Top 10 News for Veterans from Around the Country – 07-28-08

Today’s Local News for Veterans from around the Country

1. Thousands Of Veterans Have Called Suicide Hot Line. The Washington Times /AP (7/28, Euphrat) reports, "More than 22,000 veterans have sought help from a special suicide hot line in its first year, and 1,221 suicides have been averted, the government says." The hot line "received 55,000 callers in its first year, including both veterans and people who are concerned about them, according to figures being released Monday." The Department of Veterans Affairs "teamed up with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration…to launch the hot line last July after years of criticism that the VA wasn’t doing enough to help wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan." The hot line "receives up to 250 calls per day – double the average number calling when it began." The Washington Post (7/28, A2, 696K) publishes a shortened version of this story in its "The Nation" column. The Minneapolis Star Tribune (7/28, 357K) also covers this story.
      VA Advertising Hot Line Number.   The Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle (7/27, Wang) reported, "A nationally televised public service announcement and messages on the side of buses and in subway stations" in Washington, DC, "will direct troubled veterans to call a suicide prevention hotline operated" out of the Canandaigua VA Medical Center. As "part of a three-month trial advertising campaign that began this week, the VA is spreading the toll-free hotline number around the nation in an effort to address the high rates of veteran suicides." The DC transit system ads "will stay up for three months and be expanded into other cities if they prove successful in generating more hotline calls." The "24-hour toll-free hotline was launched last year out of Canandaigua."
      Coalition Seeks To Wield More Influence Over VA Outreach.   The Rutland (VT) Herald (7/28, Hirschfeld) reports, "A coalition of veterans officials from across" the US is "seeking to retool the way federal funds are allocated for outreach programs. Last week, members of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs met informally" with US Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) in his Burlington office. John Scocus, "head of the group, said state-run offices are often better equipped to conduct the federally funded outreach work currently overseen" by the US Department of Veteran Affairs. The group’s meeting "with Sanders last Monday was part of an ongoing effort to broaden its influence in Congress. State-funded veterans affairs departments exist in all 50 states and disburse about $4 billion in services and benefits to veterans annually."

2. VA Said To Be "Light Years Ahead" On Electronic Health Records.   The Roanoke (VA) Times (7/28, Jones) reports, "Hospitals and physician offices are feeling pressure from the government and the medical industry to switch from paper charts to electronic health records." Ten years ago, hospitals and doctors offices that "were turning to electronic records were on the cutting edge and many were following the lead of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which began using computers to manage clinical data in the 1970s, according to federal records. Today the VA is still light years ahead of many hospital systems, having put in place an electronic health record system that serves nearly 6 million patients in more than 1,400 hospitals, clinics and nursing homes." The VA’s system, however, "goes against the norm."

3.      Official Says VA Is Doing More To Help Homeless Female Veterans.   The Hartford (CT) Courant (7/27, Somma) reported, "Every day, female veterans who are homeless in the state" of Connecticut confront barriers in a Veterans Affairs system "where services and housing options for women lag in comparison to their male counterparts. Veteran advocates say the VA needs to address the national disparity as 200,000 female veterans return home from Iraq and Afghanistan, many with combat-related stress and military sexual trauma – risk factors for homelessness." But according to Pete Dougherty, the director of homeless veterans programs at the VA, the VA recognizes the problem and is making available more grants outside the VA system to develop more transitional and supportive housing programs for homeless women veterans. The Courant added, "Several bills introduced in Congress include…linking the VA with the Department of Defense to identify returning soldiers who are at risk for homelessness. But even as the wheels of government begin to slowly turn, homeless women veterans in Connecticut continue to struggle to find accommodations."

4.      VA Considering New Plan For Unused Marion Buildings.   The AP (7/27) reported, "Veterans Affairs officials are considering a plan under which several unused buildings at its Marion health care campus could be leased to developers and used for new purposes." A public hearing "is scheduled for Tuesday at the VA campus for comments about the proposed reuse of the Northern Indiana Health Care System buildings."
      The third story in the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal’s (7/27) "Around Indiana" column reported that Barry Baker, the manager of business support services at the Marion VA campus, "said several of the buildings have become dilapidated and possibly face demolition." Baker stressed, however, that any "developer that comes in obviously has to offer something that matches the mission of serving veterans."

