VAnguard outlook

November/December 2007

The Twilight Brigade Transition Patient Advocates Cemetery Expansions in Florida Day 2007 November/December 2007 1 VAnguard

Features

Smoothing the Way 6 Transition patient advocates bring passion, commitment to the job Serving Veterans Through the Firestorm 9 As fires raged across Southern California, employees stayed on the job 6 Meeting a Growing Need in Florida 10 Major cemetery expansions are underway in the Sunshine State 2007 12 A variety of observances large and small are held from coast to coast ‘No one wants to die alone’ 18 The Twilight Brigade brings comfort and companionship to the dying California Healin’ 21 Disabled veterans learn to catch a wave at adaptive surf camp 10 Powerful Therapy: When Alvis Met Stevie 23 Rock star inspires wounded Iraq ’s rehabilitation progress Spreading the Word that Recovery is Possible 24 Facilities find creative ways to observe Mental Illness Awareness Week A Century of Service in South Dakota 25 Hot Springs VA Medical Center celebrates 100th anniversary

Departments 21 3 Letters 31 Medical Advances 4 Management Matters 32 Have You Heard VAnguard 5 Outlook 34 Honors VA’s Employee Magazine 26 Around Headquarters 36 Creative Arts November/December 2007 30 Introducing Vol. LIII, No. 6 Printed on 50% recycled paper

Editor: Lisa Respess Gaegler Assistant Editor/Senior Writer: Renee McElveen Photo Editor: Robert Turtil Photographer: Art Gardiner Staff Writer: Amanda Hester On the cover Twilight Brigade (Compassion in Action) Published by the Office of Public Affairs (80D) volunteer Sari Honig spends time with VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospice patient Herman “Marty” Aguilar in 810 Vermont Ave., N.W. the labyrinth at the Sepulveda facility. Twilight Washington, D.C. 20420 Brigade volunteers bring comfort and (202) 461-7427 companionship to dying veterans at VA E-mail: [email protected] facilities around the country. The Greater www.va.gov/opa/feature/vanguard Los Angeles chapter will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year. photo by Paula Berger

2 November/December 2007 VAnguard letters

Green VA ter, which is located on the competition is located: Fort started more recently and In the May/June issue on page grounds of Tripler Army Worth, Texas. There is a VA amazes me—these people have 32 you state the new Fort Medical Center. presence in Fort Worth, an various ordinary kinds of jobs Harrison, Mont., benefits Nancy W. Winters, M.D., outpatient clinic that is grow- and play almost as well as the claims office is “VA’s first en- Ph.D. ing by leaps and bounds. I professionals. Extend my con- ergy efficient and environmen- Staff Psychiatrist went to school at Texas Chris- gratulations to Drew Mays. tally certified building.” I VA Pacific Islands HCS tian University around the Job well done! Thanks for cov- would contest that the VA Pa- Honolulu time that the Van Cliburn In- ering this in VAnguard. cific Islands Health Care Sys- ternational Piano Competition Shirley Campbell tem in Honolulu is a “green” Editor’s note: We won’t dis- started there. Not the amateur Medical Librarian building and has been such pute your points. Claims of competition, but the original. VA North Texas HCS well before the Montana of- “first” often do come down to The amateur competition Dallas fice. a technicality or careful word- Please correct me if I’m ing. The larger issue is that VA wrong. We are very proud of has been putting increased our building for its “green” emphasis on “going green,” We Want to Hear from You status in the beautiful state of not only in building construc- Have a comment on something you’ve seen in Hawaii. This building has re- tion but in many other areas, ceived numerous awards. as well. Look for more cover- VAnguard? We invite reader feedback. Send your Just trying to get the de- age of “the greening of VA” in comments to [email protected]. You can also write tails straight, and let the colors future issues of VAnguard. to us at: VAnguard, Office of Public Affairs (80D), fall where they may. I may be Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave., incorrect by a technicality, but Drew Mays N.W., Washington, D.C., 20420. Include your I’m just bringing the possibil- I was excited to see the article name, title and VA facility. We won’t be able to pub- ity to your attention that you on Drew Mays on page 30 of lish every letter, but we’ll use representative ones. may have overlooked our the July/August issue, but dis- beautiful green Spark appointed that it didn’t men- We may need to edit your letter for length or clarity. Matsunaga VA Medical Cen- tion the city in which the

Ready for Flu Season? The single best way to prevent seasonal influenza is by annual vaccination. Both staff and patients should be vaccinated to keep themselves and those around them healthy during the flu season. Although many people get their flu vaccinations in the fall, the flu season runs through winter and into the spring. Says Dr. Michael Kussman, VA Under Secretary for Health, in the fore- word to the 2007-2008 VA Influenza Toolkit Manual: “I am proud of VA’s track record in promoting influenza vaccination for veterans and staff and I encourage you to keep up the good work.” Here the good work of VA is evident. The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System in Tucson is one of sev- eral VA facilities that run drive-through flu vaccination clinics. VA medical centers also offer indoor vaccina- tion clinics, include vaccination as part of regular ap- pointments with patients, provide flu vaccination at em- ployee and patient health fairs, use mobile carts to visit offices and health care units, and employ other cre- ative ways to ensure that patients and employees, trainees and volunteers are offered vaccination. Right: Roll in and roll up your sleeve! On a sunny day in Tuc- son, Ariz., veteran and hot rod driver Wendell Avery gets his flu shot from Kay Morris, R.N. JOHN SOKOLOWSKI

November/December 2007 3 management matters VAnguard

Building a Veteran-Centered System of Care and Benefits Gordon H. Mansfield Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs

As I continue guiding the de- processes into a simpler tion care system being imple- sixth Secretary of Veterans Af- partment through this period streamlined program for dis- mented throughout VA. A re- fairs, Dr. Jim Peake, should he of transition in our leadership, abled military members and cent Gallup poll of major be confirmed by the Senate. I I am meeting regularly with veterans alike. limb amputees showed general know that filling this position top Department of Defense One thing every employee satisfaction with VA care; in and getting on with the busi- officials to plan and monitor in VA can do is recruit veter- fact, 84 percent of the veter- ness of meeting the nation’s implementation of recommen- ans to fill VA jobs and I’m ans questioned said they obligations to its veterans is a dations made by the Presi- particularly excited by the 10 would return to VA to con- priority of both the President dent’s Commission on Care full-time “veterans employ- tinue their care. and the Senate. for America’s Wounded War- ment coordinators” I’m bring- While GWOT veterans Dr. Peake is set to hit the riors led by former Senator ing on board. They will focus are an important driver in VA ground running as Secretary. and former Health efforts to attract, recruit and planning and program devel- No one could bring more to and Human Services Secretary hire veterans throughout the opment, we can’t forget that the department as we work Donna Shalala. department and work closely they make up less than 20 ever more closely with the De- The commission’s recom- with the federal coor- percent of our overall partment of Defense to meet mendations focus on close dinators mentioned earlier to workload. While we research the needs of our newest gen- VA-DoD coordination in pro- assist GWOT veterans in and develop more effective eration of combat veterans viding care and seamless tran- coming to work at VA. Em- treatments for PTSD, TBI and their families. sition of military personnel in- ploying veterans is good gov- and polytrauma cases, we His career spans more jured in the Global War on ernment and good business must also focus our resources than 40 years in military Terrorism (GWOT). Much and VA will lead by example. and brain power on helping medicine, during which he has been done already to put Initiatives in mental older generations of veterans held several medical com- those recommendations into health care are also underway. manage chronic and long- mands and is credited with action, and I’d like to update PTSD and traumatic brain in- term health problems such as improving the training and you on our progress. jury are part of routine screen- diabetes and heart disease. techniques of the Army medi- VA is hiring “federal recov- ing exams for GWOT veter- The quality care and ser- cal force. From 2000-2004, he ery coordinators” who will ans entering the VA health vice we provide our younger served as Surgeon General of help develop and implement care system. VA held a na- combat veterans of today will the Army. individual recovery plans for tional conference of its mental keep them with us as they, Dr. Peake began his mili- seriously injured service- members. They will stick with their veterans as they move While we research and develop more effective treat- from military to VA care and ments for PTSD, TBI and polytrauma cases, we must also make sure full and complete care is provided. Look for the focus on helping older generations of veterans. first of this new cadre to be in the field just after New Year’s. health providers in September too, age. Our goal must be to tary career in 1966 with ser- A major change in the vet- and is sponsoring a national build and maintain a veteran- vice as an Army infantry of- erans’ compensation program meeting of experts from VA centered system of health care ficer in Vietnam. He received is being initiated through a pi- and other organizations inside and benefits for all veterans— the Purple Heart with Oak lot program underway in the and outside of government in one that not only meets their Leaf Cluster for wounds sus- Washington, D.C., area. Fol- January on PTSD therapy needs as they age, but antici- tained during that service. lowing the commission’s rec- programs and approaches. pates them and is ready to His military experience, ommendation that the mili- In December, VA and provide them the right care in combined with his civilian tary and veterans’ disability other leading prosthetics prac- the right place at the right work in management of medi- compensation system be re- titioners gather in Florida to time. cal examinations and elec- structured, VA came up with a review the latest products and As we move toward that tronic data, frame Dr. Peake as “single physical” disability technology available to them goal in the new year, I look the right person at the right concept combining the VA and the veterans they serve forward to working with Presi- time to be Secretary of Veter- and military compensation and introduce a new amputa- dent Bush’s nominee to be the ans Affairs.

4 November/December 2007 VAnguard outlook

Supporting Health Care Worker Retention, Recruitment Marisa Palkuti Director, Healthcare Retention & Recruitment Office

The Healthcare Retention & ing efforts. More than 800 impressions and account for can Nursing Student, the Jour- Recruitment Office (HRRO) VHA employees have partici- more than 100,000 visits to nal of the American Medical is a special program office of pated in these programs since the VHA recruitment Web Association, the New England VHA’s Workforce Manage- 2000. More than 4,000 em- site every month. Journal of Medicine, Radiologic ment & Consulting Office ployees have graduated from HRRO also develops Technology and many others, that provides support to top the scholarship program. print advertising programs we are able to reach more than management in the retention HRRO enhances recruit- that provide local direct classi- 1.5 million potential candi- and recruitment of highly ment by spearheading the de- fied advertising and national dates. qualified health care profes- velopment of national recruit- employment branding. Classi- Program elements come sionals. ment materials for VHA, in- fied advertising plans are built together in the VHA Health- Through advertising, out- cluding public service an- around single job announce- care Recruiters’ Toolkit, which reach activities, scholarships, nouncements, recruitment ments and use journals, news- puts recruitment and reten- and other initiatives, HRRO brochures, print and Internet papers and the Web to pro- tion information, recruitment helps managers meet their advertisements, career fair mote positions. The national brochures and much more workforce planning needs, booths, giveaway items, and program provides ongoing ex- into a unique virtual online staff development education more. The nationally devel- posure of VHA messaging to site that helps coordinate na- goals, and recruitment and re- oped materials promote the potential hires. tional and local recruitment tention initiatives. The pro- grams offered also help solve some of the challenges that Our office provides support to top management in the the health care industry and retention and recruitment of highly qualified health care VA human resources face to- day by helping to position VA professionals. as an employer of choice. Retention and recruit- VHA recruitment message, The purpose of the print efforts. The kit helps recruiters ment solutions include VA “The Best Care – The Best advertising program is to es- combat the national health scholarship programs that pro- Careers” as the primary brand- tablish VA as an employer of care professional shortage by vide funding up to $35,000 ing element in the VA health choice in the health care com- placing all available recruit- for VA employees to further care recruitment campaign. munity, to promote VHA as a ment tools and information at their education and obtain de- With online advertising leader in patient care, and to their fingertips. For more in- grees qualifying them for campaigns, HRRO has a clearly state the benefits of VA formation, visit the toolkit at health care positions such as unique ability to generate employment. By advertising www.vacareers.va.gov/ nurses, pharmacists, blind re- leads that support and in such publications as Ameri- hrrotoolkit. hab/low vision specialists, complement VHA recruit- physical or respiratory thera- ment efforts. Web advertising pists or any of a large number attracts interest in and aware- of health care occupations. ness of VHA health care occu- The Education Debt Re- pations through job postings duction Program (EDRP) on commercial employment provides education loan repay- sites and an online health in- ments to newly appointed formation network that is af- health care professionals in oc- filiated with more than 5,000 cupations for which recruit- Web sites. These Web-based ment and retention is difficult. initiatives generate national Title 38 and hybrid title 38 and local exposure targeted at occupations are covered by health care professionals, stu- EDRP. Local VA medical cen- dents and transitioning mili- ter managers decide which oc- tary personnel and veterans. cupations will be included in HRRO online advertising pro- EDRP for their local recruit- grams generate millions of ad One of the generic ads available in the toolkit, accessible online.

November/December 2007 5 feature VAnguard

Bill Smathers, left, a transition patient advocate with VISN 4 in Pitts- burgh, confers with Michael Clark, of the Army Wounded Warrior Program, on a veteran’s case.

