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VA nguard July/August 2006 1 outlook July/August 2006 Glasses for Homeless Vets Women Employees in Harm’s Way VA’s Newest Shrine The Search for Our World War I Vets Glasses for Homeless Vets Women Employees in Harm’s Way VA’s Newest Shrine The Search for Our World War I Vets

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Page 1: Glasses for Homeless Vets Glasses for Homeless Vets

VAnguard

July/August 2006 1

outlook

July/August 2006

Glasses for Homeless VetsWomen Employees in Harm’s Way

VA’s Newest Shrine

The Search for Our World War I Vets

Glasses for Homeless VetsWomen Employees in Harm’s Way

VA’s Newest Shrine

The Search for Our World War I Vets

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VAnguard

2 July/August 2006

Features

Serving in Harm’s Way 6Part 2 of women employees deployed in the war on terrorPreparing for the Next One 12Facilities in hurricane-prone areas are ready for the 2006 seasonVA’s Newest Shrine 14Georgia National Cemetery is dedicated in a June ceremonySeeing a Way Out of Homelessness 16A pilot program is helping to restore the vision of homeless veteransWrapping Up the Diamond Jubilee 18VA’s yearlong celebration of its 75th anniversary concludesThe Search for Our World War I Veterans 21Time is running out to find and recognize the last of a vanishing breedPrivacy & Security Awareness Week 23A look at how facilities around the country observed the eventThe National Veterans Wheelchair Games 32Ever wonder what it takes to put on this major event?

Departments

3 Letters4 From the Secretary5 Outlook24 Around Headquarters27 Introducing28 Medical Advances29 Honors30 Have You Heard

14

16

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VAnguardVA’s Employee MagazineJuly/August 2006Vol. LII, No. 4

Printed on 50% recycled paper

Editor: Lisa RespessAssistant Editor/Senior Writer: Renee McElveenPhoto Editor: Robert TurtilPublished by the Office of Public Affairs (80D)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs810 Vermont Ave., N.W.Washington, D.C. 20420(202) 273-5746E-mail: [email protected]/opa/feature/vanguard

On the coverFormerly homeless veteran Gary Braceygets an eye exam at the Baltimore VA Medi-cal Center. He is one of the beneficiaries ofa pilot program at the Baltimore VAMC andfour other VA medical centers that is pro-viding glasses for homeless veterans whowould not normally qualify for VA eyewear.photo by Robert Turtil

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July/August 2006 3

letters

Have a comment on something you’ve seen inVAnguard? We invite reader feedback. Send your com-ments to [email protected]. You can also write to us at:VAnguard, Office of Public Affairs (80D), Departmentof Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave., N.W., Wash-ington, D.C., 20420, or fax your letter to (202) 273-6702. Include your name, title and VA facility. Wewon’t be able to publish every letter, but we’ll use rep-resentative ones. We may need to edit your letter forlength or clarity.

We Want to Hear from You

Warning Labels onFast Foods?When I have an appointmentat the VA hospital, I like toget there early in order to readthe veterans magazines. Thistime I picked up the March/April issue of VAnguard andread an article by the Secretaryof Veterans Affairs, Mr.Nicholson, about the prob-lems of obesity and diabetesamong veterans, as well as thegeneral population. The articlewent on to say that nationally,

64 percent of Americans areoverweight or obese, and 7percent (or 20.8 million) havediabetes. Among veterans, itsaid, these figures are higher,and the reason for this was theemergence of the factoryfarm/fast food industry as wellas “processed” foods, whichcontain large doses of salt, fatand sugar.

In a separate study of In-diana residents, the obesityrate has gone from 25.5 per-cent in 2004 to 27.3 percent

in 2005.These increases are noth-

ing new. People who arehealth conscious have knownthis for years. What is new isthat this is the first time a gov-ernment official has publiclystated this message. It seemsthat since the beef industrysued Oprah Winfrey, peopleof influence have been reluc-tant to publicly state thehealth hazards of the factoryfarm/fast food industry.

Documentaries such as“Super Size Me” and bookssuch as Fast Food Nation, al-though critically acclaimed, golargely ignored by the public.Why? Some people have triedto claim that their obesity is adisease due to their addictionto fast foods. Why do peoplewho know something is harm-ful to them do it anyway?Maybe there is something infast foods that is just as addic-tive as cigarettes and alcohol.

Nutritionists say that weshould frequent fast-food res-taurants no more than once amonth. The FDA is now pro-posing that all restaurants (Ibelieve they are doing this be-cause they can’t single out fast-food restaurants) provide nu-trition labels on what they sell.Maybe what we need arewarning labels on fast foods,the same as cigarettes.

Ray WilsonNew Middletown, Ind.

Retired and Still ServingDuring my more than 27years of service with the U.S.Army, I have had many occa-sions to use VA medical ser-vices. I can say for myself, theservice was always of the bestquality and I was treated withrespect.

I retired as of January2006 and am now a disabledvet. I now have the honor ofbeing part of the VA team as aprogram support specialist atthe Vocational Rehabilitationand Employment office inFort Lauderdale, Fla.

I am pleased each daythat I can now help my fellowdisabled vets by helping thevery professional staff with thedaily office administrativefunctions, thus allowing thecounselors to have more timeto devote to my fellow dis-abled vets.

Jerry AbneyProgram Support Specialist

VR&E OfficeFort Lauderdale, Fla.

Robert Nez of the Navajo Nation dances with others in the AmericanIndian Veterans Gourd Dance performed June 29 at the New MexicoVA Health Care System in Albuquerque. Known as a “warriors’dance,” the gourd dance honors all veterans. Nez has been a gourddancer for 11 years. He dances in honor of two uncles who died inWorld War II. The dance was sponsored by the New Mexico VA’s Na-tive American Special Emphasis Committee.

Dance of Honor

BILL ARMSTRONG

Corrections

Credits for two photographswe ran in the May/June issuewere incorrect. The photo onpage 18 was taken by JRGarza; the photo on page 21was taken by AmandaStanislaw.

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VAnguardfrom the secretary

4 July/August 2006

into the next era of VA ser-vice, not the least of which isaddressing our handling ofsensitive veteran data. Thetheft of VA data earlier thisyear was a wake-up call forour entire agency, and we havealready taken a number ofsteps to remedy the situationand improve on it. Our goal issimple: for VA to become thegold standard for informationand data security, and to be-come as widely respected forthis as we are for our elec-tronic medical records.

There always is and al-ways will be more to do, and Ihave every confidence that VA

will rise to this challenge. Be itincreased vigilance with sensi-tive information, compassion-ate health care, providing ben-efits to injured veterans orconducting a fitting burial fora homeless veteran, VA hasbeen there for more than 75years and we will continue tobe there for the next 75.

It is an honor for us toserve together those whoserved us in uniform. We arethe agents of a grateful nation,who take great pride in fulfill-ing our noble mission.

The Yearlong Observance of VA’s 75th AnniversaryJim NicholsonSecretary of Veterans Affairs

The Diamond Jubilee was a smashing success and I couldnot have been more proud of the participation andeffort of VA staff from Maine to Manila.

The Diamond Jubilee of theDepartment of Veterans Af-fairs was a smashing successand I could not have beenmore proud of the participa-tion and effort of VA stafffrom Maine to Manila.

From the opening mo-ments of our kick-off cer-emony at Constitution Hall inWashington, D.C., last July tothe finale in the Capitol Ro-tunda this July, the yearlongobservance of VA’s 75th anni-versary highlighted the manyachievements of VA and ourdedicated employees, andshowcased the proud legacy ofour service to veterans.

Now, we begin this nextperiod of VA history on solidfooting. The safety and effi-ciency of our electronic healthrecords was recognized in Julyby Harvard University, whichawarded VA the very presti-gious Innovations in Govern-ment Award. More than 1,000entries competed for thishonor but at the end of theday, it was VA and our healthcare technology that were rec-ognized for excellence.

Awards are a fine testa-ment to things done well, butthe practical aspects of ourelectronic health records andprescription drug programs—which save lives every day—are also being increasingly rec-ognized by the media and theAmerican public.

Just days after VA re-ceived the Harvard award, theInstitute of Medicine issued areport on prescription drug er-rors in American health careand a number of news agen-cies, including ABC WorldNews Tonight and the Los An-

geles Times, came to VA forcomment. As one reporter putit, VA was included in theirnews coverage as “an exampleof somebody who does itright.”

The headline of a six-page Business Week article onVA health care called it “TheBest Medical Care in theU.S.,” and U.S. News & WorldReport published an articlethat called VA hospitals “mod-els of top-notch care.” Clearly,our anniversary year was onein which our fine reputationgrew and received the recogni-tion it deserved.

During our 75th anniver-

sary year, VA reached an im-portant milestone in anotherway. The agency guaranteedits 18 millionth home loan aspart of a program that hasloomed large in making theUnited States a nation ofhomeowners. This 18 mil-lionth home loan guaranteewent to a young family inTexas and it exemplifies notonly our service to veteransbut VA’s positive impact onthe nation and its economy.

Homeownership is a cor-nerstone of the AmericanDream and VA has been inthe forefront of making thisdream a reality ever sinceFranklin Roosevelt signed theGI Bill into law in 1944. Wewill guarantee millions morehome loans over the next 75years, and you can rest assured

that we will continue makinga difference in the lives of re-turning veterans and those ofthe future by helping themand their families have a homeof their own.

VA’s disability compensa-tion and pension programsalso play a large part in ensur-ing the security of veteransand their families. Last year,VA provided $30.8 billion indisability compensation, deathcompensation and pensions tosome three-and-a-half millionveterans, and the spouses, chil-dren and parents of deceasedveterans. The fulfillment ofthis commitment does more

than provide money to veter-ans and their survivors; ithelps give them the peace ofmind that comes from eco-nomic stability.

VA’s Diamond Jubileeyear also saw major progresson our commitment to ex-pand the national cemeterysystem. America is saying itsfinal farewell to the generationthat fought and won WorldWar II, with more than 1,000veterans from that war dyingevery day. To meet thoseneeds, the number of nationalcemeteries, each of which ismaintained as a shrine tothose who served, has grownto 123 over the past year, andwe remain on track to con-tinue this expansion.

There are also challengesthat lie before us as we move

Read more about the con-clusion of VA’s DiamondJubilee year on page 18 ofthis issue.

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laborative practice.I am proud to know that

I will leave VHA better than itwas and with veterans receiv-ing far better care than everbefore. My goal for VHA hasalways been that we be theleaders in providing safe, effec-tive, efficient and compassion-ate health care. We will knowthat we have reached this goalwhen every veteran receivessuch care without the need foran advocate. There is muchwork still to do, but I leaveVHA in the capable hands ofDr. Mike Kussman, who hasbeen chosen as acting UnderSecretary for Health, and myother colleagues—men andwomen who have alreadybrought about one revolutionin health care, and are fullycapable of bringing about an-other.

Thank you all for yourhelp and support—and for thehonor and privilege of servingwith you, and serving thenation’s veterans. I wish youall the best in the future.

I am proud to know that I will leave VHA better thanit was and with veterans receiving far better care thanever before.

Looking Back With Pride in Our AccomplishmentsJonathan Perlin, M.D.Under Secretary for Health

Dr. Michael J. Kussman will serve as VA’s acting Under Secretary for Health while the De-partment conducts a search to replace outgoing Under Secretary for Health Dr. JonathanPerlin. Kussman, who becomes acting Under Secretary on Aug. 12, has served as VA’sPrincipal Deputy Under Secretary for Health since August 2005. Before coming to VA,Kussman had a military medical career spanning three decades. His service included stintsas commander of the Walter Reed Health Care System in Washington, D.C., and com-mander of the Europe Regional Medical Command.

Kussman Named Acting Under Secretary for Health

On Aug. 11, I will resign myposition as Under Secretaryfor Health. I am honored tohave had the opportunity toserve VA, veterans, and myfellow VHA employees since1999. In that time, we havemade VHA the gold standardin health care, and have madegreat strides toward providingveterans with care that is safe,effective, efficient and com-passionate. It has been mygreat privilege to be a part ofthis renaissance.