5.      Welcome Home Event Held In New York.   The Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard (7/28, Coin ) reports, "More than 1,000 people attended" Sunday’s "’Operation Salute,’ held to thank veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The event at the Onenter Convention Center was a combination welcome home party and job fair. Politicians spoke, bands played and dozens of companies and non-profits handed out literature. A separate children’s area contained face-painting and an inflatable castle."

6.      Thomas E. Creek VAMC Trying To Meet Increased Demand.   The Amarillo Globe News (7/27, Pittman) reported, "The Department of Veterans Affairs health care system is stretched thin serving nearly 8 million patients nationwide." VA hospitals all throughout the country, including the Thomas E. Creek VA Medical Center in Amarillo, "are struggling to meet veterans’ needs." Officials "have tracked about 1,500 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan seeking VA care in Amarillo." The hospital "has tried to increase services to meet the demand." The "Amarillo VA hospital is in the process of hiring a staff of 21 mental health care professionals," said Franke Robertson, chief of admission and referral service.

7.      Quilt Made By VA Nurse Wins National Competition.   The Riverside (CA) Press Enterprise (7/28, Santschi) profiles Sheryl Terkildsen, a nurse at the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Loma Linda, California. Terkildsen is a veteran and an avid quilter, and one of her recent quilts "won a national competition for art work submitted by 3,000 veterans from more than 100" VA medical centers across the country. The quilt "will go on display Oct. 20-26 at the 2008 National Veterans Creative Arts Festival at the Riverside Convention Center."

8.      Utah VA Director Puzzled That His State Has So Few Vet Centers.   On its website, KCPW-FM Salt Lake City, UT (7/28, Ray) reports the US VA "plans to build 39 new veterans centers nationwide," but "none in Utah, which is currently home to just two. That fact is puzzling for Terry Schow, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Veterans Affairs, who says politics is likely playing a role in the decision." Schow "says Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and the state’s Congressional delegation are concerned about the state’s lack of veterans centers. Huntsman plans to discuss the issue with the Secretary of the VA during his next trip to Washington DC, says Schow."

9.    Florida Urged To Join Other States Demanding Reversal Of Ban.   A related editorial in Florida Today (7/27, 81K) says VA Secretary James Peake "has thrown voting rights for injured vets in its hospitals, rehab centers, shelters and nursing homes out the window with a wrong-headed decision in May to ban registration drives by outside groups." Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning "opposes the policy change, but the Sunshine State has yet to officially join 19 other states from Connecticut to Montana demanding a reversal of the ban. It should, and do so at once."

10.    Oregon VA Recognizes Desegregation Of US Armed Forces.   The Salem (OR) Statesman Journal (7/27, Perez) reported that on Saturday, the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, along with the Oregon Military Department, honored minority veterans "during a celebration of the 60th anniversary" of the desegregation of the US Armed Forces. The "executive order, signed July 26, 1948, by President Harry S. Truman, was a major advance in civil rights. Organizers invited minority veterans and enlisted servicemen to share their stories during the event held at the Oregon National Guard’s Anderson Readiness Center in Salem."

12.    Connecticut Honors Hundreds Of Veterans.   The Norwich (CT) Bulletin (7/27, Morales) reported, "More than 300 northeast Connecticut veterans were honored with the Connecticut Veterans Wartime Service Medal Saturday in ceremonies at Hyde School in Woodstock." Connecticut "has a long tradition of giving medals to its veterans, issuing the first to veterans of the Civil War." The tradition, which "ceased during World War I," was "restored in 2005."

13.    Veterans In New York Mark Anniversary Of Korean War’s End.   The Westchester (NY) Journal News (7/28, Rubin) reports that on Sunday in Rockland County, New York, "about 70 people" attended a "commemoration of the Korean War’s end 55 years ago. The event, which has taken place every year since 1993, was held yesterday in front of the Korean War Monument, a large granite rock at the Gary Onderdonk Rockland Veterans Cemetery on Rockland Community College’s campus."

