Veterans News from around the country== 02.05.10 News

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1.           Lawmakers, Advocates Pleased With VA Budget Proposal. 

2.           VA, DOD Said To Be Committed To Mental Health Of Troops. 

3.           Agent Orange-Related Funding Seen Making War Bill A "Bigger Target." 

4.           Hospital, County To Discuss Leasing Land To VA. 

5.           Vets Home In Pennsylvania Receives Low Ranking. 

6.           Iraq Vet Says VA Hospital, Army Counselors Helped Him Recover From Injury. 

7.           VA Spreads Word About Student-Produced Film. 

8.           Four Veterans Honored With US Postage Stamps. 

9.           DOD Opens Investigation Of Complaints About Mental Healthcare At Camp Lejeune. 

10.       VA To Open New Clinic In Montana. 

11.       New VA Clinic In North Carolina To Provide 40 New Jobs. 

12.       VA Finds Site For New Clinic In West Virginia. 

13.       Four Sites In Minnesota Under Consideration For VA Clinic. 

14.       Large Crowd Attends Four Chaplains Ceremony At Big Spring VAMC. 

15.       St. Cloud VAMC To Celebrate National Salute To Veterans. 

16.       Students To Deliver Valentines To VA Hospital. 

17.       Biofeedback Being Used To Help Vets Suffering From PTSD. 

18.       VA System Hopes To Get Homeless Vets Off Streets And Into Treatment. 

19.       Fourth Freedom Honor Flight Set For May 8. 

20.       WWII Veteran Trained As Torpedo Gunner. 

21.       Heroes Of Freedom Memorial Goes Dark. 

22.       On the Hill for February 5, 2010:

23.       Today in History: 

 

 

1.      Lawmakers, Advocates Pleased With VA Budget Proposal. In continuing coverage, the Federal Times (2/5, Maze, 40K) reports, "Initial reviews are good for the Obama administration's proposed $125 billion veterans budget for 2011. The Democratic chairman and top Republican" on the House Veterans Affairs Committee "both used the word 'robust' to describe a budget proposal" that, according to the Times, also has pleased veterans advocates. The Times adds, "VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, appearing Thursday before the House committee, said the budget is designed to keep the department on a path that is more people-focused, results-oriented and forward-looking -- a process that continues to be difficult because the number of veterans and survivors seeking help from VA continues to grow."
     Budget Sets Aside Money For Electronic Record Systems. Federal Computer Week (2/5, Lipowicz, 90K) reports, "The Veterans Affairs Department is setting aside $157 million next year for the Defense-VA Interagency Program Office to develop a Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) for all servicemembers, according to VA's fiscal 2011 budget request. The goal is to create a next-generation VLER system that will allow secure and seamless sharing of patients' medical data between the DOD and VA." The VA "also is budgeting $347 million in fiscal 2011 for its HealtheVet electronic health record system, which is the next-generation of the longstanding VistA (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) medical record system."
     Budget Also Calls For Five New Veterans Cemeteries. The Omaha (NE) World-Herald (2/4, Cordes) reported, "The federal budget that President Barack Obama unveiled Monday includes authorization and planning funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a new national veterans cemetery in the Omaha area," along with four others in various parts of the country. The World-Herald noted that the budget "also includes...money for a new VA hospital in Omaha, replacing the current one near 42nd Street and Woolworth Avenue." The North Platte (NE) Telegraph (2/4, 12K) published the same story.
     According to the WHEC-TV Rochester, NY (2/4, Stagnitti) website, one of the national cemeteries called for in Obama's budget is "designated for the Rochester-Buffalo area." WHC noted that US Rep. Louise Slaughter and US Rep. Eric Massa, both Democrats from New York, said veterans in the area deserve such a facility.
     County In Colorado A Possible Site For National Cemetery. The Wet Mountain Tribune (2/4, Drenner), a paper based in Westcliffe, Colorado, said, "Custer County seems to be one small step closer to its dream of a national veterans cemetery being established in the Wet Mountain Valley. Earlier this week," Obama "placed in the 2011 preliminary budget a line item that included the creation of a new national veterans cemetery in Southern Colorado. For three years, Custer County has been one of nine proposed sites for that cemetery."