Our accomplishmentsover the past few years havebeen widely recognized—bythe news media, by the healthcare community, and, mostimportantly, by veterans them-selves. Just last month, for ex-ample, we received the presti-gious Innovations in Govern-ment Award from HarvardUniversity’s Kennedy Schoolof Government and the AshInstitute for Democratic Gov-ernance and Innovation forour leadership in combiningperformance measurementand electronic health recordsto improve care for veterans.

Last year, the RANDCorporation, an esteemedhealth services research organi-zation, found that VA system-atically outperformed all otherhealth care providers across aspectrum of 294 directly com-parable measures of quality indisease prevention and treat-ment. This translates into thebest rates of immunization,gender-specific health services(such as breast and cervicalcancer screening) and diabetescare available anywhere. Im-proved pneumonia vaccina-tion rates alone have saved

more than 6,000 lives justamong veterans with emphy-sema.

Veterans today are moresatisfied with their health carethan patients anywhere else.VHA is the benchmark for in-patient and outpatient careand pharmacy services in theexternally administeredAmerican Customer Satisfac-tion Index. And Americans aremore satisfied with the valueof the care we provide—TheNew York Times, The Washing-ton Post, Washington Monthly,Business Week and U.S. News& World Report all have laudedVHA as a model health caresystem, efficiently providingthe best care anywhere.

And even as VHA’s bud-get has doubled proportionateto patient growth, and as ourquality has improved to

benchmark status, our cost-per-patient remains un-changed from 1995; adjustedfor inflation, VHA’s care is 32percent less expensive than itwas a decade ago.

Today, VHA is solidifyingour critical partnership withour academic affiliates on abasis of trust, equity and syn-ergy; our research program issquarely focused on its coremission of improving thehealth and well-being of veter-ans; and VHA leads Americain adopting the principles ofthe President’s New FreedomCommission on MentalHealth. We’ve also improvedthe percentage of community-based outpatient clinics offer-ing specialty mental healthcare services from 71 percenttwo years ago to more than 90percent today.

In the future, genomicmedicine offers the promise ofallowing us to treat eachpatient’s disease uniquely, notjust similarly to the way thatdisease is treated in other pa-

tients, and I hope that we willbecome the vanguard for col-laborative and interdiscipli-nary training among physi-cians, just as VA, in the past,has been the vanguard for col-

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Serving InHarm’s Way

Women employees have been deploying in support of the war on terrorin record numbers. Here are some of their stories, in their own words.

Second of two parts

Women are serving on the front lines in the waron terror in record numbers. Fifty-one womenhave been killed in Iraq and more than 370

wounded as of April 2006, according to the Departmentof Defense.

They are our mothers, daughters and friends. And in-creasingly, they are our colleagues as well. More than 700female VA employees have been called to active militaryservice since 2001. Through an informal survey conductedvia e-mail to VA nurses, social workers and women vet-eran health managers, VAnguard uncovered the stories ofabout 50 women employees, most of whom deployed tocombat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Their stories are raw and emotional. Many sharedsimilar fears, such as anxiety over the constant threat ofattack. Others struggled with the grim realities of treatingcombat casualties. All shared the hardships of separationfrom family and friends, and the lack of privacy or crea-ture comforts. In the May/June issue, we shared some oftheir stories with you. Here are more, in their own words.

Cookie S. Avvampato, R.N., nurse manager, SouthernArizona VA Health Care System, Tucson

I deployed on June 1, 2004, with the Air ForceReserve’s 944th ASTS (Air Staging and TransportationSquadron). We began in Camp Wolverine, Kuwait, andlater moved to Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, and thenforward to Balad, Iraq. My job involved keeping track ofall injured troops in the Contingency Aeromedical Stag-ing Facility and providing reports to the medical crew thatflew the patients to Ramstein, Germany, for advancedcare.

There were no real surprises about my deployment,except when we went forward and were on the C-130 andwere told we had to circle because the base was under at-

tack. I thought, “Well, I guess this is for real, I’m in thewar.”

The hardest part of my deployment was treating thesoldiers who had body parts missing due to IED explo-sions. These kids are younger than my children and theirlives changed drastically in a flash. The most memorableexperience was the young soldier who had a gut woundthat we were dressing. He handed me his digital cameraand asked me to take a picture of his wound as we took offthe bandages … what a souvenir for him.

There is little in my normal military experience or ci-vilian job that could compare to my deployment to Iraq.When I left Iraq and rotated to Ramstein from August2005 to January 2006, my role as the chief nurse wasmuch like my job at the VA (management), except wehad to move and care for the wounded troops. I don’t“hump” litters in my civilian job.

“There is little in my normal military experience or civilian job thatcould compare to my deployment to Iraq,” says Cookie Avvampato,left, a nurse manager in Tucson.

COURTESY COOKIE AVVAMPATO

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Barbara J. Baker, registered nurse, Charles WilsonOutpatient Clinic, Lufkin, Texas

I served as a registered nurse with the 228th Com-bat Support Hospital in Tikrit, Iraq, from Dec. 26, 2004,to Dec. 1, 2005. I joined the service in 1983 right out ofhigh school for several reasons: I come from a militaryfamily, to help pay for college, and I was pretty gung-hoback then and wanted to serve my country.

There are several memories from my deployment thatI will never forget. The first is the faces of the soldiers andtheir buddies for every trauma I was involved with. Nextare the people I served with. In the military, and especiallyon deployments, they become your family. You become soclose so quickly and experience things that no one elsewill be able to understand or share. Then there were thesandstorms. They were unbelievable; the sand just gets ev-erywhere.

What I missed the most about my life back home wasbeing away from my three boys, the freedom to do what Iwant when I want, and my bathtub.

Kathleen Michelle Lafferty, administrative support assis-tant, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston

I am a Yeoman Third Class (E-4) who has been in thereserves for eight years. I have been serving in the NavyCargo Handling Battalion 6 since 2001. We deployed toKuwait to support the port operations and move equip-ment and supplies both in and out of theater and stayedfrom August 2004 to March 2005. My duties were to sup-port the headquarters with security clearance processing,transportation support, emergency leave paperwork andother duties.

I shared a tent with about six other females that Ididn’t know until I got there. Spent the Christmas holi-days away from my family but was well supported by theVA staff back home; I received two large boxes of goodiesfrom my co-workers. I even made some wonderful lifelongfriendships with fellow reservists from other parts of theUnited States, as we were merged with other Cargo Han-dling battalions from Ohio,Illinois and California.

I have to say that I feellike I am a different personnow that I have been to acombat zone and defendedour country’s freedoms.

Karen Mack, nurse practi-tioner, VA ConnecticutHealthcare System, WestHaven

I belonged to the 11thBattalion InstitutionalTraining Unit and deployedto Baghdad in October2004. I worked in theGreen Zone with transla-tors, Iraqi medical doctors

Barbara Baker with her husband Bill, who has also served in Iraqand is there now. They were in theater at the same time for aboutthree weeks. This photo was taken two days before she left for home.

Karen Mack worked in Iraq’sGreen Zone.

COURTESY BARBARA BAKER

COURTESY MICHELLE LAFFERTY

COURTESY KAREN MACK

Michelle Lafferty meets country singer Mark Wills during a visit orga-nized by the USO.

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and the surgeon general. We developed a medical trainingprogram for the new Iraqi soldiers and life-saving skills fornew Iraqi police officers. We worked 12-hour days sevendays a week, except for four hours off on Friday mornings.

I guess the biggest surprise about my deployment wasliving in the Green Zone. This area houses all Iraqi gov-ernment buildings, American civilian contractors, securityand the American Embassy, so I thought I was going to besafe.

Well, the mortars started on the second night. Theywere shot randomly and continually. We would have quiettimes, no mortars for a few days, but then it would startagain with multiple rounds. They knew the best times tohit us were on American holidays and Election Day inNovember. I’ll never forget when our dining facility washit on the night before the first Iraqi election and militaryand civilians were killed.

Cheryl B. Proper, combat veteran coordinator,Indianapolis VA Medical Center

“I have been in the Army (active and reserve) for 25years. I am currently in the 801st Combat Support Hospi-tal (Army Reserve) and was deployed from March 2003 to

October 2004. Ijoined the servicebecause I wanted tobe an Army nurseand I come from amilitary family.

The biggest sur-prise of my deploy-ment was being ex-tended for sixmonths after ouryear was up. Wewere actually infront of customs inKuwait with a planeplanned in less than24 hours to trans-port us home whenwe were asked tostay to help takecare of a large groupof wounded thatwere expected.

One of thetoughest experi-ences was actuallythe day we did get

to fly out of Iraq to go home. I wanted to be joyous, but Ihad a flag-draped soldier at my feet in the back of thetransport plane. I was happy that I was going home and Ijust wished he were going home in a different way. Actu-ally I felt very honored to be able to escort him part of the

way home.One of my most memorable experiences was when I

flew all over Kuwait and southern Iraq with the Medevacpilots in a Black Hawk. Other memorable experienceswere just being able to take care of young wounded anddetainees and hoping to make a difference. Their faceslooking up at you and trusting you with their care weremy most moving times.

I was gone about one-and-a-half years without beingable to come home on leave, so I missed grandchildren be-ing born, green grass, my family and friends, and privacy(the only place you can be alone is in a port-a-john).

Mary Gary-Stephens, psychiatric nurse specialist, LouisStokes VA Medical Center, Cleveland

I was assigned to Walter Reed Army Medical Center(WRAMC) in Washington, D.C., from March 2003 toMarch 2005. I was the clinical nurse specialist for Ward53 Psychiatric Continuity Services. On my departure, wehad provided clinical care coordination to around 400 ser-vicemen and women evacuated for psychiatric reasons.

One of the support duties for nursing service was toprovide triage on the arrival of air evacuation planes com-ing from Andrews Air Force Base to WRAMC from Ger-many. As an officer, I was assigned on a rotating basis asthe officer in charge. We could expect anywhere from afew injured soldiers up to 28, which was the most on onenight.

This by far was one of the most difficult duties of mytour … welcoming injured troops back home, and assist-ing families waiting for their arrival. I was always im-pressed with these young soldiers’ courage and good hu-mor under difficult circumstances.

My most memorable experiences included seeingsome patients with severe post-traumatic stress disorderand depression work hard on their traumas and makeprogress on the road to recovery. In my many years of ex-perience with WWII, Korean, and Vietnam veterans, I’vefound that they often wonder how things might have beenif they had sought treatment 50 or 30 years ago. This wasa great opportunity to put that to the test.

Leaving my daughter, Taylor, who was 7 years old atthe time, was the most difficult part of my entire experi-ence. Since I was stateside I tried to keep in frequent con-tact, and she was able to visit. I think once she saw what Iwas doing she was able to turn her fear into being proud ofher mom.

This has been hard to attempt to separate mythoughts and feelings and keep this short. As with my firstdeployment I always ask myself, “How have my experi-ences helped me to provide better services to the veteransI care for?” I think I am still integrating all of this, but Iknow I am grateful for life, family, friends and purposefulwork. I strive to always treat our veterans with a caringprofessionalism, and most of all to listen.

Flying out of Iraq on her way home, CherylProper “wanted to be joyous, but I had aflag-draped soldier at my feet in the backof the transport plane.”

COURTESY CHERYL PROPER

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Behind the Scenes of VET IT

Lia A. Locasto, program support assistant, Santa Rosa,Calif., Outpatient Clinic

I entered the Marine Corps in January 1981. Went toOkinawa, Japan, for a couple of years, then on to MarineCorps Air Station El Toro until 1988. I then got out forabout a year, just long enough to realize I was a better Ma-rine than civilian, so I came back in.

