Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 9-16-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. Duckworth Addresses State VA Directors.  
2. Filner Praises VA For Restarting National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study.  
3. Shinseki Discusses "Faster Facilitation" Of Benefits For Filipino World War II Vets.  
4. VA Thanks Schools For Being Patient With Regard To New GI Bill Payments.  
5. VA Refining Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment.  
6. Obama’s First Medal Of Honor Will Go To Soldier Killed In Afghanistan.  
7. Second VA Clinic Planned For Charlotte, North Carolina
8. Ceremony To Mark Opening Of Canteen For Veterans.
9. After Mediation Fails, Federal Appeals Court To Decide Claims Backlog Suit.  
10. Report: EHRs Should Contain Data On Ethnicity, Language Proficiency.

  1.      Duckworth Addresses State VA Directors.   The Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times (9/16, Boyle) reports Tammy Duckworth, "the assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs" with the Department of Veterans Affairs, "wants state VA directors meeting at the Crowne Plaza Resort to know that she’s fighting for veterans’ care." Duckworth, who "reports directly" to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, "addressed about 100 people Tuesday morning at the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs" conference, which ran from Sunday through Tuesday in Asheville. According to the Citizen-Times, local VA hospitals "should brace themselves for more female patients and be ready to take advantage of increased Federal funding. ‘Approximately 44 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who are women have enrolled in VA programs,’ Duckworth said in an interview with the Citizen-Times. ‘That’s an astonishingly high number, so it is one of our key initiatives to expand and improve services for female veterans.’" She "also wanted to assure veterans that whatever happens with health care reform under President Barack Obama, ‘veterans’ health care will not be affected.’ Another initiative of the Obama administration is to provide care for more homeless veterans, Duckworth said." 

2.      Filner Praises VA For Restarting National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study.   The Imperial Valley (CA) News (9/15) reports House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) "released the following statement upon the Department of Veterans Affairs recent decision to restart the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study: ‘I commend VA Secretary Shinseki for agreeing to restart the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study – a study that would contribute greatly to our knowledge of the Vietnam generation and their psychological and physical health." The News added that Filner also stated, "It is time for VA to return to the forefront of research and public policy – which is why I asked Secretary Shinseki to restart the study. Findings from the study will inform policy regarding health services, rehabilitation, and compensation, not only for this generation, but for those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as well."  

3.      Shinseki Discusses "Faster Facilitation" Of Benefits For Filipino World War II Vets.   In continuing coverage, the Asian Journal (9/16, Visaya) notes that on September 11th, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro "dropped by the Philippine Center in New York…to meet with the community and report on his meetings in Washington, DC with his counterpart," US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, "and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. They discussed, among" other things, "faster facilitation of the benefits of Filipino World War II veterans."  
 4.      VA Thanks Schools For Being Patient With Regard To New GI Bill Payments.   In continuing coverage, the Army Times (9/16, Maze, 106K) reports, "The Veterans Affairs Department is thanking colleges and universities for being patient about waiting for tuition payments for people using the Post-9/11 GI Bill, warning that it could take another six to eight weeks to completely catch up." In a "letter sent out Sept. 11," VA Undersecretary Patrick Dunne wrote, "I realize the learning curve has been steep for us all, and assure you we continue to work to make the process smoother and quicker." Dunne "assured school officials that full payments will be made, with the expectation that Oct. 1 payments for most veterans will include living expenses for August and September," but GI Bill "users and veterans groups have their doubts that living expenses will be paid by then."