 

 

 

2.      VA, DOD Said To Be Committed To Mental Health Of Troops. In an opinion piece on the Huffington Post (2/4), psychotherapist Belleruth Naparstek writes, "There's been a push to educate our troops and the general public about posttraumatic stress as well as TBI's (traumatic brain injury), thanks to a renewed commitment to the mental health of our troops, found in both" the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, with the current secretaries of both agencies "working hard at destigmatizing mental health problems, in ways never seen before." Naparstek goes on to say that she expects VA "will get more flexible in how it offers services. And there will hopefully be much more widespread use of self-administered guided imagery downloads."

 

3.      Agent Orange-Related Funding Seen Making War Bill A "Bigger Target." Politico (2/5, Rogers, 25K) reports, "Past and present are converging in an Afghanistan war funding bill as the White House seeks to add billions to pay medical claims owed to veterans exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War." And, "with the wartime bill now approaching $55 billion, the higher costs make it a bigger target in Washington's latest firefight over deficits and debt. The new Agent Orange-related funding is striking in itself: $13.4 billion arising from a decision last October by Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to expand the number of illnesses presumed to be service connected for Vietnam veterans."
     Veteran Exposed To Agent Orange Uncertain If He Will Qualify For VA Benefits. The Contra Costa Times (2/5, Simerman, 186K), a newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, says the cost of Shinseki's decision, which added Parkinson's and two other diseases "to the list of now 15 'presumed service-related' illnesses for Vietnam" veterans, "remains uncertain pending a final rule, but budget increases for 2010 and 2011 include nearly $30 billion to account for the ruling, including 4,000 new benefits positions to deal with an expected surge in claims." According to the Times, one veteran who has Parkinson's but does not know if he will qualify for Agent Orange-related benefits is 69-year-old Bob Decker. Decker "never fought in Vietnam" but he "volunteered for a small Army group that tested Agent Orange." The San Jose (CA) Mercury News (2/5) runs the same story.

 

4.      Hospital, County To Discuss Leasing Land To VA. The Decorah (IA) Journal (2/5, Greiner, 7K) reports Winneshiek Medical Center (WMC) is hoping Winneshiek County will consider leasing some land to the Department of Veterans Affairs. At Wednesday's "meeting of the WMC Board of Trustees, Chief Administrative Officer Dan Werner explained he and the Medical Center's legal team will meet with the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors Monday to discuss a lease to the VA for a community-based outpatient clinic on the Medical Center campus."

 

 

 

5.      Vets Home In Pennsylvania Receives Low Ranking. On its website, WJAC-TV Johnstown, PA (4/4) reported, "The Hollidaysburg Veterans Home is receiving statewide attention, and it's not good news. A report from the state Department of Health and Human Services found the facility rated below average when meeting inspection requirements." The home, therefore, "received the lowest possible ranking, one start out of five."

 

6.      Iraq Vet Says VA Hospital, Army Counselors Helped Him Recover From Injury. The Arkansas City (KS) Traveler (2/5, 5K) notes that during an interview it conducted Wednesday, veteran Zachary Gardner, who lost his right foot in Iraq, "said he gained 'full recovery,' thanks to Army counselors and help" from the Veterans Affairs hospital in Wichita.

 

7.      VA Spreads Word About Student-Produced Film. According to the lead item in "T-TOWN" for the Tuscaloosa (AL) News (2/4), a film "produced by students" at the University of Alabama (UA) "about the challenges faced by returning military veterans is being recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs. According to a UA news release, students in the university's Documenting Justice filmmaking class produced the documentary film, 'Searching for Normal,'" which "features narrative comments from Dick Powers, an Iraq veteran and one of the UA students who produced the film." The News said VA "posted a link to the film on its Facebook page in late January, after Brandon Friedman, director of new media for the VA, met Powers at a conference" in Washington, DC.

 

8.      Four Veterans Honored With US Postage Stamps. According to the AP (2/4), two veterans who served during the Second World War, one who served in the first, and one who earned two Medals of Honor, are "being honored with new" US postage stamps. The Denver Post (2/5, Bunch, 282K) says one of the vets being honored with is Arleigh Albert Burke, a "famous World War II Navy commander" from Boulder, Colorado.

 

9.      DOD Opens Investigation Of Complaints About Mental Healthcare At Camp Lejeune. The AP (2/5, Maurer) reports, "The Defense Department will investigate complaints of substandard mental health care for Marines at Camp Lejeune, according" to US Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), who "asked for the probe amid reports of retaliation against a whistleblower. Public questions about the quality of mental health care provided by a private contractor at the base were raised last year by the September firing of Dr. Kernan Manion, a brain trauma specialist who had complained to commanders about poor facilities, inadequate care programs and weak security." The AP adds, "Jones said the Defense Department's Inspector General told him Wednesday that an investigation is open."

 

 

10.    VA To Open New Clinic In Montana. The Western News (4/4, Harbaugh), which is based Libby, Montana, reported, "Within two months, a local clinic is slated to begin providing primary care in Libby for Lincoln County veterans, said Chuck Marsden, executive assistant to the director" for the Spokane Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Marsden "said the clinic will initially only provide primary care, but will eventually be equipped to offer mental health services."

 

11.    New VA Clinic In North Carolina To Provide 40 New Jobs. In continuing coverage, the WGHP-TV Greensboro, NC (2/4, Campbell) website reported, "The federal government has approved the opening of a second Piedmont" Veterans Affairs "medical clinic at Marketplace Mall in Winston-Salem." The VA "thinks that the mall's proximity to Interstate 40 and ample parking makes Marketplace Mall on Peters Creek Parkway the perfect location for the new facility, which will provide 40 new jobs."

 

12.    VA Finds Site For New Clinic In West Virginia. The Pocahontas Times (2/5, Hamill), a paper in Marlinton, West Virginia, reports, "After a long search, a project team with the Beckley Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) has found a site for a veterans clinic." Pocahontas County veterans "enrolled at the Beckley VAMC will reduce their travel for primary care by 50 miles if they elect to utilize" the new clinic, which "will be located in Maxwelton at 804 Industrial Park Road, next to the Lewisburg Airport off of Route 219."

 

13.    Four Sites In Minnesota Under Consideration For VA Clinic. The Elk River (MN) Star News (2/5, Nelson, 21K) reports, "Two sites in Elk River and two sites in Ramsey are now under consideration" by the Department of Veterans Affairs "to be the future home" of a new clinic. Ralph Heussner, a public affairs officer for the VA, "said the VA has nothing to report in terms of when a decision will be made."

 

14.    Large Crowd Attends Four Chaplains Ceremony At Big Spring VAMC. The Big Spring (TX) Herald (2/5, Reagan, 5K) reports, "About 200 people stepped in out of the rain Tuesday to pay homage to military veterans who have passed away in the past 12 months. Despite Wednesday's constant downpour," the Big Spring Veterans Affairs Medical Center's "annual Four Chaplains ceremony drew a large crowd to the First Baptist Church Chapel." The Herald notes that according to Dean Thomas, a chaplain at the hospital, four hospital volunteers were also honored during the ceremony.

 

 

 

15.    St. Cloud VAMC To Celebrate National Salute To Veterans. The St. Cloud (MN) Times (2/5, Petrie) reports the St. Cloud Veterans Affairs Medical Center "will celebrate National Salute to Veterans next week." The events, including an arts exhibit, are "part of a national celebration that honors veterans who receive care in VA medical centers and nursing homes."

 

16.    Students To Deliver Valentines To VA Hospital. The Goshen (NY) Chronicle (2/5) reports, "As they have done for the past several years, students from Chester Middle School have been busily creating valentines and other goodies for the veterans" at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Castle Point. The students "will be delivering their valentines in person on Thursday, Feb. 11."

 

17.    Biofeedback Being Used To Help Vets Suffering From PTSD. HealthDay (2/4, Thompson) reported that biofeedback, once "thought of as alternative therapy," now has become "a fully legitimized medical treatment" used to help "US soldiers returning from war...deal with post-traumatic stress disorder" and patients "suffering from chronic pain."

 

18.    VA System Hopes To Get Homeless Vets Off Streets And Into Treatment. The KTUU-TV Anchorage, AK (2/4, Goodell) website.

 

19.    Fourth Freedom Honor Flight Set For May 8. The La Crosse (WI) Tribune (2/5, Cahalan).

 

20.    WWII Veteran Trained As Torpedo Gunner. The Worthington (MN) Daily Globe (2/4, Buntjer, 9K).

 

21.    Heroes Of Freedom Memorial Goes Dark. The Gurnee (IL) Review (2/4, Sykora).

 

22.    On the Hill for February 5, 2010:

 

No legislative action is scheduled in either chamber.

 

House:  Convenes 9 a.m. for a pro forma session.

 

Senate:  Not in session.

 

            Hearing

Joint Economic hearing to receive unemployment data for January. 9:30 a.m., 216 Hart