Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country

Find out What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. Generally Favorable Reaction Meets VA New Look At “Gulf War Illness” Claims.
2. Shinseki, Veterans Affairs Committee Discuss Agency Budget.
3. Veterans Affairs Review Outlines Changes In Addressing Gulf War Issues.
4. Pentagon Criticized For How It Treats Vets But VA Praised.
5. Resource Directory Compiles Sources Of Aid.
6. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Schedules Hearing On Mental Health, Suicide Prevention.
7. Writing, Therapy Help Iraq Veteran Cope With PTSD.
8. “Alarming” Increase In US Army Suicides Noted.
9. VA’s IT Patient Safety Program Noted.
10. US Military Commanders Say It Is Time To Review Ban On Women In Combat.

Have You Heard
March is Social Work Month, a big month for social workers and the VA! There are over 8,000 master’s prepared social workers serving as licensed independent practitioners in the VA healthcare system. They are an integral and vital part of the Department of Veterans Affairs health care team and serve Veterans in all inpatient and outpatient settings. They support and advance the mission of the Veterans Health Administration by providing high quality psychosocial services to Veterans and their families. These services include assessment, crisis intervention, high-risk screening, discharge planning, case management, advocacy, education, supportive counseling, psychotherapy, resource referrals and resource acquisition. Social work services are a key component in the continuum of clinical services provided to Veterans in VHA facilities. Social workers are assigned to VA health care facilities, Community Based Outpatient Clinics, and Readjustment Counseling Centers across the country. Social workers bring training and expertise in mental health specialty areas such as PTSD and substance use and provide an advanced level of clinical practice. They provide specialized case management services to Veterans in Mental Health Intensive Case Management, OEF/OIF, Community Residential Care and other VHA programs. Social workers develop new programs to meet the needs of Veterans and their family members such as the Patient Centered Medical Home, and coordinate medical center programs such as the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans, Women Veterans, and Community Nursing Home programs. To learn more about VHA social workers, visit www.va.gov/socialwork

1.      Generally Favorable Reaction Meets VA New Look At “Gulf War Illness” Disability Claims. Generally favorable reaction greeted the decision of VA Secretary Shinseki, reported in a widely picked-up AP (2/27, Hefling) article yesterday, to “take a second look at the disability claims of what could be thousands of Gulf War veterans suffering from illnesses they blame on their war service, the first step toward potentially compensating them nearly two decades after the war ended. In addition to the favorable response, reported in the original article, of the American Legion’s legislative director, most other reported reactions were positive.

KXXV-TV Waco, TX (2/26, Talbert) reports that Robert Carter, an area Vietnam-era and Gulf War veteran “spoke with Secretary Shinseki last week, pleading with him to take a look at the Gulf War again. ‘He said, I’ll do just that. I guess he certainly did,’ said Carter.”
WCMH-TV Columbus, OH (2/26, Lee) reports on a local Gulf War Air Force veteran, who experienced medical problems, including tumors, upon returning from the war zone, and was ultimately diagnosed as having Gulf War syndrome, following which “things at the VA changed. ‘They quit talking about it. It’s seems like something came down and said this isn’t established, don’t use this term,’ he said.” The veteran figures that, now the agency has several decades of added research and the physicals of thousands of veterans of that theater. “If this announcement is a result of hey we’ve got the data now, we think we can figure what this is. How to treat it, that’s good.” He said.

At least one state veterans agency was quick to pledge cooperation with the new VA effort. The Springfield (IL) State Journal Register (2/26, Hopf) reports, “Illinois veterans officials say they will do whatever they can to help Gulf War veterans who have been denied aid for illnesses related to their war service.”
A Dallas Morning News (2/26, Mitchell) editorial opined, “It’s never easy to read the intent of the Department of Veterans Affairs, especially when they’re talking about ‘Gulf War illness.’ However, this mention from VA secretary Eric Shinseki caught my eye. He’s promising a ‘fresh. bold look’ to help vets who complain of Gulf war illness. This supposedly includes training clinic staffers who work with Gulf War vets to make sure that they simply don’t tell vets that their symptoms are imaginary.” He questions, however, how the VA’s new policy “with the VA’s decision to cut research ties with the UT Southwestern Medical Center,” which he done much early and controversial work on the “Gulf War syndrome.” Taking a noncommittal stand, he concludes, “A lot of what Shinseki is saying depends on whether vets trust the VA as their ally and continue to see it as an agency primed to deny expensive disability claims. We’ll see.”

