Top 10 Veterans Stories in Todays News

Veterans!  Here’s your Top 10 News stories of the day compiled from the latest sources

We encourage you to browse our list so that you can take what you want and keep what you need

1. Gates: Bin Laden death could speed Taliban peace talks, reintegration. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that Osama bin Ladens death could lead to a split between the Taliban and al-Qaida, sparking international peace talks with the Taliban this winter.

2. U.S. soldier missing in action in Korean War identified. The remains of a servicemember missing in action in the Korean War have been recovered, identified and are being returned to the family for burial and military honors, according to a Defense Department news release.

3. Survey: Few troops exposed to bomb blasts are screened for concussion. More than half of U.S. combat troops in Afghanistan have been exposed to bomb blasts in the last year, but only about 1 in 5 of them said they were examined for concussions, according to a draft of a recent military survey.

4. Study establishes depression, TBI link. About 30 percent of traumatic brain injury patients will develop clinical depression, a level three times higher than the general population, according to a new study.

5. Majority of recent war vets treated by VA have mental health problems.. More than half of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated in VA hospitals since 2002 have been diagnosed with mental health problems, according to statistics obtained by a veterans advocacy group. The data also show that the raw number of returning soldiers with psychological problems is rising.

6. Veterans budget cuts. If it passes, 22 veterans offices across the state would be closed affecting … Tommy Sims, the local manager of veterans affairs, warns that if the bill …

7. Students invited to participate in veteran essay contest.  Torrington Register Citizen  All Connecticut 6th, 7th and 8th graders may enter the statewide essay contest that salutes the contributions of US veterans. The Navy League of the United States – Hartford Council, and the State of Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs are …

8. Friday’s Daily Pulse.  Florida Trend  “I applied for so many jobs, I lost count,” said the 28-year-old husband and father of two, who finally landed a job earlier this year at the US Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Orlando. “It was getting pretty frustrating. …

9. Around Tech Valley. Albany Times Union  Stat Staff Professionals Inc., Clifton Park, won a $125000 contract from the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Acquisition Center in Hines, Ill., for professional and allied health care staffing services. Breton Industries Inc. in Amsterdam …

10. Prowers Medical Group Awarded US Department of Veterans Affairs Contract.  Bent County Democrat  A Board Certified Internal Medicine physician and additional family nurse practitioners will be joining the VA Lamar POC staff later this summer. and Shirley Moore will serve the new clinic as the VA POC Clerical Associate. To receive care Affairs. …

HAVE YOU HEARD?

Deputy Secretary Gould Testifies about VA–DoD Collaboration

Recently, VA Deputy Secretary W. Scott Gould testified to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on VA and DoD collaboration. The Deputy focused on joint initiatives to make the transition from Servicemember to Veteran seamless. Read the statement here.

IN OTHER NEWS

• Stone to mark Frank Buckles¿ grave marks end of an era.  The Herald-Mail  … explaining the stone is far more susceptible to acid rain than granite and replacements are frequently ordered for a network of national veterans cemeteries that are run under the auspices of the US Department of Veterans Affairs. …

• Cost of flags burdens veterans groups in Glens Falls area.  Glens Falls Post-Star  The National World War II Museum reports that more than 900 World War II veterans die every day. In 2010, more than 103000 of the 8 million veterans active during the Vietnam War died, according to the US Department of Veterans’ Affairs, a number that …

• More than 900 competitors. Canada Views  The National Veterans Golden Age Games is an official program of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), with participants expected from across the United States. It is the only national multi-event sports and recreational competition program …

• WSU Tri-Cities pledges veterans support.  Mid Columbia Tri City Herald   — Washington State University Tri-Cities on Wednesday became one of 20 college campuses in the state to pledge to be a Veteran Supportive Campus. And a new university committee for veterans affairs is …

• Veterans get help on loans.  Lake Country Sun  The  Department of Veterans Affairs has issued measures that lending institutions might employ to help veterans affected by the recent tornado outbreaks in April 2011. Veterans whose homes were directly affected by severe damage or …

• Baldwin County Hands Over Last Mineral Rights To Veterans Cemetery Land. Mobile (AL) Press-Register Following “more than a year of legal wrangling over mineral rights, county attorneys handed over the final deed to property north of Spanish Fort that should soon be the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery.” County Attorney David Conner said, “The deed has been filed and application made on Friday and the state is now waiting for approval from the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs.”

• Radogno Bill Seeks Voting Help For Vets. Southwest Chicago News-Herald State Sen. Christine Radogno “sponsored Senate Bill 98 to provide residents at federal veterans facilities with the same voting options and assistance as residents at state veterans facilities and nursing homes.”

• Families Eligible For College Scholarships. AP Folds of Honor Foundation received $500,000 from an anonymous donor that will “provide college scholarships for families of killed or wounded soldiers from Tennessee and Kentucky.” According to Charity founder Dan Rooney, “the gift will allow them to offer up to 100 scholarships to families in Tennessee and Kentucky.”