By November 2002, I was in Kuwait. I remained thereuntil the war started in March 2003. We then pushedthrough “The Line of Departure” and headed into Iraq,where I remained for the next couple of months. As our

tive duty, well, it was a “no-brainer,” so here I am.

Editor’s Note: Gunnery Sgt. Locasto was recalled to active duty onApril 11, 2006, and expects to remain at Camp Pendleton servingas a casualty assistance officer until July 2007.

Anniemarie Harrison Gray, registered nurse, HunterHolmes McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, Va.

I served as a flight nurse with the Air Force Reserve’s459th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron based atAndrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C. My ini-tial deployment was for eight months at Seeb Interna-tional Airport in Oman.

Later, I was sent to Scott Air Force Base in Illinoiswhere I coordinated aircraft for wounded troops. Finally, Ireturned to Andrews and worked on flights going toLandstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to pickup wounded soldiers and take them to hospitals in theUnited States. I ended up serving on active duty for 26months, from December 2002 to February 2005.

My most memorable experiences came as I was caringfor the wounded patients. I didn’t expect to see the thingsI saw … I mean guys who got blown up, missing limbs …that was my biggest wake-up call. Flight nurses are theonly ones who bring the boys home when they’re hurt.And our job never ended.

Lisa J. Cole, physician assistant, Michael E. DeBakey VAMedical Center, Houston

Capt. Cole served seven years in the Air Force andcurrently serves with the Army Reserve. From August2003 to May 2004, she was activated and sent to theMiddle East. She was first stationed at Camp Wolverinein Kuwait, where she performed post-deployment healthassessments formilitary person-nel to documenthealth issuesand possiblebiological andchemical expo-sures.

She wasthen deployedto Camp Ana-conda in Balad,Iraq, where shealso volunteeredwith the civilaffairs unit toperform healthoutreach mis-sions to the lo-cal villages. Sheis currently re-deployed to Iraq.

unit received casualties, we needed a casualties assistancecalls officer back in the rear to tell the families of lostloved ones. After long, arduous meetings with the powersthat be, I was picked to fulfill this billet.

From May 2003 through November 2004, I ran theCasualties Assistance Calls Office for the 1st Marine Ex-peditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, Calif. On Nov. 24,2004, I retired from the Marine Corps after 22 years offaithful service.

My time deployed doesn’t compare to any other expe-rience in my military or civilian career. Marines are atight-knit family as it is, but get us in a war zone and thecamaraderie is off the charts. We’re closer than brothers,closer than best friends. We will die for one another andall the trust within us is put in another Marine’s handsand his trust in yours.

Once I left the Marines, I was like a fish out of waterand alone in the world. I’m from a small town, so goingback to the regular, mundane lifestyle was difficult. Forothers, I became the talk of town. They’d listen to mespeak or pay attention to my story, but then it was also asthough they were intimidated. What have they done thatcompares? Would I be too hard to handle or too toughand set in my ways? When I was called by my old com-mand and asked if I would be willing to come back on ac-

Lia Locasto in a watch tower in Iraq in 2003. Recalled to active dutyin April, she’s serving as a casualty assistance officer at CampPendleton, Calif.

While serving in Iraq, Lisa Cole volunteered forhealth outreach missions to local villages.

COURTESY LIA LOCASTO

COURTESY LISA COLE

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Margaret Rains, clinical coordinator, VA Pacific IslandsHealth Care System, Honolulu

I served with Company B, 193rd Aviation, HawaiiArmy National Guard, as a commander and Black Hawkhelicopter pilot in Kandahar, Afghanistan. … Our soldierscompleted over 50,000 man hours in maintenance supportto the 10th Mountain Division during nine months de-ployed.

We blended right in with the active-duty 10th Moun-tain and became a total task force team. It truly exempli-fies the Army of One concept, with the same mission: tofight terrorism. We went as a team, worked as a team, andensured success for the follow-on units.

More than 700 women employees have been called to ac-tive military service since 2001. Many served on the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan; others performed vital supportfunctions here at home. Their commitment to service re-flects the true character of the citizen soldier—duty, honor,country. These are just a few of those who served:

■ Cheryl Adams, women’s health coordinator at the BronxVAMC, who deployed to Iraq.■ Marie Apelian, a nurse practitioner at the CincinnatiVAMC, who served with the 452nd Combat Support Hospitalin Kuwait and Iraq.■ Rene A. Bloomer, R.N., a nurse supervisor at the Albany,N.Y., VAMC, served as a lieutenant colonel in the Air ForceReserve at Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, from September 2004 toJanuary 2005.■ Pamela J. Breedlove, from the Topeka, Kansas, VAMC,who served with a Combat Stress Control Unit.■ Shirley L. Caldwell, the associate director of Patient Care/Nurse Executive at the Las Vegas VAMC, who served 14months on active duty.■ Johnnie M. Carter, a nurse specialist at the Detroit VAMC,who serves as a lieutenant colonel with the Army Reserveand was activated and served at Fort Stewart, Ga., in 2003.■ Daphne T. Cuyler, a human resources specialist at theFresno VAMC, who served as a sergeant first class with theCalifornia Army National Guard in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait,from September 2004 to December 2005.■ Jacqueline Deeds-Buford, a nurse practitioner at theFayetteville, Ark., VAMC, who deployed for two tours as aflight nurse with the 137th Aeromedical Evacuation Squad-

Citizen Soldiers Called to Duty

Marie Apelian, a nurse practitioner at the Cincinnati VA MedicalCenter, is one of the more than 700 women employees called toactive military service since 2001.

Margaret Rains was a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the HawaiiArmy National Guard in Afghanistan.

Editor’s Note: Our sincere thanks to all of the women who sharedtheir compelling stories of service for this feature. The stories andphotos were gathered and compiled by Matt Bristol.

COURTESY MARGARET RAINS

COURTESY MARIE APELIAN

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ron and served in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout theMiddle East.■ Carolyn Doherty, R.N., an operating room nurse at theTogus, Maine, VAMC, who served at Camp Doha, Kuwait,from June 2002 to June 2003.■ Lynn Fisher, R.N., Cleveland VAMC, who served in Iraq.■ Darcie Greuel, a registered nurse at the MilwaukeeVAMC, who deployed to Afghanistan during Operation En-during Freedom.■ Louise M. Guszick, a nurse practitioner at the Wilkes-Barre, Pa., VAMC, deployed to Camp Shelby, Miss., on Feb.17, 2006, to medically clear soldiers for deployment over-seas.■ Sherryl Kempton, a nurse practitioner at the Togus VAMC,who was activated in June 2006 and expected to deploy toIraq.■ Elizabeth Lingenfelter, a registered nurse at the Togus,Maine, VAMC, who is currently in Iraq doing mental healthwork.■ Roseanne C. McDermott, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare Sys-tem, who deployed in 2003 and again in 2005.■ Bonnie McIntosh, social worker at the Providence, R.I.,VAMC, who deployed to Iraq in 2003.■ Lorri A. McLaughlin, a social worker at the CincinnatiVAMC, who served in Baghdad with an Army behavioralhealth team.■ Kristina E. Miller, an informatics administrator at thePhoenix VAMC, who served in Iraq.■ Courtney Monterusso, a registered nurse at the St. LouisVAMC, who served with the 320th Air Expeditionary Wing inSeeb Air Base, Sultanate of Oman.■ Mary Ann Noland, a licensed practical nurse at theMartinsburg, W.Va., VAMC, who is serving with the West

Virginia Army National Guard and deployed to Afghanistan inJune 2005.■ Jaime Perez, a social worker at the Springfield, Ill., VetCenter, who deployed to Iraq in 2003.■ Marsha Shivley, nurse practitioner at the Poplar Bluff, Mo.,VAMC.■ Paula Smith, social worker at the Brockton, Mass., VetCenter, who deployed to Iraq in 2003.■ Frances Snell, a registered nurse at the Cleveland VAMC,who served in Iraq.■ Susan K. Sonnheim, a nurse at the Milwaukee VAMC, whoserved with the Wisconsin Army National Guard and waswounded in Iraq.■ Melissa D. Strickland, a research pharmacy technician atthe Gainesville, Fla., VAMC, who deployed to Iraq from Feb-ruary 2003 to October 2004.■ Bridgette Stump, a member of the nursing staff at theLebanon, Pa., VAMC and daughter of Hedy B. Stump (also atthe Lebanon VAMC), who served with the Army Reserve inKuwait and Iraq.■ Carole S. Wagner, from the St. Louis VAMC, who served atTallil Airbase in southern Iraq.■ Alicia J. Waters, R.N., VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System,who served with the 339th Combat Support Hospital in Op-eration Enduring Freedom in 2002.■ Sharon Webb, R.N., Martinsburg, W.Va., VAMC, servedwith the 167th Air National Guard and is currently on hersecond deployment.■ Kathleen White, R.N., VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System,deployed from September 2004 to March 2006.■ Laura J. Williams, a program support assistant at theMontrose, N.Y., VAMC, who served in Iraq from February2004 to February 2005.

Daphne Cuyler served in Kuwait with the National Guard.

Louise Guszick helped medically clear soldiers for deployment.

COURTESY DAPHNE CUYLER

COURTESY LOUISE GUSZICK

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In June, world-famous meteorologistWilliam M. Gray predicted, “Wecontinue to foresee another very

active Atlantic basin tropical cycloneseason in 2006. Landfall probabilitiesfor the 2006 hurricane season are wellabove their long-period averages.”

Now, nearly two months into thehurricane season, VA emergencymanagement preparedness plannershave kicked their efforts into highgear, as the department gets ready foranother hurricane season.

It’s a monumental task.From the pre-positioning of food,

supplies and medicines to preparingemployees for the mental stresses ofdisaster, VA employees are gearing upin a variety of ways.

Callers to the Biloxi, Miss., VAMedical Center get voice messagingabout hurricane preparations. At theMiami VA Healthcare System, “on-hold” messaging advises patients,families and staff members how toprepare for emergencies.

“Communicating was one of our

biggest problems” following HurricaneKatrina, according to ChristopherAlexander, Biloxi’s public affairs of-ficer.

“It was important for us to com-municate with our veterans,” he said,“but it was equally important that ourstaff was taken care of, because theyare our greatest asset, and they are theones who communicate with our pa-tients.”

Having plenty of supplies—water,medications and food—is critical forfacilities in hurricane-prone areas likeBiloxi. Identifying key players, in ad-vance, for each service team is a ne-cessity. But preparing employees emo-tionally for disasters is becoming justas essential, according to PaulBrannigan, an area emergency man-ager for the VA Southeast Network(VISN 7) in Atlanta.

“I fully believe that the mentalhealth component of any disaster iscritical and something we can planfor, by preparing our employees,” hesaid.

Few can relate to that sentimentbetter than Dr. Gustave Sison, chiefof psychology service and the Em-ployee Assistance Program coordina-tor at the Biloxi VA Medical Center.

“We talk with our people andhelp prepare them emotionally byproviding them with coping tech-niques, relaxation techniques and in-dividual counseling,” said Sison. Theyprovide lots of information about howto prepare for a hurricane, too,through Web postings, brochures, andas part of making rounds.

With memories of Katrina stillfresh, Sison notes there are “increasedanxieties [among the staff], but there’sa certain resilience, too.” When thenext storm hits the Gulf Coast,Katrina survivors will likely see aspike in their anxiety level, he said.But that increased anxiety is tem-pered by the knowledge that they areunlikely to experience another stormof the same magnitude.

“Our vulnerability is also ourstrength,” he said.

A NOAA image of Hurricane Wilma, whichstruck southern Florida in 2005.

Preparingfor theNext One

Preparingfor theNext OneWith memories of Katrina stillfresh in everyone’s minds,facilities in hurricane-prone areasare ready for the 2006 season.

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Are veterans of the 2005 GulfCoast hurricanes any more vulnerablethis year? According to Alexanderand Sison, yes and no.