The most negative reaction comes from the Salt Lake Tribune (2/26, LaPlante), which says that “Gulf War veterans suffering from illnesses they blame on their service say the Department of Veterans Affairs has a lot to prove.” After noting Shinseki’s remarks to the AP that the agency will take a “fresh, bold look” at previously disallowed claims, the Tribune adds, “But after dealing with years of government denial, and nearly two decades in which many former military members have been unable to win compensation for a slew of symptoms often called ‘Gulf War Illness,’ advocates say they’re not ready to praise the VA for its plan.” It also cites wait-and-see reactions from the commander of the Utah chapter of the Disabled Veterans of America and the head of the National Gulf War Resource Center.

2.      Shinseki, Veterans Affairs Committee Discuss Agency Budget. The website of KITV-TV Honolulu (2/26) reports that VA Secretary Shinseki and Senate Veterans Affairs chairman HI Sen. Daniel Akaka (D) “discussed reforming the Department of Veterans Affairs disability claims system at a hearing Friday on Capitol Hill. Akaka said he is encouraged by the Obama administration’s ‘commitment to add thousands of staff to process veterans’ disability claims, but we should be candid: it appears that the situation will get worse before it gets better.'” The account notes that the $125 billion requested by Obama’s budget is “an increase of nearly $11 billion from the previous year,” including $4 billion more for the VA’s medical care account.
The Air Force Times (2/26, Maze) adds that “Key senators said Friday they are pleased that the Veterans Affairs Department is hiring more than 4,000 more claims processors, but they are worried this won’t result in most veterans getting their disability benefits any faster. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki acknowledged that immediate progress might be elusive. It will take up to two years to fully train the new workers, even as the number of claims being filed continues to climb, he said in testimony before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.”

3.      Veterans Affairs Review Outlines Changes In Addressing Gulf War Issues. In a press release (2/27), Secretary of Veterans Affairs Shinseki “announced that the department’s Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force has nearly completed a comprehensive report that will redefine how VA addresses the pain and suffering of ill Veterans who deployed during the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991.” Charged with identifying gaps in services and opportunities to better serve Gulf War veterans, the VA’s Gulf War Task Force, chaired by VA chief of staff John Gingrich, recommended review, and if necessary, revision of regulations affecting Gulf War veterans. In addition, the Task Force also called for: improved data sharing with the Department of Defense to identify potential exposures and monitor and inform veterans; expanded training for VBA examiners on how to handle disability claims with multiple known toxin exposure; improving VA healthcare through interdisciplinary health education and training; moving to proactive surveillance of potentially hazardous exposures; increasing long-term, veteran-focused studies of healthcare quality; new research on treatments; and improved outreach and guidance to veterans on associated benefits and services. The Department’s release also noted that of the nearly 700,000 Gulf War veterans, “there have been 300,000 Gulf War Veterans with claims decisions, over 85 percent were granted service connection for at least one condition, and over 14 percent were not granted service connection for any condition.”

4.      Pentagon Criticized For How It Treats Vets But VA Praised. In continuing coverage, the Seattle Times (3/1, 225K) complains in an editorial that too often, news coming out of Washington, DC, reveals poor treatment of veterans, as was demonstrated when the Pentagon “abruptly pulled the plug on a popular program that gave military spouses financial aid for college tuition and professional licenses and certification.” The Times adds, however, that Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki “struck a different note last week, when he announced he would reopen review of disability claims filed by Gulf War veterans.” The Times, which says the VA is also “moving quicker on preliminary data showing dramatic increases in veterans suicides,” is pleased that these “vital topics are getting a closer, respectful review.”

