VA Uses Technology to Provide Rural Veterans Greater Access to Specialty Care Services
Demonstration Scheduled for July 11, 10 a.m. at VA Central Office
WASHINGTON (July 10, 2012) - The Department of Veterans Affairs has implemented a new initiative, Specialty Care Access Network-Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (SCAN-ECHO), to increase access to specialty care services for Veterans in rural and medically under-served areas through the use of videoconferencing equipment.
“We are committed to providing increased access to high-quality health care to Veterans regardless of where they live,” said Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. “Through SCAN-ECHO, patients in rural areas with complex medical conditions are now able to receive specialty care treatment from their local VA physician.”
SCAN-ECHO is modeled after an outreach program developed by the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center’s Project ECHO. SCAN-ECHO enables specialty care teams in areas such as diabetes, pain management, and Hepatitis C to use videoconferencing equipment to connect with Veterans’ local primary care providers (PCPs) and Patient Aligned Care Teams. During a scheduled SCAN-ECHO clinic, the PCP presents a patient’s case and the specialty care team recommends a treatment plan. In addition to case presentations, formal clinical education is also provided.
VA will host a demonstration of the SCAN-ECHO technology at VA Central Office, room 230, on July 11 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
This year, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), established a collaborative agreement with the Project ECHO program to educate and provide training materials to VHA staff. In addition, Project ECHO staff will be available for consultation as VHA’s program continues to expand and new Centers are added.
Eleven VA medical facilities currently serve as SCAN-ECHO Centers: VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Conn.; VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Penn.; Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, Va.; Salem VA Medical Center, Salem, Va.; Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio; VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Mich.; New Mexico VA Healthcare System, Albuquerque, N.M.; VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, Denver, Colo.; Portland VA Medical Center, Portland, Ore.; San Francisco VA Medical Center; and Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 22 (services split between VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and VA San Diego Healthcare System).
These centers are piloting the original model as developed by Project ECHO and adapting it to the VHA. The program is currently being evaluated to assure that Veterans are experiencing improved access to care prior to a system wide expansion.
To date, 35 teams in 14 different specialties have been formed as of May, with 150 sessions held and a total of 690 consults completed.
One of Secretary Shinseki’s top three priorities is increasing access to VA care and services for Veterans wherever they live. VA is expanding access in a three-pronged effort that includes facilities, programs and technology.
VA operates one of the nation’s largest integrated health care systems in the country. With a health care budget of about $50 billion, VA expects to provide care to 6.1 million patients during 920,000 hospitalizations and nearly 80 million outpatient visits this year. VA’s health care network includes 152 major medical centers and more than 800 community-based outpatient clinics.
Project ECHO is funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to improving health and health care for Americans.
------------------------
War Games To Say 'Keep Out'
(CNN) Get this, Syria's leader actually blaming the United States for undermining peace efforts in his country, Bashar al-Assad accusing the U.S. of supporting terrorists that's his word who are fighting to overthrow him. Not only that, the Syrians are conducting war games right now.
Action Urged To Hike Cybersecurity
(Philadelphia Inquirer) The head of the Pentagon's Cyber Command called Monday for swift action in Congress to sort out roles, standards, and authorities for agencies charged with defending against destructive computer attacks.
Making A Tough 'Go' As Sappers
(Washington Times) Two women prove themselves worthy.
Mont. gov. drops lawsuit over F-15 transfers
HELENA, Mont. undefined Gov. Brian Schweitzer is dropping the state’s lawsuit against the Defense Department over plans to move the Montana National Guard’s F-15s to California. The move comes after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta assured the state’s senators that the Air Force will halt scheduled transfers of aircraft until Congress finalizes 2013 budget plans later this year, which could also further prevent those transfers. [ Read More ]
As focus turns to Asia, B-1’s role may grow
DYESSAIR FORCE BASE, Texas undefined President Obama’s new military strategy is taking shape here on the sun-seared grasslands of West Texas where B-1 bomber pilots train. The strategy pivots from missions over the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan to targets on the sea and, though the military doesn’t come out directly and say it, in China. “We’re going back to the future,” says Col. David Been, commander of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess. “As the balance shifts from almost exclusively Afghanistan right now, we’re shifting to the Asia-Pacific region.” [ Read More ]
Memorial service set for fallen N.C. guardsmen
CHARLOTTE, N.C. undefined A memorial service for the four North Carolina Air National Guard airmen killed when their plane crashed earlier this week will be held Tuesday at the unit’s base.
