FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 11, 2012   VA Announces Changes to Emergency Care Payment Policy WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today a change in regulations regarding payments for emergency care provided to eligible Veterans in non-VA facilities. “This provision helps ensure eligible Veterans are able to pay for emergency care they need when VA facilities are not available,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. The new regulation extends VA’s authority to pay for emergency care provided to eligible Veterans at non-VA treatment centers until the Veterans can be safely transferred to a VA medical facility. More than 100,000 Veterans are estimated to be affected by the new rules, at a cost of about $44 million annually. VA operates 121 emergency departments across the country, which provide resuscitative therapy and stabilization in life-threatening situations.  They operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  VA also has 46 urgent care units, which provide care for patients without scheduled appointments who need immediate medical or psychiatric attention. For more information about emergency care in non-VA facilities, visit www.nonvacare.va.gov.

Leatherneck Inducted Into Army Ranger Hall of Fame • Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Wawrzyniak , USMC (Ret) was honored at the 19th Annual (20 II) Ranger Hall of Fame Cere­mony, July 27, at the Bill Heard Theatre in Columbus, Ga., when he was posthumously inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame.
Wawrzyniak had an illustrious    military career both in combat and command through 35 years of military service. A veteran of World War ll, he served in the U.S. Navy from October 1944 to September 1946. Three days after his discharge from the Navy, Private Wawrzyniak reported for duty as a United States Marine. A "China Marine,"Wawrzyniak held every rank from private through lieutenant colonel, commanding troops with distinction from rifle platoon through battalion.
Wawrzyniak served with heroic distinction during the Korean War where he was twice awarded the Navy Cross and also awarded the Silver Star. He also earned three Purple Hearts during the war. Among his duty stations between conflicts, Wawrzyniak served as an instructor at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center Bridgeport, Calif., and with 2d Force Reconnaissance Company where he attended Army Airborne School (Iron    Mike Outstanding    Leadership Award), Army Ranger School (Distinguished Honor Graduate)    and    U.S. Navy scuba diving training.
During the Vietnam War, Wawrzyniak served as commander and mentor to legendary Ranger Hall of Fame inductee Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC (Ret). Wawrzyniak directly participated in ex­tensive combat in the infamous "Leather­ neck Square" area of Dong Ha, Con Thien, Gio Lin and the "Rock-pile." He was involved in warfare at every fire base along the Demilitarized Zone, from Laos to Khe Sanh. In addition to picking up his fourth Purple Heart, he was twice awarded the Bronze Star with combat "V"
After the Vietnam War, Wawrzyniak continued to serve in various staff and command positions until his retirement from military service in 1979. From that time until his death at age 68 in 1995, Wawrzyniak    worked    alongside    his    sons in the home building trades.
In April 2009, Leatherneck named Stan Wawrzyniak as one of its" 'Top 10' Badass Marines." He was described as "a genuine tough guy. A lot of people think they're tough when all they are is just plain mean. Stan was the real article, absolutely without fear, a man who was a living example of the old Texas Ranger saying 'Nothing can stop a good man who's in the right and keeps on coming.' The veterans of 2/5 who fought with him on Hill 812 and OP2 venerate him."
Prior to his death in 2008, Col Ripley enthusiastically expressed his intent to nominate    Wawrzyniak for induction    into the Ranger Hall of Fame, crediting his strong leadership skills and warrior attributes, which were sharpened by the profound impact of his Ranger training. In that they were both Ranger trained warriors, their in-the-field chemistry was uniquely honed and extraordinarily effective as each man provided the essential leadership traits required for success in combat.
As recorded in the Congressional Record during the 106th session of Congress on June 29, 1999, a House of Representatives tribute to    LtCol. Wawrzyniak, his life can be described best by a Lieutenant General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC (Ret) quote: "The real rewards of military service are not the medals you wear on your chest. The real rewards are the looks in the eyes of the men who have served with you, men who understand the nature of your service, men who have observed your actions in the most stressful of conditions and have seen the depth of your character."
Sergeant Zachary Lucas, a    UH-I Y Super Huey crew chief with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367, was awarded a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, August 19, at Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, Calif., for developing a new seat configuration for the UH-I Y. For his innovation, which cut costs for the Department of Defense, Lucas also received a $5,000 check.
"During our deployment, we were told to come up with a way to carry five passengers in a way that we would not be affected in the back," Lucas said. "Our seating configuration goes from three seats to one seat in the center. With three seats in the center [of the cabin], we get limited viability to employ the weapons systems or tend to the packs."
During his deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, Lucas worked on designing a less-obstructive two-man bed seat that would replace the cumbersome center seat. He procured the prototype hardware and coordinated with Leathernecks of Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 40 for production.
"I modified the support poles that go on the transmission wall," Lucas said. "I shortened them up and centered seats on the supporting beams."
A prototype was tested in the United States and approved by U.S. Naval Air Systems Command. Bell Helicopter manufactured the seats, and the current design, dubbed "The Lucas Seat," gained Corps-wide attention for providing greater mobility throughout the cabin, especially maneuverability around weapons systems.
The Lucas Seat gives UH-IY crews a tactically viable alternative for fulfilling all 13 utility mission and essential tasks, including providing better safety and capability during combat missions. Lucas said the placement of the modified seats gives both passengers and crew chiefs the ability to view the area of operations without sight obstructions and to watch the multifunction displays in the cockpit.
Colonel Shaun Sadler, Commanding Officer, Marine Aircraft Group 39, said the new seats allow for maximum maneuverability, a critical capability for machine-gunners. "Initiative like that is a rare thing," said Sadler. "Once you see it and act on it, there is no limit of where you can go."
The dual engine UH-IY Venom, or    Super Huey, is equipped with a modified four­-blade rotor and has upgraded engines and transmissions to give it increased payload and performance capabilities including increased speed and carrying capacity. It deployed for the first time in January 2009 as part of the aviation combat element of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