“We have folks still in trailers ortemporary housing, so we need tohave adequate shelter for them,”Alexander said. At the same time,the entire VA South Central HealthCare Network (VISN 16) is moreprepared, and more likely to err onthe side of caution if another stormshould hit the Gulf Coast.

“‘Communication’ is always thenumber one thing people say wedidn’t do well enough,” saidBrannigan, “and really, it’s one of themost critical roles we play. We haveto know what the on-scene condi-tions are and we must have the abil-ity to communicate to our people inthe field.”

He notes that every facility hasan emergency response plan and it isconstantly being updated, tested andimproved. These plans “are truly ‘liv-ing documents,’” he said.

But plans only go so far. Trainingpeople, through table-top exercises orfull-scale mock disaster drills, is criti-cal. Doing—not just reading about—how to prepare for an emergency iswhat helps most.

“Awareness is half the game,”Brannigan said. “Once people areaware, we start to build a ‘culture ofpreparedness,’ which in turn helpsothers prepare.”

At the Miami VA HealthcareSystem, public affairs officer Susan

Ward, a veteran of 1992’s HurricaneAndrew, has prepared information foremployees and veterans to help themprior to hurricane season, and before,during and after a hurricane.

“We’ve developed brochures ondisaster preparedness, generator safety,safeguarding your valuables, even howemployees can properly insure theirhomes,” Ward said. But as the facilitypublic affairs officer, she also workswith each service at the hospital toget important operational status infor-

mation to local and state emergencymanagers.

“Through the relationships we’vedeveloped with the federal, state andlocal governments, and our commu-nity partner hospitals, we are able touse their emergency broadcast capa-bilities to communicate to our veter-ans and staff,” Ward said.

The VA Sunshine HealthcareNetwork (VISN 8) in Bay Pines, Fla.,has prepared employee and familypreparedness handbooks that areposted on the network’s Intranet site.There are links to policies, plans, andtelephone hotlines; to FEMA and theRed Cross; even to radar and satelliteimagery.

In addition, VISN 8 has insti-tuted a toll-free “Tel-Care” phone

■ Ready.gov (maintained by Department of Homeland Security): www.ready.gov■ National Hurricane Center’s Tropical Prediction Center: www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml■ VA’s Emergency Management Strategic Healthcare Group: www1.va.gov/emshg■ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): www.fema.gov/hazard/hur-ricane/index.shtm■ American Red Cross: www.redcross.org■ Salvation Army: www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn.nsf■ VISN 8 Emergency Preparedness (Intranet only): vaww.v08.med.va.gov

line that is activated around-the-clock in emergencies. Veterans, staffmembers, families and media repre-sentatives can call the number forcurrent information on facility clos-ings or alternate reporting sites. If theLake City, Fla., campus of the NorthFlorida/South Georgia VeteransHealth System, where the system isbased, is incapacitated, the “Tel-Care”phone line rolls over to VISN 3 staffin Bronx, N.Y.

There’s one catch, though. In

major hurricanes like Andrew orKatrina, phone service is, for the mostpart, knocked out.

To remedy that, satellite phonesare being purchased for each facilityin Florida and Puerto Rico. Satellitephones are “almost a sure thing,” saidMiami-based area emergency managerFrank Maldonado.

“The mobile van (a mobilehealth clinic owned by Veterans ofAmerica of Florida and staffed by VAhealth care professionals) has satellitephone capabilities and it was dis-patched to Biloxi after Katrina,”Maldonado said. “The beauty of satel-lite is that it provided not only voiceand data capability, but also con-nected us to VistA and CPRS (thecomputerized patient records sys-tem).”

After Katrina, VA was recognizedfor its ability to access patient recordselectronically—records that mightotherwise have been destroyed.

“VA is so rich in resources, withour doctors, nurses, lab techs, phar-macists,” Maldonado said, “and weare so prevalent in so many placesthat we reach into virtually everycommunity. We are a potent force toprovide assistance.”

“Awareness is half the game. Once people areaware, we start to build a ‘culture of prepared-ness,’ which in turn helps others prepare.”

Some Hurricane-related Web Resources

By Tom Thomas

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With a thunderous roar,more than 300 veteranson motorcycles—many

with the American flag flying—rolledthrough the hills of northern Georgiaand onto the grounds of the GeorgiaNational Cemetery in Canton onJune 4. Once there, they joined 400other veterans, dignitaries, citizensand invited guests to witness thededication of VA’s 123rd nationalcemetery.

“We are gathered in a shrine tothe measure of bravery in this field ofimmortality,” said VA Sec-retary Jim Nicholson, key-note speaker for the cer-emony. “We who are hereshould feel humbled todedicate to the memories ofthe men and women whostood for freedom in warand those who stood inpeace with that uniform onwilling to be engaged in warand all to whom we owe aneternal debt of gratitude.”

The 775-acre site wasdonated to VA by the lateScott Hudgens, an AtlantaWorld War II veteran, landdeveloper and philanthro-pist who had envisioned atribute to veterans similarto the American cemeteryin Normandy, France. Thenew cemetery is located inCherokee County, about 40miles north of Atlanta, andis administered by VA.Nearly 400,000 veteransand their families live

within 75 miles of the national cem-etery and, if eligible, could request tobe buried on the hilltop overlookingthe Etowah River.

William F. Tuerk, Under Secre-tary for Memorial Affairs, on hand forthe dedication, talked about VA’s his-toric mission.

“The opportunity to provide andmaintain memorials to the service ofveterans is a sacred trust,” Tuerk said.“VA continues a proud legacy of es-tablishing national cemeteries—somedating back to 1862—which stand in

VA’s Newest ShrineGeorgia National Cemetery is dedicated in a June ceremony.

tribute to the sons and daughters ofevery generation who have answeredthe call of service.”

The new cemetery’s director,Sandy Beckley, has been serving vet-erans since 1972. She firmly believesshe works for the greatest Ameri-cans—veterans and their families.

“It is a privilege for me to takepart in building this national shrine,”Beckley said. “This cemetery is abeautiful final resting place forGeorgia’s veterans.”

Burials began in April within an

Left to right: Pete Wheeler, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Veterans Affairs; Cole Hudgens, son of land do-nor Scott Hudgens; Jackie Hudgens, widow of Scott Hudgens; and VA Secretary Jim Nicholson were on hand to cel-ebrate the dedication of the new cemetery.

PETER GRATTAN

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Finding the graves of more than 3million veterans and dependentsburied in national cemeteries isnow even easier thanks to a newmap feature added to the gravesitelocator available online since April2004.

Someone looking for agravesite can now go togravelocator.cem.va.gov, enter theveteran’s name to search, click onthe burial location link, and a mapof the national cemetery is dis-played, showing the section wherethe grave is lo-cated. Thesemaps of burialsections can beprinted fromhome comput-ers and at na-tional cemeterykiosks.

In a re-lated develop-ment, the cem-eteries inwhich 1.9 mil-lion veteranshave been buried with VA gravemarkers have been added to thedatabase. These are mostly privatecemeteries. This addition brings thenumber of graves recorded in thelocator to approximately 5 million.Those with maps are in VA nationalcemeteries, state veterans cem-eteries, and Arlington NationalCemetery for burials since 1999.

Beyond the 5 million recordsnow available, approximately 1,000new records are being added to theonline database each day. The ex-act locations of veterans’gravesites in the remaining stateveterans cemeteries will also beadded.

initial phase of approximately 50acres, which includes one committalshelter and four burial sections. Theburial sections have capacity for 8,119full-casket gravesites, consisting of5,923 pre-placed crypts and 2,196standard gravesites, and 3,129 in-ground cremation gravesites.

The National Cemetery Admin-istration continues to meet the needsof veterans and their families by de-veloping new cemeteries or expand-ing existing ones if space permits.

With the loss of more than 1,800veterans a day, 1,100 of which arefrom WWII, the need for burial space

Maps Addedto OnlineGravesite Locator

must be met. To meet these needs,VA is in the midst of the largest cem-etery expansion since the Civil War.With the opening of the Georgia Na-tional Cemetery, VA now operates123 national cemeteries in 39 statesand Puerto Rico and 33 soldiers’ lotsand monument sites. More than 3million Americans, including veter-ans of every war and conflict—fromthe Revolutionary War to the globalwar on terror—are buried in VA’s na-tional cemeteries on more than16,000 acres of land.

Top: More than 300 veterans on motorcycles roared onto the grounds of the Georgia NationalCemetery for the dedication of VA’s 123rd national cemetery; above: Color guard at the cer-emony, which drew some 700 people.

VICKY HOLLY

PETER GRATTAN

By Jurita Barber

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When Pat Lane first metBill Taylor, a Vietnamveteran living on the

streets, he had one pair of clothing tohis name, and had not been able toread small print for more than a de-cade.

“I knew I needed glasses, but Ididn’t have the money,” said Taylor.“Thanks to Pat I got my glasses.”

Lane is a social worker in theHealth Care for Homeless VeteransProgram at the Baltimore VA MedicalCenter, one of five pilot sites across

the country for a project called Re-stored Vision for Homeless Veterans.The project was created by VA’sCommunity Homelessness Assess-ment, Local Education and Network-ing Groups (CHALENG) throughthe VA Center for Faith-Based andCommunity Initiatives to provideglasses for homeless veterans whowould not normally qualify for VAeyewear.

The Restored Vision program en-gages faith-based and community or-ganizations so that outside organiza-

tions provide funds or vouchers tocover the cost of eyewear and eye ex-ams. The majority of the sites main-tain a partnership with local fran-chises of LensCrafters, a national op-tometry company that offers free orreduced-price glasses through its “Giftof Sight” charity program, supportedby community organizations such asLions Club International.

VA homeless program coordina-tors say that obtaining eyeglasses is aproblem for homeless veterans thatcan keep them on the streets. Ac-

Vision problems are a frequent but little-known impediment for homelessveterans trying to get off the streets. A pilot program at five VA

facilities is working to change that.

Out of HomelessnessSeeing a WaySeeing a Way

Kelliann Dignam, optometrist with the Balti-more VA Medical Center, examines formerlyhomeless veteran Gary Bracey.

RICHARD MILANICH

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cording to Allison Haberfield, home-less program coordinator at theAsheville, N.C., VA Medical Center,98 percent of those registering withVA’s homeless programs report visionproblems. And eyeglasses aren’tcheap; a pair can run up to $600 forthose with serious eye problems.

Lane’s program in Baltimore fitsglasses for homeless veterans withsight problems ranging from far-sightedness to glaucoma. Formerlyhomeless veteran Gary Bracey suffersfrom vision problems related to highblood pressure. He knew he neededglasses for the past eight years, butjust recently received them thanks tothe Restored Vision program. His newglasses allow him to use the comput-ers he needs for school and work.

“Glasses are essential to gettingoff the streets,” said Jim McGuire,Ph.D., the VA program manager forhomelessness prevention based in LosAngeles. CHALENG pilot site home-less coordinators agree: homeless vet-erans with vision problems needglasses to read newspapers, streetsigns, and fill out forms or write re-sumes. They need glasses to work oncomputers at school or on the job.They need glasses to socialize and rec-ognize the faces of people they meet.

McGuire and Craig Burnett,Ed.D., Project CHALENG coordina-tor, started planning the Restored Vi-sion program in May 2005 when theVA Center for Faith-Based and Com-munity Initiatives asked homelessprograms to think of new ways to en-gage outside faith-based and commu-nity organizations to help VA serveveterans. Over the course of a yearfive programs began at VA medicalcenters in Baltimore, Asheville, Ft.Harrison, Mont., Jackson, Miss., andthe Central Iowa Health Care Systemin Des Moines.

Each pilot program is tailored bythe five homeless program coordina-tors to work within the unique envi-ronments of their communities.

Pam Mann, of the Ft. HarrisonVA Medical Center, contacted “mul-

tiple, multiple outside organizations”to fund the program. The RestoredVision fund in Montana has providedglasses to 10 veterans. Mann’s onlycomplaint? That she can’t travel moreto raise funds. “I’m a one-person of-fice and out here everything is hoursand hours away,” she said.

