What's New
| VA Secretary Pressed by Senator on High Percentage of Wrongly Denied Benefit Claims |
March 16, 2010, Washington, DC (CQ Politics) - A leading Republican senator on Tuesday asked Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to explain why so many veterans’ benefit claims are wrongly denied, resulting in a high rate of reversal on appeal. |
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| Profile of New Veterans' Courts in New York Times |
Defendants Fresh From War Find Service Counts in Court - VCS Supports Veterans' Courts March 15, 2010, Charleston, West Virginia (New York Times) — When Judge Robert C. Chambers handed down Timothy Oldani’s federal sentence for selling stolen military equipment on eBay, he gave the former Marine a break. |
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| Presdent Obama Donated $250,000 of Nobel Prize Money to Fisher House |
March 11, 2010, Washington, DC (New York Times) - President Obama made good on his promise to give his $1.4 million Nobel Prize money to charity, releasing the names on Thursday of the organizations that will benefit. |
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| Philanthropist Bobby Willis to Build New $3.3 Billion Hospital for VA in Farmington, NM for Rural and Native American Veterans |
Proposed state-of-the-art Kirtland veterans clinic could provide as many as 8,000 jobs March 14, 2010, Farmington, New Mexico (Farmington Daily Times) — A proposed veterans complex in Kirtland centered around a new hospital, backed by a wealthy entrepreneur and costing an estimated $3.3 billion promises to bring state-of-the-art medicine and other benefits to veterans, as well as 8,000 jobs to the local economy. |
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| Dr. Haley at UTSW Presents Compelling Brain Images Showing Gulf War Illness |
VCS Asks VA: Since UTSW Research Remains Vital to Understanding Gulf War Illness, Then Why Did a Handful of VA Staff in Washington Impede UTSW Contract and Then End Funding for UTSW? March 9, 2010, Salt Lake City, Utah (Science News) - Nearly two decades after vets began returning from the Middle East complaining of Gulf War Syndrome, the federal government has yet to formally accept that their vague jumble of symptoms constitutes a legitimate illness. Here, at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting, yesterday, researchers rolled out a host of brain images – various types of magnetic-resonance scans and brain-wave measurements – that they say graphically and unambiguously depict Gulf War Syndrome. |
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Secretary Shinseki Announces Expansion of Counseling for Combat Veterans
Written by VA Office of Public Affairs
Monday, 17 August 2009 10:21
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August 14, 2009 - Today, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced that combat Veterans will receive readjustment counseling and other assistance in 28 additional communities across the country where the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will establish Vet Centers in 2010.
"VA is committed to providing high-quality outreach and readjustment counseling to all combat Veterans," Secretary Shinseki said. "These 28 new Vet Centers will address the growing need for those services." The community-based Vet Centers -- already in all 50 states -- are a key component of VA's mental health program, providing Veterans with mental health screening and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) counseling. The existing 232 centers conduct community outreach to offer counseling on employment, family issues and education to combat Veterans and family members, as well as bereavement counseling for families of servicemembers killed on active duty and counseling for Veterans who were sexually harassed on active duty. Vet Center services are earned through service in a combat zone or area of hostility and are provided at no cost to Veterans or their families. They are staffed by small multi-disciplinary teams, which may include social workers, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, master's-level counselors and outreach specialists. Over 70 percent of Vet Center employees are Veterans themselves, a majority of whom served in combat zones. The Vet Center program was established in 1979 by Congress, recognizing that many Vietnam Veterans were still having readjustment problems. In 2008, the Vet Center program provided over 1.1 million visits to over 167,000 Veterans, including over 53,000 visits by more than 14,500 Veteran families. More information about Vet Centers can be found at www.vetcenter.va.gov/index.asp. A list of the new Vet Center locations is attached. Communities Receiving New VA Vet Centers American Samoa Arizona -- Mohave and Yuma Counties California -- San Luis Obispo County Delaware - Sussex County Florida -Marion, Lake, Collier, Okaloosa and Bay Counties Georgia - Muscogee and Richmond Counties Hawaii - Western Oahu Indiana - St. Joseph County Louisiana - Rapides Parish Michigan - Grand Traverse County, also serving Wexford County Missouri - Boone County Montana - Cascade and Flathead Counties Ohio - Stark County Oregon - Deschutes County Pennsylvania - Lancaster County South Carolina - Horry County Texas - Jefferson and Taylor Counties Utah - Washington County Washington - Walla Walla County, also serving Umatilla County, Oregon Wisconsin - LaCrosse County, also serving Monroe County People wishing to receive e-mail from VA with the latest news releases and updated fact sheets can subscribe to the VA Office of Public Affairs Distribution List.
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