Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 09-03-08

1. Gustav Leads VA To Close Clinics.
2. VA’s Research On Hearing Problems Noted.  
3. Columnist Says VA Should Not Outsource Administration Of New GI Bill Benefits.  
4. VA Urged To Leave Politics Out Of Benefits Advisory Committee.  
5. Organizations Spread Word About VA Suicide Prevention Programs.  
6. Clinic Opens In Virginia.  
7. Budget, Construction Time Increase For Nevada Medical Center.  
8. Iron Mountain VAMC Temporarily Downgrades Facility.  
9. VA Palo Alto Reaching Out To Women Veterans.  
10. VA New Jersey Collaborates On Camp For Veterans And Their Families.

1.      Gustav Leads VA To Close Clinics.   The Air Force Times (9/3, Maze) reports, "Eight veterans medical care facilities have temporarily been closed and some high-risk patients moved in response to Hurricane Gustav’s roaring sweep through Gulf states." Clinics "in downtown New Orleans, and in Slidell, St. John Parish, Houma, Lafayette and Jennings, La., and a medical clinic in Beaumont, Texas, were closed in advance of the hurricane’s Monday arrival, as was a dental clinic in Mandeville, La. The Lafayette and Jennings clinics were expected to remain closed Wednesday, according to a statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs." The Times adds, "VA Secretary James Peake said veterans needing emergency care ‘should consider going to the nearest civilian facility if they would risk their health by traveling to a VA hospital or clinic.’"
      Alexandria VAMC Cancels Routine Outpatient Clinic Appointments.   The Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser (9/3) reports, "Due to the effects of Hurricane Gustav, the Alexandria VA Medical Center has canceled routine outpatient clinic appointments for Wednesday, as well as elective surgery appointments." A decision "concerning the status of outpatient clinic appointments for the remainder of this week has not been made."

2.      VA’s Research On Hearing Problems Noted.   VFW Magazine (9/3, Lanigan) reports, "Hearing problems…are a significant issue among veterans. Fortunately, research is under way" at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research (NCRAR) in Portland, Oregon. The NCRAR, which is one of the VA’s 14 Centers of Excellence, "conducts research for hearing rehabilitation, education, professional training and technology development." VFW Magazine notes that the VFW "is on board to help vets with the hearing problems they have already sustained due to their service." In fact, the VFW "approved a resolution at its 2007 National Convention…which urges the VA secretary ‘to grant service connection on a presumptive basis for any veteran diagnosed after discharge with hearing loss or tinnitus when the evidence shows that the veteran participated in combat or worked in a position or occupational specialty likely to cause acoustic trauma.’"

3.      Columnist Says VA Should Not Outsource Administration Of New GI Bill Benefits.   In his Burlington (MA) Union (9/3) column, Bruce Coulter notes that Veterans Affairs Secretary James B. Peake "is a former executive at California-based QTC, one of the companies bidding to take over administration of new" GI Bill benefits. In addition, former VA Secretary Anthony Principi "now leads QTC. This is a huge conflict of interest for Peake." But, according to VA Watchdog (www.vawatchdog.org), "fortunately, the American Legion opposes outsourcing these benefits, and believes the VA should hire additional employees to oversee the program. I couldn’t agree more." The Woburn (MA) Advocate (9/3) and the Billerica (MA) Minuteman (9/3) both publish the same column.

4.      VA Urged To Leave Politics Out Of Benefits Advisory Committee.   In his Burlington (MA) Union (9/3) column, Bruce Coulter writes that the Department of Veteran Affairs "plans to establish an Advisory Committee on VA Disability Compensation and Related Benefits." In a recent press release, VA Secretary James B. Peake said he has "determined that establishing the Committee is both necessary and in the public interest." According to Coulter, the committee "will conduct reviews on the VA’s schedule for rating disabilities and recommend possible ‘expansion of VA benefits to address the impact on quality of life, the need for transition assistance, and the potential for successful rehabilitation.’" Coulter praises the VA for examining the expansion of benefits, but he says "committee selections need to be free of the politics and cronyism." The Woburn (MA) Advocate (9/3) and the Billerica (MA) Minuteman (9/3) both publish the same column.

