1. Federal grant helps homeless veterans re-enter workforce.
2. Blueprint for modernizing military pay delivered.
3. New protections for troops with PCS moves.
4. VA working to expand access to care.
5. VA looking to technology to reduce suicide risks.
6. VA secretary says long-distance consultations can remove stigma.
7. Business, hiring events for veterans planned at Cobo.
8. VA officials say cost too high to fix fiduciary program.
9. VA should accelerate plans to help female veterans.
10. Veterans Encouraged To Attend Huge Hiring Fair Being Held In Detroit.
11. VA Looking To Technology To Reduce Suicide Risks.
12. VA Planning 30 Percent Increase In Telemental Consultations This Year.
13. VA's National Center For PTSD Launches AboutFace Campaign.
14. VA, DoD Honored For Designing PTSD Coach Mobile App.
15. Echoes Of A Long-Ago War.
16. VFW Official Says Progress Has Been Slow On Paperless Benefits System.
17. For Combat Vets, Brain Injury Symptoms Can Last Years.
18. Heart Attack Survivors May Develop PTSD.
19. VA Officials Say Cost Too High To Fix Fiduciary Program.
20. VA Fixes Problem With Vets Job Training Program.
21. AHA, VA Team For Women's Health.
22. "She Served She Deserves."
23. Milwaukee Veterans Group Receives $500,000 In Grants.
24. Boxer Moves To Prevent Misuse Of "GI Bill" Phrase By Colleges.
25. Milwaukee Veteran Honored With Lifetime Achievement Award.
26. Former US Soldier Aids Syria's Wounded.
27. Ford Honored By "Military Order Of The Cooties."
28. Wounded G.I., Bartram Trail Grad Making "Amazing" Progress.
29. 10 Tips And 32 Strategies For Healthcare CEOs.
30. VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as June 22, 2012:
31. Today in History:
1. Federal grant helps homeless veterans re-enter workforce. Easter Seals Oregon has been awarded a $200,000 grant by the federal government to continue its mission of helping homeless veterans in the Rogue Valley rejoin the workforce.
2. Blueprint for modernizing military pay delivered. If endorsed by the White House and enacted by Congress, a new blueprint for modernizing military compensation after 11 years of war would reshape many traditional service pays to strive for more efficiency.
3. New protections for troops with PCS moves. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials announce guidance designed to provide better education and notification for servicemembers facing housing struggles
4. VA working to expand access to care. The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki often reminds us: As the tide of war recedes, we have the.
5. VA looking to technology to reduce suicide risks. Bradenton Herald The Veterans Affairs Department hopes to reduce the risk of suicide among veterans by making ... Department, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki told mental health professionals Wednesday. ... Search local inventory, coupons and more ... that would have enabled ...
6. VA secretary says long-distance consultations can remove stigma. Greenfield Daily Reporter Our products will provide the most effective means of bringinglocal customers and businesses together. ... Indiana; Other States (A-L) .... WASHINGTON undefined The Veterans Affairs Department hopes to reduce the risk of suicide among ... ample warning about ...
7. Business, hiring events for veterans planned at Cobo. Houghton Lake resorter The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is hosting three major events at Detroit's Cobo Center June 26-29: The National Veterans Small Business Conference ...
8. VA officials say cost too high to fix fiduciary program. Houston Chronicle The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs opposes many of the fixes proposed by Congress members to address flaws in the national fiduciary program, which ...
9. VA should accelerate plans to help female veterans. Boston Globe But there are risk factors particular to female veterans that should be addressed. ... due to sexual assaults, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
10.Veterans Encouraged To Attend Huge Hiring Fair Being Held In Detroit. Oakland (MI) Press "Veterans looking for work are being encouraged to sign up to attend a job fair just for them next week in Detroit. The VA for Vets Hiring Fair runs from June 26 to 28 at Cobo Center at One Washington Boulevard." John Sepulveda, Veterans Affairs' assistant secretary for human resources and administration, said his agency has "about 25,000 jobs committed to this event -18,000 in the private sector and another 6,700 in the public sector." Sepulveda added that veterans "are heroes and we're giving them a chance to pursue their dreams."
11.VA Looking To Technology To Reduce Suicide Risks. AP "The Veterans Affairs Department hopes to reduce the risk of suicide among veterans by making greater use of video conferences between patients and doctors and by gradually integrating its electronic health records with those maintained by the Defense Department, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki told mental health professionals" who attended a suicide prevention held Wednesday in Washington, DC. Shinseki "oversees a department that members of Congress have criticized heavily in recent months for overstating how frequently patients are able to see a doctor or other mental health professional." But according to the AP, "as many as two-thirds of the veterans who commit suicide are not enrolled" in VA healthcare. As Shinseki put it during his Wednesday conference remarks, VA "can't influence and help those we don't see." Stars And Stripes During Wednesday's conference, Shinseki "called for a national commitment to end military suicides, 'not just controlling, reducing or managing those at risk.'" The "official theme of the conference this year is 'back to basics,' a call by officials to ensure that all caregivers are equipped with fundamental suicide prevention principles. But after the first day, the unofficial theme could have been 'frustration despite progress,' as mental health officials lamented lingering difficulty stopping suicide even after years of focusing on the issue."