GLENN HANGARD Smoothing the Way Transition patient advocates bring passion and commitment to their mission of helping severely injured veterans access VA care. assion and a heartfelt commit- gram, according to Kristin Day, acting at VA medical centers. Day said the ment to the mission of helping director of Social Work Service at VA feedback veterans provided fairly con- Pseverely injured veterans access Central Office in Washington, D.C., sistently around the country was that and coordinate care at VA. who oversees the national program. while they were pleased with their These are the qualities the Veter- The three other members serving on quality of care while inpatients at VA, ans Health Administration looked for each team are a program manager, they found it more difficult to navi- when they hired 100 transition pa- clinical case manager and a Veterans gate their way around the VA system tient advocates nationwide some Benefits Administration manager. while receiving care as outpatients. eight months ago at the direction of The program was established in The majority of the 100 transi- former VA Secretary Jim Nicholson. May after former Secretary Nicholson tion patient advocates hired are OIF/ The transition patient advocates completed a series of town hall meet- OEF veterans themselves; the rest are serve on four-member teams within ings around the country with severely career VA employees. While their the OIF/OEF Case Management Pro- injured veterans receiving treatment (continued on page 8)

6 November/December 2007 VAnguard feature Progress on the Dole-Shalala Commission Recommendations On Oct. 16, Defense Secretary and acting VA Secretary Gordon Mansfield transmitted to Congress the Administration’s proposed legislation for recommendations from the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded that require statutory changes. The transmittal was kicked off by remarks from President Bush in the Rose Garden after he met with commission co-chairs Bob Dole and Donna Shalala and the two Cabinet secretaries. The proposed legislation would streamline and modernize the disability evaluation and compensation systems, authorize ex- tended family job protection and certain aid and attendant care benefits, create incentives to complete education and rehabilita- tion programs, make improvements to the diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, and strengthen support for servicemembers and their families as they transition from DoD to VA care. DoD and VA have already implemented or are in the process of implementing through executive authority the non-legislative recommendations of the Dole-Shalala commission. Among the accomplishments: Newly hired “federal recovery coordinators” will help ensure medical services and other benefits are provided to seriously wounded, injured and ill active duty servicemembers and veterans. The first 10 are scheduled to be trained and in place in Janu- ary at four of the military’s major health care facilities: Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.; Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas; and Naval Medical Center San Di- ego. Additional recovery coordinators will be added in the future as needed. They will coordinate services between VA and DoD and, if necessary, private sector facilities, while serving as the ultimate resource for families with questions or concerns about VA, DoD or other federal benefits. The coordinators have a background in health care management and will work closely with clinicians and case management teams to develop and execute another major recommendation from the Dole-Shalala panel: individual federal re- covery plans for the wounded. Those plans specify what services are needed across the continuum of care, from recovery through rehabilitation to reintegration to civilian life. The coordinators will have access to and support from VA’s Under Secretaries for Health and Benefits, DoD’s Under Secretary of Defense for Person- nel and Readiness, as well as the commanders of facilities where servicemembers and veterans receive treatment. In addition to the commission’s recommendations, acting VA Secretary Mansfield took action to hire 10 “veterans employment coordinators” to focus VA efforts to attract, recruit and hire veterans throughout the department. These co- ordinators will work closely with the recently formed Federal Recovery Coordina- tion Program to assist Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom ROBERT TURTIL veterans with potentially obtaining employment at VA. The new hires are ex- pected to be on the job by the end of the year. The coordinators will work with President Bush speaks in the White House Rose Garden af- ter meeting with commission co-chairs Donna Shalala and veterans interested in employment with VA, including those who have completed Bob Dole, seated. one of VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service programs. An internal task force is also being established to examine the department’s retention, training and development of veterans already in the VA workforce. The task force will be led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Admin- istration, with employment experts from the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration, National Cem- etery Administration, and additional VA staff offices. Approximately 31 percent of VA’s 230,000 employees are veterans, and 7.7 percent are service-connected disabled veterans. VA and DoD have begun a pilot program to test a new single disability evaluation system for wounded warriors at the VA medical center and the three major military medical facilities in the Washington, D.C., area. This initiative is designed to elimi- nate the duplicative and often confusing elements of the current disability processes of the two departments. Key features of the disability evaluation system (DES) pilot include one medical examination and a single-sourced disability rating. This pilot program will to ease the transition of wounded servicemembers through the disability evaluation system to reentry into the civilian community with more efficient delivery of disability compensation at the time they leave military service. VA is providing the medical professionals performing the examinations. The pilot is being conducted for servicemembers at the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and the Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and will run for one year. Throughout the pilot, VA and DoD officials will monitor progress to determine potential expansion into other locations. The pilot includes all non-clinical care and administrative activities, such as case management and counseling require- ments, associated with disability case processing from the servicemember’s initial referral to a Military Department Medical Evaluation Board to VA’s compensation and benefits program.

November/December 2007 7 feature VAnguard

Transition patient advocates (cont.) military paychecks. of the assistance he provides. “I know who to talk to,” she “They are so motivated,” professional backgrounds vary, Day said. “I am able to reach somebody Smathers said. “They want to get said their common unifying bond is that they can’t. I know how to read back on with their lives. One of our their passion for helping veterans. the forms. I know the military lingo.” biggest challenges is helping them do VHA brought the newly hired Baker has assisted one soldier at that.” transition patient advocates to VA the Orlando VAMC whom she John Sanchez, 39, works as a Central Office for a weeklong train- treated while a nurse on active duty transition patient advocate at the ing and orientation session in June. at Walter Reed. Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans They met with military treatment fa- “The TPA is a really good piece Hospital in San Antonio. He de- cility liaisons, learned how to enter that the VA added,” she said. “It re- scribes his role as “a communicator, a veterans into the VA computer sys- ally helps the servicemembers. They facilitator, and a problem solver.” tem, received briefings on regulations know who their point of contact is.” The OIF veteran not only has his governing VA benefits, and got a Bill Smathers, 49, works as a Army experience as a flight medic to broad overview of the VA organiza- transition patient advocate for VISN draw on, he was injured and is now a tion. 4 in Pittsburgh. He supports severely paraplegic. Day said at least one transition injured veterans at five VA medical “Being an OIF veteran and a patient advocate is assigned to each centers in Pennsylvania and West paralyzed OIF veteran helps other of the 21 health care networks within Virginia. The retired Army colonel servicemembers open up to you be- VA. The number assigned to each said the job was “the perfect fit” for cause you have experienced what network is based upon the OIF/OEF him since it allows him the opportu- they are going through,” he said. veteran population seeking treatment nity to use his 24 years of military ex- “There’s a certain number of within the network’s catchment area. perience. servicemembers that won’t open up to Tracey-Lee Baker, 42, works in “If you weren’t getting paid for a person who hasn’t been there.” Florida as a transition patient advo- it, you’d almost volunteer for it,” he Medically retired in 2006 at the cate for the Orlando VA Medical said. rank of sergeant first class, Sanchez Center. The retired Army Nurse Since he started the job in May, sees a real need for the role of TPAs Corps officer was working at a civil- Smathers said he has assisted some 30 in advocating for young veterans ian hospital when she saw the job ad- soldiers and Marines with ages rang- “who would be reluctant to seek VA vertised at the VA medical center. ing from 19 to 50. If the service- assistance or health care for them- Her last assignment before retiring member can no longer work because selves” after experiencing a traumatic from the Army as a major in 2006 of their injury, he helps them apply injury. was working as the night shift charge for Social Security benefits. If the Transition patient advocates will nurse in ICU at Walter Reed Army servicemember does not have a dis- travel to military treatment facilities Medical Center in Washington, D.C. ability rating established with VBA, to personally introduce themselves to There her job entailed receiving he helps them fill out the paperwork. seriously injured servicemembers and wounded soldiers being air evacuated Smathers notes that the needs their family members before they from the OIF/OEF theatres. vary from servicemember to transition to a VA facility located Baker said she missed the camara- servicemember. For example, one nearest their homes. Sanchez said derie between the nurses and doctors young soldier had his leg amputated they make these visits so that the at Walter Reed in addition to caring and wanted to be able to work out servicemembers see the same face for wounded soldiers. She said she de- and run again. Smathers helped him through the entire transition process cided to apply for the transition pa- obtain a running prosthesis. Another and help them make a smooth transi- tient advocate position for “the love soldier was suffering from PTSD, so tion to the VA health care system. of the soldiers.” Smathers set up a counseling appoint- “They are surprised when we Baker says having both a military ment for him at a vet center. come see them,” he said. “It’s one of and medical background really helps “Our challenge is making sure ev- the things they least expect.” her in her new position. She helps in- eryone who is seriously injured or Sanchez said he feels “blessed” to jured veterans enroll in the VA sys- wounded gets the services that they be alive today, and “to be afforded the tem, set up medical appointments, are entitled to,” he said. “Most of our opportunity to be hired to help other find out why medical appointments duties involve resolving problems and veterans.” He said he can’t think of are cancelled, and contact the De- removing the barriers.” anything he would rather be doing. fense Finance and Accounting Sys- He said the severely injured vet- tem when they fail to receive their erans he works with are appreciative By Renee McElveen

8 November/December 2007 VAnguard feature Serving Veterans Through the Firestorm As the fires raged across Southern California, employees set their personal concerns aside to stay on the job. y mid-afternoon, Wednesday, to make sure the toll-free telephone to work—even pets were sheltered by Oct. 24, wildfires burning service continued and veterans could VA. Bacross Southern California contact us,” Fetzer said. “I couldn’t be “This was one of San Diego VA’s had charred more than 490,000 acres, more proud to be part of an organiza- finest moments,” Rossio said, “truly a destroyed 1,500 homes and forced up- tion as I was of being a VA employee reflection of the quality and dedica- wards of 800,000 people into the larg- during this terrible disaster.” tion of our staff.” est evacuation in California history. Those sentiments were echoed by The San Diego Vet Center of- While fires raged through the Gary Rossio, VA San Diego Health- fered immediate support to one client San Diego foothills, VA employees care System director. and his family whose house was lost and facilities as far north as Loma “With almost 500 employees to the fire and contacted all clients to Linda were affected. More than 500 evacuated from their homes, they still offer support. Vet center staff volun- VA employees were forced out of came to work to care for our veter- teered as crisis counselors at the their homes, most from the medical ans,” Rossio recounted. “We kept our Qualcomm Stadium emergency shel- center and regional office in San Di- medical center and five clinics open ter, which housed several thousand ego. and were able to provide outpatient evacuees during the firestorm’s peak. Three employees lost As the fires were brought their homes and many more under control, acting VA Sec- The fires were relentless, destroying homes and faced property damage and property in their path. retary Gordon Mansfield acti- cleanup costs. And while the vated the VA Employees’ Di- fires burned, the business of saster Relief Fund, using the serving veterans went on. same collection process previ- San Diego VA Regional ously developed during the Office Director Lily Fetzer was hurricanes in the Southeast one of the evacuees who and for those affected by the stayed on the job managing terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, continuity of operations. 2001. “We came together as a In collaboration with the family during the firestorm,” Leadership VA Alumni Asso- she said. “Supervisors were in ciation and VA’s Central Of- daily contact with all their FEMA fice Employee Association, employees; many of our the Veterans Canteen Service evacuees stayed with fellow employ- care, pharmacy service, emergency served as the primary collection point ees.” surgeries and other essential services.” for employee donations throughout Fetzer noted that public contact Medical center public affairs of- November. Donations may still be coach Karen Como’s home became ficer Cindy Butler put the facility’s sent to: known as “Hotel Como” because she Web site to good use, constantly up- VA Employees’ Disaster Relief Fund welcomed so many office evacuees, dating it with information informing c/o VA Central Federal Credit Union families and pets into her home. employees and veterans of changes af- (831) The regional office maintained fecting operations and services. 810 Vermont Avenue, N.W. critical services throughout the fires The medical center also provided Washington, D.C. 20420 as employees stayed on the job even housing for five nights, with more An impartial panel will deter- though their families had evacuated than 80 employees and family mem- mine amounts to be sent to employee their homes. Pay technician Kathy bers staying at the medical center one associations at the VA facilities whose Cooke kept financial transactions on evening. All the county schools were employees suffered losses in the fires. schedule despite being evacuated closed, so the medical center provided The local employee associations will twice. secure child care for more than 30 determine actual amounts to give to “Other regional offices pitched in children so their parents could come individual employees.

November/December 2007 9 feature VAnguard

Meeting a Growing Need in Florida Major expansions of national cemeteries in the Sunshine State are underway to keep up with demand for burial space.

he department is expanding However, in 2006, only about 52 per- Tampa-St. Petersburg region. When burial space for veterans across cent of Florida’s veterans had access all projects are complete by fiscal year Tthe nation at an unprec- to a national cemetery under this cri- 2009, just over 90 percent of Florida’s edented pace. In addition to the five terion—a situation that was not ac- veterans will be served by an open new national cemeteries VA has ceptable to veterans, to their elected national cemetery, reflecting VA’s ob- opened since 2005, six more will be representatives, or to VA. jective for the provision of burial established by 2009. The newest na- In April of this year, a crucial space. tional cemeteries will serve 1.3 mil- milestone was achieved with the lion veterans who do not currently opening of South Florida VA Na- Establishing new cemeteries have access to a burial option near tional Cemetery in Palm Beach The President’s fiscal year 2008 their homes. County. The 313-acre cemetery now budget request includes funds for the The growth of national cemeter- serves more than 400,000 veterans initial Phase 1 establishment of na- ies in the state of Florida vividly dem- who live in the region of West Palm tional cemeteries at Sarasota and onstrates the need—and VA’s planned Beach, an area with one of the largest Jacksonville. In Sarasota County, VA response—to provide veterans with veteran populations in the nation. will invest $27.8 million to construct access to burial space that is conve- Two more national cemeteries—to be the initial burial area of a 295-acre nient and close to home. Between established near Sarasota on Florida’s site. Construction is expected to be- 2006 and 2008, VA will have invested west coast and near Jacksonville in gin in summer 2008, with first burials more than $148 million to establish, the northeast portion of the state— occurring in the fall or early winter. expand and improve national cem- are now in development. In northeast Florida, VA will ob- eteries to serve the 1.7 million veter- VA is also expanding and im- ligate $22.4 million to develop an ini- ans of the Sunshine State. proving existing cemeteries to ensure tial burial area on a 525-acre site that Nationally, VA’s objective is to uninterrupted service in the future. is being purchased from the City of provide an option for burial to 90 per- Projects have been completed, or are Jacksonville. The National Cemetery cent of all veterans. The objective is underway, at Florida National Cem- Administration will work closely with measured by veterans who have an etery in Bushnell, Barrancas National VA’s Office of Construction and Fa- open VA or state veterans cemetery Cemetery in Pensacola, and Bay cilities Management to ensure these within 75 miles of their residence. Pines National Cemetery, in the vital projects are completed in a

South Florida VA National Cemetery opened NCA in April in Palm Beach County. NCA 113 acres of land are being developed at Florida National Cemetery.

