VA Bay Pines Resarch Fair and Recognition Today

Photo courtesy of Bay Pines VA.

Speech and hearing, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Alzheimer’s Disease are three of several areas the Bay Pines VA is conducting clinical research.

Their work will be showcased today, May 13, 2013, as part of National VA Research Week. The research fair is set from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first floor of the main medical building in the JC Cobb room.

Other areas of clinical research at Bay Pines include: ; psychosocial behavioral science (sexual trauma); diseases of the heart, lung and respiratory system; infectious diseases; cancer and wound healing.

Bay Pines is located at 10000 Bay Pines Blvd N, St Petersburg, FL.

 

Women Veterans: A VA Hotline Just for You

From a previous Operation Stand Down.

The numbers tell it all – why the VA felt there was a need to establish a dedicated hotline for women veterans: 1-855-829-6636 (VA-WOMEN).

In the past decade, the population of women veterans has more than doubled from 160,000 to 360,000. That number is expected to double again by 2022.

Women make up 15 percent of the active duty military and 18 percent of the Guard and Reserves.

Yet, women veterans are less likely to use VA health care. Currently, women make up only 6 percent of the VA total patient population.

A VA survey found the main reason for  the lack of use by women vets was their lack of knowledge about their VA benefits and services.

So the VA has established a hotline where women veterans, their families and caregivers can get answers about available resources and services.

Courtesy North Florida VA.

“All our telephone agents have received training regarding services that the VA provides for women Veterans,” Krista Stephenson, an Army Veteran and current Women Veterans Call Center Director, stated in a press release. “They are informed about eligibility, benefits, health care and other services, and can route calls within VA when needed”

 

The single number also handles calls regarding crisis situations like sexual trauma, homelessness, domestic violence and suicidal behavior.

“We also have established agreements for warm handoffs to VA programs such as the Veterans Crisis Line and the Caregiver Support Line,” Stephenson stated. “We are also working collaboratively with other VA Departments for those Veterans who have questions regarding VA benefits and health eligibility.”

The Call Center also follow-ups within 30 days on any calls transferred to the VA to ensure that women Veterans received the services they needed.

5 Things Successful Homeless Vets Programs Do

 

The 2010 Homeless Stand Down was held September 18, 2010 at the National Guard Armory in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. The Stand Down is an annual event designed with the Homeless Veteran in mind. Courtesy Miami VA.gov

Florida is one of the top “hot spots” for homeless veterans making it the focus of VA officials who have the stated goal of ending veteran homelessness by December 2015. The others are Texas, California and New York.

With less than two years to accomplish that Herculean task of ending veterans homelessness, more than 60 advocates, experts and service providers met in Tampa this week to share details about programs with a record of successfully moving  veterans into permanent housing.

The most recent census estimates there are still 5,300 homeless veterans in Florida about 17 percent of the national population of almost 31,000. Women make up about 9 percent of the total veterans homeless population.

Lisa Pape, the national director of Homeless Programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, had staff at the Tampa “Rapid Results Housing Boot Camp” earlier this week.

Courtesy of VA.gov.

“Florida is doing a good job, but they have a ways to go,” Pape said in a telephone interview from Washington D.C.

She said Florida is still working to connect all of the state, local and federal agencies that provide services to homeless veterans. But by far, the state’s largest challenge is providing affordable permanent housing.

The technique, Housing First, Pape said is the most effective program so far. The veteran is given housing and then the services are wrapped around the veteran’s needs.

The top five characteristics of a successful homeless veterans program:

1. Partner  with every agency that has anything to do with veterans and homelessness from local, state and federal levels as well as non-governmental agencies. 
2. Connect with the local offices of the U.S. departments of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Labor.
3. Provide supportive services for the veterans like avenues to employment and mental health.
4.   Make available, affordable permanent housing giving the veteran a place of their own.
5. Provide services for family members of the veteran.

The Tampa boot camp offered three days of training to people already working with homeless veterans showing them more efficient and effective ways to house and provide services. Participants came from three cities in Texas as well as Miami, Sarasota, Bay Pines and Tampa.

You can listen to Lisa Pape’s interview HERE.

PTSD: Do Men and Women React Differently?

Courtesy VA.gov

A study of 18 men and 13 women who had been diagnosed with PTSD showed researchers that the genders react differently to fear.

A staff psychologist at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco conducted the study that was published in the October 2012 issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

Women vs. Men

The study showed women responded more strongly to visual cues than men when they saw a particular image that they knew was going to be followed by an electric shock.