Paul Maten, of the Jackson VAMedical Center, raved about his VAoptometry department’s ability to fitin unscheduled eye exams for home-less veterans. Because homeless vetsoften maintain transient schedules, itis important that exams, fittings andfollow-up move as quickly as possible.

Charles Sherwood, ophthalmolo-gist at the Jackson VAMC, receivespages from Maten while he’s in sur-gery or another appointment and of-ten schedules eye exams directly after-wards. Sherwood praises this directcommunication. “Instead of going

through computers, [Maten] picks upthe phone and pages me. … You get afuller picture of what the patientneeds when you communicate di-rectly.”

Lane’s version of the program inBaltimore runs a little differently.When approached with the pilot pro-gram, Lane contacted the MarylandSociety for Sight, which agreed to do-nate 10 pairs of glasses per month.Sherry Rose, the adult services coor-dinator for the society, visits the VAmedical center to fit veterans forglasses on the last Thursday of everymonth. On average, the BaltimoreVAMC has provided eight homelessveterans with glasses each monthsince the program started in February.

The Baltimore program’s successrests on Lane’s careful coordinationwith all parties involved—VA, veter-ans and the community. “When I wasapproached about the project andlooked at the need to collaborate

with outside as well as internal re-sources, I was hesitant,” she said. “Af-ter reaching out to the community, Iwas pleasantly surprised with the will-ingness of everyone to come togetherand work as a team.”

The Baltimore Restored Visionprogram is dynamic and growing.Lane hopes to expand the program tonon-homeless veterans who do notqualify for eyeglasses under VA’s op-tometry policy. Ellen Mathes of theCentral Iowa Health Care Systemhopes to increase her faith-based con-tacts through her VA medical center’schaplain. Haberfield is working to ex-pand her funding from outside faith-based and community organizations.

Nationally, McGuire hopes thesuccess of the pilot sites will offermodels for other VA medical centersto follow. He says that the enthusiasmof individual homeless program coor-dinators will remain the most impor-tant component of the project. “Onething I’ve learned is that these folksare very dedicated to their homelesspopulation,” said McGuire.

Formerly homeless veterans Tay-lor, Bracey and Clarence Christion inBaltimore had high praise for the pro-gram and for Lane herself. “Thishomeless program Pat’s got helped usout a great deal,” said Christion. “Ithelped us get established back intosociety. … We got a couple of angelshere in VA.”

That’s what Darin Selnick, direc-tor of VA’s Center for Faith-Basedand Community Initiatives, is lookingfor every day—a few angels in VAand in the community willing to worktogether in innovative ways to meetveterans’ needs.

“These Restored Vision pilot pro-grams are just the beginning,” he said.“The program will grow becausethere’s a real need and there are dedi-cated people within VA and in ourcommunities who can make greatthings happen. They just need en-couragement and a little support.”

“Glasses are essentialto getting off thestreets.”

By Rachel Scheer

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The conclusion of VA’s yearlongcelebration of its 75th anni-versary was marked with two

back-to-back ceremonies in Washing-ton, D.C., on July 18 and 19.

VA employees gathered in theG.V. “Sonny” Montgomery VeteransConference Center in VA CentralOffice July 18 to enjoy cake, lemon-ade and fellowship during an em-ployee appreciation celebration. Sec-retary Jim Nicholson praised VA em-ployees who come to workeach day committed to“making a difference in thelives of veterans who havemade a difference for us,”noting that the quality of itsworkforce is what definesVA as an organization.

Nicholson recognizedtwo members of thatworkforce: one of VA’s long-est-serving employees andone of its newest employees.Marilyn Twombly, a pro-gram specialist in the Officeof Management, has beenwith VA for more than 39years. Yvonne Stone, amanagement analyst withthe Office of Asset Enter-prise Management, has a lotof catching up to do—shejoined VA six days before.

“VA has been good tome,” Twombly said. “I findthe work challenging and itis so great to help veterans,at least in some capacity.”

Veterans and their family mem-bers, members of Congress, represen-tatives of veterans service organiza-tions, and VA employees assembledin the Rotunda of the U.S. CapitolJuly 19 for special services markingthe close of the anniversary obser-vance.

Surrounded by statues of Ameri-can heroes and artwork recountingthe discovery and founding of this na-tion, Edward F. Lawton of Fairfax,

Va., sat quietly in his wheelchairlooking through the program, waitingfor the ceremony to begin.

“I don’t know of any other coun-try that serves its veterans as Americadoes,” Lawton said. “I’m honored tobe here.”

He served in the Air Force from1971 to 1993, retiring with the rankof captain. Lawton is 100 percent dis-abled and now serves in a voluntarycapacity as the national liaison for the

VA’s yearlong celebration of its 75th anniversary concludes witha pair of events held in Washington, D.C.

Left to right: Marilyn Twombly, one of VA’s longest-serving employees, Secretary Jim Nicholson, Under Secretary for Me-morial Affairs William Tuerk, and Yvonne Stone, one of the department’s newest employees, prepare to cut the cake atthe VA Central Office ceremony.

EMERSON SANDERS

Wrapping Up theDiamond Jubilee

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American Military Retirees Associa-tion.

Wearing the distinctive gold uni-form and garrison cap of the GoldStar Wives of America, Edith G.Smith of Springfield, Va., mingledwith other VSO representatives asthe U.S. Army Band began to playthe prelude music.

Smith said she joined the organi-zation after her husband’s death fromheart disease in 1998 because she sawthe need to help other widows“through the maze of legislative is-sues” concerning survivor benefits.

Her husband servedin the Marine Corpsfrom 1950 to 1980,retiring with therank of lieutenantcolonel. TodaySmith monitors achat room for wid-ows of service-members killed inIraq and Afghani-stan. She answerstheir questions aboutlegislation and survi-vor benefits. WhenSmith can’t answertheir questions sheturns to VA em-ployee Diane Fuller,assistant director forveterans services inthe Veterans Ben-efits Administration,for advice.

House Veter-ans’ Affairs Com-mittee ChairmanSteve Buyer (R-Ind.), offered thewelcome and intro-ductory remarks. Hesaid today’s VA pro-vides “what some sayis the best medicalcare in the UnitedStates.”

Buyer noted thatservicemembersfighting the global

war on terror are “our newest veter-ans” and some are leaving the theaterof operations with “horrific” injuries.He said these veterans are receiving“state of the art” medical carethrough VA and thanked the mem-bers of the Senate and House for theirleadership in funding VA’s fourPolytrauma Rehabilitation Centers.These centers were designed to meetthe complex rehabilitation needs ofseverely injured servicemembers re-turning from Iraq and Afghanistan.They provide specialized treatmentand expanded clinical expertise in

polytrauma and blast-related injuries. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Com-

mittee Chairman Larry Craig (R-Idaho), congratulated VA on winningthe prestigious Innovations in Ameri-can Government Award fromHarvard University in recognition ofVA’s electronic health records system.(See story on page 24 of this issue.)He related a personal experience hehad about a month ago receiving ademonstration of a unique prostheticdevice developed by VA. Craig saidhe slipped the device over his arm,thought about what he wanted to do,and the hand began to react, allowinghim to pick up a glass of water withthe device.

“That’s Veterans Affairs researchat its best,” he said.

Nicholson said that while he isproud that Harvard honored VA withthe award from more than 1,000 en-tries, and Business Week magazine re-cently named VA the best health careprovider in America, he takes themost pride in the fact that “we aretaking good care of our veterans.”

Nicholson said that over the por-tal of many VA hospitals is inscribedthe phrase: “Enter here to witness theprice of freedom.” In his travels tovisit veterans wounded in Iraq andAfghanistan, Nicholson said he al-ways asks how he can help them.Time and time again, the injured sol-diers ask him, “Sir, can you help meget back to my unit?” He said this un-selfish fighting spirit speaks volumesabout the character and commitmentof the nation’s warriors.

“The VA’s noble mission is tohonor our veterans’ sacrifices and todignify the cause they served, by serv-ing them,” Nicholson said.

House Minority Leader NancyPelosi (D-Calif.), said that Americamust honor its promise to veteransthat they have taken care of its citi-zens and the nation will take care ofits veterans.

During a recent visit to troopsstationed in the Persian Gulf, Pelosisaid every question she fielded from

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Larry Craig (R-Idaho) addressesthe crowd gathered in the Capitol Rotunda.

MICHAEL L. MOORE

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the troops seemed to be along thesame vein: how would they be treatedwhen they came home?

In times of war, Pelosi said sol-diers pledge that they will leave noone behind on the battlefield. “As anation, it must be our pledge to leaveno veteran behind.”

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)noted that it has been nearly 60years since he returned from thefighting in World War II and praisedVA for continuing to honor itspromise to today’s veterans stationedin some of the most dangerous placesin the world. “For 75 years, your de-

partment has ensured that our veter-ans have gotten the square deal thatthey deserve,” Stevens said.

Speaker of the House DennisHastert (R-Ill.) wrapped up the cer-emony by recognizing the most seniorveteran in the audience. Navy vet-eran Lloyd Brown, age 104, served inWorld War I. Today he lives alone inhis own home in Charlotte Hall, Md.

Following the ceremony, a num-ber of veterans stood in line waitingto speak to Nicholson and shake hishand. One of them was Army Sgt.Steven Allen of Thawville, Ill.

Allen has been undergoing sur-geries and physical therapy at WalterReed Army Medical Center in Wash-ington, D.C., for the past 14 monthsafter losing his right arm in an Impro-vised Explosive Device explosion.The 23-year-old had been stationed atAl Asad Air Base in Iraq providinggun truck escorts for convoys.

Allen said he attended the cer-emony to support veterans, adding,“There are plenty of us around.”

The ceremony in the Capitol Ro-tunda drew veterans and theirfamily members, members ofCongress, veterans service orga-nization representatives and VAemployees. Right: “I don’t knowof any other country that servesits veterans as America does.I’m honored to be here,” saidEdward Lawton (in wheelchair),national liaison for the Ameri-can Military Retirees Associa-tion. Below: Edith Smith (farleft), a member of Gold StarWives of America, helps widowsof servicemembers killed in Iraqand Afghanistan.

ROBERT TURTIL

ROBERT TURTIL

By Renee McElveen

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feature

They are a vanishing breed. Time is running out to find and recognizethe last remaining veterans of ‘The Great War.’

In a voice as strong as men 30years younger, Frank Buckles, aspry 105-year-old, describes his

personal experiences with a sense ofpride and, at the same time, wonder-ment. His story isn’t wonder,though—it’s fact.

He sailed on the ship that res-cued survivors of the Titanic. He metthe famous World War I GeneralJohn “Black Jack” Pershing. He wasan ambulance driver and a motorcy-clist. At age 16, he became a veteranof World War I, the “War to End AllWars.”

In the war after that, he was aPOW.

“I’ve always been independent,”Buckles said. “And as a boy of 16, Iwas anxious to get to France.” Thelad from Harrison County, Mo., madeit to France. And he made it home.Now, he’s one of 17 known Americanveterans of World War I who are stillliving.

The rolls of World War I veteranshave declined so rapidly that the dayis fast approaching when there will beone remaining, then none. VA, withassistance from historians, state agen-cies and others, is keeping a roster ofthose veterans.

One key player helping keeptrack of them is William Everett, anindependent radio producer in SouthPadre Island, Texas.

Everett, a World War I aficio-

nado, is producing for National PublicRadio a two-hour special on WorldWar I veterans that will air this Veter-ans Day. Hosted by Walter Cronkite,the “WWI Living History Project”will feature interviews with Bucklesand other veterans of “The GreatWar.”

“World War I is such an under-appreciated American conflict,”

Everett said. It’s his mission to “tellthe story through their experiences,but honor them in the process.” Butwith only 17 known veterans, it is dif-ficult to capture their experiences.