VA Plans 3,000 Units of Housing for Veterans

at 25 Locations Nationwide

Continues Ongoing Efforts to Provide Housing to Veterans

 

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs has entered agreements to provide more than 3,000 units of permanent and transitional housing for Veterans at 25 VA medical center campuses nationwide.  Additionally, agreements are pending on an additional 1,000 units, which we anticipate completing in the coming weeks.  Proposed opportunities include housing for homeless Veterans, senior Veterans, disabled Veterans, other at-risk Veteran populations, and their families.

“As we approach Veterans Day, it is important that we never forget the sacrifices made by our Veterans to ensure the freedom and independence all Americans cherish,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “These efforts to ensure the well-being of our Veterans and their families demonstrate our Nation’s gratitude for their service and commitment to honoring their dedication.”

The agreements are part of VA’s Building Utilization Review and Repurposing (BURR) initiative.  BURR is a VA strategic effort to identify and repurpose unused VA land and buildings in support of VA’s goal to end Veteran homelessness. VA is using its enhanced-use lease authority to permit third-party providers to finance, design, develop, maintain and operate housing with on-site supportive services, on a priority basis, for Veterans and their families.

The co-location of these projects on VAMC campuses ensures that Veterans have ready access to care and treatment designed to help them attain long-term independence and self-sufficiency.

An estimated total of 5,300 units of affordable and supportive housing will be provided to Veterans. This number includes projects already in operation or underway.

VA is proceeding with agreements with third-party providers at 25 sites nationwide.  These sites and proposed developments include:

·         Canandaigua, N.Y. – 48 transitional and permanent housing units

·         Fort Howard, Md. – 1,437 housing units

·         Lyons, N.J. – 62 permanent housing units

·         Newington, Conn. – 74 permanent housing units

·         Alexandria, La. – 70 transitional housing units

·         Kerrville, Texas – 100 units of assisted living/extended care housing

·         Knoxville, Iowa – 75 units of permanent housing

·         Newington, Conn. – 100 units of assisted living/extended care housing

·         Northampton, Mass. – 48 permanent housing units

·         Roseburg, Ore. – 44 permanent and 10 transitional housing units

·         Bath, N.Y. – 40 permanent and transitional housing units

·         Battle Creek, Mich. – 100 permanent housing units

·         Bedford, Mass. – 70 permanent housing units

·         Brockton, Mass.  – 14 permanent housing units

·         Fort Harrison, Mont. – 100 permanent housing units

·         Hines, Ill. – 120 permanent housing units

·         Menlo Park, Calif. – 60 permanent housing units

·         Minneapolis, Minn. – 58 permanent housing units

·         Northport, N.Y.  – 110 permanent housing units

·         Sacramento, Calif. – 99 bed nursing care facility

·         Spokane, Wash. – 60 units of assisted living

·         St. Cloud, Minn. – 35 permanent housing units

·         Togus, Maine – 50 permanent housing units

·         Tuscaloosa, Ala. – 26 permanent housing units

·         Vancouver, Wash. – 42 permanent housing units

 

For additional information regarding the BURR initiative, please visit http://www.va.gov/ASSETMANAGEMENT/index.asp.

FYI and dissemination.   Please ensure all NSOs get the attachment and pass the info on to their OIF/OEF/OND veterans.  

Subject: Rabies: Facts for OEF/OIF/OND Veterans <<Key facts-Pt information-Rabies_Oct2011.formatted.pdf>>

This information may be of great interest to you. 

Veterans Health Administration, Office of Public Health http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/rabies

World Health Organization (WHO) http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs099/en

US Army Public Health Command  http://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/discond/aid/Pages/Rabies.aspx

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Rabies Website http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/

MMWR: March 19, 2010 / 59(RR02); 1-9: Use of a Reduced (4-Dose) Vaccine Schedule for Postexposure Prophylaxis to Prevent Human Rabies http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5902a1.htm

MMWR: May 23, 2008 / 57(RR03); 1-26,28: Human Rabies Prevention --- United States, 2008 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5703a1.htm

 Warm Regards, Laura B. Balun Director, Voluntary Service

810 Vermont Ave, NW (10B2A) 

Washington, DC 20420 

202-461-7375  Fax 202-495-5323 http://www.volunteer.va.gov/

Keene CBOC ready for patients

By BOB AUDETTE / Reformer Staff 

Posted: 09/16/2011 03:00:00 AM EDT

Updated: 09/16/2011 07:29:31 AM EDT

 

Dr. Carol Blackwood, Jonathan Howe, OPN, and Jennifer Vingelis, RN, will be staffing the new Veterans Administra­tion Community Based Outreach Clinic in Keene, N.H. (Bob Audette/Reformer)

Friday September 16, 2011

KEENE, N.H. -- The staff at the Veterans Administration's new Community Based Outreach Clinic is gearing up for an influx of clients who no longer want to drive to White River Junction in Vermont to receive medical care.

"We are going to be very busy," said Dr. Carol Blackwood, physician in charge.

Blackwood, who recently retired from the U.S. Navy, lives in Rockingham, Vt., and applied for the position 18 months ago.

"This has been a long road," she said.

The clinic was first scheduled to open in late spring, but due to some administrative snafus it was delayed until this month.

But now the space in the Curran Building at 640 Marlboro Street (Route 101, just east of Keene) has been renovated and outfitted and is ready to take clients.

"We'll be able to provide the services that most people need," said Blackwood, adding that the clinic is set up to provide many services specific to women.

The clinic is open to veterans, active duty personnel and members of the National Guard and Reserves who have, in the past, traveled to White River Junction, Manchester and Northampton, Mass., for medical services.

It will be open five days a week.

Helping out around the clinic will be Jennifer Vingelis, an RN, from Troy, N.H., and Jonathan Howe, an OPN, from Bellows Falls.

Both have connections to veterans.

Vingelis spent three months at WRJ and worked for the U.S. Air Force in Tucson.

"I am very excited to help take care of veterans," she said. "Veterans deserve high-quality health care."

Howe was in the Navy as a hospital corpsman.