Troops would delay retirement pay for cash now. Four out of five troops say they would be willing to wait until age 50 to begin drawing military retirement checks in return for a 1 percent basic pay raise now. That finding, from a new report on perceptions of military benefits to be released Thursday, is proof of a long-held belief among military personnel planners that troops prefer cash now rather than later, said author Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, an independent think tank. [ Read More ]
Veteran’s music captures mood of the troops
GLENDALE, Calif. undefined Don’t call Iraq War vet Jason Moon a hero. Don’t phone him on Memorial Day or July 4th or Veterans Day to say thank you. [ Read More ]
Tinker airmen volunteer at prosthetics provider. OKLAHOMA CITY undefined During a week in which civilians show their pride in country and its military, the roles were reversed in a storage room in downtown Oklahoma City. [ Read More ]
Military brides benefit from national program
FREDERICK, Md. undefined Katie Marks-McAuley’s husband proposed on a Saturday. The couple married on a beach the following Wednesday undefined just a few days before her groom deployed to Afghanistan. [ Read More ]
Military veterans say pot eases PTSD
Vt.’s Norwich U. helps troops learn cultures
Band airmen focus on performing, not demise
Alaska guardsman dies in Md. balcony fall
Fewer get ITDY dependent, travel perks
More Details on "Nyet Flag": Russian news reportsundefinedand other news outlets that picked up the story last weekundefinedclaiming that Russia would send fightersto an upcoming Red Flag exercise are "a complete fabrication," said Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Cassidy. Russia was indeed supposed to send "working-level observers" to last month's Red Flag-Alaska 12-2, but their participation was canceled "due to reciprocity issues," she told the Daily Reporton July 9 without elaboration. Observers at this "unit leadership" or "worker bee" level normally watch the exercise in order to prepare for possible full participation a year in advance, she explained. However, Red Flag participation by actual Russian air force fighters and strike aircraft "was never considered," she said. And, "no further . . . observation/participation" by the Russian air force in Red Flag "is planned at this time," she noted. Nevertheless, a Russian air force one-star general did watch the June exercise as part of an executive observer program. The Air Force could not immediately say whether this was the first time a Russian air force general observed a Red Flag at any level.
undefinedJohn A. Tirpak
Hawker Beechcraft Seeks Partnership with Chinese Aerospace Manufacturer: Hawker Beechcraft announced on July 9 that it "has executed an exclusivity agreement" with Superior Aviation Beijing, a Beijing-based aerospace manufacturer. Under the terms of the deal, which still requires US regulatory reviews and approvals, the Chinese company would acquire Hawker Beechcraft for $1.79 billion, making Hawker Beechcraft, headquartered in Wichita, Kan., its flagship investment.. HBDC is currently offering its AT-6 light attack platform in the Air Force's Light Air Support competition. If negotiations with Superior are not concluded in a timely manner, Hawker Beechcraft said it would then proceed with seeking approval of a reorganization plan it filed in US bankruptcy court on June 30 to emerge as a standalone entity with a more focused portfolio of aircraft.
