WASHINGTON — Oct. 1, 2013, might mean little to most clinicians now, just a day somewhere between Labor Day and Halloween in about two years.

WASHINGTON — Only a few weeks after members of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs expressed skepticism about testimony that the problem-plagued Miami VA Medical Center (VAMC) is now running smoothly, the facility’s director was removed from her position.

WASHINGTON — Veterans with mental illness and substance abuse cost nearly three times as much to treat as the average veteran. According to a VA-commissioned study by the RAND Corp. looking at data from one year of care (2007), such veterans represented 15% of patients using VA healthcare services, but accounted for 32.9% of costs.

WASHINGTON — Efforts to prevent suicides among servicemembers are not working, according to a new report that warns that the problem is likely to get much worse as more troops return from deployment.

WASHINGTON — After more than a decade with military recruits vulnerable to adenovirus (ADV), DoD has begun inoculating personnel with a new vaccine to prevent the sometimes severe respiratory infection.

WASHINGTON--With more than 3,000 servicemembers reporting military sexual assault (MST) just last year and with potentially nine times that many cases unreported during that time period, according to DoD, a lot of victims require VA mental-health services.

WASHINGTON — When he took office, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki declared he would do his best to eradicate homelessness in the veteran population. He also noted that one of the biggest challenges is successfully reaching out and locating veterans who are homeless or on the verge of homelessness.

DoD Providing Transportation Funds

PHOENIX — Extremely lax oversight of the use of outside care was blamed for a budget crisis at the Phoenix VA Healthcare System, according to a recently-released report from the VA Inspector General.

WASHINGTON — While some health officials laud the Prevention and Public Health Fund as the nation’s best chance of funneling resources into chronic-disease prevention, it is not clear that the fund can survive deficit-reduction efforts unless it can quickly prove a return on investment.