10 November/December 2007 VAnguard feature

timely and cost-effective Further to the south, manner in support of vet- at Bay Pines National erans. When these cem- Cemetery, space for eteries are operational— casketed remains was ex- complementing South hausted in 1987. How- Florida VA National Cem- ever, the cemetery has etery and the other exist- continued to serve veter- ing national cemeteries— ans with an option for Florida veterans will have burial of cremated re- access to a burial option in mains. A new colum- virtually every corner of barium, which opened in the state. October, provided ap- proximately 10,350 niches Construction at existing for inurnments, extending cemeteries the life of the cemetery VA is extending the until 2019. life of existing cemeteries VA is establishing through projects to expand new cemeteries, and seek- burial space, construct The obelisk at Bay Pines National Cemetery, ing opportunities to maxi- columbaria, and add other where a new columbarium opened in October. NCA mize the use of space features that enhance the available at existing cem- appearance and operations at national second busiest national cemetery in eteries, to ensure that an opportunity cemeteries. At Florida National Cem- the nation. Though it has been opera- for dignified burial continues to be etery, a $17.7 million project is under- tional for less than 20 years, it is now available to those who served and way to develop 113 acres of newly ac- on its fourth major expansion project. sacrificed on our behalf. As demon- quired land, to include installation of At Barrancas National Cemetery, strated in Florida, VA is committed to 28,000 pre-placed crypts for full-cas- an $8.3 million project will develop fulfilling our nation’s final promise to ket gravesites. As with all major cem- gravesites on the cemetery’s remain- veterans: to honor those who have etery construction projects, this ex- ing 10 acres. The project will include worn the uniform, and to commemo- pansion is projected to serve veteran installation of 5,000 pre-placed rate their service in perpetuity. needs for an additional 10 years. crypts, new committal shelters, a sat- However, usage at this cemetery has ellite maintenance area and other fea- By William F. Tuerk been very high, and it is ranked as the tures that will enhance operations. Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs

Clarifying Policy on Flag-Folding Recitations at Burial Services To ensure burial services at the 125 national cemeteries operated by VA reflect the wishes of veterans and their families, VA officials have clarified the department’s policy on recitations made while the U.S. flag is folded at the gravesite of a veteran. “Honoring the burial wishes of veterans is one of the highest commit- ments for the men and women of VA,” said William F. Tuerk, VA’s Under Sec- retary for Memorial Affairs. “A family may request the recitation of words to accompany the meaningful presentation of the American flag as we honor the dedication and sacrifice of their loved ones.” Traditional gravesite honors include the silent folding and presentation of an American flag, a 21-gun rifle salute, and the playing of taps. The clarification includes the following: Volunteer honor guards are authorized to read the so-called “13-fold” flag recitation or any comparable script; of the deceased need to provide material and request it be read NAVY by the volunteer honor guards; and Volunteer honor guards will accept requests for recitations that reflect any or no religious traditions, on an equal basis.

November/December 2007 11 Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day i feature VAnguard Returning to a Place of Honor hey returned to Washington, among other women you can be your- I ever wanted to do in my entire life.” D.C., the same way they ar- self with,” she said. “I can just be me.” She was on the original WIMSA Trived 10 years ago—riding a Terri Klozik, 52, had been retired dedication trip and decided to return chartered bus filled with their “sis- from the Air Force for about a year for the 10th anniversary celebration ters,” their comrades in arms. On this when she signed up for the dedication to enjoy the fellowship with the other trip, however, they were now fast trip 10 years ago. women veterans. Several of her “sis- friends. “I felt like it would be closure for ters” made the return trip for the same In October 1997, 153 women my military service,” she said. Klozik reason. veterans boarded four chartered buses served for nearly 23 years, retiring at VA employee Corina Collins, 53, to travel from their homes in Tennes- the rank of master sergeant in 1996. planned the 10th anniversary trip for see, Kentucky and West Virginia to Rather than serving as closure, the group. She spent 21 years serving the nation’s capital to participate in the experience actually opened a door in the Air Force, first as an avionics the dedication of a memorial built in for her. She joined the Women Veter- technician on jet aircraft and then as honor of their military service. The ans Network on that trip. a maintenance analyst for computers. Women in Military Service for “We just wanted to continue the She decided to make the return trip America (WIMSA) Memorial—com- camaraderie,” she said. “It’s really easy because “this is a celebration of every- monly known as the Women’s Memo- to be with people who have been thing we have accomplished.” rial—is located just outside the mas- there. You have a common bond.” After their luncheon cruise, the sive iron and marble gates of Arling- That common bond was obvious group headed to the reunion at the ton National Cemetery. as 41 women veterans gathered in the D.C. National Guard Armory, where They had such a good time remi- lobby of their Falls Church, Va., hotel they socialized with other women vet- niscing about their days in the service on the morning of Nov. 2, drinking erans. On Saturday morning, they ar- and meeting other women veterans coffee and ribbing one another as rived at the Women’s Memorial that on the way back home, sitting in the back of the bus, they put their heads together and decided to form “Too often when Americans think of our service- the Women Veterans Network. members and veterans, they think only of men.” “They didn’t want this sisterhood to die,” said MaryAnn Woodward- they waited for the bus to arrive. The around 10 a.m. so they could secure Smith, of the VA Tennessee Valley first event of the day was a luncheon seats together for the official 10th an- Healthcare System in Nashville. cruise on the Potomac River. niversary celebration. Their first She had just been appointed as Still conscious of military rank, marching order was to pose for a the full-time women veterans pro- they insisted that retired command group shot in front of the fountain. gram manager when she heard about sergeant major Sue Williams be inter- There was no shortage of leaders the WIMSA dedication and decided viewed first. Wearing heart-shaped barking out orders and commands to to plan a trip to the event as a way of patriotic earrings and a gold necklace get the group lined up for the photo. conducting outreach to women veter- with her rank, Williams talked about While waiting for the program to ans. To defray some of the cost of the her two tours of duty in the Army. begin at noon, some of the women trip for the women veterans, she She was 18 when she first joined walked around, scanning the crowd helped them plan and conduct yard in 1955. When she got married and for familiar faces. Ann Antomattei sales, bake sales and car washes. They became pregnant, the Army dis- said she signed up for the trip for the raised $17,000 for the WIMSA dedi- charged her in 1957. Back then, preg- express purpose of trying to reunite cation trip. nant women were not allowed to con- with women she had served with in Mary Ross, 51, said she felt lost tinue serving in the Army. After giv- Vietnam. She accomplished her mis- and was really floundering when she ing birth to three sons and eventually sion. She found six women veterans retired from the Army in 1995 at the getting divorced, Williams signed up who had served in Vietnam while she rank of sergeant first class after serv- again in 1974 with the Army Reserve. was there serving in an Army military ing for 21 years. Joining the Women In 1981 she went on active duty and intelligence unit from 1969 to 1970. Veterans Network and participating served until 2000. During her career, They were wearing royal blue vests in their community activities, such as she held several stateside assignments with white lettering on the back: revitalizing a house to serve as a shel- in addition to short tours in Japan “WAC, Army, 68-69, Long Binh, ter for homeless women veterans, and Egypt. Vietnam.” gave12 her a sense of purpose. Williams, November/December now 71, said 2007 she joined The group stood around laughing “It is such a great feeling to be the Army because “it’s the only thing and teasing one another about how ART GARDINER Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day i n the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital VAnguard feature different everyone looked after some from the crowd. Coast Guard. Most of the group 37 years—a little grayer, a little “From the rice paddies of the elected to stay together and march as rounder, and a lot older. Antomattei, Mekong Delta to the jungles near the a group at the end of the formation. 61, said she used to see Precilla DMZ, nurses served in hospitals and As they made their way across Landry Wilkewitz dancing at the support areas everywhere our troops the Memorial Bridge, the sun dropped NCO Club “all the time” with one were stationed,” he said. “Because below the horizon and the only light particular servicemember. Wilkewitz, these patriots worked so close to the came from the candles carried by a statuesque redhead, laughed and in- battle zones, less than two percent of some 1,400 women veterans. A group formed her that she ended up marry- all of the wounded died of their of Army veterans sang cadence in ing that dancing partner. After posing wounds, an extraordinary accomplish- clear, strong voices as they led the for photographs with one march across the bridge. another, exchanging Celestine McNeal, 47, phone numbers and ad- was one of the first women dresses, and talking to a veterans to arrive at CBS News crew about WIMSA for the service of their reunion, they dis- remembrance. She served banded and found their in the Army from 1978 to seats. 2004, retiring at the rank The members of the of sergeant major. McNeal Women Veterans Network was asked to participate in all had their reasons for the rose petal ceremony making the 10th anniver- near the end of the pro- sary trip, and they all had gram. The ceremony paid stories to tell about their tribute to the 99 fallen sis- military service. ters who have lost their ROBERT TURTIL Wanda Bruce Gra- lives fighting the Global ham, 54, retired from the War on Terrorism. Army as a lieutenant colo- McNeal, who is a vet- nel in 2003 after serving eran of Operation Desert 24 years. As a young of- Storm and Operation Iraqi ficer, she served with Air Freedom, read the name of Force Brig. Gen. Wilma L. Spc. Ciara M. Durkin with Vaught, whom she greatly the Massachusetts Army admired. Vaught has since National Guard. After retired and is now presi- reading the name, she dent of the WIMSA Me- tossed rose petals into the morial Foundation. Gra- fountain. ham said attending the “It was an honor to be 10th anniversary celebra- able to participate in the tion “makes you feel good ART GARDINER rose petal ceremony,” to serve.” Top: Mary Ross, foreground, stands by the Army sign as women veterans McNeal said. “It was sad The formal program line up by branch of service for the Candlelight March; above: Members and emotional throughout of the Women Veterans Network in front of the Women in Military Ser- for the 10th anniversary vice for America Memorial on Nov. 3 in Washington, D.C. The group the entire time that the of the Women’s Memorial traveled from their homes in Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee to names were being called dedication was a celebra- attend the 10th anniversary ceremony of the dedication of the memorial. out.” tion of military service by women ment. Many Vietnam veterans are Vaught said she was pleased with through the ages. There were a num- still alive today, and I count myself in the 10th anniversary event. She said ber of guest speakers, including Gor- that number, thanks to the courage a number of World War II veterans don H. Mansfield, acting Secretary of and skill of our combat nurses.” wrote to her and told her that they Veterans Affairs. Later that evening, members of wanted to be there, but were no “Too often when Americans the Women Veterans Network gath- longer able to travel. think of our servicemembers and vet- ered at the Lincoln Memorial to line “I was very pleased in the context erans, they think only of men,” he up for a candlelight march and ser- that those who were here were just said. Mansfield credited a special vice of remembrance. After securing thrilled and found the event to be group of women veterans with saving an electric candle, some of the veter- meaningful in their lives,” Vaught his life while he was on his second ans lined up behind signs indicating said. tour of duty in Vietnam; his words their branch November/December of military service— 2007 13 were met with cheers and applause Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and By Renee McElveen n the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day i feature VAnguard Arlington Portraits hey came to Arlington Na- ghanistan with the Army’s 173rd Air- on active duty in a ceremonial unit in tional Cemetery on Veterans borne. “Veterans Day is very special Washington, D.C., helped usher TDay for many reasons: to make to me,” Howard said. people to their seats in the amphithe- one last sentimental journey; to visit A veteran from another war—80- ater as the crowd streamed in for the the graves of fellow veterans who year-old John Whalen—traveled from 11 a.m. ceremony. Wearing his dress gave their all; to proudly escort the his home in Mesa, Ariz., to partici- uniform and white gloves, he politely colors. pate in Veterans Day activities in directed traffic and answered ques- Veterans Day at Arlington Na- Washington, D.C. tions. tional Cemetery, across the Potomac “I feel it’s my last sentimental Lance Cpl. Craig Seaman, 20, of from the nation’s capital, began with journey home,” he said. “I wanted to Humble, Texas, said it was “a great a breakfast at the Women in Military honor those who were not as lucky as honor” for him to be working on Vet- Service for America erans Day and meeting (WIMSA) Memorial. veterans from other wars, Veterans, active duty from other times. servicemembers, veterans Thirteen Quantico, service organization rep- Va., Young Marines, wear- resentatives and VA em- ing camouflage uniforms, ployees gathered at the caps and black leather memorial for a buffet boots, stood in formation breakfast and to mingle outside the amphitheater Bob Howard, right, with fellow MOH with old friends and greet waiting for their signal to recipient Brian Thacker. ROBERT TURTIL new faces. escort the colors carried Gordon H. by members of veterans Mansfield, acting Secre- John Whalen RENEE MCELVEEN service organizations into tary of Veterans Affairs, the white marble and welcomed fellow veterans granite structure filled and other guests to the with more than 3,500 breakfast, and thanked all people. First Sgt. Jessica for their service. Mattson, 17, said the One of those veter- Young Marines organiza- ans was Vietnam veteran tion works to improve Bob Howard, 69, of San communities and keep

