Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 12-10-08

1. Shinseki’s Confirmation Hearing Scheduled For Mid-January.  
2. Arlington Opens New Structure For Housing Cremains.    
3. Research Enrollments Halted At Seattle Veterans Hospital. 
4. Mixed Martial Arts Event To Raise Money For TBI Research Center.  
5. Forum For Returning Veterans To Be Held In California.  
6. VA To Open New Clinic In New Jersey.  
7. VA Clinic In Texas To Move To Larger Location.  
8. Connecticut Veterans Hall Of Fame Welcomes New Members.  
9. Ground Broken On Brooke Army Medical Center Expansion.  
10. Study Says Genetic, Environmental Factors Increase Risk Of Developing PTSD.

HAVE YOU HEARD?

The American Veteran is a monthly video magazine produced by the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Each program reports stories of interest and value to the veterans and their families and the American public. 
 
This month stories include:

• VA Secretary Takes Charge: A candid interview with Secretary James B. Peake
• Home Telehealth: By using the Home Telehealth program, over 30,000 veterans are able to check into VA Medical centers daily  without leaving home. Virtual Iraq: Nearly 40,000 veterans return home from Afghanistan and Iraq have sought help fro the VA for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  In response VA has deployed a wide range of tools to treat patients struggling with PTSD.
• Restoration Lab: At the VA Medical Center’s Restoration Clinic in Atlanta, GA., art and medicine come together to create amazing prosthetics that you don’t see everyday.
• New Mobility for Wounded Veterans: Mobility can be a big challenge for veterans with crippling war injuries.  To help, a group of volunteers came together to provide an new way for injured veterans to get around.
• Little Caesar Veteran Franchises: For men and women leaving the military, establishing a new career can be a challenging and sometimes difficult process.  But the Center for Veterans Enterprises and Little Caesar’s Pizza have teamed up to help qualified veterans, by providing both money and training.
• Dog Tags:  The Puppies Behind Bars Program gives prison inmates the opportunity to train special service doges that can help disabled veterans.
• Project HART:  The VA joins forces with city leaders in Fargo, ND to support Project HART, a program designed to help homeless veterans stay off the streets with a unique four step program.
• Surfing Therapy: Visit the beaches of Malibu for sun, fun, and riding the waves where wounded veterans can experience a uniquely California form of physical and mental therapy on the surfboard.
• Project Healing Waters:  Project Healing Waters, a joint venture between the Federation of Fly Fishers and the Trout Unlimited organizations, takes veterans and active-duty service members with mental and physical difficulties on fishing trips to lakes, streams and rivers.  Participants learn new skills and experience firsthand the soothing, restorative power of nature.

You can view The American Veteran on demand on the OPIA Web page.  On the VA Home page at www.va.gov, click on The American Veteran

The American Veteran
A series of short video features about veterans’ rights and benefits along with inspiring stories of service and sacrifice made by America’s men and women in uniform.

