Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 6-17-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. Lawmakers Receive Report On VA Hospitals. 
2. Official Doubts Many Priority 8, Black Hills Area Vets Will Try To Enroll.  
3. VA Study: Small Interventions "Significantly" Improve Hypertension Control.  
4. House Subcommittee Approves $132.3 Billion In VA Funding.  
5. House Passes Bill That Would Increase Housing Aid To Low-Income Vets.  
6. After Receiving Help From VA, Vet Goes To Work For Vocational Rehab Program.  
7. Some Vets Upset About Location Of VA Mental Health Clinic.  
8. Major Motion Picture Films At Portland VAMC, OHSU.  
9. Poster Of Famous Photo Donated To DeBakey VAMC.  
10. Medal Winners Praise Golden Age Games.  

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HAVE YOU HEARD?
VA has entered into more than 700 agreements with institutions of higher learning across the nation to participate in the Post-9/11 GI Bill’s “Yellow Ribbon Program.” This provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill allows degree-granting institutions to voluntarily enter into a formal agreement with VA to fund tuition and fee expenses that exceed the highest public, in-state undergraduate rates. The school can contribute up to 50 percent of those expenses and VA will match this additional funding for eligible students. Many schools signed agreements for participation in not only undergraduate programs, but graduate and doctoral programs, as well. Some schools entered into one agreement that covered all their campuses throughout the United States. The maximum benefit under the Post-9/ll GI Bill allows every eligible veteran, servicemember, reservist, and National Guard member an opportunity to receive an in-state, undergraduate education at a public institution at no cost. The Yellow Ribbon Program encourages universities to make up the difference in the costs for out-of-state, private or graduate tuition. VA received more than 60,000 claims for education benefits during the first five weeks since veterans and service members could apply online. Up to 460,000 students are expected to participate in the Post-9/11 program during its first year.

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1.      Lawmakers Receive Report On VA Hospitals.    VA Officials Apologize For Inspection Results.   The AP (6/17, Evans) reports, "Lawmakers sharply criticized" the VA "on Tuesday about why a national scare over botched colonoscopies earlier this year didn’t prompt stronger safeguards at the agency’s medical centers." VA officials "apologized for the continued weaknesses and told a House subcommittee they would do better," while VA Secretary Eric Shinseki "said he would be disciplining staffers. The strong reaction came as the agency’s inspector general reported that fewer than half of VA facilities selected for surprise inspections last month had proper training and guidelines in place. That was months after the VA launched a nationwide safety campaign over the discovery of errors" at three facilities, including one in Miami, Florida, "that could have exposed veterans to…infections."
      USA Today (6/17, Theobald, 2.29M) reports, "House lawmakers blasted" VA "officials on Tuesday after hearing testimony that the agency still wasn’t following procedures for handling endoscopes, months after discovering that the improperly cleaned instruments may have exposed veterans to hepatitis and HIV. ‘I’m outraged that any of our nation’s heroes were potentially infected or that they even have to worry about the possibility,’ said" US Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), "who is chairman" of the House’s Veterans Affairs subcommittee on oversight and investigations.
      The Washington Post‘s (6/16, O’Keefe) "Federal Eye" blog noted that during Tuesday’s hearing, Mitchell also said, "There is no question that shoddy standards — systemic across the VA — put veterans at risk and dealt a blow to their trust in the VA." The Post adds, however, that in the "past week," the VA "has taken several steps to ensure that employees and supervisors are trained and qualified to handle endoscopy equipment, according to officials. By the end of July, the department will make unannounced inspections of facilities using the equipment, ensuring that each facility is fully qualified." The VA "will also undertake a two-year review of endoscopy procedures."                  Employees At VA Hospital In Florida Likely To Be Disciplined.   McClatchy (6/17, Clark) reports, "Several employees" at the VA hospital in Miami "are likely to be disciplined for failing to detect problems with improperly sterilized medical equipment in a case that’s enraged members of Congress. The disclosure of the potential punishments came" as Federal "lawmakers chided" the VA "for not moving faster to address mistakes that may have exposed thousands of veterans to HIV and hepatitis." McClatchy notes that after Tuesday’s House subcommittee hearing, Shinseki "issued a statement…that said it was ‘unacceptable that any of our veterans may have been exposed to harm as a result of an endoscopic procedure.’"       

2.      Official Doubts Many Priority 8, Black Hills Area Vets Will Try To Enroll.   In continuing coverage, the Rapid City (SD) Journal (6/17) reports, "The Veterans Affairs Department loosened the eligibility requirements for its health care system Monday, but the VA probably won’t see a big influx of Black Hills area veterans," according to "VA Black Hills Health Care System Director Peter Henry, who said only a handful of area veterans have applied since Jan. 1, when they could first apply under the loosened eligibility rules." The "veterans eligible are from" a higher income "category known as ‘Priority 8.’"

3.      VA Study: Small Interventions "Significantly" Improve Hypertension Control.   MedPage Today (6/17, Walsh) reports, "Small, focused, and inexpensive interventions involving patients, physicians, and nurses significantly improved hypertension control in a large" Veterans Affairs study. During a "40-week quality improvement initiative, there was an absolute improvement in blood pressure control of 4.2%, according to Neesha N. Choma, M.D., of the VA-Tennessee Valley Healthcare System in Nashville, and colleagues." MedPage Today, which notes that results of the study were "reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes," says the interventions detailed by researchers "included education of nurses, patients, and providers about hypertension guidelines, as well as education of providers about performance standards."