Antonio. Wearing a dark Caleb Venable ROBERT TURTIL youth away from drugs suit with the light blue and alcohol. The high ribbon of the Medal of Honor encir- I was.” school senior said they Craig Seaman cling his neck, Howard sipped coffee Wearing an olive RENEE MCELVEEN meet twice a month and while fellow veterans recognizing his drab garrison cap with participate in community award came up to him to introduce the Marine Corps insignia and his activities such as handing out water themselves and shake his hand. red, yellow, blue and gold service at the Marine Corps Marathon and Howard served five tours in Viet- medals pinned to the left side of his cleaning up along highways. nam from 1964 to 1971. olive jacket, Whalen ate hash browns Pfc. Caleb Venable, 9, joined the “I had just about every position and sipped coffee as he talked about Quantico Young Marines about a year you could have in Vietnam, from his service during World War II. He ago because he “thought it would be squad leader to company com- served in the South Pacific from 1944 fun.” He wears ribbons on his uniform mander,” he said. to 1948 with the Fleet Marine Force that he earned for learning first aid Howard retired from the Army in in an Amphibious Tractor Battalion. and CPR, achieving his physical fit- 1992 as a colonel and today serves as In addition to attending the for- ness level, and for participating in president of the Medal of Honor So- mal ceremony at the Arlington Na- veterans’ appreciation activities. The ciety. He said he comes to Arlington tional Cemetery amphitheater later at third-grader said he hasn’t made up National Cemetery every year on 11 a.m., Whalen said he planned to his mind yet about whether or not he Veterans Day, noting that he has 78 visit the graves of two of the Marines wants to join the real Marines when friends buried in Arlington. who raised the flag on Iwo Jima—Ira he graduates from high school. 14 Howard’s son, Pfc. Robert L. Hayes andNovember/December Rene Gagnon. 2007 Howard Jr., is currently serving in Af- A young Marine currently serving By Renee McElveen

Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day i n the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital VAnguard feature

MICHAEL L. MOORE ART GARDINER

ROBERT TURTIL ART GARDINER

RENEE MCELVEEN ROBERT TURTIL

Clockwise from top left: The Vietnam Veterans of America sponsored a 25th Anniversary Parade celebrating and commemorating the dedi- cation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Nov. 10 on the . Another anniversary event was the reading of all 58,256 names on The Wall; Vice President Dick Cheney lays the traditional wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 11; Retired Army Gen. Colin L. Powell addresses the crowd gathered for the Veterans Day ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; Staff Sgt. Alicia Woolard, of the Young Marines, Prescott, Ariz., greets veteran Frank Buckles, 106, during the Veterans Day cer- emony at the grave of Gen. John J. “Blackjack” Pershing at Arlington National Cemetery. Pershing commanded U.S. forces in World War I; Staff Sgt. Tom Bratten plays the tuba as the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” performs a musical prelude at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day; Calvin Howes, 74, of the Marine Corps League, carried the American flag into the amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery as part of the Veterans Day ceremony’s November/December procession 2007 15 of colors; The crowd at Arlington National Cemetery watches the flag procession at the start of the Veterans Day ceremony. ROBERT TURTIL RENEE MCELVEEN n the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Nation’s Capital Veterans Day in the Field Veterans Day in the Field Veterans feature VAnguard

WALT CODY

DEREK GEE/THE BUFFALO NEWS

AL BLOOM

BRAD GARNER

BERHARD LASHYLEIDNER/FREIHAND PHOTOGRAPHY

Clockwise from top left: Mary Buerster, wife of a former POW and volunteer with the VA Western New York Healthcare System in Buffalo, at the facility’s Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11; Members of the Korean War Veterans of the Navajo Nation participated in the Veterans Day parade at the Bob Stump VA Medical Center in Prescott, Ariz. They are frequent participants in the an- nual parade; Veterans gathered in front of the Montgomery, Ala., VA Medical Center at the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System’s traditional Vet- erans Day celebration; The Millennium High School Tigers Band marches during the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade put on by the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center. The parade drew nearly 200,000 spectators; 95-year-old EDGARDO CABALLERO World War II veteran John Alexander welcomed Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to the San Francisco VA Medical Center’s nursing home care 16 November/Decemberunit during her 2007 Veterans Day visit to the facility and served as her official es- cort; A soldier from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg salutes during the Veterans Day program at the Fayetteville, N.C., VA Medical Center.

Veterans Day in the Field Veterans Day in the Field Veterans Day in the Field Veterans Day in the Field Veterans Day in the Field VAnguard feature

LAMEL HINTON

Above: Gerald Alperstein, commander, Jewish War Veterans, Manhattan-Cooper Post 1, plays the trumpet at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System’s Veterans Day ceremony at the Man- hattan Campus; right: Shiny new wheelchairs lined up in the lobby of the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center. VA facilities in ANDREW WHITE Washington and three other cities—Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas—received wheelchairs donated by the Wheelchair Foun- more than $1 million. The Wheelchair Foundation is a nonprofit organiza- dation and the Knights of Columbus on Veterans Day weekend. tion whose mission is to provide wheelchairs to those in need. The chairs Facilities in each of the four cities received 500 wheelchairs. bring independence to those deprived of mobility by war, ill health or pov- Most of the wheelchairs were distributed to veterans who needed erty. Their global network delivers 10,000 wheelchairs a month. The them; the rest are being used to transport patients within the fa- Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal benefit society celebrating 125 cilities. The total value of this donation by the organizations is years of offering assistance to the sick, disabled and needy.

Editor’s Note: On Veterans Day, National Public Radio featured this moving piece written by VA Northern California Health Care System clinical psychologist Joel Schmidt, who works at the Oakland Outpatient Clinic. The piece was part of NPR’s es- say series “This I Believe.” Resilience Is a Gift I listen to people for a living. As a psychologist in the Department of Veterans Affairs, I hear about some of the worst experiences humans have to bear. I have sat face-to-face with a Bataan Death March sur- vivor, an airman shot down over Germany, a Marine who was at the Chosin Reservoir, veterans from ev- ery region of Vietnam, medics and infantry soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq. I have spoken with people who have been assaulted and brutalized by their own comrades, and parents who’ve had to at- tend their own children’s funerals. I have gained a surprising belief from hearing about so much agony: I believe in the power of hu- man resilience. I am continually inspired by the ability of the emotionally wounded to pick themselves up and keep going after enduring the most traumatic circumstances imaginable. Iraq veterans describe to me the constant hell of unpredictable IED attacks and invisible snipers. By Joel Schmidt the time they get home, many can’t drive on the freeway or be in the same room with old friends. One vet described being locked in an emotional cage between numbness and rage. Emerging from this terrible backdrop, many Iraq vets have surprised me with their drive to recover and their unpredictable ways of giving back some meaning to their lives. For example, there was a veteran whose most powerful therapeutic experience was helping his grandmother keep her small business running. This cause gave him a reason to care, someone to emotionally connect with and ultimately a reason to get up in the morning. This might sound like naïve optimism when in fact treatment is often long and hard, and not every story has a happy ending. Some days when I go home my head hurts. I feel sad or worried or angry or ineffective. On these days, I have to appeal to my own strategies for self-care, pick myself back up and keep going. I went to school to learn how to help people get better. Instead, it is often the very people I have spent my career trying to help that remind me how to care for myself. I keep a catalog of them in my head and I try to use this list as a road map, an inspi- ration and a reminder of what human resilience can achieve. I make it a point to complement the strength and ingenuity of the people who sit in my office. But the truth is, I don’t think many of them realize the depth of my admiration. Sitting in the room with these people every day allows me to hope that I might also find strength to face future problems. This solid sense of hope is a gift and it is my humble desire to share it with the next person who sits with me. “Resilience Is a Gift,” ©2007 by Joel Schmidt. Reprinted November/December by arrangement 2007with This I Believe, Inc. To read and hear other essays, 17 and to submit your own, visit www.thisibelieve.org.

Day in the Field Veterans Day in the Field Veterans Day in the Field cover story VAnguard

‘No one wants to die alone’ The Twilight Brigade brings comfort and companionship to dying veterans.

here are real angels in the City “It started with visiting the AIDS ing and giving back to those men and of Angels serving tirelessly at patients and then branched out from women who so gallantly made the Tthe VA Greater Los Angeles there,” he said. personal sacrifices necessary to keep Healthcare System. Brinkley, 57, had some idea of our great country free.” “Serving at the bedside of vets is what it was like to be in their situa- In addition to the national head- the most meaningful thing I do,” said tion. quarters in Los Angeles, Twilight Bri- volunteer Marsha Oseas. A legal sec- “I got struck by lightning in 1975 gade has offices in San Diego; Long retary at a large Los Angeles law firm, and was paralyzed for six days,” he Beach, Calif.; Loma Linda, Calif.; she is one of the 12 to 15 active vol- said. “I was partially paralyzed for Palo Alto-San Francisco; Portland, unteers for the Twilight Brigade seven years and it took two years for Ore.; Seattle; Spokane, Wash.; Chi- (Compassion in Action) program at me to learn to walk again and feed cago; Dayton, Ohio; Birmingham, VA Greater Los Angeles. myself.” Ala.; and Atlanta, with smaller Oseas and her fellow volunteers Brinkley’s wife, Kathryn, and groups in 10 other states. provide daily reassurance and human three of their six children volunteer They began with four volunteers companionship to the dying, relief and support to loved ones and caregivers, and compassionate 24- hour attention through the veterans’ last hours, allowing them to die in peace and dignity. The national Twilight Brigade program, founded by Dannion Brinkley, has been around since 1997; the Greater Los Angeles affiliate will celebrate its 10th year in 2008. The organization works with VA Greater Los Angeles at the hospital and nurs- ing home care unit, offering its ser- vices at no cost to either the patient or the family. Brinkley’s service to dying veter- ans began in 1984, when the Aiken, S.C., native took his father, a World War II veteran, to VA for care. While Twilight Brigade volunteer Sari Honig waiting for his father, he visited hos- visits VA Greater Los Angeles hospice pitalized patients. PAULA BERGER patient Ronald Stovall. Some of the patients he looked in on were dying of AIDS. In those early with the organization. and now have 5,000. years of the AIDS crisis, with fears “We are so very dedicated to the James Lewis, a health technician about how the disease was transmit- power and purpose of the Twilight with VA Greater Los Angeles, has ted running high, they had few visi- Brigade that we have made it a family been a volunteer for six and a half tors. Brinkley saw how lonely and affair,” said Kathryn. “It is our form of years, logging 8,500 hours of service afraid of dying they were. spiritual activism, our way of honor- with the Twilight Brigade.

18 November/December 2007 VAnguard cover story

Twilight Brigade founder Dannion Brinkley checks in with recruitment and training of the vol- VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System hospice patient unteers. He takes part in the manda- Gaylen Braxton as Jennifer Gomez-Grabot, R.N., looks on. tory 20 hours of training every volun- teer goes through, giving a presenta- tion on clinical programs and the value of the Twilight Brigade to pa- tients. Oseas, one of the trainers for the program, said role-playing exercises are used to help volunteers learn to develop empathy and listen to the pa- tients. “The volunteers learn that they can’t fix things,” Lewis said. “They learn to be in the moment.” Once they’ve completed training, volunteers must go through “VA pro- cessing,” where they are interviewed, checked for tuberculosis, and edu- cated on HIPAA policies and patient privacy issues. They also fill out all the required VA and federal govern- ment forms, get fingerprinted, and get photographed for their ID badge. After processing is completed, PAULA BERGER volunteers work hand in hand with a “We satisfy the religious, spiritual patient is stubborn or obstinate. “One fully trained Twilight Brigade volun- and emotional issues and try to maxi- guy didn’t want me to visit him,” teer. They receive 10 hours of mize that end-of-life time,” Lewis Guidi said. “He told me that he didn’t mentoring by having an experienced said. “We become friends and some- want to talk to anyone. He said, volunteer go along with them when times a surrogate family.” ‘What are you getting out of this?’ Fi- they visit patients. Volunteers free up the medical nally, after I kept coming back, he did “During the mentoring, you con- professionals by performing mundane a full 180. He looked forward to my nect with a patient,” said Lewis. “Your tasks like running prescriptions, help- visits.” trainer wants you to do that so you ing with oxygen bottles, and moving “It takes about three visits for the will go back. But you have to show up and acquiring furniture. patient to realize that the volunteer is regularly, because the patient depends But most of all, the Twilight Bri- serious,” Brinkley explained. “The on you.” gade volunteers are there to give the first reaction is, ‘What are you doing Twilight Brigade volunteers be- patient someone to talk to. “Some- here?’ The next time, the patient come a great source of comfort and times the doctors become white coats wonders if the volunteer feels guilty assistance to the patients. that talk about you instead of to you,” and that’s why they’re showing up. By Guidi has brought chocolate chip Lewis said. the third visit, the patient actually cookies to patients, and when one pa- Rosanna Guidi has volunteered wants to know about the volunteer. tient told her that he didn’t trust the with the program in Los Angeles for They want to know who the volun- water and thought it was making him seven and a half years, spending some teer is.” sick, she brought him bottled water of her time working in the Twilight Dr. Kenneth Rosenfeld, director every day. Brigade office. What does she think it of Palliative Care at VA Greater Los “The experiences are life-alter- takes to be a Twilight Brigade volun- Angeles, works closely with the Twi- ing,” Oseas said, “and our volunteers teer? light Brigade. “I make referrals, coor- have a connection to each other “Volunteers should be good lis- dinate visitor relationships, and find through the work they do.” teners, authentic and comfortable out the interest of the patient in hav- Volunteers include active duty with who they are,” Guidi said. ing the volunteers come,” he said. “It’s military personnel and veterans. Persistence is sometimes needed, a patient-centered program.” “We have a lot of doctors and too, for those rare occasions when a Rosenfeld is also involved in the nurses who are trained volunteers,”