Researchers say it suggests that women can be  conditioned more robustly than men.
PTSD Gender Rates

Mental health experts say women in the general population are twice as likely than men to develop post traumatic stress disorder. Yet, the rate of PTSD was the same among men and women recently seeking treatment at the VA.

As with most research, it created more questions than answers. Researchers don’t know what drives the gender differences in fear conditioning and if there are biological differences  in the fear responses of men and women.

You can read more about the PTSD Gender study HERE.

among recent returnees seeking care at VA, PTSD rates among men and women are the same. Statistics such as these suggest the need to better understand the role of gender in PTSD, particularly as it may impact our Veterans seeking care.” – See more at: http://www.va.gov/health/NewsFeatures/2013/April/PTSD-Study-Men-Versus-Women.asp#sthash.7qpEcaVJ.dpuf

among recent returnees seeking care at VA, PTSD rates among men and women are the same. Statistics such as these suggest the need to better understand the role of gender in PTSD, particularly as it may impact our Veterans seeking care.” – See more at: http://www.va.gov/health/NewsFeatures/2013/April/PTSD-Study-Men-Versus-Women.asp#sthash.7qpEcaVJ.dpuf

Hidden Camera in VA Hospital Room Prompts Privacy Bill

Florida Cong. Jeff Miller (R) being interviewed at a south Texas VA summit.

The discovery of a hidden camera in the room of a brain-damaged veteran at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center last year has led to new legislation in Congress filed Thursday.

Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Jeff Miller of Florida, introduced the Veterans’ Privacy Act. 

“This type of behavior is as bizarre as it is outrageous. To think that some VA employees actually thought it a good idea to covertly record a patient with a video camera disguised as a smoke detector really just boggles the mind,” Miller said in a written press release.

“What’s worse is that when we questioned VA regarding the legality of these actions, department officials contended they had done nothing wrong. The Veterans Privacy Act will keep covert, Big Brother tactics out of VA medical centers and protect the sacred trust that should exist between VA and veteran patients and their families.”

Miller’s bill will require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to obtain the personal consent of patients before installing cameras in VA medical center treatment rooms.

VA Budget Proposes a 10 Percent Increase for Veterans

The President has proposed a $152.7 billion budget for the VA. Unlike other federal agencies, that would mean an 10.2 percent increase over the current year according to the Veterans Health Administration.

The additional money will pay for three major goals: eliminating the disability claims backlog, expanding access to benefits like health care and ending homelessness among veterans.

Eliminating the Claims Backlog

Using people and a $291 million investment in technology in the coming fiscal year, the goal is to eliminate the backlog and process all claims within 125 days with 98 percent accuracy. That’s the goal of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.

• $136 million for Veterans Claims Intake Program (VCIP); and
• $155 million for the next generation of the electronic claims processing system Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS).

Expanding Access

Whether its making health care more accessible to veterans in rural areas or expanding veterans’ college transition programs, there’s funding to expand access. Some examples:

• $460 million in home telehealth funding, which helps patients monitor chronic health care problems through innovative uses of the telephone, a 4.4 percent increase over the current year;
• $422 million for women-specific medical care, an increase of nearly 14 percent over the present level;
• $799 million for the activation of new and enhanced health care facilities;
• $16 million for the construction of three new national cemeteries; and
• $8.8 million for “VetSuccess on Campus” at 84 facilities, a program that helps Veterans transition to college life.

Ending Veterans Homelessness

This is a  strategic goal for the VA – to end homelessness among Veterans in 2015.  The budget request targets $1.4 billion for programs to prevent or reduce homelessness, which includes:

 

• $300 million for Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) to promote housing stability;
• $278 million for the HUD-VASH program wherein VA provides case management services for at-risk Veterans and their families and HUD provides permanent housing through its Housing Choice Voucher program; and
• $250 million in grant and per diem payments that support temporary housing provided by community-based organizations.

Major Health Care Costs

The budget proposal also covers the health care costs for more than 6.5 million veterans and items like:

• $6.9 billion for mental health;
• $4.1 billion for health care for Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn;
• $2.5 billion for prosthetics;
• $601 million for spinal cord injuries;
• $246 million for traumatic brain injuries;
• $230 million for readjustment counseling; and
• $7.6 billion for long-term care.

Bay Pines VA Hosts a Stand Down for Homeless Vets

Courtesy Bay Pines VA.

Here’s an opportunity for homeless veterans in Pinellas County as well as those in need of help with employment, medical, legal or  mental health services.

The Stand Down is scheduled Saturday, April 6, 2013, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m at Bay Pines VA, 10000 Bay Pines Blvd., Bay Pines, FL.

