Injured Veterans Learn to Scuba Dive

Diver Down: SUDS Helps Wounded Warriors Scuba Dive 01/01/09. For two years the Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba program has taught more than 100 injured veterans how to dive. The program is designed to assist returning veterans injured in Afghanistan and Iraq with their rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. MHS

Review of White River Junction VAMC

Combined Assessment Program Review of the White River Junction VA Medical Center White River Junction, Vermon 01/01/09. 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 41 employees. VAOIG

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening

Healthcare Inspection Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Management in VA Medical Facilities 01/01/09. The VA Office of Inspector General completed an evaluation to determine whether Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical facilities had implemented abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening policies and protocols and whether clinicians were managing diagnosed AAAs in accordance with the United States Preventative Service Task Force (USPSTF) recommended guidelines. VHA currently has no policy requiring AAA screening. VAOIG

Contract Awarded for Monitoring Drug Events

DOD awards contract for drug safety data-mining project 01/01/09. The contract to Phase Forward Inc. supports a project with the Food and Drug Administration and Veterans Affairs Department to monitor adverse drug events. Government Health IT

Survivor Benefits

Nearly 11,000 Survivors to Receive Retroactive Payments by New Years 12/25/08. The Department of Veterans Affairs has identified nearly 11,000 surviving spouses of deceased veterans who will receive a lump-sum payment before the New Year to correct an error in their VA benefits. Also documented were more than 73,000 who had been previously paid. VA officials are still tracking down eligible survivors. VA

Veterans File Lawsuit Regarding PTSD

Federal Lawsuit Alleges Department of Defense Improperly Denied Medical, Disability Benefits to Veterans 12/25/08. A class-action lawsuit filed in U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., alleges that the Department of Defense illegally denied medical and disability benefits to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The suit, filed on behalf of five veterans and the National Veterans Legal Services Program, claims that the individuals were discharged from duty after an Army review board concluded they had experienced PTSD and were unable to serve; however, the lawsuit states that the disorders were not rated severe enough for the veterans to qualify for ongoing disability payments and medical coverage for themselves and their families. KaiserNetwork.org

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Single-Topic Issue

Volume 44, Number 7, 2008 12/3/08. The Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development has a new issue available online with a single topic focus on TBI. JRRD

Committee on Women Veterans

New Members Appointed to Committee on Women Veterans 12/23/08. Four new members have been appointed to the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans for the Department of Veterans Affairs, an expert panel that advises VA on issues and programs affecting women veterans. VA

Long-Term Consequences of TBI

DoD and VA Initiatives Addressing IOM Recommendations 12/22/08. Following a medical literature review to look for associations between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and long-term health problems, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a comprehensive report Dec. 4 titled Gulf War and Health: Volume 7. Long-term Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury, available at: http://www.health.mil/include/exitwarning.aspx?link=http://www.iom.edu/CMS/4683/60519.aspx. This article follows up an earlier article. Military Health System

Genetic Predisposition to PTSD

Vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder runs in families, study shows 12/21/08. The researchers used statistical methods to assess heritabilities. One method was used to determine the genetic component of a disorder such as PTSD. Then, a separate analysis was used to see if different phenotypes shared genes. The results showed that a significant amount of genes are shared between PTSD and depression, PTSD and anxiety, and finally depression and anxiety. University of California - Los Angeles via Eurekalert!

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