Air and Space Operations Center Hosts First-Ever Virtual Tour: The 601st Air and Space Operations Center at Tyndall AFB, Fla., recently hosted a first-of-its-kind virtual tour of its operations floor for students at Collinsville Middle School in Collinsville, Okla. The tour began with a welcome video introducing the class to the AOC's mission, followed by a live tour where students were able to interact with AOC members, according to a July 3 Tyndall release. It was the first such tour for any of the Air Force's AOCs, said Col. Randy Spear, 601st AOC commander. "We are living in an age where [quick response] codes and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are a part of our everyday vernacular. Virtual tours via the Internet just seemed like a natural progression and a very effective way to tell our story," he said. Sixth grade teacher Kathy Prickett said the virtual tour was "an awesome experience" that she hopes to repeat again next year. (Tyndall report by Capt. Jared Scott)
F-35 Put Through Weapons Pit Testing: AF-1, an F-35A test aircraft, recently underwent three weeks of static stores ejection testing, or pit testing, at Edwards AFB, Calif., so that the airplane's engineers could evaluate how the release of a weapon from the stealth fighter physically affected the aircraft. For the testing, the engineers positioned AF-1 over a pit filled with foam and released an instrumented, inert joint direct attack munition and advanced medium-range air-to-air missile from the aircraft into the pit, according to a July 5 Edwards release. On and around the F-35 were cameras to measure the aircraft's motion. Pit testing is a prerequisite for in-flight weapons-release testing, states the release.
Air Guard Pilots Hit Rarefied Air: In the span of a month, two F-16 pilots with the South Carolina Air National Guard's 169th Fighter Wing reached 4,000 flight hours in the fighter type while deployed to Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Col. David Meyer recently hit the 4,000-hour mark during a sortie providing overwatch for friendly troops in contact with enemy insurgents, according to a July 9 Kandahar release. "I have been blessed to stay in the cockpit my entire career," said Meyer of his achievement. He currently serves as the 169th Operations Group commander at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, the wing's home, and is deputy operations group commander for the 451st Expeditionary Operations Group while deployed to Kandahar. Meyer followed Lt. Col. Scott Bridgers into the 4,000-hour club. Bridgers hit the milestone on June 2 during a mission from Kandahar. The wing's expeditionary contingent has been there since April and will remain there through August, according to the release. (Kandahar report by TSgt. Stephen Hudson) (See also Kandahar report by TSgt. Caycee Cook.)
AMMOS Graduates 300th Student: The Air Force Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Officer School at Nellis AFB, Nev., recently graduated its 300th student since its opening in 2002. The student was a member of Class 12A, the 24th class to take the school's 14-week course, according to a July 3 Nellis release. "AMMOS is an advanced combat support school that trains some of the best Air Force maintenance leaders in the execution of agile combat support by focusing on the integration of operational requirements, maintenance capabilities, and logistics processes," said Lt. Col. William Maxwell, AMMOS commandant. He added, "The investment of the Air Force to send these students here …will benefit the Air Force for years to come." Then-Gen. John Jumper, former Air Force Chief of Staff, approved the school in June 2001 when he was commander of Air Combat Command. The first class graduated two years later. Class 12A graduated on June 22. (Nellis report by Capt. Lucas Buckley)
Tiny Air Commandos Invade Hurlburt: Air Force Special Operations Command recently hosted its first-ever "Bring Your Child to Work Day" at Hurlburt Field, Fla. "Everyday we drop our kids off at daycare and kiss them goodbye in the morning," said event organizer Capt. Kristina Sawtelle in a July 9 Hurlburt release. She added, "This event takes the mystery out of what mommy and daddy do." The honorary air commandos began their day with physical training by running in formation with their family members. From there, it was off to the headquarters building for a pancake breakfast. The kids then rotated between an AFSOC command brief, an air park tour, and a battlefield airman exhibit showcasing special tactics gear. "I really appreciate that the command takes an interest in the families and makes them a priority," said SMSgt. Samel Brown, a security forces airman, who brought his five-year-old daughter Aniah to the June 29 event. (Hurlburt Field report by Rachel Arroyo)
Army Uses 'Xena: Warrior Princess' As Inspiration For New Body Armor For Women
(Christian Science Monitor (csmonitor.com)) Making body armor that better fits the bodies of female troops is a considerable engineering challenge. The Army is forging ahead with improvements after a decade of women serving on the front lines.