• Shinseki Appoints MassHousing Exec To Homeless Veterans Committee. Bay State (MA) Banner Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki appointed Tom Lyons, MassHousing’s Manager of Community Services, to the Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans, where he “will provide advice on issues related to the needs of homeless veterans and assess the effectiveness of VA policies and programs for homeless veterans.”

• Injured Troops Still Waiting For Claim Processing. AP Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn and Deputy Secretary at the Veterans Affairs Department, W. Scott Gould told the Senate Veterans’ Committee that the Integrated Disability Evaluation System, which is supposed “to help wounded troops get disability compensation more efficiently has instead kept them in the military longer than intended,” but remains “significantly better than the old system.”  McClatchy reports, “Top Officials with the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs sought to assure Congress on Wednesday that vast improvements have been made.” A recent GAO report “found that the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have failed to streamline services and share records, wasting hundreds of millions of dollars.” However, Gould “said the two departments ‘have made major strides’ in the last two years in sharing health and benefits data, which is leading to better care.”

• Veterans Seek Ways To Help Overcome Traumas. Maryland Gazette Newspapers The Veterans’ Forum, Patty La Place, mental health coordinator for the city, “mental health and social services were spotlighted in an effort to ‘recognize the brave’ and encourage Long Beach veterans to use them.” Jenifer Kula, who “with the help of the Veterans Administration and US VETS, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping veterans…found help and was able to receive the mental health and social services she needed.”

• Ford Driving Health, Safety With Mobile Apps. InformationWeek “The Veterans Administration recently introduced a new mobile app to help service personnel and vets suffering post-traumatic stress disorder easily find information about the condition, and tips for managing PTSD symptoms.” According to the agency, “since launching the PTSD Coach smartphone app in April, about 5,000 users have downloaded the app.”

• VA, DoD To Deliver iEHR User Interface By July. FierceGovernmentIT VA Deputy Secretary Scott Gould told the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs that, “within two months from now the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense will have completed an graphical user interface for its integrated electronic health record.” He added, “It provides that common interface that both DoD docs and VA docs have said would optimize their ability to treat patients in the system.”

• VA Plan For Upgrading Wi-Fi At Hospitals Hits Concrete. NextGov VA’s “ambitious plan” to put Wi-Fi networks at all its hospitals and clinics “literally ran into a wall.” VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker told Congress that the range of the hotspots is “limited by the concrete walls commonly found in the department’s medical facilities,” so more access points are needed than previously planned. He added that the contract for the plan is now “on hold, after completing installation at 45 facilities, and plans to issue a new one but did not provide a time line.”

• Fayetteville VA Dialysis Clinic Holds Ribbon-Cutting. Fayetteville (NC) Observer “Fayetteville will have the country’s first free-standing, Veterans Affairs-operated dialysis clinic in the country, VA officials said during a ribbon-cutting for the facility Wednesday,” and it “will be one of only four such clinics opening in the country this year.” Daniel Hoffmann, director of the VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network, said that clinic was built to serve “a growing need for dialysis among veterans in the state.” Dr. Manpreet Singh Bhutani, the nephrologist who oversees the clinic, said “that it has a state-of-the-art water filtration system that cleans patients’ water supplies daily” instead of the normal weekly.

• Fort Howard VA Clinic To Host Open House On June 4. Dundalk (MD) Eagle Fort Howard VA Outpatient Clinic will host the Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System’s Open House and Information Fair on Saturday, June 4. “During the open house, VA staff will be on hand to answer questions, accept enrollment applications and assist veterans in completing application paperwork.”

• VA Hospital In Colorado To Share Patient Data With Private Physicians. American Medical News “The Veterans Health Administration will begin testing a health information exchange between the Grand Junction (Colo.) VA Medical Center and Moab (Utah) Regional Hospital and surrounding physician practices,” allowing “allow private physicians to get the medical records of the veterans they treat and share their clinical notes and test results with VA hospitals.” The agency hopes this “will expedite the coordination of care for the seven in 10 veterans who receive some portion of care from private physicians and hospitals.” Terry Atienza, director of the Grand Junction VA Medical Center, said, “This will allow us to work more seamlessly, more securely, more efficiently and save money along the way.”

• Veterans: Sign Up For Medical Care While Waiting For The Super Clinic. Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser “Louisiana military veterans eager to receive better medical care know they have a year and a half to wait for the proposed VA Super Clinic in Lafayette.” When it opens, “time, money and energy will be spared for veterans and their families.” Veterans Action Coalition of Southwest Louisiana chairman Rodney Hamilton “stressed the need for veterans to register with the VA system for medical care to illustrate the need for the clinic to be fully serviced.”