"I like working with veterans," he said. "Being a veteran myself, we have a common bond. They tell us things they wouldn't normally tell someone else. There's trust right off."

The clinic has six examination rooms, a lab, offices and a conference room, said Blackwood

"We have room for four more providers and the VA is more than willing to hire additional people," she said. "If the vets come, we will expand to meet the need."

The VA is currently negotiating with Cheshire Medical Center in Keene to help supply some services, and overnight stays if needed, that the CBOC can't provide.

The clinic will also have a contract with a designated pharmacy where veterans will be able to pick up some prescriptions immediately, rather than having to wait for a mail delivery or make a trip to White River Junction.

Blackwood said the CBOC's equipment is new and top-of-the-line and the clinic maintains all of its records electronically, making it easy for vets who used the White River Junction facility to transfer their records.

"We'll still be connected to the ‘mother ship' in White River," said Blackwood.

Unfortunately, she said, because the White River and Manchester facilities are in different jurisdictions, and the Keene CBOC is under WRJ, there can be no electronic transfer of records from Manchester.

Veterans will still have to travel to White River Junction for some services, such as seeing a cardiologist or an orthopedic specialist and the clinic will not be able to see those with no insurance, said Blackwood. Those people will still need to go to a VA medical center.

This is not the first CBOC in the area.

A clinic was recently opened in the Exit 1 Industrial Park in Brattleboro, but the Keene CBOC is the Monadnock region's first veterans health services facility.

"It is tremendous news that Keene area veterans finally have convenient access to top-quality healthcare," stated Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., in a press release. "Those who serve our country courageously deserve access to the health care benefits they've earned. I am glad that this long-standing gap in New Hampshire's veterans' services has finally been addressed."

Blackwood grew up in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom and joined the Navy in 1984.

After nine years as an intelligence officer, she decided she wanted to do something else and was accepted into UVM Medical School, which the Navy paid for.

Blackwood is trained as a family physician and has a certificate of added qualifications in geriatrics.

Prior to taking the job with the Veterans Administration she worked at Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend, Vt., for a year-and-a-half.

Patients seeking an appointment at the Keene CBOC should call 603-358-4900.

 

-- 
Howie Howe
Veterans Service Officer, Patriot Guard Riders of NH
RC Coordinator, NH Help On The Homefront
Veterans Advocate, Wounded Warrior Project

To join NH HOTH: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhhoth/join

Click the photo for full story

Thank You To All Our Veterans Who Are Serving, And Those Who Served. "All Gave Some, Some Gave All"

From left, U.S. Army 1st Lt. Pete Burnham, a platoon leader from Campton, N.H.; U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Todd Gagnon, a platoon sergeant from Alexandria, N.H.; U.S. Army Spc. Tobin Hartshorn, a mortarman from Littleton, N.H.; an Afghan National Policemen, Jafary Ziaulrahman, an interpreter; U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Lincoln Barbieri, a mortar platoon sergeant; U.S. Army Spc. Brian Lucas, a food service specialist from Sugar Hill, N.H.; U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jeremy Horn, a Joint Tactical Air Controller; and soldiers from the 2nd and Mortar Platoons of Troop A, 1st Squadron, 172nd Cavalry Regiment stand atop a bridge they built for the residents of Ghorband District. (U.S. ARMY STAFF SGT. WHITNEY HUGHES) Click on the photo < Full story:>

Marine never left
Ceremony in Londonderry honors fallen corporal for valor
Cpl. Oulette’s Mom gets Navy Cross from Dept. of the Navy
Photo by Katie Barnes / Monitor staff
Donna Ouellette, left, is comforted by her friend, Navy Captain Pete Mulcahy, after her son, Marine Corporal Michael W. Ouellette was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross by the Honorable Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy at the Marine Reserve Support Center in Londonderry on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010. Corporal Michael W. Ouellette was killed by an IED in Afghanistan in March of 2009. He was 28-years-old.