Marines Peg 'Bad Flying' As Cause Of April V-22 Crash In Morocco
(AOL Defense (defense.aol.com)) An April 11 MV-22B Osprey crash in Morocco occurred because the pilot committed a fundamental flying error which was rendered irreversible by a tailwind neither he nor a second pilot in the cockpit noticed, AOL Defense has confirmed.
USS Fort McHenry Departing Tuesday
(Newport News Daily Press) The USS Fort McHenry is scheduled to leave Hampton Roads on Tuesday for a varied deployment, working with both European and African nations, the Navy said Monday.
Air Force Realignment Under Way
(Northwest Florida Daily News) The Air Force-wide consolidation of Materiel Command centers from 12 to five took an important official step on Monday, with the activation of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.Eglin's own Air Armament Center is set to be disestablished July 18.
Volunteers Clean Up Arlington National Cemetery
(Yahoo.com) The rain that fell on Arlington National Cemetery on Monday did not wash away the excitement and gratitude of hundreds of volunteers who worked to beautify the solemn resting place of fallen soldiers.
R.I. Lawyer Pleads Not Guilty In Navy Kickbacks Case
(Norfolk Virginian-Pilot (pilotonline.com)) Rhode Island attorney Mary O'Rourke pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that she participated in an alleged kickback scheme that federal prosecutors say cost the U.S. Navy $10 million.
State Drops Lawsuit Over F-15 Transfer
(Helena (MT) Independent Record) A federal judge on Monday dismissed the states lawsuit against the Defense Department over its plans to move F-15 fighter jets from the Montana Air National Guard base in Great Falls to California.
OMB Chief To Testify On Defense Cuts
(Politico.com) Jeffrey Zients is scheduled to appear before the committee on Aug. 1, Claude Chafin, a spokesman for committee chairman Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), told POLITICO. And he'll be joined by a senior "defense official," Chafin said in an email.
AFP Denies US Drone Attack In Phl
(Philippine Star) The military yesterday denied that the US staged a drone strike in the Philippines to kill Indonesian terrorist Umar Patek in 2006. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said US troops in the country are not involved in combat operations.
Pakistan Militant Leads Rally Against Supply Route Reopenings
(New York Times) Angered by the reopening of NATO supply lines through their country, prominent jihadis and right-wing politicians mounted a determined show of force in the heart of the Pakistani capital on Monday, led by a man with a $10 million American bounty on his head.
Russia Prods Syria's President Assad With Message Of Growing Impatience
(New York Times) Moving further from its strict stance of nonintervention, Russia pressured President Bashar al-Assad of Syria on Monday to be more flexible about the future of his ravaged country, insisting that he talk with adversaries, inviting an anti-Assad delegation to the Kremlin and restricting shipments of new weapons to the Syrian armed forces.
US Will Keep Afghan 'Guantanamo' Despite Deal To Hand Over All Prisons
(London Times) With two months to go before the Bagram facility is ceded to the Afghan authorities, The Times has learnt that all non-Afghan inmates including two Pakistanis picked up by British Special Forces in Iraq and illegally flown to Afghanistan will be kept in a US-run section of the fortified compound with no access to legal assistance or prospect of release.
Navy Plans Drill Near Zhoushan
(China Daily) The ministry made the announcement on its website in response to reports saying that the navy will conduct a six-day, live ammunition drill starting on Tuesday in the East China Sea.
U.S. Says Senkaku Islands Fall Within Scope Of Japan-U.S. Security Treaty
(Kyodo News) The Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea to which China and Taiwan have both made claim, fall within the scope of the 1960 Japan-U.S. security treaty which requires the country to defend Japan in the event of armed attacks, a senior State Department official said Monday.
