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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Department of Veterans Affairs

Department of Veterans Affairs stories: 21 news summaries

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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VA Mistakenly Tells Hundreds of Vets They Have ALS

'Coding error' to blame for ALS mistake

Aug 24, 09 4:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Because of an error, the Department of Veterans Affairs incorrectly notified 1,200 veterans they had ALS, the fatal neurological condition also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, the AP reports. The letters alerted the veterans to disability benefits available to those who suffer from the disease. Thought the VA... More »

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disease • Lou Gehrig's disease • Department of Veterans Affairs • neurological disorder • mistake • ALS • computer error • National Gulf War Resource Center

Long Buried, PTSD Emerges in WWII Veterans

1 in 20 surviving vets affected

Jul 16, 09 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - For many World War II veterans, decades-old memories of war aren’t as deeply buried as they once believed. The veterans administration estimates that 5% of the 2.5 million US World War II vets suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Older vets came of age... More »

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veterans • psychiatry • Department of Veterans Affairs • World War II • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

 Army Suicides Hit Record High 

Army expected to announce new study of post-combat stress

Jan 29, 09 2:07 AM CST
(Newser) - A record 128 US soldiers committed suicide last year, and an additional 15 are suspected of taking their own lives, CNN reports. The previous record was set in 2007. In response to the latest figures, the Army is expected to announce new studies of post-combat stress and why its suicide-prevention... More »

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Iraq • suicide • Pentagon • Department of Veterans Affairs • US Army • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder • combat stress

Senate Likes Shinseki for Veterans Affairs

War, economy burden system former Army general would inherit

Jan 14, 09 3:06 PM CST
(Newser) - Retired Gen. Eric Shinseki garnered bipartisan support for his Veterans Affairs Secretary nomination today in outlining his priorities before Congress, the Military Times reports. The former Army chief of staff admitted to little experience with veterans issues, but his vows to streamline the agency won support from the likes of... More »

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veterans • Department of Veterans Affairs • Republican Party • Bob Dole • PTSD • US Congress • Iraq war • Afghanistan war • Obama Cabinet • Eric Shinseki

Obama to Tap Shinseki for Veterans Affairs

Ex-general was fired
for saying US had to increase troop levels

Dec 6, 08 4:57 PM CST
(AP) - Democratic officials say President-elect Barack Obama has selected retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki to be the next Veterans Affairs secretary, the AP reports. Shinseki is the former Army chief of staff who upset his civilian bosses in 2003 when he testified to Congress that it might take several hundred thousand... More »

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Iraq • Department of Veterans Affairs • Obama Cabinet

15% of Women Vets Report Sexual Abuse: Study

Assaults often lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, survey of 125K finds

Oct 28, 08 11:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - Some 15% of female Iraq or Afghanistan veterans seeking medical care report suffering sexual trauma, including harassment or assault while on duty, a study finds, with more than half suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The study by the Department of Veterans Affairs surveyed more than 125,000 in 2001-2007, ... More »

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veterans • US military • rape • sexual abuse • Department of Veterans Affairs • sexual assault • female troops

Wounded Vets Assaulted by Mold—Again

Soldiers ordered not to talk about conditions at Walter Reed stand-in

Aug 18, 08 11:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - In a replay of the scandalous conditions uncovered at Walter Reed Medical Center last year, an Oklahoma barracks that houses wounded soldiers has become infested with mold, soldiers stationed there told USA Today. Twenty soldiers stepped forward, saying they’d been ordered not to discuss conditions at Fort Sill,... More »

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Walter Reed fallout • Department of Veterans Affairs • army hospitals • Walter Reed Army Medical Center • Fort Sill

Vets Used to Test Drugs Linked to Suicide

VA accused of treating troubled patients like 'lab rats'

Jun 17, 08 2:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Combat veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder were recruited for clinical trials of drugs linked to suicide and mental disorders, ABC reports. In a trial involving the smoking-cessation drug Chantix, the VA did not warn patients of the drug's serious potential side effects until 3 months after the FDA and the... More »

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veterans • Department of Veterans Affairs • PTSD • clinical trials • Chantix • Food and Drug Administration • Veterans Administration

 Busy Military Cemeteries
 Keep Customers Satisfied 

1,800 vets a day are dying

May 25, 08 7:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - With veterans of World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam dying at a record clip, US National Cemeteries are performing more than 100 burials a day—and often use assembly-line tactics to meet demand, AP reports. Despite the use of heavy machinery and the volume—1,800 veterans die... More »

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veterans • Department of Veterans Affairs • Vietnam veteran • Arlington National Cemetery • World War II • Korean War • National Cemeteries • National Cemetery Administration

VA Doctor Discouraged Post-Traumatic Diagnoses

Email urged staffers
to save disability costs

May 16, 08 9:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - A team leader at a veterans' medical center in Texas sent staffers an email urging them to avoid diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder, the Washington Post reports. "Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD... More »

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veterans • mental health • veterans' benefits • veterans' health care • Department of Veterans Affairs • PTSD • James B. Peake • Iraq veterans • Afghanistan veterans