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1.      Shinseki’s Confirmation Hearing Scheduled For Mid-January.   On its website, KHNL-TV Honolulu (12/9) said US Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) "has set" Eric Shinseki’s confirmation hearing for January 14, 2009. Akaka "says he scheduled it early in the new Congress so the Senate can act on the nomination sooner. ‘I am proud to support General Shinseki’s nomination and I look forward to a long and productive relationship with him as Secretary,’ said Senator Akaka." The KGMB-TV Honolulu (12/9) website published a similar story. The nomination was also briefly noted by the American Forces Press Service (12/9, Garamone) and the Fayetteville (NC) Observer (12/9).
      Lawmakers Pleased By Appointment.   The Helena (MT) Independent Record (12/10, Kidston) reports US Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, "said Monday he was pleased with…Shinseki’s appointment," but "added that the former US Army chief of staff will have his work cut out for him in the months and years ahead." The VA "was widely criticized in the early years of the Iraq war for being unprepared for the number of veterans needing care, be it physical, psychological or long-term. The department has made progress in recent years, but still has steps to take, Tester has said."
      Nomination Labeled A "Comeback" For Shinseki.   In his Time (12/9) column, Mark Thompson said Shinseki’s nomination "marks a comeback for an Army officer who was spurned by his superiors, then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, for warning" that the Iraq War’s "post-invasion phase would require many more troops than the Pentagon believed." Thompson added, "History may come full circle, fittingly and bittersweetly, if, during his confirmation hearings, Shinseki says his new agency needs far more personnel than…it currently employs to tend to the human carnage."                                                                                                                            In a similar editorial, the Springfield (MA) Republican (12/9) said, "How apt. The guy who got" the Iraq War "right — but was vilified by Rumsfeld and other invasion architects — will now have the chance to make the aftermath of that war right for those who suffered the consequences of the badly flawed decisions of others."                                          In a related editorial, the San Angelo (TX) Standard Times (12/10) says, "Assuming Senate confirmation, Shinseki is inheriting the VA’s huge bureaucracy, which has strained to efficiently and effectively provide benefits and medical care to veterans and their families." But Shinseki will "likely be a good VA secretary."
      The Charleston (SC) Post & Courier (12/10) editorializes, "At a time when all levels of government must tighter their budgetary belts, providing the necessary resources to take care of our troops, past and present, must remain a top priority. Under the proven leadership" of Shinseki, "we are confident it will."                                                                         VA Said To Be In Need Of A "Forceful Advocate."   In an editorial, the Boston Globe (12/10) says "there is concern" that Shinseki’s "low-key style might not be up to the formidable task of shaking up" the VA’s "bureaucracy. Critics said that…Shinseki should have fought harder to get Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, to plan for the several hundred thousand troops that Shinseki predicted would be needed to occupy Iraq. But in that dispute, Shinseki could not count on the backing" of President Bush. Obama, however, "made clear in nominating him Sunday that Shinseki would have that support. That should put some steel in his management" of the VA, which "badly needs a forceful advocate at its head."

      Columnist Says VA Should Be Re-Named The Department of Veterans Advocacy.   In his Scripps Howard News Service (12/10) column, Martin Schram also writes that the VA needs an advocate, going so far as to urge Obama and Shinseki to re-name the VA the "Department of Veterans Advocacy." Schram says this is necessary because of "an adversarial mid-level mindset of some" at the VA "who function as if they work for a Department of Veterans’ Adversaries." Schram believes the name change would "send a message that will not be missed within the VA bureaucracy."

2.      Arlington Opens New Structure For Housing Cremains.   The AP (12/9, Lane) said "more than half" of the Arlington National Cemetery’s "services are now for cremated remains – and with limited burial space, the cemetery is making room for more. On Tuesday, some 200 people gathered for a ceremony to open" the facility’s "ninth outdoor structure for entombing cremated remains." The "outdoor wall known as a columbarium will house the remains of more than 6,500 veterans."
      Procedure Prevents Donation Of Replacement Marble For Tomb Of The Unknowns.   A separate AP (12/8) article reported, "Despite an economic crisis that has organizations from small-town mom-and-pop shops to local and national governments tightening their belts, the Department of the Army still refuses to accept a donation from a Glenwood Springs man that could save it millions of dollars. The donation in question is a 118,000-pound slab" of marble, "valued at just over $31,000," from "the Yule Quarry in Marble, Colo." Retired Glenwood car dealer John Haines "has been trying to donate" the marble "since 2003." It "would replace the cracked Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery," but procedure "dictates that all government jobs must go through a pricey bidding process, thereby disqualifying Haines’ donation."

3.      Research Enrollments Halted At Seattle Veterans Hospital.   The Seattle Times (12/10, Song) reports, "The veterans hospital in Seattle has halted all new enrollments in research involving human subjects after a federal audit found that patient safeguards weren’t properly documented." The restrictions, which were announced this week, "stem from a review completed last month" by the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Research Oversight. Dr. Steven Kahn, "director of research and development at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System," which includes the hospital, "said several other VA health systems – including Boise, San Diego and Palo

Alto, Calif. – also have received similar findings from the federal oversight office." Kahn also "said the action was unrelated to recent national headlines about patient-safety issues at VA research centers elsewhere around the country." By way of example, the Times notes that in August, VA Secretary James Peake "apologized publicly to the widow of a veteran who died of a human form of mad-cow disease after being turned away from a veterans hospital in the Bronx borough in New York."