4.      House Subcommittee Approves $132.3 Billion In VA Funding.   CQ (6/17, Johnson) reports the House Military Construction-VA Appropriations Subcommittee "approved a draft bill Tuesday totaling $132.3 billion to fund the Veterans Affairs Department, military construction projects and other programs in fiscal 2010." Approximately "$78 billion of that total would be discretionary spending, which is nearly 7 percent more than enacted in fiscal 2009 and $239 million more than the White House requested. About $54.4 billion would be mandatory spending." CQ adds, "The full committee is expected to formally approve the increase before sending the bill to the House floor."
      Denver Area Hospital Recommendation Part Of Bill Approved Tuesday.   The Denver Business Journal (6/17, Mook) reports, "Colorado’s congressional delegation Tuesday passed another hurdle in its efforts to make a free-standing" VA hospital "in the Denver area a reality. The House Appropriations Military Construction/VA Subcommittee voted Tuesday to recommend spending $119 million on the site." The "measure, part of the Military Construction and VA Appropriations bill, now goes to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration." The Aurora (CO) Sentinel (6/17, Goldstein) also covers this story.
      No VA Items Included In Earmark List.   CQ (6/17, Nylen) notes, "The House Military Construction-VA Appropriations panel on Tuesday released a list of the member earmarks in its draft fiscal 2010 spending bill," but the list did not include any "spending items within" the VA. CQ adds, "New rules governing member-directed spending require House and Senate subcommittees to publicly release details of earmarks on the same day they report out spending bills."

5.      House Passes Bill That Would Increase Housing Aid To Low-Income Vets.   CQ (6/17) reports that by a vote of 417-2, the "House passed a bill Tuesday to establish programs to expand the supply of housing and related support services for very low-income veterans." The legislation, HR 403, "would direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist private nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives in expanding the supply of housing with planning grants, capital advances and project rental assistance." The bill would also "require HUD to coordinate with the Veterans Affairs Department to provide a wide range of services – such as transportation, medical treatment and financial planning – to those who occupy the housing. The bill would authorize $200 million to carry out this assistance."

6.      After Receiving Help From VA, Vet Goes To Work For Vocational Rehab Program.   The Fort Worth (TX) Business Press (6/16, Bassett) said that in 2007, Charles Pleasant, who served in the US Navy "but who had been homeless and addicted to narcotics for years, turned" to the Department of Veterans Affairs "for help." And today, Pleasant is "clean and sober" and "has his own apartment," along with a job at Veterans Industries in Fort Worth. The Business Press noted that Veterans Industries, "which falls under the VA North Texas Health Care System, is a compensated work therapy program that provides vocational rehabilitation" to vets.

7.      Some Vets Upset About Location Of VA Mental Health Clinic.   KRNV-TV Reno, NV (6/16, 11:09 p.m. PT) broadcast that the Department of Veterans Affairs "recently moved one of its facilities to a new location, but some veterans say they’re having a hard time getting there. The new outpatient mental health clinic," which "is located on Plumas Street near McCarran," opened "last week. It will serve as a temporary location while a new building is constructed on Kirman Street. But some veterans say they’re upset because there isn’t a bus stop close to the new location."

8.      Major Motion Picture Films At Portland VAMC, OHSU.   The Portland (OR) Tribune (6/11, DeCosta) noted that two high school students recently worked "as interns on the major motion picture currently called ‘Untitled Crowley Project.’" The "students assisted film crews" at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center and at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), which is "home to the largest Pompe research and treatment center on the West Coast," according to "Gerri Lutes, director of protocol and events at OHSU." The Tribune added, "John Crowley and his family’s efforts to find a cure for Pompe disease inspired the film."
      Cancer Survivor Offers Encouraging Words To Portland VAMC Patients.   The KATU-TV Portland, OR (6/11, Lam) website also mentions the Portland VAMC in a story about one of its reporters, Shellie Bailey-Shah, who was diagnosed last summer "with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy," along with chemotherapy. Bailey-Shah, who "has been open about her experience in the hopes that it will teach others about the importance of self examinations and early detection," recently visited the Portland VAMC, where she told "other cancer survivors to live boldly and to not let their cancer be a defining moment in their lives."

9.      Poster Of Famous Photo Donated To DeBakey VAMC.   On its website, KHOU-TV Houston, TX (6/16) reported, "One of the most famous photographs in United States history" can now be found, in poster form, at the Veterans Affairs medical center in Houston. The photo is "a gift from Glenn McDuffie," the "sailor, seen the world over, kissing a nurse in Times Square on the day Japan surrendered to the United States in 1945." McDuffie "donated a large signed poster" to the hospital "Tuesday morning. He also signed smaller versions for people gathered at the event." KTRK-TV Houston, TX (6/16) also covered this story on its website, as did KPRC-TV Houston, TX (6/16), which noted that the VA hospital is called the Michael DeBakey VAMC.

10.    Medal Winners Praise Golden Age Games.   In continuing coverage, the Little Falls (NY) Evening Times (6/17, Dewan) reports 63-year-old Joanne Reynolds, a resident of Fairfield, New York, "recently competed in the world’s largest senior competition for military veterans," winning "three gold medals at the 2009 National Veterans Golden Age Games in Birmingham, Ala., on June 1-5." Reynolds, "who was competing in her third games," said, "For me, this is an experience of a lifetime. What a wonderful event for veterans. Once you have participated in the Golden Age Games, it is so hard to wait for the next year to arrive." The Times notes that all participants in the games are US military "veterans from across the country age 55 and older, receiving medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs."
      The Martinsburg (WV) Journal (6/17, Nations) profiles " 62-year-old Falling Waters resident and Vietnam War veteran" Robert Hugee, who won a silver medal "in table tennis at this year’s" games. According to the Journal, Hugee "finds a refuge in the game" of table tennis, "and a sense of camaraderie in the Golden Age Games that helps him maintain a fulfilling, active life despite the long-term lingering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder." The Journal adds, "A group of 14 athletes from the Martinsburg VA made the long drive down to Birmingham for this year’s games.