 US Sent 43,000
 'Unfit' Troops to War 

Soldiers deemed medically unfit deployed anyway

May 8, 08 12:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US has sent more than 43,000 troops deemed medically unfit for combat to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, USA Today reports. Since 2003 soldiers deemed non-deployable by medical officers have shipped anyway, according to Pentagon documents, with unit commanders overruling doctors. “It is a consequence of... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • troop surge • veterans' health care • Department of Veterans Affairs

VA 'Lying
About Vet
Suicides'

It's 12,000 attempts
a year, not 790,
says secret email

Apr 24, 08 3:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Democratic senator is calling for the resignation of the Veterans Administration mental health chief, accusing him of deliberately hiding the truth about suicide attempts among US veterans, the Dallas Morning News reports. A secret agency email put the number of suicide attempts at 12,000 a year—not the... More »

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veterans • suicide • US military • Department of Veterans Affairs • Veterans Affairs Medical Center • Patty Murray

Military Families Sue VA Over Suicides

Agency doesn't do enough for veterans' mental health, suit says

Apr 21, 08 11:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Veterans Affairs hasn’t done enough to stem the “rising tide” of suicides and mental health problems, according to a class action lawsuit going to trial this week. Roughly 20% of deployed US troops are suffering from mental illness, a recent study shows, and an average of 18 kill... More »

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military • veterans • suicide • veterans' benefits • veterans' health care • lawsuit • Department of Veterans Affairs • PTSD

Gulf Illness Blamed on Chemicals

Pesticides and nerve agents cause syndrome, says researcher

Mar 11, 08 9:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - Exposure to chemicals and pesticides during the first Gulf War is the likely cause of widespread illnesses suffered by its veterans, a new study concludes. Some 250,000 veterans of the conflict—a third of the troops who served— suffer fatigue, muscle and joint pain, memory lapses, intestinal problems, and... More »

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Iraq • veterans • Pentagon • memory loss • Department of Veterans Affairs • Kuwait • nerve gas • chronic fatigue syndrome • National Academy of Sciences • Gulf War • Gulf War Syndrome • muscle pain • Dr. Beatrice Golomb • UCSD School of Medicine • pyridostigmine bromide • Khamisiyah • acetylcholinesterase inhibitors • organophosphates • sarin • Desert Shield • Desert Storm • Rand Corp

25% of US Homeless
Are Vets

Many rocked by 'mental health toll' of service
in Iraq, Afghanistan

Nov 8, 07 3:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Though they constitute only 11% of the population, veterans make up 25% of homeless people in the US, according to a new study by The Alliance to End Homelessness. The problem is not limited to older vets—former soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are increasingly showing up at... More »

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Iraq • homeless • Department of Veterans Affairs • Vietnam veteran • Iraq veterans • Iraq war

Ex-Colleague Blasts VA Nominee

Peake's record as Army medical chief troubling, retired general says

Nov 2, 07 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Fixing the Department of Veterans Affairs’ medical system will take a leader who sees the big picture, a skill nominee James Peake doesn’t possess, an ex-colleague tells NPR. “When I tell you honestly what I think of him, I could lose my job,” said the retired general,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • Department of Veterans Affairs • Walter Reed Army Medical Center • Army Medical Command • James Peake

Bush Nominates Doc to Head Veteran Affairs

James B. Peake would be first physician and general to hold post

Oct 30, 07 9:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Bush today nominated James B. Peake, a doctor and retired Army lieutenant general, to head the Veteran Affairs department, the LA Times reports. With his medical and military backgrounds, Peake is the perfect choice to overhaul the nation’s system for treating wounded soldiers, Bush says. A major report... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Department of Veterans Affairs • soldier • Walter Reed Army Medical Center • Bob Dole • James B. Peake • medical • wounded • George W. Bush

'Antiquated' VA Ill Equipped to Care for Vets

Bush pledges massive overhaul, which requires major funding

Oct 22, 07 2:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Some 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are eligible for VA benefits, and overhauling the overburdened system is firmly in the sights of  President Bush and a bipartisan commission. Citing "fundamental system weaknesses," a GAO report last week outlined a huge bureaucracy rife with staffing and training shortfalls,... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • medical costs • Department of Veterans Affairs • Bob Dole • GAO • Donna Shalala • Iraq veterans • George W. Bush

Injured Veterans Sue US

Class action suit targets VA for 'shameful failures' in treatment

Jul 24, 07 4:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Two veterans groups representing troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are suing the US government for "shameful failures" in medical treatment, Reuters reports. The Department of Veterans Affairs is swamped with a backlog of 600,000 health claims and is "abandoning" soldiers returning home, the class-action... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • veterans • veterans' health care • lawsuit • Department of Veterans Affairs • army hospitals • US government • US Army • soldier • medical treatment • Iraq veterans • Iraq war

Head of Veterans Affairs Quits

Secretary's short tenure long on scandals and other woes

Jul 17, 07 3:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - The secretary of Veterans Affairs, the head of the second-biggest federal department, is stepping down and will be replaced by October 1, reports the Washington Post. For 2½ turbulent years, Jim Nicholson, a decorated Vietnam vet and former RNC chair, presided over a department beset by criticism and overwhelmed by... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • veterans • RNC • veterans' health care • US troops • Jim Nicholson • Department of Veterans Affairs • VA • Vietnam veteran • army hospitals • soldier • Walter Reed Army Medical Center • Iraq veterans • Iraq war

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