WASHINGTON, D.C.—In the push to direct attention and resources to illnesses and concerns of the nation’s most recent veterans, are problems faced by veterans from previous Middle East conflicts being neglected?

BETHESDA, MD—With the goal of increasing the number of human stem cell lines eligible for federal funding, the National Institutes of Health released new draft guidelines for federal funding of stem cell research last month.

WASHINGTON—A new patient scheduling system that the Department of Veterans Affairs has spent eight years and as much as $145 million developing is reportedly on the brink of failure.

WASHINGTON—Over the course of the next year, the House Veterans Affairs Committee will host a number of field hearings around the country inviting veterans to comment on what they see as the pressing needs within the Department of Veterans Affairs’ healthcare system. Committee chair Rep. Bob Filner, D.-Calif., told reporters at a press briefing last month that the committee and VA leaders plan to take a hard look at how care is distributed to veterans, especially underserved populations and those living in rural areas.

WASHINGTON—Imagine two soldiers: both experienced the exact same traumatic event while serving in theater.

BETHESDA, MD—In August 2005 the one-two punch of Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the New Orleans’s levees resulted in massive destruction throughout the city’s infrastructure, including its health systems.

WASHINGTON—After years of trial and error and glacially slow progress, the new administration hopes that by spotlighting the issue of electronic patient medical record transfer between the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs they can spur significant change.

BETHESDA, MD—There are at least 33 million people infected with HIV living in the world today. In the U.S. there are a million infected people, and at least 60,000 new cases a year.

WASHINGTON—While dementia patients typically receive the bulk of their clinical care in hospitals and nursing facilities, it is often the family members and other at-home caregivers who bear the brunt of the stress created by their loved ones’ disease.

WASHINGTON—Delays in the creation of joint Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense Vision Centers of Excellence have legislators wondering what the cause is, whether it is a question of funding, direction or the will to act.