Arkansas VAOIG Report

Combined Assessment Program Review of the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks, Fayetteville, Arkansas 12/11/08. The purpose of the review was to evaluate selected operations, focusing on patient care administration and quality management (QM). During the review, we provided fraud and integrity awareness training to 153 medical center employees. The review covered eight operational activities. The medical center complied with selected standards in the following areas: (1) coordination of care, (2) emergency department operations, (3) medication management, (4) pharmacy operations and controlled substances inspections, (5) QM, (6) staffing, and (7) survey of healthcare experiences of patients. We identified the medical center’s reduction in the number of patient falls as an organizational strength. We made a recommendation for improvement in environment of care. VAOIG

Care for North Carolina Veterans

VA Announces Enhanced and Expanded Care for N.C. Veterans 12/11/08. The Department of Veterans Affairs announced a strategic realignment plan today that will enhance and expand access to health care for North Carolina veterans. Through the creation of new facilities in Charlotte and Winston-Salem, plus improvements to the medical center in Salisbury, veterans will have more options for VA health care. VA

Prosthetic Hands

Amputees can experience prosthetic hand as their own 12/11/08. Scientists at Karolinska Institutet and Lund University in Sweden have succeeded in inducing people with an amputated arm to experience a prosthetic rubber hand as belonging to their own body. The results can lead to the development of a new type of touch-sensitive prosthetic hands. Karolinska Institutet via Physorg.com

Op-Eds Regarding Shinseki

Editorials Discuss Nomination of Former Army General Shinseki as Next Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary 12/09/08. Several newspapers on Tuesday published editorials on the recent nomination of retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki as the next secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Summaries appear below. KaiserNetwork

Two New VAOIG Inspections

Healthcare Inspection Review of Hospice Care Issues VA Maryland Health Care System Baltimore, Maryland 12/08/08. The VA Office of Inspector General, Office of Healthcare Inspections, reviewed allegations of inadequate pain management, poor hospice care, and ineffective communication at the VA Maryland Healthcare System (VAMHCS), Baltimore Rehabilitation & Extended Care Center (BRECC). VAOIG

Healthcare Inspection Oversight of the Community Nursing Home Program Oklahoma City VA Medical Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 12/08/08. The purpose of the review was to determine the validity of allegations concerning inadequate oversight provided to veterans in the Community Nursing Home (CNH) Program at Oklahoma City VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. VAOIG

Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection Program

VA Announces Changes to Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance 12/08/08. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced some severely injured military personnel and veterans will be eligible for improvements to the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection Program, known as TSGLI. VA

New VA Secretary Named

Rumsfeld nemesis Shinseki to be named VA secretary 12/07/08. President-elect Barack Obama has chosen retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki to be the next Veterans Affairs secretary, turning to a former Army chief of staff once vilified by the Bush administration for questioning its Iraq war strategy. AP via YahooNews