National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and Veterans Health

NCAI passes record number of resolutions 11/01/08. PHOENIX – From federal recognition to turning fee lands into trust lands, from truth-in-labeling to a task force on tribal taxation and dozens of issues in between, the National Congress of American Indians passed a record 72 resolutions during its 65th annual conference Oct. 19 – 24. One resolution requires the Defense Department, Veterans Administration and other federal agencies to do more to provide for the health care needs of Native veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and improve accessibility and availability of veterans’ health care services in Indian country. Indian Country Today

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Grant

Grants aim to expand long-term care options 11/01/08. WASHINGTON — New Hampshire and Maine will be among the 28 states to get a piece of $36 million in new grants to help older Americans and veterans remain independent, and to support people with Alzheimer's disease who want to remain in their homes and communities. Seacoast Online

Foreign-Born Veterans

MPI Examines Foreign-Born Veterans of U.S. Armed Forces 11/01/08. WASHINGTON – As the United States prepares to commemorate Veterans Day on Nov. 11, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) is releasing an analysis of a sometimes overlooked group of U.S. armed forces veterans: those born in other countries. As the MPI Fact Sheet shows, there are over 644,000 foreign-born veterans of the U.S. armed forces, accounting for nearly 3 percent of all surviving U.S. veterans. This figure does not include those currently serving in the military. Migration Policy Institute

Minneapolis VA

Combined Assessment Program Review of the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota [08-00402-16] 10/29/08. During the week of August 4–8, 2008, the OIG conducted a Combined Assessment Program (CAP) review of the Minneapolis VA Medical Center (the medical center), Minneapolis, MN. The purpose of the review was to evaluate selected operations, focusing on patient care administration and quality management (QM). During the review, we also provided fraud and integrity awareness training to 76 medical center employees. The medical center is part of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 23. VAOIG

Claims Processing

VA hires Navy to build claims processing system 10/29/08. Lack of in-house expertise and pressure from veterans group and union leads department to forgo hiring a contractor. NextGov

Female Veterans and Sexual Trauma

Substantial Proportion of Female Veterans Report Military Sexual Trauma; Military Sexual Trauma Is Associated with Higher Rates of Mental Health Problems 10/28/08. According to preliminary research results from the Department of Veterans Affairs presented at the American Public Health Association’s 136th Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Diego, approximately 15 percent of recently returned female veterans utilizing the VA health care system report experiencing sexual trauma during military service. American Public Health Association (APHA) via Newswise