Akin to a military “Stand Down” – the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (VAHCS) access to an array of services and resources in the courtyard located near building 37 at the medical center campus located in Bay Pines.

Organizers promise the event will be held rain or shine. Services available will include access to medical care; free meals, toiletries and clothing items; VA health care, benefits and housing information; employment assistance and more.

Veterans should bring a copy of their DD214 “Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty,” birth certificate, social security card and two documents that can verify their mailing address. Veterans living in a shelter should try to bring a copy of their shelter statement.

Details about the Stand Down for Homeless Veterans event hosted by the Bay Pines VAHCS, are available by calling 727-398-6661 extension 7552.

For more information about the Bay Pines VAHCS, please visit www.baypines.va.gov.

A VA Psychiatrist Bids Farewell to His Patient, His Friend

There has been a lot of criticism in the halls of Congress and elsewhere about the VA backlog of veterans’ claims for benefits. It is a huge problem that must be addressed. It is an issue exacerbated by the VA expanding eligibility for veterans, but I’m not writing to discuss any of that now.

Instead, I want for just a moment to bring up another side – the people who work at the VA. 

In particular, I want you to meet VA psychiatrist Rod Deaton who serves at the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Administration Medical Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. He writes the blog: Paving the Road Back. He’s given me permission to share his work in the past. I do so now because it’s important for all to understand the heart of one man serving those who served in combat.

Goodbye, My Friend

Mere hours ago, one of my patients died, not by his own hand, but suddenly, unexpectedly, far too young, far too soon.

Words fail me. Yet at the same time, I cannot let this night pass without my having typed at least a few such words onto a screen, into cyberspace, for him, whose smile I will never again see.

My God, never again.

Goodbye, my friend. For indeed we were not just “doctor and patient,” were we? It matters not that in another few hours, in the very next daylight I will see, I will write my final note in your chart, does it, for you were never just another note, never just words under federal protection.

These very words that I type, at this very moment: God, I wish you could see them.  I wish I could see you seeing them. I wish we could laugh about them.  I wish I could hear you say, “Jesus, Doc, lighten up, why don’t you.”

I promise, my friend, that one day I will.  The memory of your smile will help me do just that.

But for now, I have to ask you to give me a few hours, a few days, as long as it will take.

May somewhere, somehow, not just my memory of you, but you—you—know: it was never just a job.

At this very moment, you cannot know how glad I am that I can write that.

But then on second thought: maybe you always did know that.

Ergo, your smile.

Goodbye, my friend. Goodbye.

You can read other entries by Rod Deaton at Paving the Road Back.

Veterans Unemployment Drops Again

Image courtesy of VeteransToday.com.

The jobless rate among former military service members continues to decline.

The unemployment rate for all veterans in February dropped to 6.9 percent down from 7.7 percent in January 2013.

Yet, the rate for Post 9-11 veteran remains above the national average.

The Gulf War II-era veterans monthly unemployment rate decreased to 9.4 percent in February. But, the national rate for civilians is 7.7 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The good news is the trend continues downward. Unemployment was 11.7 percent in January for Post 9-11 veterans.

And just over a year ago, more than 1 million veterans were unemployed but today that number has dropped down to 772,000.

VA Reachs Out to Camp Lejeune Marines and Families

Photo courtesy: The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten web site.

The VA is trying to connect with Marines and their families who may have been exposed to polluted drinking water while serving at the U.S. Marine Corps Base at Camp Lejeune.

The drinking water was contaminated with industrial solvents, benzene, and other chemicals and families living there between the period of January 1, 1957 and December 31, 1987 may have exposed.

Co-Chair of the VA Camp Lejeune Task Force, Terry J. Walters, wrote a recent entry in the VA blog, VAntage Point, detailing eligibility plus the medical conditions and illnesses that are covered.

• Bladder cancer
• Miscarriage
• Breast cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Esophageal cancer
• Myelodysplastic syndromes
• Female infertility
• Neurobehavioral effects
• Hepatic steatosis
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Kidney cancer
• Renal toxicity
• Leukemia
• Scleroderma
• Lung Cancer

Walters writes that veterans already enrolled in VA health care can contact their local VA medical facility to receive care under Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012. Veterans not enrolled may apply for VA health care benefits by completing VA form online, by calling toll-free 1-877-222-8387 or in person at their local VA medical care facility.

Three other resources for the Camp Lejeune water contamination:

1. The VA Camp Lejeune water contamination website
2. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry website.
3. The US Marine Corps FAQ information site