His task is to conduct interviewswith as many veterans—and theirfamily members—as possible. “It’s likea jigsaw puzzle scattered around thecountry, but there are only 17 pieces

EMERSON SANDERS

Lloyd Brown, a 104-year-old Navy veteran of World War I, is greeted by members of the new-est generation of veterans at a recent ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.,marking the end of VA’s yearlong observance of its 75th anniversary. Brown still lives on hisown in his Charlotte Hall, Md., home.

The Search for OurWorld War I VeteransThe Search for Our

World War I Veterans

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feature

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzlescattered around thecountry, but there areonly 17 pieces left.”

left. And only three of those can talkabout their experiences in trenchwarfare. There are no aviators left,”no one who can describe firsthandwhat the early days of aviation war-fare were like.

Everett’s quest to track downWorld War I veterans began aboutthree years ago, when he learnedthere were only about 250 remaining.His research eventually led him toVA resources; namely, VA’s Office ofPublic Affairs and its director of me-dia products, Chris Scheer.

“I have attempted to develop adefinitive list of living World War Ivets for VA purposes,” Scheer said.He exchanged names “within privacylimits” with Everett and another re-

searcher, author Richard Rubin, tohelp generate a “final wave of aware-ness and interest in our quest to de-velop a list of living World War I vet-erans” and to attract the interest ofthose in the veterans community whowill “work with us to identify thoseveterans.”

And from there, it took off.Everett’s detective work was

ratcheted up significantly last No-vember, when the idea of the radiospecial gelled. Using the Internet andcontacting other WWI buffs andwriters, he began connecting withveterans and their families.

One of them is California’s lastWWI veteran—George Johnson, 112,who is one of Everett’s favorites.

Then there’s Samuel Goldberg,106. “He’s a healthy, vigorous man,”Everett recalled. A member of theU.S. Horse Cavalry during WWI,Goldberg lives in Rhode Island.

“I’m looking for everyday life ex-periences—not war heroes—to helpmake their experiences relatable totoday’s listener,” Everett said. But thebad food, monotony and military dis-cipline of a century gone by are prob-ably just as meaningful to today’stroops.

Rubin, who has interviewed 34WWI veterans for his book, Last ofthe Doughboys, talked about the im-portance of honoring all veterans andacknowledged that Americans havetried hard to recognize Vietnam andKorean War veterans in the last 20years or so. But he notes there is stilltime to honor those veterans; withWWI veterans, “time is running out,”he said.

Everett believes there may beother WWI veterans out there, per-haps in private nursing homes or inthe care of family members. If theydidn’t receive VA benefits or weren’tfeatured in local news coverage, thatpossibility exists. Scheer wants VAemployees to be aware that the searchcontinues for information about anyremaining WWI veterans and that in-formation can be relayed to him inVA headquarters.

“I’ll bet there’s more out there,”Scheer said.

Indeed there may be. If you knowof any remaining WWI veterans, no-tify your facility’s public affairs officeror contact Chris Scheer at the Officeof Public Affairs in VA Central Of-fice, at (202) 273-5730.

ROBERT TURTIL

World War I veteran Lloyd Brown participated in this year’s National Memorial Day Parade inWashington, D.C.

By Tom Thomas

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feature

Privacy & SecurityAwareness Week

June 26-30

Clockwise from top left: Secretary Nicholson stopped by to checkout the booth in the lobby of VA Central Office;

The week’s activities at the Waco, Texas, VA Regional Office in-cluded a special sequence check and folder reconciliation, hereperformed by George “Gunny” Jimenez, files team coach at the re-gional office;

Maggie Laustrup, left, and Shirley Blair, registered nurses at theHarry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital in Columbia, Mo.,display materials they received when the Information SecurityAwareness Team visited their patient care unit;

“Men in Black” took over the lobby of the Dayton, Ohio, VA Medi-cal Center to spread the theme Keep Information Safe and Secure(K.I.S.S.). Left to right: Willie Payton, administrative intern; JoeBattle, associate director; and Cory Cookson, information securityofficer;

Birmingham, Ala., VA Medical Center employees Alverna Hudson(left), patient care services, and Devin Harris, cancer care coordi-nator, view an exhibit during the facility’s IT Privacy and SecurityAwareness Fair held June 28 and 29.

JAMES LUCAS

TOM MORLEY

TIM TERAN

CHRYS HIGGINBOTHAM

RAY KUMMER

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VA’s groundbreaking elec-tronic health records systemreceived top honors July 10from Harvard University andthe Council for Excellence inGovernment. The prestigiousInnovations in American Gov-ernment Award specificallyrecognizes VA’s developmentand use of the Veterans HealthInformation Systems andTechnology Architecture(VistA).

“This is a proud day forus,” VA Secretary JimNicholson said at a news con-ference announcing the awardin VA Central Office. “Thisaward tells the Americanpeople what millions of veter-ans and their families haveknown for years—that VAprovides world-class healthcare in a professional, compas-sionate and high-tech environ-ment.”

During the news confer-ence, Nicholson, VA Under

Secretary for Health Dr.Jonathan Perlin, and Washing-ton, D.C., VA Medical CenterChief of Staff Dr. RossFletcher spoke about the elec-tronic health records systemand how it has transformedVA’s health care system.

VA was the only awardwinner in the Health andEducation category, and it isthe second time in five yearsthe department has receivedthe prestigious InnovationsAward. In 2001, VA was rec-ognized by the Ash Institutein the same category for itsNational Center for PatientSafety, a program that radi-cally reduced preventablemedical errors by using “rootcause analyses.”

The Ash Institute forDemocratic Governance andInnovation at HarvardUniversity’s John F. KennedySchool of Government, inpartnership with the Council

for Excellence in Government,founded the Innovations inAmerican Government Awardprogram in 1986.

The award program rec-ognizes and promotes excel-lence and creativity in thepublic sector. Through its an-nual award competition, theprogram demonstrates thatgovernment can improve qual-ity of life for citizens and gen-erate greater public trust.

Agencies and organiza-tions across jurisdictions andin a variety of policy areas rep-licate many of the award-win-ning programs while othersare inspired to become fore-runners for state and federallegislation. The programserves as a catalyst for contin-ued progress in addressing thenation’s most pressing publicconcerns by highlighting ex-emplary models of innovativeperformance.

VistA is one of seven gov-

VA Takes Home Prestigious Award for Government Innovations

ernment initiatives drawnfrom a pool of 1,000 appli-cants. Each winner takes aunique approach to meetingcommunity needs and achiev-ing real results. Because eachof these programs is a modelfor government’s capacity todo good, and do it well, the$100,000 prize specificallysupports initiatives that dis-seminate their models andpractices to other districts.

The Ash Institute distrib-utes awards annually to pro-grams or applications thatpromote creativity and excel-lence in government. The In-stitute evaluates entries basedupon their novelty, effective-ness, significance and transfer-ability, and considers submis-sions in six different catego-ries: Management and Gover-nance; Capital and Environ-mental Services; Communityand Economic Development;Protective Services; Social Ser-vices; and Education andHealth Care, the categorywhere VA was honored thisyear.

Stephen Goldsmith, theformer Indianapolis mayorwho heads the award pro-gram, had high praise forVistA at the news conference.“This program’s decentralized,flexible approach has madeour veterans the recipients ofthe highest quality, lowest costmedical care in the country,”he said.

VistA was first introducedin 1996. It provides all neededinformation at the point-of-care and it can work with off-the-shelf software and prod-ucts so that the program canbe tailored to the needs of dif-ferent facilities.

More information aboutVistA and the InnovationsAward is available at www.va.gov/innovations.

Secretary Jim Nicholson accepts congratulations from Carl Fillichio, vice president, Council for Excellencein Government, at a news conference announcing that VA had won the Innovations in American Govern-ment Award for its development and use of VistA.

EMERSON SANDERS

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around headquarters

VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Jonathan Perlin, who led the Department’s health care transformation since 2004, resigned ef-fective Aug. 11 to take a private sector position.

“Jon Perlin’s dedicated service to our nation’s veterans is evidenced by the fact that VA’s health care is now widely recognized asa model for safety, efficiency, effectiveness and compassion,” VASecretary Jim Nicholson said. “He has been an invaluable partof my senior leadership team. The skill, knowledge and leader-ship he brought to VA will be sorely missed. I wish him the bestin this new endeavor.”

Perlin, who has held several positions with VA since 1999,is accepting a position as chief medical officer and senior vicepresident for quality at HCA, a Nashville-based health care pro-vider.

“I thank the President and the Secretary for the tremen-dous opportunity I’ve had to serve America’s veterans,” Perlinsaid. “I am deeply humbled by our heroes’ sacrifices on behalfof our nation, and I am forever grateful to the thousands ofmen and women at VA who serve our privileged mission of car-ing for veterans.

“I am also proud that I will leave VA better than it was andwith veterans receiving better care than ever before,” he added.

Under Perlin’s leadership, VA’s health care has received nu-merous accolades for innovation and continues to outperformthe private sector in quality, safety and customer satisfaction.

Under Secretary for Health Perlin Returns to Private Sector

VA was among the organizations honored recently for their rolein creating an online service to ensure that evacuees of Hurri-cane Katrina received life-saving medications. The AmericanPharmacists Association Foundation presented their 2006 Pin-nacle Award in the Government Agencies/Non-profit Organiza-tions Category to the group on June 13 in Washington, D.C.

The online service, KatrinaHealth.org, provided authorizedhealth professionals access to evacuees’ medication information,allowing them to renew prescriptions, prescribe new medica-tions and coordinate care. The data and prescription informa-tion for the service was made available from a variety of govern-ment and commercial sources. Sources included electronic data-bases from community pharmacies, government health insur-ance programs such as Medicaid, private insurers, and pharmacybenefits managers in the states most affected by the storm.

Other organizations recognized in the group award in-

VA Honored for Role in Online Service to Help Katrina Evacuees

ROBERT TURTIL

Dr. Jonathan Perlin has been Under Secretary for Health since April2005. Prior to that, he served a year as Acting Under Secretary forHealth, and as Deputy Under Secretary for Health from 2002 to 2004.

Coming Soon! New Personal Identification and Verification (PIV) Cards are coming soon. Look for more information aboutthis program in the next issue of VAnguard. In the meantime, check out the following sites: vaww.va.gov/PIVproject (Intranet)and www.va.gov/PIVproject (Internet).

ROBERT TURTIL

Employees accepting the Pinnacle Award for VA included (left toright): Dr. Jennifer Delozier, physician, Altoona, Pa., VA Medical Cen-ter; Dr. Robert Lynch, director, VA South Central Health Care Network(VISN 16); Linda Fischetti, management analyst, VHA Office of Infor-mation; William Feeley, Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Opera-tions and Management; Stephania Putt, VHA privacy officer; DanBruneau, director, VHA Office of Communications Management; andDavid McDaniel, privacy specialist, VHA Office of Information.

cluded the American Medical Association, Informed DecisionsLLC, the Markle Foundation and SureScripts. The AmericanPharmacists Association Foundation established the PinnacleAwards in 1998 to celebrate significant contributions to themedication use process.

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VA and the Washington Na-tionals teamed up for a majorleague salute to veterans onFlag Day. June 14 was “Veter-ans Appreciation Day” at RFKStadium, where the Nationalshosted the Colorado Rockies.

The evening’s festivitiesincluded a pre-game ceremonyfeaturing a military fly-over, aperformance by the UnitedStates Marine Drum andBugle Corps, veterans serviceorganization color guards, cer-emonial first pitches by VASecretary Jim Nicholson andother veterans, and a displayof veterans’ photos on theballpark’s Jumbotron. Dis-counted tickets were availablefor veterans and VA employ-ees.

In addition to honoringveterans, the event was also anopportunity to better informattendees about the depart-ment’s array of benefits for eli-gible veterans, with VA offi-cials staffing informationbooths at the stadium to pro-

VA, Nationals Team Up for a Major League Salute to Veterans

vide benefits information.“We are excited to be able

to salute American veterans,”

said Nationals President TonyTavares. “The WashingtonNationals baseball club is hon-

ored to be able to say thankyou to the heroes who haveserved our country.”