5.      Resource Directory Compiles Sources Of Aid. Covering a February 25 announcement, the NavyTimes.com (2/26, Kennedy) reports, “To help wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and their families navigate the multitude of Web sites offering help, several federal agencies have launched the free National Resource Directory, which organizes more than 10,000 Web sites into user-friendly bites.” In a press statement, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said that his agency “is committed to tapping into the full powers of the Internet to provide accurate, timely, easy-to-find and easy-to-understand information that improves the lives of veterans, service members, their families and all who care for them.” Besides the VA, the Departments of Defense and Labor coordinated to create the site.

6.      Senate Veterans’ Affairs Schedules Hearing On Mental Health, Suicide Prevention. The AP weekly news calendar (2/26) noted that Senate Veterans’ Affairs will hold a hearing on Wednesday, March 3 on mental health care and suicide prevention for veterans.”

7.      Writing, Therapy Help Iraq Veteran Cope With PTSD. The Spokane (WA) Spokesman-Review (2/28, Boggs) reports on how VA therapy and a college writing course helped a Iraq war combat engineer adjust to post-deployment life in Idaho. Two years after leaving the service, he “began therapy at Spokane’s VA Medical Center.” The veteran, who “has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has a disability claim pending with the Department of Veterans Affairs,” says that “”Writing what happened down makes it so you don’t have to think about it every day.”

8.      “Alarming” Increase In US Army Suicides Noted. McClatchy (3/1, Abdullah) notes, “Last month, the Defense Department reported that there were 160 reported active-duty Army suicides in 2009, up from 140 in 2008.” And, while the “military’s suicide rate is comparable to civilian rates, the increase is alarming because the armed services traditionally had lower suicide rates than the general population.” McClatchy focuses much of it coverage 33-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Wimmer, who committed suicide in 2009, leaving behind a family which is “still caught in the dark currents that took his life.”

9.      VA’s IT Patient Safety Program Noted. Government Health IT (3/1, Mosquera) says that while electronic health records (EHRs) are “considered key to improving the quality of healthcare,” they “can also be a risk to patient safety, and government and industry officials are calling for better use practices and possible closer oversight of EHRs by regulatory agencies.” A “Feb. 25 hearing of the Health IT Policy Committee’s adoption and certification work group, a Health and Human Services Department advisory panel,” was “called specifically to examine HIT safety concerns and how to handle them.” Government Health IT adds, “The Veterans Affairs Department has had an IT Patient Safety program for several years, said Jean Scott, director of the Veterans Health Administration’s Information Technology Patient Safety Office.”
Hospitals, Medical Offices Moving Toward Electronic Records. In a front page story, the Fresno (CA) Bee (2/16, A1, Anderson) reported on a “sweeping move toward electronic medical records at hospitals and medical offices across the country,” including in California’s central San Joaquin Valley. Sean McFarland, a veterans hospital nurse “who has a master’s degree in nursing informatics, an emerging field of health information technology,” commented on the situation, stating, “At some point, everyone will have some form of electronic medical record.” The Bee added, however, “According to one recent survey, only 1.5% of 3,049 hospitals have a comprehensive electronic-records system.”
VA Official Touts Benefits Of Electronic Records. In a letter to the editor of the Fresno (CA) Bee (2/22), Veterans Affairs Central California Healthcare System Director Al Perry, praised the Bee’s story, then noted that a VA hospital “actually introduced computerized records” to California’s “Central Valley in 2001 and never looked back.” Perry added that as the Bee’s story “points out, the patient care gains are substantial.”

10. US Military Commanders Say It Is Time To Review Ban On Women In Combat. AFP (3/1, De Luce) reports, “US commanders are taking a second look at policies that bar women from ground combat, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have thrust female soldiers into the thick of the fight. The Army chief of staff, General George Casey, told lawmakers last week that it was time to review the rules in light of how women have served in the two wars.” However, even “as the military signaled a willingness to break with tradition when it comes to women’s roles, Casey and other top commanders have voiced apprehension and even outright opposition to allowing gays to serve openly.”