14.    WWII Vet Honored At State Veterans’ Home Ceremony In New York.   The Buffalo News (7/27, Davis, 191K) reported, "About 35 friends and relatives" were "expected to attend a ceremony in the New York State Veterans’ Home at Batavia," where 85-year-old Clifford E. Williams was to "receive the Purple Heart, several unit and individual citations, and a New York State Conspicuous Service Cross." Williams never received these honors "until his wife, Theresa, recently took action. She called Tracy Kim, a state Veterans Affairs counselor, who found the medals and benefits to which Williams was entitled."

15.    Louisiana Installs New State VFW Commander.   The Opelousas (LA) Daily World (7/27, Johnson) reported Vietnam veteran Carroll J. Knott, a resident of Arnaudville, Louisiana, "has been installed as the new state commander of the Louisiana Veterans of Foreign Wars."

16.    New Cemetery In South Carolina To Be Called Fort Jackson.   In continuing coverage, South Carolina’s The State (7/27, Phillips) reported, "Columbia’s new veterans cemetery will be named Fort Jackson National Cemetery," the US Department of Veterans Affairs announced Friday. Gene Linxwiler, the cemetery’s director, said the name was chosen by VA officials after taking recommendations from veterans groups. The State added, "Columbia is part of a national expansion of veterans cemeteries and is one of four cities where new facilities are under construction."
      South Carolina Company Awarded Contract To Work On Cemetery.   The Charleston (SC) Post And Courier (7/27) reported International Public Works (IPW) LLC, a North Charleston company, "has been awarded the construction contract for the first phase of Fort Jackson National Cemetery." The Department of Veterans Affairs gave IPW "a $2.53 million construction contract for the initial phase of development for the 585-acre cemetery in Richland County." In a press release noting the contract, VA Secretary James B. Peake said his agency "is keeping its promise to our nation’s veterans by building this new national shrine."

17.    Doctor With A Big Heart.   A letter to the editor of the Austin (TX) American Statesman (7/28) fondly remembers the recently deceased Dr. Michael DeBakey.

18.    Tech University.   The Salt Lake Tribune (7/27, Beebe, 124K) profiled Vicki Farrar, who co-founded a company called Catheter Connections after seeing "an opportunity to capitalize on an innovation developed by two nurses at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City." The technology involved "a device that promises to block pathogens from entering patients through intravenous catheters."

19.    Veterans Find, ‘We Need You, We Still Believe In You.’   The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (7/27, O’Connor, 278K).

20.    The Military Counselor Is In, And His Name Is Elmo.   McClatchy (7/27, Goldstein).

21.    GI Bill Explained: How Much, When, Where.   The Marine Corps Times (7/28, Maze).

22.    Gene Farmer Is One Serviceman Who Continues To Serve.   The Muncie (IN) Star-Press (7/27, Carlson).

23.    Petraeus Says Iraq Too Volatile To Set Withdrawal Timetable.   In an interview with McClatchy (7/28, Youssef), Gen. David Petraeus, the top US military commander in Iraq, said he "isn’t buying the increasingly popular idea of a publicly stated timetable for American troop withdrawal," arguing that that the situation is too volatile to "project out, and to then try to plant a flag on a particular date." Though both the Bush Administration and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki have indicated support for a general timeline, Petraeus said any timetable must have "a heck of a lot more granularity than the kind of very short-hand statements that have been put out." The general told McClatchy that though "we’ve had two-and-a-half months of levels of violence not since March 2004," it is important to "not let our guard down." Petraeus "is pushing for what he says is a more nuanced debate as both US and Iraqi political leaders are in campaign seasons, with many voters in both countries wanting to hear there is an end."

24.    Army Looking For "Next Generation" Of Body Armor.   The Washington Times (7/28, Scarborough, 83K) reports, "The Army has begun a search for the next generation of bulletproof body armor. Pentagon-supervised live-fire testing was recently completed at the Army’s Aberdeen, Md., Proving Ground," and "further tests are scheduled before the service chooses a successor to ESAPI, or Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert. It is a system of super-hard ceramic plates designed to stop armor-piercing rounds. ESAPI slides inside an Outer Tactical Vest, creating the Interceptor Body Armor System." The Times adds, "A retired Army officer who has toured Iraq and Afghanistan to poll service members on their armor needs told The Washington Times that one theme stands out: the war fighters say that whatever new plates are chosen, they want the Interceptor to remain relatively lightweight at under 30 pounds. Added weight, they say, restricts mobility and thus increases the chance of being shot."