 5.      VA Refining Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment.   The Columbia Missourian (9/16, Williams, 16K) reports "many returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans" suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI), which "has become one of the signature wounds" of veterans serving in both places. And, according to the Missourian, the Department of Veterans Affairs "has refined its treatment of veterans who have these newly recognized injuries." For example, at the Truman Veterans Hospital, staff neuropsychologist Zachary Osborn "helps evaluate veterans for cognitive and mental health issues. Though researchers are exploring ways to rebuild the brain, Osborn said the veterans hospital uses a holistic approach to treating its patients, working to improve the veterans’ quality of life through therapy, medication and assistant devices."
      Two VA Doctors To Receive Award For Research On Vision Problems Experienced By Iraq, Afghanistan Vets.   The San Jose (CA) Mercury News (9/16, Bernstein-Wax) reports two doctors at the Palo Alto VA hospital "have received a prestigious award for their research on vision problems related to combat blasts" in Iraq and Afghanistan vets. Research psychologist Dr. Gregory Goodrich "and Chief of Ophthalmology Dr. Glenn Cockerham will receive the 2009 Olin E. Teague Award at a special ceremony in Washington, DC, on Thursday, the VA Palo Alto Health Care System said in a statement." The Mercury News notes that the research conducted by Goodrich and Cockerham "led to the adoption of standard eye examination techniques at all Veterans Affairs’ trauma centers to detect such issues before serious vision loss occurs."
 

6.      Obama’s First Medal Of Honor Will Go To Soldier Killed In Afghanistan.   The AP (9/16) reports, "President Barack Obama is giving his first Medal of Honor to a soldier who sacrificed his life saving a comrade in Afghanistan." The President "plans to award the honor to Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti during a ceremony at the White House on Thursday." The Brockton (MA) Enterprise (9/16, Alspach, 30K), meanwhile, notes that the Monti "family has come to the Washington, D.C., area to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award, on behalf of their loved one, Army Sgt. First Class Jared C. Monti of Raynham, Mass."  

7.      Second VA Clinic Planned For Charlotte, North Carolina.   On its website, WCNC-TV Charlotte, NC (9/15, Berky) reported, "Director Kathleen Wolner proudly shows off the new Veterans Affairs clinic in Charlotte on University East Drive. ‘We have basically everything. State of the art. It’s beautiful,’" Wolner says. But, WCNC added, while the clinic is "just a year old," it "is already not capable of handling the growing number of vets in the Charlotte area. ‘The clinic…was really obsolete by the time it opened,’ said" US Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC), "who recently announced that yet another clinic would be opened in Charlotte by 2013. The proposed new clinic is included" in the new Federal budget, which "has yet to be approved. In tough economic times, budgets can get cut," but Myrick "believes the new clinic will survive any" such cuts. 

8.      Ceremony To Mark Opening Of Canteen For Veterans.   The Canandaigua (NY) Daily Messenger (9/16, Sherwood) reports, "The Blue Star Canteen, a recently-renovated 19th-century house for veterans and troops, opens its doors Sunday" afternoon "with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception open to the public. The event takes place…at the canteen, off East Street" at the Canandaigua Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Blue Star Mothers Inc., a "nonprofit organization supporting the troops, obtained a lease from the VA in exchange for…maintaining" the canteen, which "will offer veterans, troops and their families a place to gather, relax and socialize."   

9.      After Mediation Fails, Federal Appeals Court To Decide Claims Backlog Suit.   The Los Angeles Times (9/16, Williams, 797K) reports, "Court-ordered mediation has failed to settle a lawsuit over delayed and denied care for wounded veterans so the case now goes to a US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel, the court reported Tuesday. Two veterans groups brought suit in 2007, alleging systemic failures in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ processing of disability claims." The Times adds, "The 9th Circuit panel…has no deadline for issuing a decision."
      DAV Organizes "Million Claims March."   In continuing coverage, the AP (9/16) reports, "In what it dubs the ‘Million Claims March,’ the advocacy group" Disabled American Veterans "is using social networking sites to encourage veterans to participate online in chats starting Tuesday about the backlog in disability claims" at the VA "and other veterans issues. The virtual ‘march’ includes video messages posted by veterans, lawmakers and government officials." The AP adds, "The number of claims that needs to be processed by the VA is approaching 1 million, creating a financial burden for many injured veterans." 

10.    Report: EHRs Should Contain Data On Ethnicity, Language Proficiency.   Government Health IT (9/10, Foxhall) reported, "The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) should develop standards for detailing patient ethnicity and level of language proficiency in electronic health records, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended in a recent report" requested by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. HHS "and the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs should coordinate Federal efforts to collect this data, IOM recommended. Organizations that receive Federal health dollars also should report the information, the IOM said."