AFGE Local 3197 provides representation for bargaining unit members of VA Puget Sound Health Care Service (PSHCS), Seattle Division and Veterans Affairs Regional Office (VARO).

AFGE is the largest federal employee union representing 600,000 federal and D.C. government workers across the nation and overseas.

The headquarters of AFGE is located in Washington, D.C. AFGE is divided into 12 districts, Local 3197 is in District 11 and the National President is John Gage.

Local 3197's office is located at the Seattle Division of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System.

VA Regional Office (VARO) is located at 915 2nd Avenue Room 1050, Seattle, WA 98174 220-6718 x2781 (fax 220-6240)

Dedication Ceremony To Be Held For New VA Clinic In Washington State. The Tacoma (WA) News Tribune (7/1, Relyea) reports, "A dedication ceremony for a long-awaited medical clinic for veterans is set for Thursday, July 2, on the second floor of the Mount Vernon Medical Building at 307 S. 13th St." The "ceremony for the Department of Veterans Affairs' new Community Based Outpatient Clinic," which "opened May 18 near Skagit Valley Hospital," is scheduled to run from "10:30 a.m. to noon. Featured speakers will include" US Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and US Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA), "who spearheaded the effort to expand VA medical services."
Impact: Mount Vernon CBOC

VA, Military Urged To Do More To Reduce Smoking Rates. In continuing coverage, the Air Force Times (7/1, Kennedy) reports, "Medical experts say they have a solution for the military's increasing smoking rates: Ban it," because, according "to the Committee on Smoking Cessation in Military and Veteran Populations, in a report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, the math just doesn't add up for an organization that depends on physical fitness from its employees." The Times notes that it "cost the Veterans Affairs Department $5 billion to treat smoking-related emphysema in 2008, and in 2006, the Military Health System spent about $564 million on tobacco-related costs." And although the "committee determined both the Defense Department and VA are doing some things right - such as anti-smoking campaigns and, for the VA, smoking-cessation programs - they're far behind on other measures," such as making their healthcare facilities smoke-free. The committee did acknowledge, however, "that the military and VA face special challenges: Troops tend to take up smoking when they deploy, and cigarettes are highly addictive," which "means they're less likely to stop when they get home." In addition, "people with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to smoke."
Impact: VA, DoD, Smoking Cessation

Kao Says He Will Not Be A "Scapegoat" For Problems At Philadelphia VAMC. In continuing coverage, the Philadelphia Inquirer (7/1, Goldstein, 339K) reports, "The doctor accused of giving the wrong radiation dose to dozens of prostate-cancer patients" at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center "defended himself" Monday "for the first time, saying that many critics fail to understand the complexity of the treatments. Just because patients didn't get the prescribed radiation dose doesn't mean their care was ineffective," Dr. Gary D. Kao told a US Senate hearing in Philadelphia. Kao "admitted problems with the program and said he shared some blame, but 'I am not willing to be the scapegoat for the complex, systematic problems.'" Kao "also said there was no definition of what constitutes a radiation-dosage mistake and when it should be reported." But Steven Reynolds of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission "disputed Kao's testimony, saying that the agency had long required reports when the dose is more than 20 percent off from what the doctor prescribed. And errant seed placement -- which Kao contended is commonplace -- is in fact rare in other programs, Reynolds said." The Inquirer adds that VA and NRC probes of the Philadelphia VAMC's prostate cancer treatment program "are expected to be completed later this summer."
The fourth item in the Washington Times' (7/1) "Washington in 5 minutes" column also notes Kao's testimony, as does the Boston Globe's (6/30, Cooney) "White Coat Notes" blog, as well as a report aired by KETK-TV
Impact: Philadelphia VA, cancer treatments