5.      Organizations Spread Word About VA Suicide Prevention Programs.   On its website, KMBC-TV Kansas City, MO (9/2) reported "there is a push at the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center to get families and veterans to take advantage of suicide prevention programs." On Tuesday several veterans organizations stood in support of the programs, and they urged people to become aware of the help available." Last year, Congress "passed two bills designed to help" troubled veterans. One "of them, the Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, expanded mental health assessments and services, including a hot line for people in crisis." The VA "estimated that they saved four lives in the last year in Kansas City because" of that hot line.

6.      Clinic Opens In Virginia.   On its website, WSET-TV Lynchburg, VA (9/2) reported, "No more long drives for checkups for Lynchburg area" veterans after the city’s "new VA clinic opened Tuesday morning. About 6,000 vets will benefit from the new facility," which "does not have a dental or eye clinic. And the vets will have to go elsewhere for major procedures." The websites for WDBJ-TV Roanoke, VA (9/2) and WSLS-TV Roanoke, VA (9/2) published similar stories.
      The Lynchburg (VA) News And Advance (9/3, Pegram), which also notes the opening, reports, "Things went smoothly" at the new clinic "when the doors opened." Gary Stewart, clinic administrator, said, "Everybody that’s come in that’s needed to be cared for has been seen." He added, "Right now it’s a total positive experience."

7.      Budget, Construction Time Increase For Nevada Medical Center.   The Las Vegas Business Press (9/3, O’Reiley) reports, "As the new Veterans Affairs medical center has risen from the desert" in Nevada, "so has its size and budget." Described as a $295 million project at the groundbreaking in October 2006, the "medical center’s price has now swollen to $600.4 million. In addition, the project will take two years longer to complete than the summer of 2009 time frame given when the center was unveiled four years ago." Local VA spokesman David Martinez "said the center’s role has expanded from that of a large-scale clinic to a more comprehensive treatment center." But Martinez "could not delineate the components that led to the doubled budget or the two-year delay in the opening date to late 2011."

8.      Iron Mountain VAMC Temporarily Downgrades Facility.   WLUC-TV Marquette, MI (9/2, 7:00 p.m. ET) broadcast, "Local veterans scheduled for general surgery procedures" at the Iron Mountain Veterans Affairs Medical Center "may be out of luck. Medical center director Michael Murphy tells TV6 intensive care unit admissions will be suspended immediately, and the emergency department will be downgraded to an urgent care center in two weeks. He says the downgrading is temporary and is a direct result of a recent unanticipated drop in physicians." Murphy "tells us in a press release that he is currently recruiting doctors and hopes to restore full operations as soon as possible."

9.      VA Palo Alto Reaching Out To Women Veterans.   The Burlingame (CA) Daily News (9/3, Barry) reports many Iraq veterans "have returned home with injuries that require extensive treatment and emotional support," but "their service isn’t going unnoticed. Locally, the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS) reaches out to help veterans and factors in their different backgrounds, including socioeconomic status, age and gender." The VAPAHCS’s "center for women veterans was the first VA in the nation honored as a center of excellence, said Samina Iqbal, director of the Women’s Health Clinic, at the annual ice-cream social, held Friday to honor women that have served. Approximately 50 women veterans from World War II to Iraq eras attended the event that featured poetry and music."

10.    VA New Jersey Collaborates On Camp For Veterans And Their Families.   The Warren (NJ) Reporter (9/3, Turpin) reports, "Each summer the New Jersey Division of The Salvation Army holds a special five-day respite session at Camp Tecumseh in Pittstown for veterans and their families," and the session was held again this year "in late August. ‘The Salvation Army and the (Veterans Affairs New Jersey) Health Care System has collaborated for the last 15 years to provide a unique opportunity for veterans receiving outpatient treatment from the East Orange and Lyons veterans facilities,’ said Brenda A. Beavers, human services director for the New Jersey Division."