Citing his quarter-century of advocacy for all veterans and dedication to improving the lives ofthose injured during military service, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) named VADeputy Secretary Gordon H. Mansfield their Disabled Veteran of the Year.

Mansfield received DAV’s top honor Aug. 12 at the group’s national convention in Chi-cago. DAV has 1.3 million members.

Mansfield was shot and suffered a spinal injury during the Tet Offensive of February 1968.His decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.During his recovery, he earned a law degree from the University of Miami and began legalpractice in Ocala, Fla., where he helped found a DAV chapter in Marion County.

In 1981, he accepted the first of several positions with the Paralyzed Veterans of America(PVA), eventually serving as the group’s executive director from 1993 to 2001. His time withPVA was interrupted by a four-year tour as assistant secretary for fair housing and equal oppor-tunity at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Mansfield was instrumental in elevating VA to a cabinet-level department, creating theU.S. Court of Veterans Appeals and passing the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Gordon Mansfield overcame his disability and turned it into strength,” said DAV Na-tional Commander Paul W. Jackson. “He is a person of determination who has become a pow-erful advocate for his fellow veterans. Each day, his achievements mean better lives for disabledveterans and their families.”

DAV Names Deputy Secretary Disabled Veteran of the Year

Gordon Mansfield

June 14 was “Veterans Appreciation Day” at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., as the Washington Nation-als took on the Colorado Rockies. As part of the evening’s festivities, Secretary Jim Nicholson threw thefirst pitch.

ROBERT TURTIL

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introducing

it would be something I’d en-joy doing, helping these guysgo through what I wentthrough.”

It was a whirlwind timeof change. Anne gave birth totheir second child, William,two days before Fondren tookthe job at the Waco VARO, inMarch 2006. The first fewmonths involved on-the-job-training, including claims pro-cessing, veterans correspon-dence, and scheduling medicalverification exams, all usingreal cases from the office files.

Lowe reports thatFondren is “sincerely commit-ted to serving veterans effec-tively” and that his training isprogressing very well.

“I like working at VA,”Fondren says. “Everything isnew. Learning it all is the big-gest challenge. Hopefully, I’llhave an impact by helping toidentify problem areas andstreamline operations. I wantto make sure these [returningveterans] get what they needand are taken care of.”By Robert Turtil

Jay Fondren

JIM RICHMAN

Jay Fondren, a veterans service representative at the Waco, Texas, VA Regional Office, provides benefitsinformation and assistance to veterans at an outreach event held recently near Fort Worth, Texas.Fondren was wounded in Iraq in November 2004.

If a film were made about JayFondren’s young life, theopening scene might be apublic event where a hand-some American hero—bodybattered but spirit strength-ened by faith, family, patrio-tism and love for his fellowsoldier—brings a crowd totears, then to their feet, in-spired by his courage and for-titude.

Flashback to his ninemonths in Baghdad where,beginning in March 2004,Army Sgt. Jay Fondren led afront-line combat observationlasing team, directing close airsupport and conducting re-connaissance and security op-erations. When bad weathergrounded Medevac helicopterflights, this unit of the 10thCavalry’s Charlie Troop es-corted medical corps person-nel out to wounded G.I.s, be-fore evacuating all of themback to the Green Zone.

In that time, Fondrenhad lost two comrades tosniper and roadside bomb at-tacks. “Over there, the men-tality wasn’t if you were goingto get hurt, but when andhow bad,” he told the WacoTribune-Herald. Then, on theday before Thanksgiving2004, a roadside bomb shred-ded his patrol vehicle.

What Fondren remem-bers of the attack and its after-math—the mad dash acrossBaghdad, his legless bodystrapped to the hood of aHumvee—is mercifullycloudy. Still at the site weretwo injured comrades, as wellas two Iraqi civilians killed inthe blast. His last memoriesbefore blacking out were ofdoctors yelling, “Hang inthere!” as they cut off his two-year-old wedding ring and therest of his tattered uniform.

Eighteen days later,

Fondren awoke at WalterReed Army Medical Center inWashington, D.C. At his bed-side was his wife Anne. Hisparents and a sister were alsothere, all flown in by theArmy. His room was filledwith cards and flowers fromfriends in his boyhood homeof Corsicana, Texas. Micah,his 6-month-old son, was athome with relatives.

Recuperation from thedevastating injuries was slowbut steady. Along with the lossof his legs, Fondren, 26, suf-fered wounds and nerve dam-age to his right arm and hand.After nine months of what hedescribes as “exceptional care”at Walter Reed, he came hometo Killeen, Texas.

Prior to his deploymentto Iraq, Fondren’s career wason a fast track to warrant of-ficer. He’d been promoted tostaff sergeant a month beforehe was wounded. Ultimately,he hoped to fly helicoptersand make a career of the mili-tary. Now, though he hadbeen asked to stay in the

Army after sustaining his inju-ries, he felt that it was time toget out. He considered goingback to school for his teachingdegree, but had yet to makeany firm decisions.

The rest of Fondren’sArmy unit returned from Iraqin March 2005. While attend-ing a memorial service for hisfallen comrades, he was in-vited by a VA representative tospeak about his wartime andseparation experiences at Vet-erans Appreciation Day cer-emonies at the Waco VA Re-gional Office. “We were im-mediately impressed with Jay’salertness, capability and posi-tive attitude,” said WacoVARO director Carl Lowe. Asa result, Fondren was asked ifhe’d be interested in applyingfor a position as a veterans ser-vice representative there.

“The offer came at a timewhen my wife was getting realtired of me,” Fondren recalled.“She said, ‘You’ve got to figureout what you want to do.Now hop to it.’ From theirdescription of the job, I knew

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28 July/August 2006

How frequently valley fe-ver actually causes a medi-cally important illness haslong been a source of uncer-tainty based upon previouslyavailable information, saidDr. John Galgiani, director ofthe Valley Fever Center forExcellence.

Can Curry Reduce Riskof Alzheimer’s?Intriguing studies suggestolder adults from India mayhave a reduced risk forAlzheimer’s, and investigatorsat VA’s Sepulveda, Calif., Ge-riatric Research Education andClinical Center (GRECC)think they know why.

Greg M. Cole, Ph.D.,and Sally Frautschy, Ph.D., fo-cus on dietary factors thatfight inflammation in thebrain and reduce beta-amyloidaccumulation. Curry, widelyused in Indian cuisine, is onesuch anti-inflammatory. Its ac-tive ingredient, curcumin,gives curry its yellow color,and in a recent study, Cole,Frautschy and colleaguesshowed that the substance re-duced brain amyloid in miceand improved other disease-re-lated factors.

A pilot trial is now un-derway to determine whethercurcumin can do the same inAlzheimer’s.

The Sepulveda GRECCteam is also looking into theprotective potential of omega-3 fatty acids—“good” fats es-sential for the health of neu-rons and nerve synapses thatfall prey to Alzheimer’s. Epide-miological studies associateconsumption of omega-3 fattyacids found in fatty fish likesalmon with reducedAlzheimer’s risk. The work ofCole and Frautschy showedthat withholding omega-3 im-paired memory in mice, whileits supplementation preservedmemory and reduced brainamyloid levels.

The Costs of ExcessiveTeenage DrinkingThe costs of early heavydrinking for teenagers appearto extend far beyond the timedrinking takes away fromhomework, dating, and the re-lated tasks of growing up, ac-cording to researchers at theDurham, N.C., VA MedicalCenter and Duke University.

Mounting research sug-gests that alcohol causes moredamage to the developingbrains of teenagers than waspreviously thought, injuringthem significantly more thanit does adult brains.

The new findings mayhelp explain why people whobegin drinking at an early ageface enormous risks of becom-ing alcoholics. According tothe results of a national surveyof 43,093 adults, published inthe July 3 edition of Archivesof Pediatrics & AdolescentMedicine, 47 percent of thosewho begin drinking alcoholbefore the age of 14 becomealcohol dependent at sometime in their lives, comparedwith 9 percent of those whowait at least until age 21.

“There is no doubt aboutit now: there are long-termcognitive consequences to ex-cessive drinking of alcohol inadolescence,” said Aaron

White, an assistant researchprofessor at Duke.

In 1995, researchersplaced delicate sensors insideliving brain slices from adoles-cent rats and discovered thatalcohol drastically suppressedthe activity of specific chemi-cal receptors in the hippocam-pus region.

Normally, these receptorsallow calcium to enter neu-rons, setting off a cascade ofchanges that help create re-peated connections betweencells, aiding in the efficientformation of new memories.But at the equivalent of one ortwo alcoholic drinks, the re-ceptors’ activity slowed, and athigher doses, they shut downalmost entirely. The research-ers, led by Dr. ScottSwartzwelder, a neuropsy-chologist at the DurhamVAMC and Duke, found thatthe suppressive effect was sig-nificantly stronger in adoles-cent rat brain cells than in thebrain cells of adult rats.

Valley Fever at RecordLevels in ArizonaReported cases of valley feverare at record levels in Arizona,according to an article in theJune edition of Emerging Infec-tious Diseases. As of the end ofApril, 2,305 cases of the infec-tion had been reported in Ari-zona, four times the five-yearaverage for the January toApril time period and morethan 85 percent of the state’sfive-year average of 2,732cases per year.

Dr. Lisa Valdivia and hercolleagues at the Valley FeverCenter for Excellence at theSouthern Arizona VA HealthCare System and the Univer-sity of Arizona College ofMedicine report that valley fe-ver, or coccidioidomycosis(cocci), is the culprit in ap-proximately one of every threepatients who are treated forwhat their doctors think is a

community-acquired pneumo-nia. Most of these patients aretreated with antibiotics, as ifthey had a bacterial infection,even though valley fever iscaused by a fungus and doesnot respond to drugs directedat bacteria.

The fungus lives in thesoil of certain areas in theSouthwest, Mexico and otherregions of the western hemi-sphere. Most infections causerespiratory symptoms such ascough, chest pain and short-ness of breath. Other frequentsymptoms include muscle andjoint pain, skin rashes, weightloss, and unusually intense fa-tigue. These symptoms canlast from weeks to manymonths but usually go awaywhether or not drug therapy isgiven.

A small proportion of in-fections leads to much moreserious complications, includ-ing progressively severe pneu-monia. The fungus also maytravel through the blood-stream from the lungs to otherparts of the body such as theskin, the bones or the brain.

While the cases of valleyfever reported in Arizona inrecent years have numberedless than 4,000 infections an-nually, other epidemiologic es-timates have suggested thatthis is only one-tenth of theactual number.

Dr. Scott Swartzwelder

Dr. John Galgiani

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honors

cludes studies in diabetes, hy-pertension, and geriatricphysical fitness—all of whichare of great interest to veteransas well as the general healthcare community. This awardwas created in 1973 as part ofthe society’s efforts to formallyrecognize members of the or-ganization who had carriedout the mission of advancingmedical research and the ex-change of knowledge, infor-mation and ideas.

Joan Antonaccio,Northport, N.Y., VA MedicalCenter Guest Services coordi-nator, was one of only twovolunteers in the nation to re-ceive the 2006 DisabledAmerican Veterans (DAV)George H. Seal MemorialAward, at DAV’s national con-vention in July. This presti-gious award honors remark-able volunteers who serve dis-abled veterans and their fami-lies through the VA VoluntaryService (VAVS) program. Theaward is given in memory of aWorld War II combat-disabledparatrooper, former DAV di-rector of Membership andVolunteer Services, and lead-ing organizer and administra-tor of the DAV VAVS pro-gram from 1952 until hisdeath in 1977. As Northport’sGuest Services coordinator,Antonaccio personally visitseach new admission and pre-sents the veteran with personalcare items, a newspaper, andany other small item that willmake the inpatient stay morepleasant.

