Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

From the VA:

Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

1. Shinseki Praises Biloxi VA Construction Project. On Thursday, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki continued his three-day tour of VA facilities in Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, visiting the latter state, after having already made stops in the first two. Coverage of the Mississippi visit was very positive. For example, the WLOX-TV Biloxi, MS (6/24) website said Shinseki, a “member of President Obama’s Cabinet,” came to the “Mississippi Coast Thursday afternoon, and this time it had nothing to do with oil.” The Secretary, “checking on a very large construction project at the Biloxi VA,” one mainly funded by “federal stimulus dollars,” used the word “impressive” to describe the project, which includes a “rehab center for the blind,” a “98-thousand square foot mental health building and a 105-thousand square foot extended care community living center.”
The Biloxi (MS) Sun-Herald (6/25, Coleman) reports that during his Biloxi VA tour, Shinseki “said he wants veterans to know there is a safe place for them to heal after war,” in Biloxi and at other VA “facilities around the country.” Shinseki, who “met many veterans and construction workers during” his Biloxi VA visit, “reminded the workers there would be a job waiting for them after the construction project is completed in three years. ‘There are about 1,300 employed at the VA now working on this site and we will expand that number by 150 when these buildings are complete,’ Shinseki told the veterans working at the site,” before making “his way to Keesler Air Force Base medical center, where he discussed joint initiatives between the VA and the Department of Defense with officials.”
Shinseki, Other Government Officials To Attend New Orleans Hospital Groundbreaking. The New Orleans Times-Picayune (6/25, 169K) notes that on Friday, Shinseki “will lead a parade of government officials,” including US Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, “in a groundbreaking ceremony for the $800 million, 200-bed veterans hospital slated to open in Mid-City in 2013.” VA officials, “who are encouraging local veterans to attend the event, said free shuttles will run from the Superdome to the groundbreaking site beginning at 8 a.m.” Robert Goza with the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System spoke about the groundbreaking while being interviewed by WWL-TV New Orleans, LA (6/24, 6:24 a.m. CT).

2. New York Governor Signs Legislation Related To Vietnam Vets, Agent Orange Exposure. According to the Newburgh, New York-based Hudson Valley Press (6/23), New York Governor David Paterson “recently signed 18 bills into law,” including one that “extends the period of time in which Vietnam veterans may seek” legal “compensation for injuries caused by…Agent Orange” exposure. The Press notes that Paterson said, “I am proud to sign this legislation which will allow many of our veterans who were exposed to and injured by Agent Orange, and would have been unable to sue for damages, to seek justice.”

3. Groundbreaking To Be Held For Veterans Cemetery In Texas. The Corpus Christi (TX) Caller Times (6/24, Baird, 57K) reported, “The community is invited to join area veterans at 11 a.m. Wednesday for a groundbreaking at the future site of a planned Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery” in Corpus Christi. After noting that the Texas Veterans Land Board “will own and operate” the cemetery “under Veterans Affairs guidelines,” the Times adds, “The about 18-month construction will be funded” by the Federal VA.

4. Schwarzenegger Praises Vets During Flag Day Dedication Ceremony. The Pacific Palisades, California-based Palisadian-Post (6/25, Pascoe) reports, “On Flag Day, a new Veterans Home was dedicated” on the Veterans Affairs “property in Brentwood with a dais full of government speakers,” including California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, and Los Angeles Councilman Bill Rosendahl. The Governor, whose “speech highlighted his appreciation” of veterans and veterans home projects in the state, “said that getting the homes built was a number-one priority for his administration.”

5. South Dakota May Move State Vets Home. According to the Rapid City (SD) Journal (6/24, Rusch, Meyer), the South Dakota Department of Military and Veterans Affairs “could move the state Veterans Home out of Hot Springs. Rapid City and Sturgis are among the communities under consideration, along with Hot Springs, the facility’s home for more than 100 years, according to a June 9 letter from department secretary Maj. Gen. Steven Doohen.” KOTA-TV Rapid City, SD (6/24, 10:03 p.m. MT), KNBN-TV Rapid City, SD (6/24, 10:01 p.m. MT), and KEVN-TV Rapid City, SD (6:24, 9:05 p.m. MT) also aired reports on this story.

6. Increase In State Funding Will Allow VA Field Office To Reopen In Kansas. The Marysville (KS) Advocate (6/24, Hasler) reported, “The Marysville field office of the Kansas Commission on Veterans’ Affairs will re-open in the near future, the commission announced last week.” Ed Wiegers, the commission’s chairman, “met with county commissioners Monday to discuss plans for the office. An increase in state funding for the next fiscal year will allow the local office to re-open with one full-time employee, Wiegers said.”

7. House Subcommittee Evaluates VA On Emergency Preparedness. Homeland Security Today (6/25, Leggiere) reports, “Against the backdrop of a potentially devastating hurricane season, the still uncontrolled BP oil spill and the heightened possibility of a domestic terrorist attack, the House subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations evaluated the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ role in emergency preparedness in a hearing Wednesday.” José Riojas, the “Assistant Secretary of Operations, Security and Preparedness” for the agency, “said that several planned training exercises for

VA workers have already taken place since the start of this year. In his statement, Riojas assessed” the Veterans Health Administration’s emergency preparedness response since Hurricane Katrina “and affirmed the need for continuing ‘comprehensive assessment of all VA medical centers,’ and providing ‘an internal VHA patient evacuation system that does not rely on outside resources.'”

8. Officials With Army, VHA Stress Importance Of Technology In Treating PTSD, TBIs. In continuing coverage, the Federal News Radio (6/24, Stevens) website reported, “The stigma of seeking treatment is a leading obstacle to dealing with mental health concerns, military officials say.” After noting that the comments were made by several military leaders testifying “before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday about their progress in coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and reducing the suicide rate among service personnel,” the website added, “Army vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli says the military is working to provide better access to care through technology.” Veterans Health Administration (VHA) “acting Principal Deputy Under Secretary for health Dr. Robert Jesse agrees that technology would be ‘vital'” and “says VHA is looking to develop smartphone applications to increase access to mental health services.”

9. Veterans Upset By VA Plans To Redevelop St. Albans Land. The New York Post (6/24, Pereira, 505K) reported, “After years of postponed planning, the federal government has moved forward with its plans to redevelop the land” of the St. Albans Veterans Affairs Hospital, “but veterans in the area are furious they were left out of the discussions and over the choice for the developer.” The US VA recently “said…it would enter into negotiations with St. Albans Village LLC, one of three developers that submitted a request for proposals for the 2006 plan to redevelop the 55-acre site.” After noting that Marvin Jeffcoat, commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Queens County Council, “said the veterans were considering filing an injunction against…VA for going ahead with the plan,” the Post said the Rev. Edwin Reed, who “was identified by…VA as a top administrator of St. Albans Village LLC,” has been “accused of neglect by tenants in several Jamaica apartment buildings” that were managed by a company Reed once ran.

10. VA Seeking Bidders For Hospital In Maryland. The Baltimore (MD) Business Journal (6/25, Servnoitz) reports, “The historic site in Baltimore County where the British came ashore during the War of 1812 could become home to hundreds of war veterans,” because the Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System is “looking for developers to build a retirement community at Fort Howard, its 95-acre former medical center on the North Point peninsula in eastern Baltimore County.” The Journal adds, “A half-dozen developers have already expressed interest in bidding on the property, which they would lease for up to 75 years from the federal government at a negotiated rate, said Troy Hagger, with the federal VA’s Office of Asset Management. The agency will hold a forum for interested bidders June 29, and developers have until August 16 to submit their proposals.”