January/February 2011 Veterans Day 2010 Warriors Helping Warriors VA Acquisition Academy Give Green a Chance Features Stimulus: More Than a Buzzword 6 The Recovery Act ushered in a new way of doing business Empowering Doctors, Helping Veterans 8 DBQ will streamline the collection of evidence for veterans’ claims 12 A Lift for Safe Patient Care 12 Controlling ergonomic hazards for care providers is a top priority Warriors Helping Warriors 14 Vet centers are reaching out to Special Forces veterans Transformation You Can Believe In 16 ADVANCE’s Change Academy has brought excellence to Muskogee Expanding Health Care Access for Veterans 18 Technology is giving a Navy veteran time he could never get back Training the Next Generation of Acquisition Pros 20 16 The Acquisition Academy’s unique approach is having an impact Give Green a Chance 23 VA employees receive recognition for making conservation a habit A Nurturing Environment for New Nurses 25 Malcom Randall VAMC’s nurse residency program gets accredited Departments 3 Creative Arts Festival 33 Have You Heard 20 4 News You Can Use 36 Honors 26 Around Headquarters 39 Heroes 30 Introducing 40 Holiday Wreaths 31 Medical Advances VAnguard VA’s Employee Magazine January/February 2011 Vol. LVII, No. 1 On the cover Editor: Lisa Gaegler Army Sgt. Joseph Lollino leads the color Assistant Editor/Senior Writer: Gary Hicks guard during the presentation of colors Photo Editor: Robert Turtil at the national Veterans Day ceremony at Staff Writer: Amanda Hester Arlington National Cemetery. The medic earned the Distinguished Service Cross and Published by the Office of Public Affairs (80D) the Purple Heart for retrieving and treating five casualties after his convoy was ambushed U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Afghanistan in June 2008. VA facilities 810 Vermont Ave., N.W. across the nation marked Nov. 11 with Washington, D.C. 20420 ceremonies, parades, concerts and more. (202) 461-7427 Nearly 100 VA-sponsored activities were E-mail: [email protected] scheduled. photo by Robert Turtil www.va.gov/opa/publications/vanguard.asp 2 VAnguard • January/February 2011 Healing Through the Arts Marine Corps veteranFEEDBACKOUTLOOK Loren (John) Prather, of Draper, Utah, portrays Tevya, from “Fiddler on the Roof,” during the stage show at the 2010 National Veter- ans Creative Arts Festival in October. Prather was one of more than 100 veter- ans from across the nation attending the weeklong event in La Crosse, Wis. VAnguard • January/February 2011 3 ROBERT TURTIL NEWS YOU CAN USE VA a Leader in Putting Americans With Disabilities to Work VA continues to be one of the key in increasing the Depart- VA offices for the cost of ac- strategies to increase employ- top Cabinet-level agencies in ment’s number of individuals commodations and reasonable ment and retention as a way the hiring of Americans with with targeted disabilities. accommodation training. to also best attract veterans to targeted disabilities. The tar- “Once these employees “In addition to being the VA workforce, said Den- geted disabilities are blindness, are brought on board, we must federal law, reasonable accom- nis May, director of Veterans deafness, partial or total pa- ensure they are fully included modation is an important re- Employment Coordination ralysis, missing limbs, convul- at all organizational levels and tention tool,” said Compton. Service. Nearly 30 percent of sive disorders, mental illness, occupations to realize their full Managers use non-com- VA’s employees are veterans developmental disorders and potential,” Compton said. petitive excepted appointing and 9 percent are disabled dwarfism. “When a VA office does authorities to hire individuals veterans. “People with disabilities not create an inclusive, wel- with disabilities without is- “Our job is to assist have a wealth of skills to bring coming, non-discriminatory suing a job announcement. veterans who are interested to the workplace,” said Christy environment or follow the People with disabilities can ap- in employment with VA, Compton, VA’s disability procedures for responding to ply for VA positions through particularly those who might program manager in the Of- requests for accommodation,” the competitive process or, if be disabled,” May said. “So fice of Diversity and Inclusion. she added, “the employee may they have a severe physical dis- we encourage the use of non- “VA is committed to competitive appointing encouraging our man- authorities.” agers to tap into the Non-competitive expertise of these indi- excepted appointing au- viduals and appreciate thorities include one for the value they bring to 30 percent or more ser- the workforce.” vice-connected disabled VA Secretary Eric veterans. It is a non- K. Shinseki recently competitive hiring au- issued a 2 percent hir- thority that allows VA ing goal for people to hire veterans who are with disabilities as a eligible and qualified demonstration of this non-competitively for commitment. “The any position up to