November/December 2007 19 feature VAnguard said Brinkley, “including six in VA their final moments. make it a safe place for them. Won- headquarters.” And he is always re- In their initial training, the vol- derful things happen.” cruiting more. “The need for people is unteers learn to examine their own Given the emotional toll it is what’s so important,” he said. fears about death and dying by par- bound to take on them, why do Guidi Volunteers often have to deter- ticipating in structured exercises to and the others volunteer as members mine where the patient is in the pro- resolve those fears. of the Twilight Brigade? Their reasons cess of dying. By the simple fact of be- “You learn to act and not be fro- are varied. ing there at the veteran’s bedside, zen by the situation,” Lewis said. “I became a hospice volunteer af- Twilight Brigade volunteers give the “Once you come to know it, you lose ter a year of dealing with a life- dying someone to talk to about the your fear. It’s the unknown that threatening illness of my own,” Oseas experience. makes us fearful. And God bestows said. “I did inner work having to do “Some speak up easily,” Guidi special gifts [on] those who serve.” with facing my own mortality and said. “Others don’t. When we visit “It is daunting at first,” Guidi other existential and spiritual matters. them, they get permission to speak. said. “The first time I went into the I picked up my life again knowing Sometimes they don’t want you to say ICU, I was a little afraid of seeing that I would be living very differently anything. They just want you to hang people all hooked up to machines. than I had before. For me now, ‘ser- out or watch a ball game. It’s impor- But I’ve learned a lot about courage vice’ is the most cherished piece of tant that they are visited every day.” from the patients.” the fabric of my life.” Pain is a major issue. The Twilight Brigade volunteers Service is also what motivated “There’s a point when a patient say religion often plays a part in the Lewis to volunteer. can’t communicate their pain,” Lewis final stages of dying. They frequently “I realized our lives are about ser- said. “You have to be sensitive to send for chaplains and other clergy at vice,” Lewis said. “You have to act to their body movements and gestures the patient’s request. make a difference in the lives of oth- for signs that they want more medica- During their training, volunteers ers.” tion. And pain can [keep the person learn to respect spiritual, religious and Guidi learned about the volun- from dying].” cultural differences and not impose teer opportunity through a friend and In the final stages of dying, some their own beliefs or values on the pa- decided to sign up for the training. VA Greater Los Angeles patients go home if there is someone to take care “It is daunting at first. But I’ve learned a lot of them. But many go to the hospice at the Sepulveda facility. It has rooms about courage from the patients.” for family members and is homier tients. The volunteer and patient of- “Service in the program is ben- than a hospital setting. ten talk about the afterlife as the end eficial to both the volunteer and the Some of the dying don’t want to of the patient’s life draws near. “One patient,” Guidi said. “There is an ex- go to Sepulveda because it means veteran was afraid he wouldn’t be for- change of love as you stand by and they are really dying, and they given for all the people he had killed listen and connections are made.” haven’t come to terms with it yet. in the war,” Guidi said. “Veterans wonder if anyone will Some patients have no family In that case, her objective was to appreciate what they did,” said and the volunteer becomes their sur- alleviate his concerns. Brinkley. “They were there for us rogate family. Other patients’ families “In the final stages of dying, the when we needed them. We need to live a long distance from them, so the patient many times is at peace with be there for them.” patient often has a sense of abandon- their [God] and everything,” said Families appreciate the work of ment. Guidi. the volunteers, too. “I have received Many patients have concerns Once the veteran dies, Twilight beautiful cards and letters from family about being the only support for their Brigade volunteers say they some- members,” Guidi said, “but you families. They are afraid the family times second-guess themselves and shouldn’t do it expecting a pat on the won’t get along when they are . worry that they didn’t do enough to back.” Some believe they have unfinished help that person while they were Oseas has a mantra that she business with family members. Volun- alive. shares with other volunteers: “Just teers learn to interact with family “But you really can’t say the show up. It’s not about you. It’s lonely members while avoiding being pulled wrong thing,” said Guidi. “You can’t to be sick in the hospital. No one into family dynamics. push yourself beyond what you can wants to die alone.” Lewis said volunteers are often do. Personalities of the volunteer and present at the patient’s bedside during patient come together. It is our job to By Pamela Wills

20 November/December 2007 VAnguard feature

“Hangin’ Ten!” Iraq veteran David Vidano shows how it’s done.

California Healin’ PAULA BERGER Disabled veterans learn to catch a wave at adaptive surf camp.

n a scene reminiscent of D-Day, a unique, California approach to reha- had suffered a serious stroke. Not all platoon of former soldiers, sailors bilitation. of their disabilities were visible. Iand Marines recently assaulted a This surf camp differed from pre- “Some of the younger veterans local Southern California beach as vious events, which were targeted at here have traumatic brain injuries,” part of an invasion dubbed “Opera- Operation Enduring Freedom/Opera- Woodrow explained. “They may look tion Amped.” But instead of wearing tion Iraqi Freedom veterans and fo- normal and sound normal, but they body armor and riding in on a tank cused on the challenges of amputa- have trouble processing. What I have landing ship, they wore wetsuits and tions, severe burns, spinal cord inju- found in dealing with patients with rode in on surfboards. ries and traumatic brain injuries. In- TBI is that less is more. The best way Held Sept. 19, the event marked stead, this camp was open to all to teach them is to show them, not the first time that any VA medical Greater Los Angeles disabled veterans tell them, with short, simple instruc- center was involved in an adaptive of any age, even if their disability was tions and lots of positive reinforce- surf camp held solely for disabled vet- not service-connected. ment.” erans, according to Randi Woodrow, Fourteen veterans participated in The veterans’ teacher was none chief of Physical Therapy at the VA the event, and their disabilities were other than Shaun Tomson, the 1977 Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Sys- as varied as their ages and military world champion big wave surfer from tem. Physical Therapy and Voluntary backgrounds. The youngest, a 22- South Africa. Tomson, who is still re- Service joined forces with the Will- year-old woman veteran, was severely covering from the accidental death of iam Morris Agency and the Skylar injured while serving in Iraq; the old- his teenage son Mathew, gave an in- Peak Surfing School for a truly est, a 68-year old Vietnam veteran, spirational pep talk.

November/December 2007 21 feature VAnguard

“Surfing teaches you so much about life,” he told the veterans. “It teaches you about independence, commitment and courage, which you guys know about. But it can also help you with terrible challenges in your life. I lost my beautiful boy last year.” His voice breaking, Tomson paused and glanced out at the ocean, trying to control his tears. “He was only fifteen years old and surfing has really helped me get through the pain of his loss. “You guys have had a similar loss,” he continued. “A piece of you is gone and a piece of me is gone, too. But I think what surfing teaches you is you should just paddle back out, PAULA BERGER you know? It teaches you that there is always going to be another wave out there.” That was all the motivation these veterans needed, as they donned wetsuits and headed for the surf. Led by Jeff Kolodny, a former surfing magazine editor and now a vice president and talent agent at William Morris, the surfers-turned-in- structors each paired up with a vet- eran and stayed by their side all day, providing some valuable one-on-one instruction. In addition to the surfers from William Morris, a few of VA’s own helped teach the veterans and even managed to catch a few waves of their own: Dr. Peter Glassman, staff physician; Kurt Bormann, Health PAULA BERGER Services specialist; and Jeff Blake, an Top: After practicing in the sand, the disabled veterans were ready to charge the water. By the administrative fellow assigned to the end of the day, a few managed to ride a wave all the way in, grinning proudly from ear to director’s office. ear. But even those who “wiped out” laughed and went right back out to try again; above: Af- ter several hours in the surf, Iraq veteran John Dunbar hitches a ride in the sand-adapted The event even had its own phy- wheelchair, pushed by VA physical therapist Randi Woodrow and Robbie Fraser, an agent sician, Dr. Doreen Opava-Rutter, the with William Morris. Doreen Opava-Rutter, a VA polytrauma doctor, accompanies them along OIF/OEF polytrauma doctor at the the beach, with veteran Bilal Hassan, left, and surfer Tom Tapp bringing up the rear. West Los Angeles VA Medical Cen- lost an arm and a leg in a motorcycle he said. “I’m glad they arrange ter. Even though she declined a surf accident only a year ago. Unable to therapy events like this outside of the lesson, she was always close at hand, wear his prosthesis near the water, clinic.” at times wading out into the water to Dunbar declined the offer of a special Was the event a success? Watch- help a veteran get to his feet after sand-worthy wheelchair. ing Dunbar hop down to the water “wiping out.” Fiercely independent, the deter- and crawl on his stomach onto the For some of the veterans, it was a mined Marine hopped down the sand surfboard, eagerly waiting to catch the challenge just to get through the sand to the water on one foot, eager to hit “perfect wave,” was answer enough. to the water. John Dunbar, a former the surf. “I’ve never done this before, Marine who served in Iraq, but it’s good to try something new,” By Becky James

22 November/December 2007 VAnguard feature Powerful Therapy: When Alvis Met Stevie For wounded Iraq veteran Alvis Burns, meeting a rock star turned out to be an inspirational experience for them both.

magine meeting a famous singer In early 2007, staffers learned ley. During the performance, Burns but not remembering it. That’s that Nicks’ concert tour was coming surprised everyone by singing along to Iwhat happened to Army Staff Sgt. to town and wondered if they could the songs and remembering the cor- Alvis Burns, a wounded Operation arrange for Burns to attend. After rect lyrics. Iraqi Freedom veteran. contacting Nicks’ personal assistant, Afterwards, the group headed In 2005, Burns was recovering at they were surprised to find out Nicks backstage, where they were greeted by Walter Reed Army Medical Center in remembered Burns and, inspired by Nicks, who reminisced with Elizabeth Washington, D.C., when Stevie his progress, she arranged for free VIP about the original visit and Burns’ re- Nicks, who rose to fame in the ’70s as tickets and backstage passes. markable improvement since then. a member of legendary rock group Deciding to use the concert as a Burns’ therapists were pleased to wit- Fleetwood Mac and ness their hard has since enjoyed a Alvis Burns and work paying off, as long and successful wife Elizabeth they proudly solo career, visited got backstage watched him read passes to visit on a morale tour. with Stevie Nicks the card he had Nicks, whose foun- when her con- made for Nicks, dation, Band of Sol- cert tour stopped thanking her for in their town. diers, helps her generosity. wounded veterans, Now living at stopped by Burns’ home with Eliza- hospital bed to lift beth and their chil- his spirits. dren, Burns is able Back then, a se- to walk with assis- verely injured Burns tance and has re- could barely speak gained active use of or respond to ques- his right side. His tions because of a therapists continue traumatic brain in- to be impressed jury he suffered with his gradual but while serving in steady progress. Iraq. Still experi- KAREN JOHNSTON “Considering encing memory loss, Al’s significant he has no recollection of his first en- motivational tool, the therapists communication and cognitive defi- counter with Nicks. worked together to create a powerful cits, it was inspiring to see him sing- After he was released from therapy plan. In preparation for the ing along with the music and being Walter Reed, Burns entered the VA backstage meet and greet, his speech able to present a card he had made to polytrauma center in Palo Alto, Ca- therapist helped him practice talking Nicks,” said speech therapist Colleen lif., to continue his rehabilitation. He and reading a card to the singer. His Robbins Pouquette. later transferred to the Northern Ari- occupational and physical therapists As he looks forward to his next zona VA Health Care System in helped him get comfortable in a loud meeting with his favorite singer, Prescott to be closer to his wife, Eliza- concert venue and worked with him Burns is confident that with time and beth, and their three young daugh- on getting up, walking to Nicks, and the help of his therapists, he will re- ters. Once there, Burns made tremen- giving her a hug. gain more of the functions he lost as a dous progress, working with multiple On July 27, Burns, his wife, sister, result of his injuries. therapists to improve his reflexes, mo- and three VA therapists attended the tor skills and other functions. long-awaited concert in Prescott Val- By Amanda Hester

November/December 2007 23 feature VAnguard Mental Illness Awareness Week Spreading the Word that Recovery is Possible

mental health services and the con- cept of recovery-focused treatment. The staff at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in Little Rock created something unique for Mental Illness Awareness Week—a “Recovery Rover.” The mobile wooden display case was built by vet- erans in the Compensated Work Therapy Program and completed through the contributions of more than 45 team members. It took about five months from concept to comple- tion of this innovative outreach tool, said Dr. Erin Williams, local recovery coordinator with the Central Arkan- sas Veterans Healthcare System. During the week, the Recovery Rover traveled to 16 different lobbies JEFF BOWEN throughout the medical center. Bal- The “Recovery Rover” roamed the halls of the Little Rock, Ark., VA Medical Center. loons bobbed en route, cascading posters crowned the roof, and shelves n 1990, Congress designated the office, others developed unique ap- were filled with multi-media presenta- first week of October as Mental proaches that addressed the needs of tions, hands-on exhibits and novel- IIllness Awareness Week, offering their veteran patients and local com- ties. At each stop, passersby could an annual opportunity to increase munities. Activities ranged from one- watch a documentary on the Nobel public awareness of the challenges the day informational sessions and table Prize-winning mathematician John mentally ill face and the stories of displays to weeklong celebrations, in- Nash—whose struggles with schizo- those who overcame diseases of the cluding exhibits of veterans’ artwork phrenia were chronicled in the movie mind. and presentations by nationally A Beautiful Mind—or hear the music VA’s Office of Mental Health Ser- known mental health professionals of famous singers who have been di- vices worked closely with facility local and VA leaders. agnosed with mental illness. recovery coordinators and public af- “Personal stories of individuals Peer specialists and providers en- fairs officers to promote Mental Ill- with mental illness and their experi- gaged participants in conversations ness Awareness Week activities as ences working toward recovery were about various displays and offered part of its efforts to help ensure that an important part of Mental Illness printed information about recovery- mental health is viewed as essential to Awareness Week,” said McCutcheon. oriented services and NAMI re- overall health and to let veterans and “One of the most effective ways to sources. staff know that recovery is possible combat stigma is for people to be able “The Rover experience was dy- and attainable, according to Dr. Susan to meet individuals with mental ill- namic and unique for each passing in- McCutcheon, director of family ser- ness and understand their challenges.” dividual,” said Williams. vices, women’s mental health and Activity coordinators worked Although Mental Illness Aware- military sexual trauma in the Mental with medical center directors, mental ness Week has come and gone, the Health Services office. health leadership and clinicians, peer Recovery Rover has not retired. It More than 60 VA facilities par- support groups, day treatment centers, will travel the corridors each month ticipated in Mental Illness Awareness community providers, local National with new exhibits and up-to-date re- Week this year, McCutcheon said. Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) sources. For more information, con- While some used the program pre- affiliates, and veterans and their fam- tact Williams at erin.williams3@va. pared by the Mental Health Services ily members to promote awareness of gov.

