VA Nurse Recruitment

VA can improve nurse recruitment and retension, says GAO report requested by Akaka and Salazar 10/24/08. WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the shortcomings of the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) ability to recruit and retain medical personnel. The report was requested by U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO). Akaka also announced that he will reintroduce legislation to improve recruitment and retention of VA medical personnel in the next Congress. U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs

VA Underpayments

DoD to Review VA Underpayments 10/24/08. WASHINGTON - A Pentagon financing office said Thursday it has begun a review of a veterans' claims program that a House lawmaker says has made payment errors reaching millions of dollars. Military.com

How PTSD and TBI Can Affect the Family

Family Safety: A Significant Concern for Returning Veterans and Their Families 10/24/08. If the experience of war weren't difficult enough, many OIF/OEF veterans return home to struggle with the impact of combat stress and trauma and how this plays out in the family. Witness Justice and the Veterans Initiative Center and Research Institute (VICTRI), in collaboration with bipartisan U.S. House Caucuses (Addiction, Treatment and Recovery, Mental Health, Veteran's Mental Health, and Victim's Rights), hosted an issue briefing on Capitol Hill today to discuss this issue and the results of a new national survey of veterans. MarketWatch

PolyTrauma Care

Putting Polytrauma Care 'on the Map' 10/23/08. In a study to be presented at a national VA meeting in December, investigators at VA's Rehabilitation Outcomes Research Center (RORC) in Gainesville, Fla., used specialized geographic software to track access to VA care for traumatically wounded veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The findings will help VA planners decide where to locate services for current and future cohorts of veterans. USDVA

New GI Bill

VA Vows No Delays for New GI Bill 10/23/08. The new Post-9/11 GI Bill, which on average will double the value of education benefits for eligible veterans, will be launched on schedule next August and begin making payments to students and colleges next fall, just as Congress intended, says a senior Department of Veterans Affairs official. Military.com

New Issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development

JRRD – Volume 45, Number 6, 2008 10/22/08. New issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development released online. USDVA

Mobile Counseling Centers

VA To Deploy Mobile Counseling Centers Across America 10/22/08. WASHINGTON – The first of a fleet of 50 new mobile counseling centers for the Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center program was put into service today with the remainder scheduled to be activated over the next three months. USDVA

PTSD Related Research

New study suggests that high-dose hormone treatment might reduce risk for PTSD 10/22/08. Cortisol helps our bodies cope with stress, but what about its effects on the brain? A new study by Cohen and colleagues, appearing in the Oct. 15 issue of Biological Psychiatry, suggests that the answer to this question is complex. Elsevier via Eurekalert!

Memories selectively, safely erased in mice 10/22/08. New and old memories have been selectively and safely removed from mice by scientists. "While memories are great teachers and obviously crucial for survival and adaptation, selectively removing incapacitating memories, such as traumatic war memories or an unwanted fear, could help many people live better lives," says Dr. Joe Z. Tsien, brain scientist and co-director of the Brain & Behavior Discovery Institute at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine. Medical College of Georgia via Eurekalert!

Army Jobs for Wounded Warriors

Army to Hire More Wounded Warriors 10/21/08. WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 20, 2008) - Army personnel officials are launching an outreach program as part of a push to hire more wounded warriors and their spouses as civilian employees. DefenseLink

VAOIG Report

Combined Assessment Program Review of the Wilmington VA Medical Center Wilmington, Delaware [08-01428-11] 10/21/08. During the week of May 5–9, 2008, the OIG conducted a Combined Assessment Program (CAP) review of the Wilmington VA Medical Center (the medical center), Wilmington, DE. 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 64 medical center employees. The medical center is part of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 4. VAOIG

From the VHA Office of Research and Development

Clinical Pharmacotherapy for PTSD: Single and Collaborative Studies 10/20/08. Clinical Science R&D Service, in joint collaboration with the National Institute of Mental Health, announces a new opportunity for funding, "Clinical Pharmacotherapy for PTSD: Single and Collaborative Studies". This solicitation will utilize electronic submission of proposals to NIH.

Interim Guidance Usual Care Research 10/20/08.Clinical and health services research involving “usual care” is common in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Subjects in such research receive the same “usual” interventions for their conditions as patients at their VA facility who are not involved in research.

Interim Guidance on Special Safeguards 10/20/08. Although the regulations provide examples of potentially vulnerable subject groups, individuals with a variety of physical or mental conditions may deserve special safeguards, depending upon the particular circumstances of a proposed research study.

Video Games Supplement VA Therapy

VA Uses Video Game System To Help Impaired Patients Heal 10/20/08. What Nintendo likely did not intend, but what some Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) physical therapists are capitalizing on, is that the Wii has the potential to add a new dimension to caring for physically and cognitively impaired patients. U.S. Medicine

PTSD and TBI

Like PTSD, TBI Symptoms Complicate Treatment 10/20/08. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently go hand-in-hand. An explosion violent enough to cause TBI is usually traumatic enough to cause PTSD. And so military and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) physicians are finding themselves with the task of deciding how to treat both—either consecutively or simultaneously. U.S. Medicine

PBS Specials

American Valor 10/19/08. From Bull Run to Mogadishu, American Valor takes a moving and compelling look at America’s military heroes: those brave soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen whose actions have earned them the country’s highest military recognition, the Medal of Honor. American Valor will be broadcast on most PBS stations on Veterans Day, November 11, 2003 at 9PM. PBS

PBS Documentary “Medal Of Honor” Examines Extraordinary Acts of Courage, Sacrifice and Heroism 10/19/20. In MEDAL OF HONOR, a new documentary that PBS announced today will air nationwide on November 5 at 9 p.m., powerful stories of those who have received our nation's highest military honor beg fundamental questions about the nature of the human spirit and what it means to have the courage of a hero. WETA

From the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General

Combined Assessment Program Review of the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center Chicago, Illinois [08-00003-10] 10/17/08. During the week of July 21–25, 2008, the OIG conducted a Combined Assessment Program (CAP) review of the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center (the medical center), Chicago, IL. 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 143 medical center employees. The medical center is part of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 12.

Healthcare Inspection Allegations of Delayed Access to Care and Lack of Concern, Bay Pines VA Healthcare System, Bay Pines, Florida [08-01863-08] 10/16/08. The purpose of the review was to evaluate allegations regarding a patient’s experience with schedulers in the Primary Care Call Center (Call Center) and the Cardiology Clinic at the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (the system). The complainant alleged that Call Center and Cardiology Clinic schedulers did not schedule appointments for him in a timely manner even though he reported medical symptoms. In addition, he alleged a lack of concern by the schedulers.

Combined Assessment Program Review of the Northampton VA Medical Center Leeds, Massachusetts [07-03175-09] 10/16/08. During the week of July 21–25, 2008, the OIG conducted a Combined Assessment Program (CAP) review of the Northampton VA Medical Center (the medical center), Leeds, MA. 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 for 41 medical center employees. The medical center is part of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 1.