and goal encourages VA including GS-15. This organizations to hire is not specific to VA, one person with a but a federal provision targeted disability for that government agen- every 50 new hires in cies use. fiscal year 2011,” said “Veterans who are Compton. ROBERT TURTIL 30 percent service-con- “The hiring goal Christy Compton is VA’s disability program manager in the Office of Diversity and nected for the appoint- [memorandum] was Inclusion. ment have to be quali- followed by instruc- fied in terms of skills, tions and resources for not not view VA as an employer ability, mental illness or devel- knowledge and abilities to do only reaching applicants with of choice for persons with opmental disability, apply for a the specific job,” May said. “It targeted disabilities, but also targeted disabilities and may non-competitive appointment is not about a handout or do- instructions on making facili- decide to work at a different via Schedule A. ing them a favor, but recogniz- ties accessible and providing agency.” “Schedule A is a valuable ing the skills, experience and accommodations.” Recognizing this, ODI tool which we are not us- training they can bring to the ODI focuses on hiring has implemented inclusion ing enough, although we are organization.” qualified people with dis- and retention tools. These working to change that,” said For more information abilities at all levels of the tools include a reasonable ac- Compton. “We need to do a about VA’s Disability Employ- workforce. Its program focuses commodation compliance sys- better job of using these tools ment Program, go to www. on individuals with targeted tem that will track accommo- to hire qualified individuals diversity.hr.va.gov/disabilities. disabilities because of their dation requests, the updated with disabilities, especially htm. For information about high unemployment rate (70 Reasonable Accommodation those with targeted disabili- Veterans Employment Coor- percent). While hiring efforts Directive and Handbook, a ties.” dination Service, go to www. are important, retention is also centralized fund to reimburse VA uses various hiring va.gov/VECS. 4 VAnguard • January/February 2011 NEWS YOU OUTLOOKCAN USE The Office of Survivor Assistance: Taking Care of Veterans’ Families “Taking care of survivors is as analyst. “Providing support essential as taking care of our to survivors is an honorable veterans and military person- charge,” said Walker, “and I nel,” VA Secretary Eric K. am proud to be a part of the Shinseki has said. “By taking VA office that honors those care of survivors, we are hon- survivors and their depen- oring a commitment made dents.” to our veterans and military Since its creation, OSA members.” has been working closely with The Office of Survivor senior VA Central Office lead- Assistance is the primary ad- ership to provide up-to-date visor to the Secretary on all information and analysis on matters related to policies, the issues faced by the survivor programs, legislative issues and community. These issues are other initiatives affecting veter- as varied and diverse as the ans’ survivors and dependents constituents OSA serves, and of survivors. run the gamut in complexity. They monitor VA’s de- OSA gleans much of its livery of benefits to survivors, information through direct make appropriate referrals interaction with the survivors ROBERT TURTIL to VA offices for survivors themselves. Through outreach Debra Walker, center, directs the Office of Survivor Assistance; she’s seeking benefits, and explore and communications, the chal- assisted by Debi Bevins and Scott Bell. innovative ways of reaching lenges and successes of the sur- survivors who are not receiving vivor community are brought left behind—well, it’s hard not sible for all survivors. VA benefits they are eligible to the attention of OSA staff. to be moved by it.” OSA also established mul- for, including education as- While the thrust of OSA op- As a rule, OSA staff mem- tiple partnerships with Depart- sistance, home loan guaran- erations is policy-focused, the bers say they see these service ment of Defense agencies and ties, health care insurance and staff often gets involved in as- opportunities as mutually ben- veterans service organizations Dependency and Indemnity sisting with individual claims. eficial; the survivor obtains the to explore ways to ease the Compensation. “I’ve had the pleasure of necessary assistance with their transition of survivors into the OSA serves more than working directly with surviv- particular issue, and OSA ben- VA system, and to make a dif- 550,000 spouses, dependents ing families from around the efits by reviewing the trends in ference in survivors’ lives. and other survivors of veterans world,” said Bell. “We have requests for assistance, which The office maintains a who are receiving VA ben- discussed matters ranging helps identify possible gaps Web site (currently under re- efits. Remarkably, that figure from education benefits to VA in programmatic services.