12.VA Planning 30 Percent Increase In Telemental Consultations This Year. NextGov VA "plans to conduct more than 200,000 telemental consultations in 2012, up 30 percent from 140,000 in fiscal 2011." In a news release, Shinseki said, "Telemental health provides veterans quicker and more efficient access to the types of care they seek. We are leveraging technology to reduce the distance they have to travel, increase the flexibility of the system they use, and improve their overall quality of life. We are expanding the reach of our mental health services beyond our major medical centers and treating veterans closer to their homes." NextGov adds, "Recent research shows the technology can cut psychiatric hospital admissions by 25 percent." American Legion VA "has set a goal to conduct more than 200,000 clinic-based, telemental health consultations for all mental health specialties in fiscal 2012." This follows a recent VA "announcement...that it would no longer charge veterans a copayment when they receive care in their homes from VA health professionals using video conferencing." The website notes, "Since the start of the Telemental Health Program, VA has completed more than 550,000 patient encounters."
13.VA's National Center For PTSD Launches AboutFace Campaign. American Legion "In observance of June as PTSD Awareness Month, the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has begun a new online initiative, AboutFace, focused on helping veterans recognize PTSD symptoms and motivating them to seek treatment. The AboutFace campaign introduces viewers to veterans from all eras who have experienced PTSD and turned their lives around with treatment." By watching personal videos on the on the National Center for PTSD website, "viewers will meet veterans," hear "how PTSD has affected them and their loved ones," and "learn the steps to take to gain control of their lives."
14.VA, DoD Honored For Designing PTSD Coach Mobile App. US Medicine VA and the Defense Department "have been awarded an American Telemedicine Association (ATA) Innovation Award for work in the advancement of telemedicine with the creation of their PTSD Coach mobile application." The app, which is "available free off of the iTunes website or Android Market site," was "designed by VA's National Center for PTSD and DoD's National Center for Telehealth and Technology to help a person" with post-traumatic stress disorder "track and screen symptoms." VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said "upon VA's receipt of the award" that by using the popularity of mobile devices, VA "can provide important tools to veterans wherever they are, whenever they need them, whether or not they receive care through VA or DoD."
15.Echoes Of A Long-Ago War. Time Veterans Affairs "has nearly finished plowing through 230,000 claims for disability benefits from vets exposed to Agent Orange now suffering from ischemic heart disease, hairy cell and other chronic B-cell leukemias, and Parkinson's disease." Thompson quotes VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, who said in a news release that he is "proud of our VA employees who worked hard to complete these Agent Orange claims, putting over $3.6 billion into the hands of our Vietnam Veterans and their survivors." Thomas adds, however, that the Agent Orange claims, which were filed after VA expanded the list of diseases presumably linked to Agent Orange exposure, "strained a VA bureaucracy already struggling to handle claims from veterans of the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq."
16.VFW Official Says Progress Has Been Slow On Paperless Benefits System. FierceHealthIT "Despite spending $491 million on a paperless Veterans Benefits Management System, the Department of Veterans Affairs has only installed the system--which has processed a meager 800 claims--in four offices, Gerald Manar, deputy director of the National Veterans Service for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, told" the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Tuesday. FierceHealthIT adds, "Nationwide rollout of the new system was scheduled to begin this summer and continue into next year. Some lags in calling up files, however, have raised concerns about those efforts."
17.For Combat Vets, Brain Injury Symptoms Can Last Years. HealthDay "Lingering symptoms from combat-related traumatic brain injuries -- even 'mild' cases -- may persist for years, according to a new study of US veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan." The "study looked at 500 veterans who underwent general health and depression screenings between 2008 and 2011 at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center and were found to have symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome." HealthDay says the study's "data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal."
18.Heart Attack Survivors May Develop PTSD. New York Times "The emotional toll of a heart attack can be so severe that an estimated 1 in 8 patients who survive the experience develop post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that doubles the risk of dying of a second heart attack, according to new research" by the from Columbia University Medical Center. The Times adds, "While it has long been known that a heart attack affects both physical and mental health, most doctors and patients are not aware that the emotional stress of a life-threatening heart event can develop into full-blown" PTSD. The "disorder, which more typically affects combat veterans and victims of violent crime, can be particularly insidious in heart patients, who live with constant trepidation about their own bodies, frequently paying anxious attention to each heartbeat or twinge of chest discomfort."
19.VA Officials Say Cost Too High To Fix Fiduciary Program. Houston Chronicle "The US Department of Veterans Affairs opposes many of the fixes proposed by Congress members to address flaws in the national fiduciary program, which serves more than 130,000 disabled veterans and oversees $3.3 billion in assets nationwide. The agency opposes requirements to provide annual progress reports to Congress or to inform vets promptly when their fiduciaries are convicted of crimes, according" to Wednesday testimony before a House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing. Dave McLenachen, VA's director of pension and fiduciary services, told the panel that his agency is worried about how much it would cost to implement the Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act of 2012. But the panel's chair, US Rep Bill Johnson (R-OH), "countered that improvements would likely cost about $400 million -- less than the amount the VA paid last year in bonuses." Military Times Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act of 2012, which Johnson authored, "would require background checks for fiduciaries managing veterans' funds, limit how much a fiduciary can be paid, allow veterans to pre-designate who they would prefer to handle their financial affairs, require veterans to be notified of the criminal background of their fiduciary, and set up a streamlined process to fire a fiduciary if a veteran believes he is being cheated." At Wednesday's hearing, McLenachen "said VA doesn't support Johnson's bill but 'does recognize the need for better oversight of the fiduciary program' and is willing to work with Johnson on modifications."
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