What role, if any, does VA have in preventing the recruitment of veterans into organizations that promote violence against the United States and its citizens? A trio of hearings hosted by the House Veterans Affairs Committee explored the question.
Military Bases Add Additional Restrictions to Help Stem COVID-19 Spread
U.S. military bases around the country—and some around the world—have begun to increase health protection measures to guard against the surge in COVID-19 cases due to variants, such as delta, that have been spreading for months.
LGBTQ Veterans Ousted By ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Eligible for VA Benefits
VA Secretary Denis McDonough sent guidance to Veterans’ Benefit Administration adjudicators restating that veterans who were given other than honorable discharges under the military’s former Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy are eligible for the full range of VA benefits.
Veteran Was Missing for Almost a Month Before Decomposed Body Found
On June 12, 2020, a badly decomposed body was found in the emergency exit stairwell of the Bedford Veterans Quarters (BVQ), a privately operated, independent living facility on the campuses of VA’s Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital.
How Mandatory HCP Vaccines Affect Infections
The VA led the way among federal agencies in requiring front-line health workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. It later expanded the requirement to most VHA employees, volunteers and contractors who work in those facilities or come in contact with veteran patients and healthcare workers as part of their duties.
National Guard Responds to Hurricane Ida Catastrophe
As of the end of August, the National Guard had activated more than 5,200 personnel in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama in response to Hurricane Ida, according to Army Maj. Gen. William D. “Hank” Taylor, the Joint Staff deputy director for regional operations.
VA Police Likely Will Be Equipped With Body Cameras to Provide More Data
VA’s police force will likely soon be equipped with body-worn cameras, either through the department’s own initiative or by legislative fiat.
COVID-19 Vaccine Expected to Be Required for Military Personnel This Month
The DoD plans to request a presidential waiver to require all servicemembers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting in mid-September, according to a memo sent by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
VA EHR Rollout at First Site Was Flawed, Needs Reconfiguration
The initial rollout of VA’s new electronic health record (EHR) system at the Mann-Grandstaff VAMC was deeply flawed and requires serious reconfiguring.
Despite Delays, NCAA Attorney Donald Remy Confirmed as VA’s Deputy Secretary
Former National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) attorney Donald Remy, an Army veteran, has been confirmed by the Senate to be the VA’s deputy secretary.
Pain Cream Sellers Sentenced for Bilking TRICARE Out of Mega-Millions
Prosecution continues for defendants charged in a number of nearly-identical schemes to defraud TRICARE and other insurers out of hundreds of millions of dollars by exploiting a former loophole in the billing process for compound drugs.
VA Takes Lead in Requiring COVID-19 Vaccine for Front-line Healthcare Workers
When the VA, the largest healthcare system in the U.S., mandated COVID-19 vaccines for front-line healthcare workers in late July, it moved to the forefront of a building trend to require COVID-19 vaccines for some employees. It also established the department as the first federal agency to take the step.
Veteran Homelessness Likely to Increase With End of Eviction Moratorium
While the last decade has seen a dramatic decrease in the number of veterans who are homeless on any given night, that trend has stalled in the last two years with numbers, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, starting to move upward again.
Legislators Disagree on When, How VA Should Deal With Aging Facilities
The average age of VA’s healthcare facilities is now more than 50 years old. As those buildings have aged, the cost of maintaining them has risen, and VA has not always been able to keep up.
VA Recharges Efforts to Tackle In-House Equity, Inclusion, Diversity Issues
VA needs to do more to ensure workforce equity, inclusion and diversity, especially in its senior leadership roles, according to legislators and employee advocates.
Military Survey Shows Preferences for HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Delivery
Use of pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent human immunodeficiency virus transmission remains relatively low for U.S. military servicemembers. New research suggests, however, that better understanding their treatment preferences could increase uptake.
VA Begins Process to Offer Gender Confirming Surgery to Transgender Veterans
With VA’s announcement that it will begin initiating the process to offer gender confirmation surgery to transgender veterans.
DoD Continues to Promote COVID-19 Vaccination; Navy Offers Incentives
The Navy became the first U.S. military branch to change policy so that servicemembers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 have more freedom of movement.
How Was a VA Nurse Assistant Able to Murder Seven Patients in One Year?
In May, Reta Mays, a former nurse’s assistant at VA’s Louis A. Johnson Medical Center in Clarksburg was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences—one each for the patients that she had pleaded guilty to murdering.
COVID-19 Pandemic Put Spotlight on VA’s Critical Supply Chain Problems
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored VA’s lack of a comprehensive supply chain management program, and agency officials once again defended their progress before Congress.
Infrastructure Lack Increases Health Risks of Native Americans
The COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately affected Native Americans, has revealed a critical need for investments in those communities, according to trial advocates and the Indian Health Service (IHS).
ADHD, Mental Health Comorbidities Affect Military Applicant Pool
As a common childhood diagnosis, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also affects the pool of potential military applicants.
Lab Supervisor Helps Reduce Blood Culture Contamination at VAMC
Not long ago, it wasn’t unheard of for Billie Shields to get called in the middle of the night to come into the Beckley VAMC and work up a blood culture on a patient. She was happy to do it—as a supervisor laboratory technician, she takes the role of serving veterans seriously.
DoD Personnel Critical in Getting Civilians Immunized Against COVID-19
In an effort to get as many COVID-19 shots into arms as possible as quickly as feasible, the military is continuing to supply personnel to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency at mass vaccination sites.
Chief Medical Recruiters Look for Commitment to the VA’s Mission
Even VA’s harshest critics regularly admit that VA provides world-class care to its veterans and that VA facilities are staffed by some of the most compassionate, hardest-working providers in any healthcare system in the country.
VA Doctors Sentenced for Crimes Committed Against Veteran Patients
The first months of 2021 saw the progression of a number of high-profile criminal cases involving VA employees charged with harming the patients they were tasked to serve.
VA Seeks to Improve Healthcare Services for LGBT Veterans
With the understanding that the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender veterans is affected by how equitably they are treated, the VA is seeking to improve its services for those groups.
Military Sexual Assaults Lead to Voluntary Separations; Affect Force Readiness
In addition to the extreme trauma it causes victims, military sexual assault also makes it much more difficult for the U.S. military to retain good personnel, according to a new report.
Team Trains VA Health Professionals to Provide Better LGBT Care
As VA conducts a department-wide assessment of how it serves its LGBT veterans, agency leaders will likely discover what Jillian Shipherd, PhD, and Michael Kauth, PhD, have understood for years
Union Survey: VA Staff Not Adequately Protected Against COVID-19
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, VA staff have complained about shortages of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect against the virus.