24 November/December 2007 VAnguard feature A Century of Service in South Dakota Hot Springs VA Medical Center celebrates its 100th anniversary.

he Hot Springs VA Medical Center—formerly soldiers’ home system. Unique from the outset, it was known as the Battle Mountain Sanitarium—cel- never intended to serve as a long-term residential home. Tebrated its 100th anniversary Sept. 14-15. The According to a February 1904 Johnson City, Tenn., news- celebration events featured speeches, dignitaries, a parade paper article: “The Battle Mountain Sanitarium at Hot with more than 150 entrants including one of the last sur- Springs, South Dakota, begun about 2 years ago, is not yet viving World War II code talkers and the Oscar Mayer finished. It is intended for members of the homes to be Wienermobile, an inter-tribal honor guard, family games sent there who are troubled with their lungs. It will cost and activities, a dunking booth, and a picnic on the front about $250,000.” lawn. Its purpose was to provide For centuries, the healing short-term therapeutic treat- waters of the warm springs in ment to members of the other southwestern South Dakota had national soldiers’ homes who been known and used by Ameri- had respiratory or rheumatic can Indians. As Europeans diseases. The sanitarium was settled further into the Ameri- not a home—it was a hospital. can West during the 19th cen- Groundbreaking for the tury, the curative qualities of the sanitarium took place on Aug. water and delightful climate at 17, 1903, and the main build- Hot Springs lured many people ings were completed on April to this community near the 1, 1907. Constructed in the south edge of the Black Hills. “old Spanish mission style,” by Located 3,482 feet above sea DARLENE RICHARDSON architect Thomas R. Kimball of level, Hot Springs’ weather was Omaha, Neb., its spoke wing never temperately extreme and design facilitated fresh air and was naturally free of malaria. In natural light within the wards. July 1893, Dr. R.D. Jennings, The sanitarium featured chief surgeon for the Western two plunge baths and medicinal Branch of the National Home hot waters furnished by nearby for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers Mammoth spring. In 1907, the at Leavenworth, Kan., accompa- sanitarium had 336 beds and a nied 30 disabled soldiers to Hot tubercular barracks. The sani- Springs for a 60-day special tarium, along with all of the na- treatment in the healing waters. tional soldiers’ homes, became During that time, 44 percent of part of the Veterans Adminis- those treated for rheumatism DARLENE RICHARDSON tration in 1930. were cured and all others ben- The Hot Springs VA Medi- Top: The medical center’s two-day celebration of the anni- efited. versary included a number of special events on the grounds; cal Center operated as a tuber- Shortly afterwards, a move- above: The facility has the only surviving original conserva- cular care facility until the ment began within the Grand tory from the soldiers’ home era in the VA system. 1950s, when it became a gen- Army of the Republic and among many prominent citi- eral medical care facility. Located geographically in an zens to establish a new national soldiers’ home at Hot area formerly occupied by the Great Sioux Nation, the Springs. After nearly 10 years, the bill was signed into law Hot Springs medical center provides care and services to a on May 29, 1902, by President Theodore Roosevelt. The significant number of American Indian veterans who live 92-acre site, along with two of the best hot springs in the on nearby reservations. The facility has the only surviving city, were donated by the citizens of Hot Springs to the original conservatory from the soldiers’ home era in the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. entire VA system. Named after a nearby mountain, the Battle Mountain Sanitarium became the 10th facility within the national By Darlene Richardson

November/December 2007 25 around headquarters VAnguard

Durham, Miami VA Medical Centers Share 2007 Carey Trophy

VA Under Secretary for tor of the Durham VAMC, Health Dr. Michael J. described receiving the Trophy Kussman presented the top Award as “a wonderful honor.” honor in the 2007 Robert W. “It’s a nice reflection of Carey Performance Excellence the hard work and dedication Awards program to the of all 1,700 employees,” he Durham, N.C., VA Medical said. “The Carey Awards for Center and the Miami VA us is a nice road map which Healthcare System during a helps us provide the best qual- Nov. 1 ceremony in Washing- ity care to our veterans.” ton, D.C. Also receiving the Trophy The facilities were among Award was the Miami VA 15 organizations competing in Healthcare System, which this year’s 16th annual awards provided superior response to program. Kussman praised the Hurricanes Katrina and award winners for embracing Wilma. It is recognized as a ROBERT TURTIL a difficult process by compet- leader in developing a success- ing in the Carey Awards. ful Operation Enduring Free- “It’s that unflagging com- dom/Operation Iraqi Freedom mitment to excellence that sets Seamless Transition Outreach one organization apart from Program for veterans returning others,” he said. home from fighting the Glo- Kussman noted that there bal War on Terrorism. In have been more than 300 ap- June, the Miami VA Health- plicants in the past 16 years care System received Florida’s since the Carey Awards pro- premier award—the 2007 gram began at VA. Governor’s Sterling Award. “We had some strong ap- Its radiology report verifi- plicants this year,” said Eric J. cation within 48 hours is the Malloy, Carey program man- VHA benchmark perfor- ager. mance. Its preventive screen- The Durham VAMC, ing (alcohol) is the best per- ROBERT TURTIL winner of the Trophy Award, formance in VHA. Its preven- Surrounded by members of their staffs, Durham VAMC Director Ralph serves as a major center for ra- tive cancer screening meets Gigliotti, top, and Miami VA Healthcare System Acting Director Paul diation therapy, therapeutic top VHA performance. Magalian, above, hold their Carey Trophy awards. endoscopy, and high risk Paul Magalian, acting di- open-heart surgery. Special rector of the Miami VA Award was presented to the Care Unit Collaborative and programs include a compre- Healthcare System, said he is Cooperative Studies Program, the Anxiety Interventions hensive Women’s Health Cen- proud to be a part of the Mi- Clinical Research Pharmacy Clinic, which won the Under ter, a Home Based Primary ami team as they celebrate Coordinating Center, located Secretary for Health’s Innova- Care program, and a Geriatric “this truly remarkable achieve- in Albuquerque, N.M.; the tions Award. Research, Education and ment” of winning the Trophy Michael E. DeBakey VA There were three recipi- Clinical Center (GRECC). Award. Medical Center, located in ents of the Performance It also has an active re- “Our entire organization Houston; and the White River Achievement Award: the Lou- search program with 419 ac- has had this vision of provid- Junction, Vt., VA Medical isville, Ky., VA Medical Cen- tive projects. The research and ing the best health care in Center. ter; the VISN 19 Rocky development program in- VHA,” he said. “This vision The Minneapolis VA Mountain Network, located in cludes: the GRECC; the Cen- has helped the staff to really Medical Center received the Glendale, Colo.; and the VA ter for Health Services Re- focus on creating a culture Performance Excellence Southern Oregon Rehabilita- search in Primary Care; and that across the board is charac- Award. The facility’s culture of tion Center and Clinics, lo- the Epidemiology Research terized by excellence—to focus communication and collabora- cated in White City. and Information Center. This on the things that are impor- tion has facilitated many clini- Recognizing the opportu- center is one of three national tant to us in providing great cal initiatives that have won nities for sharing of health centers in epidemiology. health care to our veterans.” national recognition. Among care resources, the Louisville Ralph T. Gigliotti, direc- The Circle of Excellence these are the Medical Intensive VAMC and the Ireland Army

26 November/December 2007 VAnguard around headquarters

Community Hospital at Fort Delivery of health care health care shortage area for substance abusers. The center Knox, Ky., have long engaged within VISN 19 is influenced both primary care and mental provides quality residential in a sharing agreement. The by many factors, including the health, and socioeconomic treatment in psychiatry, addic- Louisville VAMC manages the large geographic area impacted conditions in the region. tions, medicine, bio-psychoso- outpatient primary and spe- by extreme weather condi- VISN 19’s key process is pro- cial, and physical and voca- cialty care of 14,000 Depart- tions. Health care services are viding health care to veterans tional rehabilitation. ment of Defense beneficiaries. provided to veterans in four for disease prevention and The Carey Performance In addition, a VA outpatient states—Colorado, Montana, management. Excellence Awards program is clinic that serves 5,120 pa- Utah and Wyoming—and As VA’s only free-standing open to all VA field facilities tients is located on the Army portions of five bordering rehabilitation center, VA and headquarters staff offices. post. For fiscal year 2007, the states. Other factors include Southern Oregon serves as a For more information, contact Louisville VAMC was recog- rugged terrain making travel regional and national resource Carey Awards program man- nized nationally as third out to health care facilities diffi- for underserved special popu- ager Eric Malloy at (202) of 80 in VA/DoD sharing re- cult, wide-ranging population lations such as the homeless, 461-5771 or e-mail him at imbursement. density, being designated as a chronically mentally ill, and [email protected]. New Initiative Ensures Veterans’ Calls Receive Focused Attention

The Customer Service Initia- VA Central Office employees munch popcorn tive (CSI) has finally arrived, in the lobby while learning about the new and veterans are the beneficia- Customer Service Initiative Sept. 19. ries. Consisting of a series of recommendations and initia- tives designed to improve the way VA Central Office em- ployees handle incoming phone calls, the CSI will en- sure VA lives up to its motto of “Putting Veterans First.” With basic phone eti- quette training already con- ducted, VACO staff learned how to correctly handle phone calls from a veteran or a mem- ber of a veteran’s family in a prompt, efficient and courte- ous manner. And what exactly does this mean? It means pick- ing up the phone within two rings. It means speaking in a clear and friendly voice and identifying yourself and your office. It also means finding ROBERT TURTIL out what the caller needs and where to refer them for that ‘call ownership,’ the idea that widow and his orphan,” menting the following: information. And finally, it whenever a Central Office Bevins wants employees to re- New digital phones are be- means following up to make employee receives a call from a member the veterans, hoping ing installed within the entire sure the veteran’s questions veteran or a veteran’s family this will be the key to the VACO campus. This will al- were addressed and answered member, that staff member initiative’s success. Bevins, low accurate call tracking to satisfactorily. takes ownership of that call who has worked directly for identify where problems occur This new effort is spear- and ensures the caller gets the four VA Secretaries, expects and where interventions may headed by Debi Bevins, direc- answer he or she seeks.” the new training to greatly im- be necessary to improve cus- tor of Customer Relations & While this notion of cus- prove the quality of service to tomer service; Executive Projects in the Of- tomer service is implicit in outside callers and reduce the New call handling proce- fice of the Secretary. Accord- VA’s mission statement, “To number of misdirected calls. dures will be introduced to all ing to Bevins, “The key mes- care for him who shall have To ensure this level of ser- VACO staff; sage is based on the concept of borne the battle and for his vice, VACO will be imple- (continued on page 28)

November/December 2007 27 around headquarters VAnguard

VA Supports Public Education Efforts on Conversion to Digital TV

Television enters the digital age for good on Feb. 17, 2009. That’s when Congress has decreed that all television broadcast stations end analog transmissions and broadcast only in digital format. Analog technology has been in use for the past 50 years to transmit conventional TV signals. Most current television trans- missions are received through analog television sets. Those sig- nals vary continuously, creating fluctuations in color and bright- ness. Digital TV (DTV) is an advanced broadcasting technology that will transform the television viewing experience. DTV en- ables broadcasters to offer television with better picture and sound quality. It can also offer multiple programming choices, called multicasting, and interactive capabilities. The law requiring this change applies only to stations broadcasting over public airwaves. Those receiving transmissions ART GARDINER via satellite or cable will have to contact their specific service The National Telecommunications and Information Administration providers to determine if their current communications box will hosted a conference at the Commerce Department in Washington, receive a digital broadcast. If not, they may be required to up- D.C., this fall to demonstrate the variety of efforts underway to edu- grade to digital to receive local programming. cate Americans about the digital TV transition. Those who have old analog sets and don’t subscribe to cable or satellite will have to purchase a digital-to-analog con- ing year and make sure older and lower income veterans know verter box to receive programming. That has officials like VA some help is available.” Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs That help comes in the form of a coupon issued by NTIA Lisette Mondello concerned. worth a $40 credit toward purchase of an digital-to-analog con- “When I think of those most disadvantaged by this change, verter box (two coupons per household). The coupon program I think of the older veterans who rely on VA for health care and begins Jan. 1, 2008, and ends March 31, 2009. income support,” she told an industry conference sponsored by For more information on the digital-to-analog conversion, the National Telecommunications and Information Administra- visit the NTIA Web site at www.ntia.doc.gov, the Federal Com- tion (NTIA) this fall. “That’s why VA is going to publicize this munications Commission site at www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/ change date prominently throughout our system over the com- digitaltv.html, or the commission’s DTV site at www.dtv.gov. CSI (cont.) The VACO switchboard is specific to the needs of veteran and “How to Handle the Irate missions to be “The Shining being strengthened and trans- callers; Caller.” In addition, certain Star” of the CSI program and formed into the VACO Cus- New performance standards high-profile organizations re- received a certificate of appre- tomer Service Center, staffed relating to telephone service ceived advanced training on ciation from Paul Hutter, ex- by employees with specific for front-line telephone staff topics such as “Strategies for ecutive in charge of Human customer service qualifica- be introduced; and Effective Customer Satisfac- Resources. Almost 350 em- tions, and knowledge of veter- A management and moni- tion” and “Managing Difficult ployees browsed around the ans’ health care and benefits toring element for account- Situations and Difficult movie theatre-themed lobby, programs, as well as VA’s orga- ability and quality assurance People.” with popcorn machines, nizational structure; be created. A communications cam- movie reels, balloons, food Video training will be pro- So far, the CSI team paign designed to bring a fo- and giveaways. vided to all current VACO seems to be making significant cus on telephone customer Looking ahead, members staff; and headway. Implemented this service was held in the VACO of the CSI Task Force, the New hires will receive a past summer, the Basic Tele- lobby. The event honored em- CSI Steering Committee and specific training segment in phone Etiquette training ses- ployees who strived to be the Office of Administration, the biweekly new employee sions grouped organizations “Courteous, Sensitive and In- who spearheaded the imple- in-processing sessions. into three levels based on their formative” in dealing with mentation, are hopeful that In addition, the CSI Task degree of contact with veter- customer requests. the success of this effort will Force and Steering Commit- ans. The classes covered such Mac Barnes, of the Media contribute to an enhanced tee are asking that: topics as “How to Treat Every Services Division in the Office “culture of customer service” All staff receive a custom- Caller as a Welcomed Guest,” of Administration, was se- not just in VACO, but ized telephone reference guide “From Curt to Courteous” lected from more than 90 sub- throughout VA.

