Veterans News for Wednesday, February 2, 2011

1.       Council backs plan to treat veteran patients at Shore Memorial.  Shore News Today
However, the plan has yet to jump its biggest hurdle: getting approval from the head of the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Shore Memorial wants to begin

2.        UIW, VA team up to provide tuition assistance to veterans.  Bizjournals.com
The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) has formed a partnership with the US Department of Veterans Affairs that will allow returning troops to enroll in ...

3.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Technical Communities Awarded New Veterans Affairs Joint Imaging Contract.  PRLog.Org (press release) ... costs and reduce risks, today announced that the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded the company the Joint Imaging Contract

4.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 How to communicate in a time of change.  Smart Business Network  ... care,” says Johnson, the director of the 2400-employee, La Jolla-based health care provider within the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

5.      Soldiers learn to prevent suicide.  Local soldiers in the US Army Reserve in Guam underwent a new training program that incorporates interactive role-playing in order to understand the complications of suicide intervention.  The soldiers went through two days of Applied Suicide Skills Training, also known as ASIST, which combines a day of classroom lectures and another day of hands-on training for suicide prevention.  ASIST is a tool that helps caregivers help persons at risk move from thinking about death, suicide and the past to thinking about the positive things in life.

6.      VA predicts changes won’t interrupt GI Bill payouts.  Despite an overhaul of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits this August, Veterans Affairs officials don’t expect a repeat of the major tuition delays and paperwork headaches they saw with the education benefits two years ago. Earlier this month, President Barack Obama signed into law a host of changes to the higher education benefits, including an expansion of housing stipends for online programs, new tuition payouts for students attending private colleges, and inclusion of vocational training programs within the post-9/11 GI Bill program.  Nearly all of these changes will go into effect in the fall 2011 semester.

7.      Residents are hoping to bring a new Veterans Resource Center to Fontana - Fontana Herald-News .  Residents are hoping to bring a new Veterans Resource Center to FontanaFontana Herald-NewsSeveral Fontana residents are urging local officials to consider the possibility of establishing a new Fontana Veterans Resource Center at the Cypress ... 

8.      IHireVeterans.com Launches Online Resources Directory for US Military Veterans - SBWire (press release).  IHireVeterans.com Launches Online Resources Directory for US Military VeteransSBWire (press release)The veteran's resources directory can be found at http://www.IHireveterans.com/vet-resources. "We researched literally hundreds of organizations

9.      NJ center to run counseling program at Fort Hood - Houston Chronicle .  NJ.comNJ center to run counseling program at Fort HoodHouston ChronicleBased in Piscataway, NJ, the Vets4Warriors helpline for will be staffed by five veterans, including some who served in Vietnam and Iraq. ...Fort Hood Soldiers and Families Gain Helpline Staffed by Veterans at

10. NJ Governor Signs Gold Star Families License Plate Bill.Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger On Monday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie "signed legislation...creating a special license plate design to honor families of members of the military killed in action. The Gold Star Families license plate will feature an American flag with a gold star on top." Gold Stars are "awarded by the Department of Defense whenever a member of the military is killed in action."

11. Akaka Moves From Chairing VA Panel To Chairing Indian Affairs Panel.AP US Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) is "expected to take leadership of the Indian Affairs Committee after chairing the Veterans Affairs Committee for four years." In a statement, Akaka "said...he will work for the nation's indigenous people, including Native Hawaiians. Akaka has sought to pass a measure granting federal recognition to Native Hawaiians, but the bill failed after it didn't get a vote last year."

12. Obama Proposes Extending Small Business Tax Cuts Permanently. Accounting Today The Small Business Administration "and the Department of Energy will boost their mentorship for cleantech startups, while the Veterans Administration is launching new training programs for Veterans who want to start new businesses."

13. Last WWI Vet Turns 110 Today. The Martinsburg (WV) Journal

14. VA Officials Optimistic About Ability To Handle Upcoming Post-9/11 GI Bill Changes.Army Times "Veterans Affairs Department officials are optimistic about making changes this summer to the Post-9/11 GI Bill after having great success in cutting the processing time of benefits claims" since 2009, "when the veterans education program was launched." NextGov "The Veterans Affairs Department will have to tweak its software for processing educational benefits to comply with the latest version of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, top VA officials said during a media briefing on Monday." But Mike Walcoff, "acting undersecretary for benefits at VA, said he does not anticipate the kind of problems the department experienced in 2009 when the original version of the law went into effect and claims had to be processed mostly by hand.

15. Public Officials Caught In Middle Of Debate Over "Honor And Remember" Flag.AP A national campaign to add the red-and-white 'Honor and Remember' flag to official US flag displays on military holidays is creating painful divisions among veterans and the relatives of loved ones killed in action." Some vets have argued that the US flag is enough for them, while some relatives of fallen vets have argued in favor of the campaign, which was "conceived by a Virginia man, George Lutz, who lost his son in Iraq in 2005." The "debate is giving public officials an uncomfortable choice between veterans' groups and grieving relatives."

16. Agencies Answering Obama's Call To Help Military Families.Army Times "Federal agencies have stepped up to answer President Obama's call to help military families with commitments addressing a wide spectrum of issues, including education, employment, mental health services and protection from predatory lenders."

17. Disabled Iraq Vet Offering Encouragement To Fellow Amputees.Morganton (NC) News Herald  Double amputee Dale Beatty, "who was injured while serving his country in Iraq, uses himself as an example to local veterans and other people who can be helped by prosthesis." Beatty and Triad Orthotics & Prosthetics owner Randy King "visit with amputees at nursing facilities" and encourage them to learn about prosthetics.

18. Two Vets Honored For Helping France In WWII.AP During a "ceremony Monday in Columbus," Ohio, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and "Ohio Department of Veterans Services Director Tom Moe were scheduled to present" World War II vets Charles Spray and Bob Garrett, both 87, "with French Knight of the Legion of Honor medals." "Since 2004, the French government has given dozens of the medals to Americans who took part in the liberation of France during WWII."

19. DOD Unveils Virtual PTSD Experience.McClatchy The Defense Department recently "unveiled the T2 Virtual PTSD Experience, a project" that is "intended to help soldiers and their loved ones learn about post-traumatic stress in an anonymous setting."

20. Mobile Vet Center Reaching Out To Vets In California.Morgan Hill (CA) Times The "United States has about 50" mobile Vet Centers, including one stationed in California's "South Santa Clara County." Veteran Danny Molina, the "center's onboard readjustment counseling technician," says the center performs "rural outreach" by going to "communities, so they know the Department of Veterans Affairs is there for them to help them readjust after war."

21. VA Seeking Advice On EHR System Update. iHealthBeat "The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking input as it prepares to update its electronic health record system under an open-source software development model, InformationWeek reports." The "current EHR system -- called the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture, or VistA -- is made up of about 100 integrated software modules that manage EHRs for VA hospital systems.

22. VA To Participate In Discussion On Rural Tele-Health Possibilities. CarsonNow.org "Experts from the Veterans Administration and the University of Nevada School of Medicine will join a discussion on tele-health possibilities for rural counties hosted by Healthy Communities Coalition director Christy McGill." The discussion is scheduled to be held on "Wed, Feb. 2 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. in Dayton at the Community Center at 170 Pike Street."

23. VFW Looking For A Few Good (Young) Men. KSN-TV.