NOVEMBER 2, 2009

Illinois Lawmakers Seek Meeting With Shinseki On Troubled VAMC.

  The AP (11/3) reports that according to a report from the VA's Inspector General, "problems continue" at the VA Medical Center in Marion, Illinois, "more than two years after the facility had at least nine deaths from substandard care." The report, which covers fiscal 2009, says the facility "had continued problems with monitoring doctors, reporting deaths and controlling infections. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin says it's inexcusable that the problems continue, and he's asked for a meeting with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki."
Impact: Marion, Illinois VAMC

White House Video Features First Lady, Jill Biden Honoring Vets At World Series.

  Major League Baseball (11/3, Newman) reports on its website on a new "one-of-a-kind video" produced by the White House "that takes you behind the scenes of the visit by first lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of the Vice President, on that unforgettable first night when Major League Baseball got it all started by honoring veterans for Game 1 at Yankee Stadium. The video starts in the motorcade on that rainy afternoon, when the pair, along with Major League Baseball executives, visited US military veterans at a local Bronx V.A. hospital."
Impact: World Series, First Lady, Veterans appreciation

October's Jump In Active-Duty Suicides Seen As Worrying Military Experts.

  The Wall Street Journal (11/3, A15, Dreazen, 2.08M) reports that in October, 16 US soldiers killed themselves while on duty abroad or domestically, bringing the 2009 total of active-duty suicides to 134 and indicating that the 2008 record of 140 active-duty may be broken. Now, as the Obama Administration is considering deploying more troops to Afghanistan, some military experts worry that longer deployments and decreased time between deployments could contribute further to rising suicide rates. An ongoing suicide-prevention effort by the US Army has shown some modest effects, but officials from the Army are still trying to ascertain if October's suicide figures were anomalous or indicative of a true rise in the number of military suicides.
Impact: Active duty suicides