VA News

Healthcare Inspection Credentialing, Privileging, and Infection Control Practices, VA Western New York Healthcare System, Buffalo, New York 12/18/08. The purpose of the inspection was to determine the validity of anonymous allegations that a board certified surgeon at the Western New York Healthcare System, Buffalo division, performed lung surgeries without appropriate credentials and privileges. The complainant further alleged that the surgeon’s “hygiene practices were not met.” VAOIG

VA to Provide Payments to Eligible Surviving Spouses 12/18/08. The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced immediate actions to quickly identify and pay surviving spouses who are eligible to receive a one-time compensation or pension payment for the month of the veteran’s death. VA

VA Awards $75.8 Million for Hospital Modernization 12/18/08. The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded a $75.8 million contract to P.J. Dick Inc. for the construction of a major five-story building that will provide outpatient services and 78 secure, private psychiatric beds for the VA Pittsburgh Health Care System. VA

Claims Request Rejected

Federal Judge Rejects Request by Veterans Groups To Require VA To Process Disability Claims Within 90 Days 12/18/08. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in Washington, D.C., has ruled that the court does not have the authority to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to accelerate efforts to process disability claims, the AP/Washington Post reports. The Vietnam Veterans of America and the Veterans of Modern Warfare, which represent about 60,000 veterans, last month filed a lawsuit that sought to require VA to process disability claims within 90 days and resolve appeals within 180 days. At a hearing on Wednesday, Walton said that only Congress and the VA secretary have the authority to require the department to process disability claims within 90 days. KaiserNetwork.org

Journal Devotes Special Issue to TBI

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation devotes special issue to traumatic brain injury 12/18/08. The editors of Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation are pleased to announce a special supplement to the December issue, highlighting traumatic brain injury. Elsevier via Eurekalert!

Selflessness

Selflessness, core of all major world religions, has neuropsychological connection 12/17/08. All spiritual experiences are based in the brain. That statement is truer than ever before, according to a University of Missouri neuropsychologist. An MU study has data to support a neuropsychological model that proposes spiritual experiences associated with selflessness are related to decreased activity in the right parietal lobe of the brain. The study is one of the first to use individuals with traumatic brain injury to determine this connection. University of Missouri-Columbia via Eurekalert!

VAOIG Assessment of San Francisco VA

Combined Assessment Program Review of the San Francisco VA Medical Center San Francisco, California 12/15/08.During the week of September 29–October 3, 2008, the OIG conducted a Combined Assessment Program (CAP) review of the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC), San Francisco, CA. The purpose of the review was to evaluate selected operations, focusing on patient care administration and quality management (QM). During the review, we also presented fraud and integrity awareness training to 183 employees. The SFVAMC is part of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 21. VAOIG

Direct Deposit for Veterans

VA Urges Vets to Sign-up for Direct Deposits 12/15/08. Every month, 730,000 veterans or survivors look for their compensation, pension checks or educational assistance payments in their mailboxes. Nearly all receive them, but theft and mail delays cause problems for some veterans, which can be prevented by direct deposits. VA

TBI Rehab

Study to Identify Best Rehabilitation Therapies for Patients With Traumatic Brain Injuries 12/15/08. Rush University Medical Center and 10 other healthcare facilities in the U.S. and Canada have been awarded a $4.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to identify which rehabilitation therapies, or combination of therapies, can best help victims of traumatic brain injuries. Rush University Medical Center via Newswise

Veteran's Disability Claims Appeals

Defense Department Panel Has Not Yet Heard Appeals of Veterans' Rejected Disability Claims 12/15/08. A U.S. Department of Defense panel charged in December 2007 with reviewing appeals made by wounded and injured veterans claiming they received inappropriate disability ratings from the military has yet to review a single case, the AP/Detroit News reports. The Army Physical Evaluation Board assigns injured troops a disability rating, which corresponds with the level of benefits for which they and their family are eligible. KaiserNetwork.org

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