Is it time to overhaul VA’s eligibility rules? According to some legislators, the process is long overdue for an update, although veterans’ service organizations are split on the issue.
National Guard Gives States’ Vaccine Distribution Plans a Shot in the Arm
The National Guard has stepped up again to help states in their battle against the novel coronavirus.
Are State Veterans Homes Falling Through Cracks of Oversight?
What responsibility does VA have for state veterans homes and the tsunami of COVID-19 infections and deaths that have swept through facilities nationwide?
Most At-Risk Veterans Don’t Get Suicide Counseling
Despite all of the focus on preventing suicides in those who have served in the military, a significant proportion of veterans with suicidal ideation do not take advantage of available mental health treatment, according to a new study.
VA Pushes for More Use of NSCLC Targeted Therapies
DURHAM, NC — To help guide therapeutic decisions for patients with advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer, Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) gene panels are often completed.
Air Force Says Changes to F-22 Aircraft Will Let Pilots Breathe Easier in Flight
By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON — Pilots will be able to breathe easier as a result of changes to the oxygen systems in the F-22 aircraft, Air Force officials recently assured a House committee. The F-22 fleet has been under intense scrutiny after some pilots flying the...
Award-Winning Assistance Adviser Fulfills Life Goal of Helping Vets
By Steve Lewis MADISON, WI — At age 21, Jeffrey Unger said he already had a clear vision of what would become one of his lifelong goals — to help returning veterans get the care they needed. “In my life I’ve enjoyed every day I served in uniform,” says Unger, who was...
Air Force Medicine: Averting an Identity Crisis
By Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Travis, Surgeon General, United States Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Travis U.S. military forces, now in the second decade of war, benefit from the vast achievements Army, Navy and Air Force medics have jointly made in deployed and enroute health...
Retired Air Force Urologist, General Officer Urges Doctors to Take Command
By Steve Lewis TEMPLE, TX - Retired Brig. Gen. James T. Turlington, MD, may no longer be an active duty general officer in the Air Force, but he’s still practicing medicine — and still making a difference. In fact, Turlington, a urologist at the Central Texas Veterans...
DoD Budget Seeks to Cut More Than 5,000 Civilian Healthcare Workers Over Five Years
By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON - The DoD plans to cut its civilian workforce by 5% to 6% by the end of fiscal year 2018, including more than 5,000 from the Military Health System. President Barack Obama’s FY 2014 proposed base budget request of $526.6 billion for the...
Report Prompted by Fort Hood Shooting Calls DoD Physician Credentialing Inadequate
By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON — Reporting the results of an investigation begun after an Army physician opened fire and shot more than 40 people at Fort Hood in 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the military services need to do a better job of...
Medical Lessons Since 911 Impact Patient Care Aeromedical Evacuation
Through more than a decade of sustained combat, the men and women of the Air Force Medical Service have answered our nation’s call and maintained a standard of excellence second to none. Since the war began, the innovations and advancements across the Military Health...
Fortuitous Mass-Casualty Training at Pentagon Saved Lives 10 Years Ago
Retired Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Paul K. Carlton Jr., right, directs responders after the Pentagon attack Sept. 11, 2011. WASHINGTON — Mass-casualty management planning that occurred at the Pentagon in the months and days before 9/11 helped medical personnel respond...
Schoomaker: Military Personnel Left Confused by Different Evaluation Systems at VA, DoD
WASHINGTON—Despite significant efforts by DoD and VA to revamp the disability evaluation process, the new system remains “complex and adversarial,” the top Army doctor told a congressional subcommittee. DoD and VA agreed on a new disability and evaluation system to...
Once Used to Keep Women from Top Ranks, Menopause Now Managed Within VA, Military Health Systems
When President Harry Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act into law in 1948, it was touted as opening full military service and veterans’ benefits to women, but many restrictions remained in place. Women were not allowed to fly aircraft engaged in...
VHA Shifts Focus from Problem-Centered to Veteran-Centered in New Model
FORSAN, TX — By rolling out the Whole Health System, the VA expects to transform care for veterans and could establish the agency as the national leader in a fundamentally different, truly integrated approach to healthcare. The Whole Health program asks alternative...
Star Ratings System Out at VA; More Localized Healthcare Comparisons Offered
WASHINGTON—The VA will no longer use a star ratings system to compare its 146 VA medical centers. Instead, the VA will make public measures such as wait times, quality of medical care and patient experience ratings available for each facility. According to VA...
VA OIG: Wait Times Likely to Go Up With MISSION Act Authorization Process
WASHINGTON — Veterans seeking care from community providers could face even longer wait times under the MISSION Act than they did before the legislation went into effect, a VA Office of Inspector General report has concluded. In the report released last month,...