28 November/December 2007 VAnguard around headquarters

Teague Award Recipient Created Polytrauma Manual for Families

Sharon Benedict, Ph.D., is the injuries. and sometimes frightening recipient of the 27th annual Through her interaction prospect for servicemembers Olin E. Teague Award—the with family members of and their family members. highest VA honor recognizing polytrauma center patients, They often didn’t know what employees whose achieve- Benedict recognized a need for to expect or how long they ments have been extraordinar- traumatic brain injury (TBI)- might be staying at the VA fa- ily beneficial to the rehabilita- specific education in advance cility for treatment. She de- tion of combat-injured veter- of transition from a military cided to bridge that informa- ans. treatment facility or other re- tion gap by developing the Benedict is the poly- ferring institution. “Family Education Manual” trauma counseling psycholo- Although there was al- for use by family members of gist at the polytrauma reha- ready a lot of good informa- incoming Richmond poly- bilitation center in Richmond, tion available on TBI, trauma center patients. Va. VA established four re- Benedict said it was obvious “What I felt we needed gional polytrauma rehabilita- to her that the transition of was information that was tai- tion centers to provide special- servicemembers from military lored toward the unique needs ized care for military service- treatment facilities to VA of our polytrauma popula- members and veterans who medical facilities for further tion,” she said. “I wanted fam- sustained multiple and severe rehabilitation was a confusing ily members to feel like the in- formation we provided to Wheelchair Games Athletes Featured them was sensitive to their on Special Edition Cheerios Boxes specific concerns as active duty servicemember or veteran The Veterans Canteen Service (VCS) has joined with General families.” Dr. Sharon Benedict ART GARDINER Mills to salute 12 gold medal winners from the 2007 National The 35-page manual is Veterans Wheelchair Games in Milwaukee by featuring them on divided into four sections. R.N., to translate the manual a special edition Cheerios box that will be sold in military mar- Section 1 provides an over- into Spanish with additional kets and the VCS retail stores around the nation in early 2008. view of the anatomy of the editing provided by other The twelve athletes and the VA medical centers they receive brain and what happens to the medical center staff. Recently, care from are: Debbie Dones, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Wayne brain after it is injured. Sec- Benedict and representatives Fields, Denver and Colorado tion 2 explains in simple from the three other poly- Springs Outpatient Clinic; terms the roles of interdiscipli- trauma rehabilitation centers David Fowler, Houston; Fain nary team members and what in Tampa, Palo Alto, Calif., Grogg, Mountain Home, to expect during the acute re- and Minneapolis collaborated Tenn.; Holly Koester, Cleve- habilitation phase of recovery. to adapt the manual for use at land; Jesus Torres Martinez, Section 3 promotes a healthy those facilities. The manual is San Juan, Puerto Rico; Or- lifestyle and self-care for fam- also now available to families lando Perez, Augusta, Ga.; ily members who are often- of polytrauma patients at John Tuzzolino, Phoenix and times accompanying their Walter Reed Army Medical San Diego; Mohan Prasad loved ones to the acute reha- Center in Washington, D.C., Vallabhapurapu, Loma Linda bilitation environment. Sec- and National Naval Medical and Long Beach, Calif.; tion 4 includes a glossary of Center in Bethesda, Md., who Bennie Wansley, Jackson, medical terms. are referred to a VA poly- Miss.; Scott Winkler, Augusta, Benedict said she has had trauma rehabilitation center Ga.; and Charlie Wittwer, several family members tell for TBI rehabilitation. Minneapolis. her that having a manual Benedict said she was In celebration of this available to explain their loved “very surprised” to discover event, VCS has partnered with one’s rehabilitation process at that she won the award. HealthierUS Veterans to encourage Veterans Health Administra- the Richmond polytrauma “I feel there are any num- tion employees and veterans to increase their physical activity by center has helped alleviate ber of people I can name taking part in the “Champions’ Challenge.” The program, many of their fears about the working in polytrauma right which kicked off on Veterans Day, challenges participants to future. now that would be just as de- walk or roll “100 miles in 100 days.” A host of motivational in- Benedict recruited serving of this award,” she centives and events are planned throughout the challenge, in- polytrauma nurse and Puerto said. cluding special appearances by the 12 gold medal athletes. Rico native Marta Riquelme, (continued on page 30)

November/December 2007 29 introducing VAnguard

Richard Serrao, M.D.

The winning design in the poster really stood out from 2007 Veterans Day Poster the others,” Bristol said. Contest was created by a doc- VA’s Office of National tor who spends his days treat- Programs and Special Events ing veterans. printed 155,000 copies of the Dr. Richard Serrao, 37, poster and distributed combined two photographs he 118,000 copies to schools na- had taken of an American flag tionwide. The remaining backlit by the sun at a park in 37,000 copies were distributed Boston, and clouds shot to VA facilities, Veterans Day through with sunlight taken regional sites, Department of from the window of an air- Defense commissaries and plane when he was traveling Post Exchange facilities world- to Africa. Approximately 20 wide, veterans service organi- additional photographic and zations, state veterans nursing graphic elements and filters homes, state veterans affairs were incorporated to construct directors, the National Ar- the final inspiring image. It chives, and federal buildings took him about two weeks to in Washington, D.C. create the design using Adobe The poster was also used Photoshop and After Effects as the cover of the 2007 Na- software and Apple’s Motion tional Veterans Day Program software. held in the amphitheater at While he was experi- Arlington National Cemetery menting with various designs, on Nov. 11. Some 6,000 cop- Serrao took an informal poll ies of the program were among the veterans he treats printed for the event. CHUCK FOLTZ as a staff physician in Internal “It’s quite an honor,” Dr. Richard Serrao with his winning Veterans Day poster design. Medicine and Infectious Dis- Serrao said. “It’s definitely the eases at Boston University his artistic skills attracted him eases at the VA Boston widest, largest distribution of Medical Center. to the poster contest. Healthcare System. He has anything I’ve done.” “Medical school, resi- “It reminded me of my worked for VA since 2001. Although he has never dency and fellowship training life before life got chaotic,” he His patients helped him de- had any formal art training, afforded me little time to do said, adding that art gives him cide which design to submit Serrao said he has been taking anything beyond medicine,” a chance to do something by the May 1 deadline. photographs and painting he said. “Now I want to come “completely fun.” Serrao was one of 80 art- since he was a kid. He had to back to doing the art that I “I view art as a way to go ists to submit designs for the put his interest in art on hold used to do. I love doing paint- beyond the structure that I poster contest, according to from 1992 to 2001 while at- ings, film and graphic arts.” have in medicine,” he said. Matt Bristol, coordinator of tending medical school at the When Serrao saw the “Art is much more free. The the National Veterans Day University of California, Los contest announcement on his practice of medicine and how Program. Angeles, completing his resi- VA computer in a Hey VA! it is approached is very struc- “He used very traditional dency in internal medicine at message, he decided to enter. tured and very logical. Art design elements of the flag UCLA Cedars-Sinai Medical The appeal to graphic artists gives me a chance to be more and the sun, but he arranged Center, and completing his and illustrators caught his eye. expressive.” them in such a way that his fellowship in infectious dis- He said the opportunity to use Renee McElveen

Teague Award (cont.) Benedict accepted the their jobs in polytrauma are don Mansfield presented the congressman who represented award on behalf of her Rich- “challenging and sometimes award to Benedict at a Nov. 5 the state’s 6th District for 32 mond team and her colleagues difficult, but always reward- ceremony on Capitol Hill. years. A highly decorated at the other three polytrauma ing. We never forget that we Also on hand to present the World War II veteran, he rehabilitation centers, whom are there to serve those who award was Teague’s daughter, served for 18 years as chair- she described as “a group of risked their lives to protect Jill Cochran. man of the House Veterans’ dedicated, hard-working, zeal- and defend us.” The Teague award is Affairs Committee. He retired ous individuals.” She said Acting VA Secretary Gor- named after the late Texas in 1978 and died in 1981.

30 November/December 2007 VAnguard medical advances

Study Shows Increased “Vaccination prevents erage of 11 pounds, with the Use of Flu Shots By hospitalizations, prevents most pounds shed in the first Elderly Would Prevent deaths and saves money,” year. Deaths Nichol said. “So what are the Considering that the av- Increased use of flu shots by implications? Well, this should erage Body Mass Index (BMI) elderly people at high risk of be another wake-up call to all of patients in the study was complications would prevent of us that influenza is a bad 33.5, the weight loss was de- thousands of deaths and hos- disease and vaccination is scribed as “modest” by lead re- pital visits annually, according good.” searcher Dr. John Buse, chief to the results of a recent study of endocrinology at the Uni- published in the New England Lizard Spit Helping versity of North Carolina- Journal of Medicine. Some Type 2 Diabetics Chapel Hill’s School of Medi- Flu shots, which cost as Lose Weight cine. But the findings are little as $6, are more cost-ef- Lizard spit is helping some promising for patients with fective and could save more Type 2 diabetics lose weight. Type 2 diabetes since obesity Dr. Rex Jamison lives among people 65 and Don’t worry. They don’t have is a major contributor to the older than screenings for can- to drink it. They inject it. disease and some diabetes chemical in the blood called cer, heart disease and blood Byetta, a drug whose ac- treatments can cause weight homocysteine. If those levels disorders, according to study tive ingredient is the synthetic gain. Buse noted that no are high, stroke, heart attack author Dr. Kristin Nichol, version of a protein produced other diabetes drug on the and vascular disease are more chief of medicine at the Min- market is associated with frequent. In a three-year study neapolis VA Medical Center. weight loss. of more than 2,000 VA pa- The annual death toll Byetta is a self-injected tients with serious kidney dis- from flu complications— synthetic hormone that was ease and high homocysteine about 36,000 in this coun- approved by the U.S. Food levels, half received daily treat- try—and the threat that a new and Drug Administration in ment with folic acid and B vi- strain might set off a pan- 2005. In addition to boosting tamins while the rest received demic, have drawn more at- insulin production in patients, sugar pills. Of those enrolled, tention from researchers. Peak Byetta curbs the rate at which 40 percent died, which is con- flu season generally runs from the stomach empties itself and sistent among end-stage renal November through March. may interact with the region disease patients. The new study compared of the brain responsible for “We did not reduce the medical records of elderly the sensation of fullness. number of deaths in the treat- people in four states plus New ment group,” said author Dr. York City every flu season Folic Acid, B Vitamins Do Rex Jamison, of the VA Palo from 1990 through 2000. Dr. John Eng Not Benefit Kidney Alto, Calif., Health Care Sys- About 415,000 had been vac- Disease Patients tem and Stanford University cinated; 300,000 had not. in the spit of the Gila mon- Roughly 8 million Americans School of Medicine. “We did “Influenza vaccination is asso- ster, has been found to cause have some form of kidney dis- lower their homocysteine lev- ciated with significant reduc- considerable weight loss in ease, which puts them at high els significantly, but despite tions in hospitalizations for some of its users. The Gila risk for stroke and heart at- this, there was no benefit.” pneumonia and influenza—a monster is a poisonous lizard tack. Researchers thought folic The study findings were 27 percent reduction—and a found in rapidly declining acid and other B vitamins published in the Sept. 12 issue significant percent reduction numbers in the American might help fight those prob- of the Journal of the American in the risk for dying—about a Southwest and northern lems, but the benefits did not Medical Association. 48 percent reduction,” Nichol Mexico. pan out, according to the re- Kidney expert Dr. Glen said. Byetta was developed af- sults of a new study. Chertow, of the University of A national health goal in ter Dr. John Eng, an endocri- Folic acid is a B vitamin California at San Francisco, the is to vacci- nologist at the James J. Peters that helps our bodies make said the findings are valuable nate 90 percent of seniors VA Medical Center in Bronx, healthy new cells. It is espe- because now doctors know against influenza by the year N.Y., convinced Amylin and cially important that pregnant what’s not the answer. “It al- 2010, Nichol said. The rate is Eli Lilly of the potentially women take it to prevent ma- lows us to concentrate our ef- currently at about 65 percent. therapeutic benefits of a pro- jor birth defects in the baby’s forts elsewhere so we can fo- She hopes that the clear ben- tein he had discovered in the spinal cord and brain. cus on other aspects of care or efits of immunization for the Gila monster’s saliva. Some Researchers thought folic other therapies that might im- elderly demonstrated in her 200 patients taking the drug acid and B vitamins would prove the care of patients with study will lead to more senior were monitored for three help patients with kidney dis- chronic kidney disease,” citizens getting flu shots. years. The patients lost an av- ease because they lower a Chertow said.