U.S. Buries Airmen From Vietnam War
(USA Today) Nearly 47 years after their plane went down during a combat mission over Laos, six airmen received a burial with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Lockheed's You-May-Be-Fired Notices Called Scare Tactic
(Bloomberg.com) To employment-law attorney Margaret Keane, giving mass dismissal warnings in such uncertain conditions looks more like a lobbying tactic by corporations trying to ward off the cuts than an effort to follow the letter of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
Assad Supplier Finmeccanica Did Business With The Pentagon
(TheDailyBeast.com) As Hillary Clinton pushes for tough global sanctions against Syria, here's a reminder that the international arms business makes for strange bedfellows: The Italian company that just admitted to selling a sophisticated communications system to the Assad regime also does billions of dollars of business with the U.S. military. And tangling the case even further is the fact that the company's chief U.S. subsidiary is run by the man who was the second in command at the Pentagon for most of Obama's presidency.
Chinese Firm Pursues Hawker
(Wall Street Journal) A Chinese bidder is in advanced talks to buy the bulk of aerospace company Hawker Beechcraft Inc.'s businesses for $1.79 billion, an approach that could raise political concerns given U.S. sensitivities about previous Chinese attempts to buy American assets.
Raytheon Awarded $636M Contract
(Arizona Daily Star (Tucson)) Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems has been awarded a six-year, $636 million contract to continue developing and providing an interceptor warhead for the nation's emerging ground-based missile-defense system.
Trafficked Into Tragedy: Abuse Of Immigrant Workers In Afghanistan And Iraq
(At War (NYTimes.com)) On every military base in Iraq and Afghanistan exists an economy sustained by immigrant workers. For transportation, construction, food services, security and more, the United States government relies on 174,000 laborers, 70,000 of them recruited from developing countries like Nepal, India, the Philippines and Uganda. But not all of these workers voluntarily leave home to serve alongside the United States military.
Let's Draft Our Kids
(New York Times) This was the first time in recent years that a high-profile officer has broken ranks to argue that the all-volunteer force is not necessarily good for the country or the military. Unlike Europeans, Americans still seem determined to maintain a serious military force, so we need to think about how to pay for it and staff it by creating a draft that is better and more equitable than the Vietnam-era conscription system.
Congress Can, Must Stop Spending Cuts
(Politico.com) Congress has now begun to focus on the automatic reductions in spending or sequester due to take effect in January because the legislators did not achieve the deficit-reduction goal they set for themselves in the 2011 bipartisan Budget Control Act. This is good news. If you are driving toward a brick wall, you should do what you can to change course. Unfortunately, Congress is focusing on how much hitting the wall would hurt not on how to avoid it in the first place.
Picking A Winner In Afghanistan
(Washington Post) But at least as important to whether the country will hold together, and whether a return of the Taliban and al-Qaeda will be prevented, is who will replace Karzai when his term ends in 2014. The United States must do everything possible to ensure a reformer wins that election.
Beware Negotiating With The Taliban
(Tampa Tribune) Transferring Guantanamo detainees could bolster confidence.
Execution Of Afghan Woman Occurred Under Western Noses
(Christian Science Monitor (csmonitor.com)) Part of what is so shocking about the public execution of an Afghan woman for alleged adultery is where it took place.
Don?t Blame (Just) Bam For Pakistan
(New York Post) First: When are we going to get an apology from Pakistan for secretly harboring Osama bin Laden all those years? Second, and more important: How did we reach this low point with a country that in the 1950s was one of our most steadfast and dependable Asian allies, and 30 years later helped us expel the Soviets from Afghanistan?
2 Options, But Change Is Unlikely
(New York Times/International Herald Tribune) The effect is that Europe, instead of worrying about U.S. interventionism, might soon become concerned about a revival in American isolationism. At the very least, no U.S. president will be willing to continue footing the bill for NATO's military spending.
A welcoming home for our Troops.
