donated "to two groups of charities that make wigs for people who lost hair due to cancer chemotherapy or other causes."

 

36. Mural Paints VA History.  La Crosse (WI) Tribune "For the last ten years," Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center "employees have been finding new ways to benefit veterans through the Leadership Development program." This year, the "leadership development team of Shai Sims Brown, Patricia Elliot, James Theres, Audrey ZumBrunnen and Barbara Steele decided to show the history of the Tomah VA in the form of a 26-foot mural, made up of six different panels. Each panel encompasses a time period of the Tomah VA history from 1891 to the future.":