Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 3-30-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. Winter Sports Clinic Underway.  
2. VA Offering Mental Health Services To Vets.  
3. Akaka Meets With Duckworth  
4. Veterans Courts Becoming More Commonplace.  
5. Mobile Vet Center Unveiled After Vietnam Service.  
6. Lack Of Mental Health Services Said To Exacerbate Homeless Problem In Texas.  
7. VA Hospital In Florida Suspends Colonoscopies.  
8. Batavia VA Facility To Receive Stimulus Funds.  
9. Valley Vets Embrace Bill That Would Create New VA Hospital In Texas.  
10. VA Provides Internship For Learning–Disabled Student.

1.      Winter Sports Clinic Underway.   The Grand Junction (CO) Sentinel (3/29, Buchanan) noted that Sunday marked the "start of the 23rd annual National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic at Snowmass, an event that’s much larger than even its cumbersome name may imply. Last year, the event attracted nearly 400 participating veterans from around the country, all of them different yet all sharing one thing: a life-changing injury suffered while serving our country in the military." Sandy Trombetta, "originator of the winter sports clinic and director of recreation therapy" at the Grand Junction Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, "said he expects around 100 wounded veterans from current conflicts to participate in the clinic."
      Stratton VAMC Vets Participating In Event.   The second story in the Albany (NY) Times-Union‘s (3/28, Brown) noted, "Five disabled veterans from the Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany" would be participating "from Sunday through Friday, April 3, in the 23rd National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic" at Snowpass Village in Colorado. The clinic "promotes rehabilitation by teaching downhill and cross-country skiing to veterans with significant physical or visual impairments. Veterans will be introduced to other adaptive activities such as rock climbing, scuba diving and sled hockey, and can attend educational workshops."

2.      VA Offering Mental Health Services To Vets.   The Altoona (PA) Mirror (3/30, MacKaben) reports US military personnel "returning from deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan…have a plethora of services available to them. Mental health services have become especially important as combat veterans suffer from depression and suicide rates continue to rise." So, Larry Wade, the Pennsylvania state commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, "is on a mission to spread the word across the state about the Department of Veterans Affairs National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a national network of 133 crisis centers, which was launched in 2007." The Mirror adds, "Locally, the Van Zandt VA Medical Center in Altoona provides a number of mental health services. David Petrak, program manager for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, is responsible for making sure" Iraq and Afghanistan veterans "are enrolled in the VA system and are aware of services available."

3.      Akaka Meets With Duckworth.   In continuing coverage, the AP (3/28) reports US Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) "has met in Washington with Tammy Duckworth," whom President Barack Obama nominated to serve as an assistant secretary at the US Department of Veterans Affairs. As chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Akaka will "chair Duckworth’s nomination hearing Wednesday." Akaka "says Duckworth would brings youth and innovation to the post."4.      Veterans Courts Becoming More Commonplace.   US News Weekly (3/27, Ruggeri) reports, "At least eight veterans courts have opened in the past year or will soon. … Some 20 other municipalities are considering launching them. And in Washington," US Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) "plans to reintroduce a bill from last year that would set up a grant program to help develop such courts nationwide." US News adds, "As thousands of combat veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan, their numbers and visibility have helped create a nationwide push for new mechanisms to aid veterans who are having trouble reintegrating into life back home. … The courts’ backers say that the system, which works much like therapeutic drug courts, is tailored to veterans’ specific needs and can better take into account their physical and emotional condition."

5.      Mobile Vet Center Unveiled After Vietnam Service.   The Springfield (MA) Republican (3/30, DeForge) report "more than 100 people…attended" a Vietnam Veterans Day commemorative ceremony in Springfield on Sunday. After the event, the Springfield Vets Center "unveiled its Mobile Vet Center, which is one of 50 in the country designed to do outreach and provide counseling to veterans, especially those who live in rural areas, said David F. Bressen, team leader for the Springfield Center." The mobile center "will travel through Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and southern New York and will go to events such as the Eastern States Exhibition, he said." The WWLP-TV Springfield, MA (3/29, Becker, Misiaszek) website published a similar story.

6.      Lack Of Mental Health Services Said To Exacerbate Homeless Problem In Texas.   The Dallas Morning News (3/29, Horner) noted, "Though chronic homelessness is a nationwide problem, Texas falls behind most states in providing care at psychiatric hospitals and mental health clinics. That lack of commitment results in overflowing facilities and poor follow-up care that can set up the most vulnerable patients for failure." The Morning News added, "Many people with serious mental disorders are not able to take proper care of themselves," and "the system isn’t equipped to provide that level of help. Symptoms of severe mental illnesses can include confusion and disorganized thinking that make it difficult to keep appointments, fill prescriptions or figure out how to get to the clinic, said Joel Feiner, medical director" of Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s Comprehensive Homeless Center. Feiner "advocates for more intensive follow-up care" for individuals dealing with such problems.

7.      VA Hospital In Florida Suspends Colonoscopies.   In continuing coverage, the AP (3/28) reported, "The Veterans Affairs hospital in Miami has suspended performing colonoscopies while authorities investigate why equipment used in the procedure hadn’t been properly sterilized." Last week, the "hospital urged more than 3,000 patients who had colonoscopies between May 2004 and March 12 of this year to get tested for HIV, hepatitis and other diseases. The VA has identified three sites that failed to properly sterilize equipment between treatments." The AP noted that 10 "people treated at affected VA facilities in Tennessee and Georgia have tested positive for infectious liver disease. A spokeswoman says the VA will make sure they get treatment even though it’s not known if the infections came from colonoscopies at its hospitals."8.      Batavia VA Facility To Receive Stimulus Funds.   In continuing coverage, the Batavia (NY) Daily News (3/28) reported, "A total of $3.3 million in federal funding has been slated for the Batavia Veterans Administration facility as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, said" US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) "in a news release." The funding is "focused on improving medical facilities, providing grants to assist states in constructing nursing homes, and remodeling veterans’ care facilities."

9.      Valley Vets Embrace Bill That Would Create New VA Hospital In Texas.   In continuing coverage, the San Antonio (TX) Express-News (3/28, Martin) reported, "Rio Grande Valley veterans on Thursday embraced a bill filed in the Senate that would create" a Veterans Affairs "hospital in lower South Texas and eliminate the need to travel to San Antonio for care. ‘If we can get this bill approved or passed, then they have to come up with the money,’ said Homer Gallegos," chairman of the Veterans Alliance of the Rio Grande Valley. The bill "calls on Congress to build a full service hospital in the Rio Grande Valley once it is passed and signed into law by President Barack Obama." The Express News added, "There is no money in the fiscal 2010 budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs to build a hospital in the Valley, a spokeswoman said. A White House aide did not respond to an inquiry seeking comment about" the bill, "or a 2008 campaign pledge by Obama to build a veterans hospital in the Valley."

10.    VA Provides Internship For Learning–Disabled Student.   The Iowa City Press-Citizen (3/30, Morelli) reports, "Sitting behind a computer desk, Peter Fultz designs a badge that war veterans participating in a new golf program will wear." Office work at the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Clinic "is a little different from the retail jobs the 21-year-old man with cognitive and learning disabilities has had in the past. The new role was a little unnerving at first," but the internship "has been a good experience and could be a showcase for his ultimate career path out of college," said Fulz, a University of Iowa (UI) student. Kirt Sickels, "public affairs director at the VA, is Fultz’s supervisor. The internship benefits both sides in this case, he said," because Fultz can be counted on.