November/December 2007 31 have you heard VAnguard

Service of honor at Riverside National Cemetery Every afternoon from Monday through Friday, Riverside Na- tional Cemetery in California holds a special memorial service to honor veterans whose cremated remains would otherwise be interred without military funeral honors. Each week, dozens of cremation urns are delivered to the cemetery without a request for a committal service. The service, known as the “3:01 Service” because it takes place at 3:01 p.m., the conclusion of the day’s burial schedule, was developed by the California State Honor Guard, in coop- eration with Cemetery Director Gill Gallo. Open to the public, the service consists of three volleys of rifle fire, the playing of taps, and the folding and presenting of the flag. Approximately 100 people attended the first 3:01 service, honoring three vet- erans of World War II, at the cemetery’s amphitheater Aug. 30. MARY WATERMAN Management skills extend to Junior League softball Acting Secretary Gordon Mansfield congratulates former astro- naut James Lovell as Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) looks on. When Joe Corretjer, assistant Veterans Service Center manager

New name for VA/DoD center Mayberry Deputy at Salem VA On Oct. 5, an historic merger between the North Chicago VA Medical Center and the Department of Defense’s Na- val Health Clinic Great Lakes was confirmed with the re- cent naming of the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center. The center, scheduled to open in 2010, is named after former astronaut Lovell, a Navy vet- eran of the Korean War, participant in the Gemini and Apollo space programs and Presidential Medal of Free- dom recipient. In 1970, Lovell and his crew successfully modified their lunar module into an effective lifeboat when their cryogenic oxygen system failed during the perilous Apollo 13 mission. The joint $130 million initiative, expected to serve nearly 100,000 veterans, sailors, retir- ees and family members, marks the first time VA and the Department of Defense have fully integrated two of their ANN BENOIS facilities into one. The Mayberry Deputy with Salem VAMC patient George Mabery. Employees and patients at the Salem, Va., VA Medical Cen- ter were recently treated to a special visit by impersonator : ‘VetsCamp’ a success in New Jersey David Browning. Posing as the “Mayberry Deputy,” a char- Every August since 1993, the VA New Jersey Health Care Sys- acter based on Barney Fife from “The Andy Griffith Show,” tem and the Salvation Army New Jersey Division have Browning toured the inpatient units, talking with veterans partnered to provide a five-day retreat for veterans known as about their favorite episodes of the classic TV show and “VetsCamp.” Held at the Salvation Army’s 400-acre Camp Tecumseh in Pittstown, N.J., the event is full of social, recre- thanking them for their military service. In addition to an- ational and therapeutic activities, including the “VetsCamp” swering patients’ questions, Browning handed out Olympic Games. This year, more than 100 veterans currently autographed “citations,” told jokes and posed trivia ques- receiving outpatient mental health treatment at VA New Jersey’s tions to the audience gathered around him. East Orange and Lyons facilities and their families attended the Browning, of Bristol, Va., has traveled the country por- camp free of charge. traying the Fife character since 1988. He has given more The Salvation Army receives donations that pay for the than 5,000 presentations as the Mayberry Deputy and has camp’s lifeguards, food service workers, and maintenance staff, appeared with many of the original stars of “The Andy in addition to arts and crafts supplies, gifts and souvenirs for the Griffith Show” at various reunions and convention appear- participants. VA New Jersey coordinates all camp activities and ances. provides 24-hour nursing coverage and charter bus transporta- tion for veterans and family members.

32 November/December 2007 VAnguard have you heard

Carlstedt donated the systems, along with additional money to Remembering a fallen colleague purchase other equipment, as part of his quest to become an Eagle Scout. To make his donation, Carlstedt enlisted the help of other Boy Scouts and friends and collected bottles through- out neighborhoods near his home. The Wii consoles come with tennis, golf, bowling and boxing games that make players use big arm and body move- ments that actually resemble playing the real sport. The light- weight, wireless, motion-sensor controller makes it good physi- cal therapy because an individual can play with only one hand, in the event that the other arm or hand is disabled. Since their arrival, the Wii systems have been a part of the medical center’s regularly scheduled activity programs.

JAMES ARENDS

On Aug. 16, employees at the Grand Island, Neb., VA Medi- cal Center dedicated the Fallen Soldier Statue, above, in memory of Staff Sgt. Jeffery J. Hansen, inset, a VA police officer who died during a deployment in Iraq. VA employ- ees, along with Hansen’s family, led a campaign to raise

$4,500 for the purchase of the statue. Hansen, 31, was em- ANGELA TAYLOR ployed at the medical center from October 2004 until the time of his death. He died on Aug. 27, 2006, from injuries he Left to right: N. Clay Robbins, president, Lilly Endowment Inc.; Under Secretary for Health Dr. Michael Kussman; Dr. Craig received when the Humvee he was riding in rolled into a Dykstra, senior vice president, Lilly Endowment Inc.; and Susan canal near Camp Anaconda in central Iraq. Hansen, a P. Bowers, Indianapolis VAMC director. Bronze Star recipient, had served in the Nebraska National Guard since 2000 as a fire team leader and a fire support sergeant. He is the third VA employee known to have been $9.9 million grant for Indy VAMC killed in Iraq. The Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in India- napolis will augment its health care services for veterans with a $9.9 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. The at the Newark, N.J., VA Regional Office, decided to coach his grant will provide $5.8 million for a new 24,000-square-foot daughter’s softball team, he never imagined his managerial skills Seamless Transition Integrated Care Clinic, where injured would take them all the way to the Junior League Softball servicemembers will receive comprehensive multi- World Series. For the past five years, Corretjer has been manag- disciplinary health care. Another $3.5 million will be used ing the Haverstraw, N.Y., Girls Junior League Softball Team, to build a 28-suite “comfort home” that will provide ac- made up of girls between the ages of 13 and 14, including his commodations for families of hospitalized service- daughter, Taylor. members while their loved ones undergo rehabilitation. At the Junior League Softball World Series, held in The endowment will also fund retreats where veter- Kirkland, Wash., Aug. 12-18, the team reached the semi-finals, ans and their spouses can learn to work through readjust- but finished fourth, losing to the eventual champions, Puerto ment issues typically associated with returning from de- Rico, in a hard-fought 2-1 game. Little League Baseball and Softball is the world’s largest organized youth sports program, ployment. Another $500,000 is designated for rehabilitation with more than 2.6 million players and 1 million adult volun- events, including the National Veterans Golden Age teers in every U.S. state and scores of other countries. Games, which the Roudebush VAMC will host next sum- mer. Established in 1937, the Indianapolis-based philan- A modern form of physical therapy for patients thropic foundation is separate from the Eli Lilly and Co. The John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit recently pharmaceutical firm. received three new Nintendo Wii gaming consoles from Boy Scout Alex Carlstedt to help their long-term care patients.

November/December 2007 33 honors VAnguard

ings. Lowe personally calls or visits seriously disabled service- Presidential volunteer honors members to facilitate their transitions to civilian life. He dis- cusses their plans with them and arranges for in-depth, follow- President Bush presented the President’s Volunteer Ser- up interviews on the full range of VA benefits and services. vice Award to Patrick Kuykendall on Nov. 8. Kuykendall ‘Genius Award’ to Boston VA psychiatrist has been a volunteer at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Dr. Jonathan Shay, a VA staff psychiatrist with the Boston Out- Medical Center in Houston for 17 years and has logged patient Clinic, has been awarded the “Genius Award” from the more than 10,000 hours of service. MacArthur Foundation. Shay is the author of two popular He began volunteer- books about post-traumatic stress disorder and has been treating ing when his uncle en- combat veterans with PTSD at VA since 1987. tered the spinal cord in- Shay was one of 24 Americans who each recently received a jury (SCI) unit for treat- $500,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur ment. He had been think- Foundation, one of the nation’s largest philanthropic organiza- ing about a medical ca- tions. He received the award for his “exceptional merit and reer and started volun- promise of continued creative work.” Shay combines a study of classic literature with 20 years of experience treating veterans in teering to obtain hands- Boston to explain PTSD to both the public and health care pro- on experience while also fessionals. He also pioneered the use of certain anti-depression being near his uncle. medications, called “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors,” for “The patients and the combat trauma, a treatment that now has broad endorsement nurses are the reason I for veterans with psychological injury. kept volunteering,” he WHITE HOUSE said. “I grew attached to Houston volunteer Patrick them.” Kuykendall receives his award Kuykendall supports Leadership honors for executive from President Bush. the staff by assisting with patient therapy, meal service, feeding, and anything Maryann Musumeci, direc- else the veterans need. Although his volunteer assign- tor of the James J. Peters ment is in SCI, he volunteers in many other areas within VA Medical Center in the medical center. He assists Recreation Therapy by Bronx, N.Y., is one of the planning patient activities such as Halloween pumpkin recipients of the 2007 Ex- carving contests and popcorn and movie nights. He has ecutive Leadership Awards worked with Kinesiotherapy and Physical Therapy help- from American University’s ing patients bake cookies, organize pots and pans for School of Public Affairs. easy use, and plan their meals. “It’s therapeutic for pa- She shares the honor with tients,” he said. “It teaches them how to work around John E. Potter, the U.S. and use objects in the kitchen.” According to Sally Postmaster General. Ramanujam, R.N., SCI nurse manager, Kuykendall “per- The awards recognize sonifies the extraordinary spirit of volunteerism.” exceptional leadership Maryann Musumeci among individuals who have devoted themselves to a life of public service and honor the contributions of the many career executives Creative leadership in outreach activities who carry out the work of government and improve qual- Carl E. Lowe II, director of the Waco, Texas, VA Regional Of- fice, was named 2007 Air Force Association Employee of the ity of life among the public at large. The criteria for this Year in recognition of his exemplary, creative leadership in VA award for federal career executives are demonstrated outreach initiatives. The award was presented during a special exceptional capabilities in the following areas: superior ceremony on Sept. 24 in Washington, D.C. Under his initia- leadership which has resulted in outstanding organization tives, more than 180 outreach seminars have been conducted achievements; and a strong commitment to bringing during the past year. about effective continuation of government by helping to The Waco Regional Office Reach Out Team conducted develop the careers of individuals who will serve as man- more than 20,000 hours of outreach activities during that pe- agers and executives in the future federal service. riod. These activities included demobilization briefings for Na- This is only the third time in three decades that a VA tional Guard and Reserve members, Transition Assistance Pro- executive has received this award. gram briefings, Disabled Transition Assistance Program brief- ings, Medical Evaluation Board briefings, and retirement brief-

34 November/December 2007 VAnguard honors

Health care communication honors for sociologist Richard Frankel, Ph.D., senior research sociologist with the VA Herr: Prosthetics innovator Health Services Research and Development Center of Excel- lence at the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in In- A double amputee whose trailblazing work in the emerg- dianapolis, is one of the recipients of this year’s sixth annual Lynn Payer Award from the American Academy on Communi- ing field of biomechatronics has led to the development cation in Healthcare. He shares the honor with Howard of new prosthetic innovations that merge body and ma- Beckman, M.D., of Rochester, N.Y. They received the award for chine has been se- their outstanding contributions to the literature on the theory, lected to receive the practice and teaching of effective health care communication 13th annual Heinz and related skills. Award for Technol- This is the first time that co-authors have received the ogy, the Economy, Payer award based on the body of work contributed as a team. and Employment. The According to the award citation, Frankel and Beckman have award is among the produced a body of literature that is foundational to the acad- largest individual emy and the work of health care professionals. They have been achievement prizes in publishing works on patient-physician communication since the 1980s. The award was presented to the co-authors on Oct. 11 the world. in Charleston, S.C. Dr. Hugh Herr, JIM HARRISON 43, a VA-affiliated re- Prosthetics researcher Dr. Hugh Herr in his lab. searcher and profes- sor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Arthritis Foundation recognition Media Lab, is among six distinguished Americans se- lected to receive one of the $250,000 awards presented David Wofsy, M.D., a staff physician at the San Francisco by the Heinz Family Foundation. Herr is the holder or co- VA Medical Center, recently was honored with the 2007 holder of numerous patents, including the Computer-Con- Lee C. Howley Sr. Prize for Research in Arthritis from the trolled Artificial Knee, the Active Ankle-Foot Orthosis, and Arthritis Foun- the world’s first Powered Ankle-Foot Prosthesis. With dation, one of more than 36,000 new amputees in the United States ev- the most pres- ery year—including hundreds of American soldiers who tigious arthri- have lost limbs fighting the Global War on Terrorism in tis-specific re- Iraq and Afghanistan—Herr is helping improve mobility search awards and enhance quality of life for many physically chal- in the United lenged people around the world. States. The Lee At age 17, Herr lost both legs below the knee in a C. Howley Sr. mountain climbing accident. He returned to the class- Prize for Re- room after a few years to earn an undergraduate degree search in Ar- in physics, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering thritis recog- from MIT, and a Ph.D. in biophysics from Harvard. nizes research- ers whose contributions during the pre- DoD Employer Support Freedom Award vious five The Wilmington, Del., VA Medical Center was one of 15 or- ganizations to receive the 2007 Secretary of Defense Employer years have Support Freedom Award from the Department of Defense. The represented a award was presented Sept. 12 during a formal ceremony at the significant ad- EDGARDO CABALLERO Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. vance in the Researcher David Wofsy, M.D., of the San The Freedom Award is the highest recognition given by the understanding, Francisco VAMC. U.S. government to employers for outstanding support of their treatment or employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve. prevention of arthritis and rheumatic diseases. Wofsy’s “These employers have provided exceptional support to the men research program is devoted to the development of novel and women serving in our National Guard and Reserve and therapies for autoimmune diseases, particularly systemic now, more than ever, we appreciate and thank them for doing lupus erythematosus. much more for these employees than the law requires,” said Dr. L. Gordon Sumner Jr., executive director of the National Com- mittee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

November/December 2007 35 Creative Arts Festival John Prather, 63, a combat-wounded Marine Corps vet- eran of Vietnam from Draper, Utah, sings “La Fleur,” from the musical “Carmen,” during the gala variety stage show at the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival in St. Louis on Oct. 28. The stage show, along with a visual art exhibit, was held at the Touhill Performing Arts Cen- ter on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus. The show and art exhibit closed a week of rehearsals and workshops for the more than 110 veterans who partici- pated in the festival. Open to all veterans receiving care at a VA medical facility, the Creative Arts Festival is pre- sented by VA, the Auxiliary and Help Hospitalized Veterans. The culmination of a year-long fine arts talent competition involving nearly 3,000 partici- pants nationwide, the festival was hosted this year by the St. Louis VA Medical Center.

GENE DAVIES