VA teams up with heart experts on women’s health

By Leo Shane III
Published: May 18, 2012

WASHINGTON – Veterans Affairs officials this week announced a new partnership with the American Heart Association to help bring new prevention and treatment information to female veterans, who face an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease.

The collaboration, which has already begun, includes providing information for patients on programs to help with host of heart-related issues, and training for physicians within the VA on new treatments and practices to reduce those health risks. In coming months, it will also include screening patients more frequently for cardiovascular problems like high blood pressure or diabetes.

Obama to speak at Vietnam wall on Memorial Day

By Leo Shane III
Published: May 17, 2012

Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON – During the Medal of Honor ceremony for Spc. Leslie Sabo on Wednesday, President Barack Obama announced he’ll speak at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Memorial Day, as part of the Defense Department’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of that war.

“Instead of being celebrated, our Vietnam veterans were often shunned,” Obama said. “They were called many things, when there was only one thing that they deserved to be called: American patriots.

Vets retraining program accepting applications

By Leo Shane III
Published: May 16, 2012

WASHINGTON — Department of Veterans Affairs officials this week began accepting applications for the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program, part of Congress’ effort last year to help unemployed veterans back into the workforce.

The program , which will begin July 1, is aimed at veterans aged 35 to 60 who need new or updated work skills in today’s tough job market. It offers a $1,473 stipend to participants enrolled in college or technical school classes, as a way to help them make ends meet while they are retrained.

Task force offers plan to make VA more female friendly

By Leo Shane III
Published: May 15, 2012

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs’ task force on women veterans this month offered its plans for making the health and benefits system more female friendly. The report offers 23 suggestions spanning facility setup, research and treatment priorities, and better data collection, all with the goal of “continuously improving services for women veterans.”

Now, the department is looking for feedback from the public. Veterans and their advocates have until June 14 to offer their comments and criticism of the plan. Officials said a revised strategy report will be developed in the following weeks.

Want to help vets with PTSD? Treat families too

By Leo Shane III
Published: May 11, 2012

WASHINGTON — Spouses of veterans suffering mental health war wounds know the stresses those illnesses can bring to the entire family. Now, a new study from University of Missouri (highlighted by Syracuse’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families this week) suggests that treating that “secondary traumatization” can be an important step in helping cure the veterans’ issues.

The study notes that research on those family issues so far have “largely focused on improving relationships and reducing veterans’ symptoms, rather than targeting improvements in the psychological well-being of the spouse and children.”

Jobless rate drops to 9.2 percent for recent vets

By Derek Turner
Published: May 7, 2012

The unemployment rate for recent veterans dropped by more than a percentage point in April, rebounding after a sharp spike the previous month, according to figures released late last week by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

In April, 9.2 percent of post-9/11-era veterans were jobless. That figure is less than the 10.3 percent unemployed in March, but still higher than the 7.6 percent reported in February. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ VAntage Point blog pointed out that unemployment figures from January to April represent the lowest rates for any four-month period since 2008.

New VA hires to include marriage therapists, professional counselors

By Leo Shane III
Published: May 2, 2012

WASHINGTON – The 1,900 new mental health staffers to be added to the Department of Veterans Affairs workforce in coming months will include two new types of specialists: marriage and family therapists, and licensed professional mental health counselors.

That’s worth noting because for years those professionals and therapists have been largely shut out of the VA system, which they say only hurts veterans’ health care. Their complaints stem from local VA facilities’ preference to hire licensed social workers in lieu of developing new standards for other specialists.

For suicide hotline workers, pranks are an unfortunate reality

By Leo Shane III
Published: April 24, 2012

Veterans Crisis Line responder Christina Tallie studies an online message from a suicidal veteran. Prank calls are a constant headache for responders.

Leo Shane III / Stars and Stripes

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — In the last three years working at the Veterans Crisis Line, responder Christina Tallie says she has had fewer than 10 exchanges with callers that have traumatized her. But she still gets anxious recalling them.

The worst involved a lengthy, frustrating phone call with a frantic veteran that ended with a sudden gunshot. She was so upset, she couldn’t work the rest of the day, and though about quitting.

What’s a security clearance worth to employers?

By Leo Shane III
Published: April 23, 2012

ClearanceJobs.com

WASHINGTON – Even in a stagnant job market, companies appear to be willing to pay top-dollar for veterans with a security clearance.

A new study from the website ClearanceJobs.com puts the 2011 annual salary for individuals with some level of security clearance at more than $76,000, and increase of 5 percent from the previous year. When overtime, bonuses and other specialty pays are factored in, it translates into nearly $91,000 in annual compensation.

Wounded vets pedal for fellowship, awareness

By Megan McCloskey
Published: April 19, 2012

View Gallery (3 images)

Former Army Sgt. Ted Wade, who lost an arm and suffered traumatic brain injury in a 2004 IED attack in Iraq while serving with the 82nd Airborne, has his bike adjusted by Hal Honeyman before Thursday's Warrior Ride along the Old Dominion Bike Trail in Ashburn, Va. Wade joins two dozen other participants in this weeks' Wounded Warrior Program Soldier Ride, which also includes events in Annapolis and North Beach. Md., and a Friday visit with President Barack Obama at the White House. Honeyman is with Project Mobility, which supports soldier rides all over the country. Watching is Wade's wife, Sarah.

Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes

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ASHBURN, VA — Leaving behind her guide dog with a bone, retired Army Capt. Leslie Smith embraced a different kind of escort as she climbed aboard the back seat of a tandem bike in the rain Wednesday.

She adjusted her prosthetic left leg and with a “3, 2, 1”, the nearly blind Smith rode off laughing on a 10-mile bike ride with a volunteer rider leading the way in the front seat.

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