4.      Mixed Martial Arts Event To Raise Money For TBI Research Center.   The AP (12/9, Maurer) reported, "Fort Bragg will host a televised charity Ultimate Fighting bout this week to help raise money for a planned $70 million research center for traumatic brain injuries, one of the most common combat injuries suffered by troops in Iraq. Sponsored by the national promotional group Ultimate Fighting Championship, the Wednesday event," being "billed as ‘Fight For The Troops,’" will "be carried live on cable station Spike TV from the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville." The "money raised from Wednesday’s fights will go to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and the Fisher House, a national network of homes at military and veterans hospitals where family members can stay free. The organizations are working with the Department of Defense to help build the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, a research facility in Bethesda, Md., that will be dedicated to treating troops who suffer from traumatic brain injuries."

5.      Forum For Returning Veterans To Be Held In California.   The Contra Costa (CA) Times (12/9, McSherry) reported, "A forum for servicemembers who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan will be held Wednesday to match veterans with mental-health services and other benefits available through the Veterans Administration." The "event is the second of six planned throughout" San Bernardino County. The "dates and locations of the other four information sessions have yet to be announced."

6.      VA To Open New Clinic In New Jersey.   The Philadelphia Inquirer (12/10, Katz) reports, "The health campus in downtown" Camden, New Jersey, "continued its expansion" Monday, "as officials announced the creation of a new medical clinic for military veterans." The clinic, which is "scheduled to open in the spring," will "occupy more than 5,000 square feet on the first floor" of a Cooper University Hospital parking garage. The "federal Department of Veterans Affairs will rent the space from the Camden County Improvement Authority, the economic-development wing of the county government that built and owns the $33 million garage."
      The Cherry Hill (NJ) Courier-Post (12/10, Smeltz), which publishes a similar story, says the clinic, "designated an outpatient annex, will serve as a branch" of the Philadelphia VAM, "VA and local leaders announced Monday."

7.      VA Clinic In Texas To Move To Larger Location.   The Fort Worth (TX) Business Press (12/9, Bassett) reported, "The Fort Worth Outpatient Clinic, a part" of the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System, "is crowded with health care providers, staff and patients, veterans of the armed forces. In 2010, however, the clinic will sprawl over about 23,000 square feet in a brand-new facility that will be near the southeast junction of Interstate Highway 20 and I-35 West. A ground-breaking in November signaled the beginnings of what will become the largest" VA-leased "outpatient clinic in the nation."

8.      Connecticut Veterans Hall Of Fame Welcomes New Members.   The Stamford (CT) Advocate (12/9, Lash) reported that on Tuesday, 67-year-old Robert Ritz was scheduled to "be inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame for his distinguished service in…Vietnam and his community activism," which has included volunteering at the West Haven Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Besides Ritz, "nine others" were scheduled to be inducted into the Veterans Hall of Fame.

9.      Ground Broken On Brooke Army Medical Center Expansion.   The San Antonio (TX) Express-News (12/9, Christenson) reported, "The launching of a new era is usually wrapped in lots of pomp and circumstance, but the Army and Air Force kept things relatively simple Monday as they broke ground on a $724 million expansion of Brooke Army Medical Center." In commenting on the news, retired Air Force Col. Bill Rasco, president and CEO of the Greater San Antonio Hospital Council, said, "We’re known as Military City, USA," but "I think we’re going to potentially earn the name Medical City, USA because of the presence of the Department of the Defense, and also the presence of the Veterans Administration here and the new polytrauma center that is being built adjacent to the VA here."

10.    Study Says Genetic, Environmental Factors Increase Risk Of Developing PTSD.   HealthDay (12/9, Gardner) reported, "A decade-long study" of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) "among combat veterans and their identical twins has yielded critical information on the root causes of this devastating condition. The researchers found that both genetic and environmental factors increase the risk of developing" PTSD. The work, "to be presented Tuesday at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology annual meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., was sponsored by both" the US National Institute of Mental Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs.