Reparation for Vietnamese AO Victims

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US scientists back reparation for Vietnamese AO victims

June 16, 2012 - The Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign will continue its efforts to claim compensation for AO victims in Vietnam, said Susan Marina Schnall, the co-chairperson of the campaign.

Schnall, who leads a visiting delegation of the Public Health Science Committee under VAORRC, made her statement at a meeting with the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) on Friday.

She said VAORRC would continue to request the US Government to provide comprehensive support to AO victims, clean up AO-infected areas in Vietnam, and force US chemical companies, which provided defoliants to US army for use in the Vietnam War before 1975, to pay damages to AO victims.

Nguyen Van Rinh, VAVA chairman, expressed his hope that US scientists would voice their political opinions about the AO-induced congenital anomalies that occurred to people of the second, third and fourth generations in Vietnam. read more>>>

VA threatens Orlando hospital contractor

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Don't blame them at all, nor do I buy the contractors excuses or cross blaming the VA, in this age of the commercial and industrial construction industry and what's it's grown into in the past couple of decades. Very few general contractors have in house trades working for them, just office personal and only go down to the supervisors on the site, everything as to actual work is subbed out to very extreme low bid chase where the subs are left to work with fewer personal then needed and cutting back any overtime just so they have a bottom line profit. The subs and the trades are left getting the blame for the cutting corners for bigger bottom lines thus profits by the suits running the contract with very few to none ever actually working in the trades. I know, watched the whole industry go down hill, in the past some twenty years and especially the past decade, with stagnant wages and little to know benefits especially in no union shops for over forty years till not only me but most older experienced trades people were forced out, me now into early retirement I never sought unless I just couldn't do the work anymore, in the economic collapse and not even looked at to hire if they had the need for trades. But it isn't only in this industry but across the board in most business plans in the now some thirty year reaganomic new capitalism, especially the bigger they get and doing business under government contracts with the peoples money flowing their way! Oh and those peoples representatives, especially on the once (R) side of the isle, now all (T)'s, they won't see it that way, they too will lay blame on the VA, see they don't work for you, just watch the hearings or double speak on the tube or in person, all with them lapel flag pins shining along with their partioric support speak!

VA to contractor: Hurry up on medical center or lose the contract

June 15, 2012 - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is threatening one of the biggest contractors working on the Orlando VA Medical Center.

The department said the contractor must hurry up and get the job done, or lose its contract.

The VA said the hospital that was supposed to open in October 2012, but it may not open until summer 2013.

Meanwhile, both sides are blaming each other.

At a price tag of $665 million, the medical center is billed as anchoring the Lake Nona "Medical City."

“We will add to the Lake Nona synergy,” said Timothy Liezert, the VA Medical Center’s director. “We are big in health care obviously. We are big in research. We are big in resident education. All those things will complement the medical cluster currently going on.”

But VA officials said their contractor, Brasfield & Gorrie, is holding up the process.

“The best way to answer that is I'm a veteran so my true care and concern is for other veterans. So there's frustrations with the fact that we can't get this built for them,” said VA Senior Resident Engineer Bart Bruchok.

The VA issued what’s called a contract cure notice, which gives the contractor a written notice to hurry up and hire the people necessary to get the job done. read more>>>

Military Exposures Site Updated

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Check out the new design of the Military Exposures website. The user-friendly “4 Ways to Find Exposures” serves as a kind of virtual compass pointing visitors to information on a range of chemical, physical and environmental hazards during military service. Visitors can search by: related health concerns, wars and operations, exposure categories, and exposure topics A to Z.

Military Exposures Veterans may have been exposed to a range of chemical, physical, and environmental hazards during military service.

Reports on Veterans' Health Care Use What are the most common diagnoses given to recent Veterans (OEF/OIF/OND) in VA health care facilities? Find out by checking the latest quarterly reports.

Giving Veterans a “Seat at the Table”

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They had a hearing in the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, guess what the minority senate leader of the committee even showed up, richard burr, which he hasn't for at least the previous two, It covered a number of issues and Veterans Education was just one. Well the burr was up to his usual self of slamming the VA but on him trying to get a positive spin from a young vet on the private education schools, for profit, it wasn't gonna happen, the vet took him down a number of pegs as the burr tried and tried then just had to give up!!

Senator introduces bill to reform veterans’ education committee

June 11, 2012 - Senator Jon Tester is doubling down on his pledge to support Montana’s student veterans.

Tester is introducing legislation that will give veterans a “seat at the table” to provide feedback and improve Department of Veterans Affairs’ education policies. Tester’s reform bill will guarantee that the VA’s Advisory Committee on Education will include student veterans and college representatives.

“Veterans made tremendous sacrifices for this country and earned a seat at the table to make sure the education benefits they earned work for them,” said Tester, Montana’s only member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “My bill ensures that the voices of veterans and schools are heard and that smart, responsible decisions are being made with their input.”

Student veterans and Montana education officials tell Tester that they are rarely consulted by the VA or offered opportunities to provide feedback on VA education policies – like the distribution of G.I. Bill benefits. Tester’s bill will require the veterans’ advisory committee to report recommendations to the VA and Congress at least twice per year.

In addition to increasing participation from student veterans, Tester’s bill also requires input from service organizations like the American Legion and vocational schools that enroll veterans. read more>>>

VA Health Care Workers:

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Because a Country served doesn't feel they need to Sacrifice, nor demand to, as they cheer on wars, Your 'Freedom is Free!', especially of choice, and occupations of others and thus call themselves 'patriotic' in numerous ways while 'supporting the troops'!

‘Stop the Downgrades’

Richard Fleming served 12 years in the U.S. Army and has worked for the past 20 years at the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA's) Temple Texas hospital. He began with an entry-level job in the kitchen and, with training and education, became a surgical technician. He also is one of the thousands of modestly paid VHA workers whose jobs have been arbitrarily downgraded.

Nobody talked to me about it. I found out I was downgraded through a memo….I was downgraded by people who do not ever see what I do on a day-to-day basis. What have I done and what have my co-workers done to deserve this? No one gave me my GS-5 [job classification]. I earned it.

Fleming was one of several hundred AFGE members and supporters from other unions who rallied today in Lafayette Park, across from the White House and near Veterans Affairs (VA) headquarters, to urge the VA to put a moratorium on the downgrades. read more>>>

Additional Funding for Homeless Veterans

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HUD Provides Additional Funding for Homeless Veterans

June 13, 2012 - Homeless Missouri veterans are now able to receive housing and additional support, thanks to a provision of 25 vouchers by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announced on Wednesday.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric K. Shinseki offered the vouchers to the St. Louis Housing Authority, whose funding comes from HUD’s Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH).

The funding is part of the total $75 million investment from the Obama Administration, and will ultimately house 10,450 homeless veterans.

The vouchers include rental assistance and comprehensive case management. They allow veterans to rent privately owned houses and contribute no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent. read more>>>

Post Deployment Care for Returning Combat Veterans

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VA medical article discusses specialized Iraq and Afghanistan veteran health care needs

June 13, 2012 - Department of Veterans Affairs clinicians offer a comprehensive review of the health concerns of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans and practical management guidelines for primary care providers in an article entitled Post Deployment Care for Returning Combat Veterans, and published in Journal of General Internal Medicine (JGIM).

“We at VA are always seeking ways to improve the quality of health care we provide to our Veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “This article provides valuable insight into the fastest-growing segment of the Veteran population at a time they are currently returning from combat.”

Since September 11, 2001, approximately 2.4 million military personnel have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The health care needs of this particular patient population are complex, and require a well integrated interdisciplinary approach to care.

The article, written by Juliette F. Spelman, MD; Stephen C. Hunt, MD, MPH; Karen H. Seal, MD, MPH; and Lucile Burgo-Black, MD, reviews how combat deployments can impact the physical, psychological, and social health of Veterans and describes their unique health care needs. This includes the need for assessment and management of injuries associated with blast exposures (including mild traumatic brain injury) as well as mental health conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and substance abuse.

Other important health concerns discussed include chronic musculoskeletal pain, medically unexplained symptoms, complications from environmental exposures, heightened suicide risk, sleep disturbances, and impairments in family, occupational and social functioning. read more>>>