By APRIL GUILMET
Union Leader Correspondent; Wednesday, November 10, 2010

LONDONDERRY – Gravely injured by an IED, Manchester's Cpl. Michael W. Ouellette, a member of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, didn't hesitate to lead his comrades through battle, and out of harm's way. Ouellette, 28, died of his injuries on March 22, 2009, in the Helmand province of Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, the Granite State Marine, who former comrades remember as "a true Marine, through and through," one who lived by the state's motto of "Live Free or Die," was posthumously honored for his actions in a ceremony held, fittingly, on the United States Marine Corps' 235th birthday.
OUELLETTE
Donna Ouellette, the fallen Marine's mother, was presented with the Navy Cross by Naval Secretary Hon. Raymond Mabus, in front of dozens of Cpl. Ouellette's friends, relatives and former comrades at the Marine Reserve Support Center in Londonderry.
"Every so often an act of heroism comes along," Mabus said. "But the true nature of those actions is hard to put into words."
Given for outstanding acts of bravery, the Navy Cross is the highest medal to be awarded by the Department of the Navy and is second only to the Medal of Honor, according to Marine spokesman Lt. Josh Diddams.
Mabus called Ouellette "a Marine in the true spirit of the Corps," noting that despite having his left leg severed in an explosion, the young Marine managed to organize his squad's defenses and successfully arrange for reinforcement.
►Memorial graduate killed in Afghanistan (63)
►Quilts of Valor 'covers' Granite State veterans
"Even when relief came, he refused to leave until all fellow Marines were brought to safety," Mabus said. "In the midst of chaos and confusion, Michael Ouellette did what he had to do."


Donna Ouellette is hugged by 2nd Marine Div. commander Brig. Gen. Lee Miller as she is surrounded by members of her son's unit after she received the Navy Cross awarded posthumously to her son Cpl. Michael W. Ouellette on Wednesday. (BOB LAPREE)
A native of Manchester, Ouellette graduated from Manchester Memorial High School, and was described as an avid reader, cook and history buff.
Ouellette enlisted in the Marines in 2005 and served tours as a squad automatic rifleman in Ramadi, Iraq, as a fire team leader on a deployment with the 22nd MEU, and as a squad leader in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Rhode Island resident Anthony Zanni, 22, who served as a corporal in the Marines, said he considered Ouellette to be somewhat of a father figure due to their seven-year age difference. Sgt. Stephen Porter, 25, of Pennsylvania, who was with Ouellette through tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said he'll forever be inspired by his fallen friend.
"I really respected him and looked up to him," Porter said. "I still uphold those values, and look to his actions in combat as my stronghold."
"He was your normal Marine," said Sgt. Randy Moffett, 27, of North Carolina. Moffett said he'll never forget the day he heard Ouellette's voice over the radio for the last time.
"You couldn't tell anything had happened," Moffett said of his friend, who he remembers for his intimidating appearance as well as his high level of intelligence. "He didn't want to show weakness to the enemy."
Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew Nolan, 28, of Tennessee, who treated Ouellette's injuries on the scene, concurred.
"He was more worried about all of us than he was worried about himself," Nolan said. "All he kept asking us was, 'Did all my Marines get out?'"

Marine stuns the crowd with a Fourth Stanza to the "Star Spangled Banner", watch the video link, it's great:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0fQd858cRc&playnext_from=TL&videos=cWNozAevym8&feature=sub

In 1931 Congress declared this as the official anthem of the United States. Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there. Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?  -----"Ramparts," in case you don't know, are the protective walls or other elevations that surround a fort. The first stanza asks a question. The second gives an answer  On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of the deep, Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep. As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream 'Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! -----"The towering steep" is again, the ramparts. The bombardment has failed, and the British can do nothing more but sail away, their mission a failure.     In the third stanza, Key allows himself to gloat over the American triumph. In the aftermath of the bombardment, Key probably was in no mood to act otherwise. During World War II, when the British were our staunchest allies, this third stanza was not sung. However, here it is:  And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave >From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. ----The fourth stanza, a pious hope for the future, should be sung more slowly than the other three and with even deeper feeling.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand  
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation, 
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n - rescued land 
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause is just, 
And this be our motto--"In God is our trust." 
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.