Juan Maldonado, clinicalpharmacy specialist with theVA Caribbean HealthcareSystem in San Juan, has beennamed president-elect of thePuerto Rico Society of CriticalIntensive and Coronary CareMedicine. He will take officein 2008. It is the first timethat a non-physician has beenelected president of this orga-nization.

Leo P. Morgan has re-ceived the Silver HelmetAward from AMVETS. Theaward, a replica of a WorldWar II helmet, is the highesthonor given by AMVETS andwas presented to Morgan inrecognition of his volunteer-ism at the group’s nationalconvention on April 1. Mor-gan was honored for his “out-standing leadership” atAMVETS Post 19, and for hisvolunteer work at theCoatesville, Pa., VA MedicalCenter, where he chairs theVoluntary Service executivecommittee. In 2004, he wasnamed the PennsylvaniaAMVET of the Year.

Rebecca Johnson, a vol-unteer at the Michael E.DeBakey VA Medical Centerin Houston, was recently rec-ognized for her outstandingvolunteerism in the greaterHouston area by Houston

Mayor Bill White. TheMayor’s Volunteer HoustonAwards program is an annualcitywide volunteer recognitionevent held in partnership withVolunteer Houston and themayor’s office. Johnson wasone of 13 chosen from morethan 100 nominations for heroutstanding volunteer work. Adisabled Army veteran,Johnson has been an activevolunteer at the DeBakeyVAMC for the past 14 years,accumulating a total of 3,135hours of service. She volun-teers as a Peer Partner in theSpinal Cord Injury Unit, shar-ing her experiences as a C4-5quadriplegic with newly-in-jured veterans.

Kevin Volpp, M.D., astaff physician and researcherat the Philadelphia VA Medi-cal Center and assistant pro-fessor of medicine at the Uni-versity of Pennsylvania, re-

ceived the Outstanding JuniorInvestigator of the Year Awardin Los Angeles in April. Theaward recognizes Society ofGeneral Internal Medicinemembers at the level of assis-tant professor whose careerachievements and body ofwork have had significant im-pact on research through sus-tained and consistent accom-plishment. Volpp’s researchmakes innovative connectionsbetween economics and thetraditional agenda of generalinternal medicine investiga-tion, including smoking cessa-tion, hypertension control,resident work hours, racial dis-parities and health policy.

Arthur Bass, employmentcoordinator for the New YorkVA Regional Office, wasnamed Vocational Rehabilita-tion and Employment(VR&E) Employee of the Yearin the employment coordina-tor category during a May 17ceremony in St. Louis. Basswas selected for his excep-tional contribution to the de-livery of vocational rehabilita-tion and employment servicesto veterans. He was instru-mental in developing the con-cept of a pre-employmentwork experience tryout, plac-ing potential VR&E veteransfor a short trial at a worksite,allowing veterans the opportu-nity to check out the job andmanagers the opportunity toobserve the work of these dis-abled veterans.

Dr. Kent Kirchner, chiefof staff at the G.V. (Sonny)Montgomery VA MedicalCenter in Jackson, Miss., hasbeen named recipient of the2006 Founder’s Medal fromthe Southern Society forClinical Investigation.Kirchner, a nephrologist andinternal medicine specialist,oversees the medical center’sactive research program thatincludes about 70 studies.Kirchner’s own research in-

Magnet recognition for Portland

The Portland, Ore., VA Medical Center has joined an elitegroup of only 3 percent of the nation’s hospitals by beingnamed a nursing Magnet facility. Magnet designation recog-nizes facilities that provide the very best nursing care andencourage an environment where nurses perform qualitywork. The Portland VAMC is the third VA medical center toreceive this recognition, joining Tampa and Houston.

Stilt walkers perform as members of the March Fourth MarchingBand help Portland VAMC employees celebrate the news that themedical center was awarded Magnet status.

LARRY LEWTON

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The second phase of a unique partnership between VAand the Department of Defense in Illinois to offer healthcare to veterans, active duty Navy personnel and theirfamily members in a single facility was marked with adedication ceremony at the North Chicago VA MedicalCenter on July 10. VA funded a $13 million expansion andrenovation of the North Chicago VAMC’s emergency andoperating room departments to absorb the shifting of in-patient medical, surgery and emergency services fromthe Naval Hospital Great Lakes.

The renovated emergency department features spe-cialized areas for pediatrics, OB-GYN, trauma, proce-dures, orthopedics, and a dedicated radiology suite. Pedi-atric care will be provided for Navy family members forthe first time in a VA facility as a result of this partnership.

The first phase of this project was completed in 2003,when Naval Hospital Great Lakes shifted its inpatientmental health to the North Chicago VAMC. The finalphase of the partnership will be a $130 million DoD con-struction project to include a new federal ambulatorycare center co-located with the North Chicago VAMC,and is scheduled for completion in 2010. The partnershipmodel these facilities are creating will be used for futureVA/DoD joint ventures.

Six Union soldiers from the Civil War were returned hometo Massachusetts 145 years after dying on a battlefield innorthern Virginia. The soldiers were buried with full mili-tary honors executed by Civil War re-enactors on June 10at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne(above).

The soldiers’ remains were discovered in 1997 at aconstruction site in Centreville, Va. Scientists from theSmithsonian Institution identified the remains as soldiersof the 1st Massachusetts Infantry who were killed on July18, 1861, during a skirmish known as Blackburn’s Ford.Scientists were unable to establish the identities of thesoldiers.

The Massachusetts Sons of Union soldiers arrangedfor the transfer of the soldiers’ remains to their homestate. Like other veterans of the armed forces, the CivilWar soldiers were eligible for burial in a VA-maintainednational cemetery.

Reaching out to returning troops in ArizonaMore than 9,000 active duty, National Guard and reserve mili-tary personnel have returned to Arizona after serving in Opera-tion Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom. To assistthem with a seamless transition from military to civilian life, VAfacilities throughout the state—medical centers, regional office,vet centers and national cemeteries—have formed the ArizonaOEF/OIF Summit.

Summit members Larry Johnson, of the Tucson Vet Cen-ter, and Annette Lavelle, of the Phoenix Vet Center, are OEF/

Independence Day concert for heroesRiverside National Cemetery in California hosted its annualFourth of July Concert for Heroes for an estimated crowd of4,000. The concert featured a mix of classical and patriotic mu-sic by the Inland Empire/Riverside County Philharmonic fol-

Civil War soldiers home at last

lowed by a fireworks display over the amphitheater lake.The annual event began in 2001 as part of a rededication

ceremony for the cemetery’s National Medal of Honor Memo-rial, when more than two dozen names were added to the me-morial. The event has since become a tradition in the commu-nity. During this year’s concert, Cemetery Director Gill Gallowelcomed two Medal of Honor recipients: retired Army Col.Lewis Millett and Tibor Rubin, a survivor of Hitler’s concen-tration camps and a prisoner of war during the Korean War.

VA/DoD joint venture a model

MARY WATERMAN

PAUL PAQUETTE

Dr. Alchristian Villaruz examines 17-month-old Alexandar Todd,the first pediatric patient seen at the North Chicago VA MedicalCenter, as nursing assistant Deborah Davis and Alexander’s fa-ther James look on. The boy’s mother, Jeannette, is in the Navy.

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A ‘golden moment’ in Biloxi

A “goldenmoment”was createdfor four pa-tients andtheir wivesby the staffof the VAGulf CoastVeteransHealth CareSystem inBiloxi, Miss.Staff mem-bers trans-formed theRecreationHall into aweddingchapel so that the four long-married couples could renewtheir vows on June 28. Tissue paper wedding bells, silverstreamers and white balloons created the backdrop forthe ceremony.

A flower girl sprinkled pale pink rose petals down thewedding aisle before the brides walked down the aislecarrying bouquets of white roses. The brides joined theirhusbands, who were already seated in front of the Rev.Anthony Menz, one of the chaplains at the facility, whoconducted the ceremony.

James and Dorothy Musgrove renewed their wed-ding vows after 36 years of marriage; Fondren and EvaWalsh after 53 years; Albert and Ruby McKinney after 56years; and Joseph and Lena Barbera after 67 years.

Following the ceremony, photographs were taken ofeach couple cutting their individual wedding cake. Familymembers, friends, fellow residents of the Alzheimer’s/De-mentia Unit, and staff members toasted the couples withsparkling cider.

Mark Finch, a social worker in the Alzheimer’s/De-mentia Unit, coordinated the logistics for family membersattending the event. He said it was “really touching to beable to witness such a joyous event.”

Linda Mitchell, the nurse manager of the unit, saidshe came up with the idea for the ceremony when thewife of a patient remarked to her that “there are so fewgolden moments in our golden years, especially when onespouse has Alzheimer’s.” Mitchell said she decided toplan the event with the staff because she thought it wouldbe a good memory for the couples.

The Healthier US/HealthierUS Veterans program withKing County Steps to Health was launched May 13 at theVA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle. Veteransand local citizens attending the event received freehealth screenings for diabetes, high blood pressure andcholesterol.

Experts were on hand to dispense advice on nutri-tion and fitness. Participants could also elect to walk onemile to the Columbia City Walks and Merchant Fair,above, where they could get their “passports” stampedat various venues. The event was designed to bringawareness to the public about the growing rates of obe-sity, diabetes and high blood pressure in America.

Beetle Bailey’s ‘Sarge’ signing on for strokeprevention campaignCartoonist Mort Walker, a World War II veteran and creator ofthe Beetle Bailey comic strip, donated custom cartoons for theVA Stroke Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI)Center to use as part of an education and prevention projectlaunched in May. The cartoons feature the Beetle Bailey charac-ter “Sarge” demonstrating behaviors considered high-risk forstroke, such as eating unhealthy foods and remaining sedentary,as well as some positive behaviors, such as eating fruit and walk-ing.

The colorful posters featuring Walker’s cartoons were dis-played during National Stroke Awareness Month in May inwaiting areas of selected VA sites in North/Central Florida andIndianapolis, Ind.

OIF veterans who are able to provide insight into the needs ofreturning servicemembers. The goal of the Summit is to en-hance communications, review shared services, and provide out-reach to servicemembers and their families. The Summit createda One VA package to distribute at outreach events and NationalGuard and reserve briefings. The package includes informationand contact information for all VA facilities and programs inArizona.

On the road to better health

GARY MODICK

Rev. Anthony Menz conducts a ceremony for(left to right) Joseph and Lena Barbera, renew-ing their wedding vows after 67 years of mar-riage; and Albert and Ruby McKinney, renewingtheir vows after 56 years of marriage.

CHRISTOPHER PACHECO

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National VeteransWheelchair Games:What It TakesEver wonder what it takes toput on the National VeteransWheelchair Games, an eventthat draws more than 500 ath-letes, plus families, friends, of-ficials, staff and volunteers?To get an idea, take a look atthese stats from the 26thGames, held July 3-8 in An-chorage, Alaska.■ 18,000 bottles of water■ 2,000 towels■ 27 ramps for loading and un-loading wheelchairs on buses(a total of 7,800 feet of ramp)■ 35 buses for transportingathletes and families■ Just under 2,000 Alaskanvolunteers (6,000 volunteershifts, totaling 2,400 hours inshifts; 6,000 meals for volun-teers)■ 800 hotel rooms for ath-letes, families, friends, offi-cials and staff■ 225,000-square-feet of tents■ 57 handcycles■ 30 quad rugby chairs■ 10 40-foot UPS trailers tobring equipment to Alaska■ 20,000-square-feet of ware-house space to store equip-ment in Anchorage

BOB PEDERSEN

Orlando Perez, an Army veteran from Or-lando, Fla., prepares to take a shot during abasketball game at this year’s National Vet-erans Wheelchair Games in Anchorage. Anative of Puerto Rico, Perez won the Spiritof the Games Award as the most inspira-tional athlete at last year’s Games in Minne-apolis. “The National Veterans WheelchairGames are life to me,” he says.