VA Efforts Earn Praise For Shinseki.  The Waynesville (MO) Daily Guide (10/2) reports Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander Thomas J. Tradewell Sr. "has voiced support of the secretary's decision. 'We are extremely pleased with Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki's announcement that VA is moving positively in response to recent reports of veterans experiencing financial difficulty or problems enrolling for college classes since the implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill,' said...Tradewell," who added, "This clearly demonstrates Secretary Shinseki's concern and willingness to take action on behalf of the student veteran community."
      The Ontario (OR) Argus Observer (10/1) noted, "'It is heartening to see'" Secretary Shinseki "'and his department responding so swiftly and decisively to this unfortunate situation,' The American Legion National Commander Clarence E. Hill said. 'This is a brand new benefits program, instituted just weeks ago, so some startup glitches are to be expected, but the VA's willingness to rectify the problem should be applauded.'"
      The Ogden (UT) Standard Examiner (10/1. Shaw) reported, "'It's a very aggressive program,' said Terry Schow, executive director of the Utah Department of Veterans Affairs, of the post 9/11 GI Bill. 'And sadly, there is a backlog to get these payments out,'" but Secretary Shinseki "has really stepped up to the plate to help these vets get the money they need."
      The Springfield (MO) News-Leader (10/1) also took note of the emergency payments, as did the Killeen (TX) Daily Herald (10/1, LaFlure), which reported, "The VA was just not prepared. There's no way they could be,' said Barbara Merlo, spokeswoman for Central Texas College," who added, "They were writing the rules while trying to implement the program. It doubled their caseload overnight."
      The St. Cloud (MN) Times (10/1, Marohn) noted, "Media outlets have been reporting that thousands of veterans attending college are having to take out loans, put off textbook purchases and dip into savings because of delayed benefit checks." Kathie Goenner, the "veterans affairs certifying official" for St. Cloud State University, "said a few students have contacted her about delayed payments. Most are aware that the funding can be slow and have savings they can use in the meantime, she said."
      The West Virginia Public Broadcasting (10/2, Adducchio) website reports, "Thousands of veterans are expected to wait in long lines for their checks at 57 regional offices starting Friday. Some West Virginia vets are anxiously waiting for the financial help," and Skip Gebhart, the administrator of the Office of Veterans Programs at the State Higher Education Policy Commission, "thinks $3,000 is sufficient. 'I think by the time the VA gets the payments processed, that's about what they would owe most students in West Virginia anyway,' he said."
      The Lawrence (KS) Journal-World (10/1, Hyland) noted that Felix Zacharias, president of the Kansas University (KU) Collegiate Veterans Association, "said he understood that the VA was swamped, but appreciated the availability of the upcoming emergency funds." He also "said that he...had heard from a number of KU veterans facing eviction or are unable to pay monthly bills."
      Groups Warn VA's Initial "Fumbling" Could "Ruin" Its Reputation Among Newest Vets.  The Houston Chronicle (10/2, Wise) reports, "Payment delays represent a major setback for a program that launched with great fanfare Aug. 1." And now, "veterans groups warn the VA's fumbling of the new GI Bill could ruin the agency's reputation among America's newest generation of veterans."
      The KPBS-TV San Diego, CA (10/1, St. John) website, meanwhile, reported, "San Diego Congressman Bob Filner said the VA has known about the deadline for months. He said it's a bureaucratic problem. 'We're going to try to get emergency money in the hands of students immediately,'" and "then fix this problem so that everybody -- the universities and the students -- get their checks on time."
      Milwaukee One Of 57 VA Regional Offices Distributing Checks.  The Wisconsin State Journal (10/2, Ziff) reports, "The Milwaukee office of the Department of Veterans Affairs will be handing out emergency checks Friday and Saturday to students who are eligible for benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill but have not yet received them. The VA has a backlog of about 25,000 claims nationwide, said Thomas Braun, with the Milwaukee VA regional office." Braun "didn't know how many in Wisconsin are awaiting benefits." Milwaukee "is one of 57 VA regional offices nationwide distributing checks to eligible students."
Impact: G.I. Bill emergency payments

Shinseki Said To Have Made PTSD A Priority For VA.  In a web exclusive, Newsweek (10/1, Reno) reports, "By one estimate, more than 300,000 of the nearly 2 million" US "servicemen and -women deployed since 9/11 suffer from the often-debilitating condition" of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The "number of cases is expected to climb as the war in Afghanistan continues, and could ultimately exceed 500,000, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University." The Department of Veterans Affairs "has struggled to address this mental-health crisis, and thousands of veterans have suffered as a result. Now," however, "thanks to new leadership and a new openness to collaboration, things appear to be changing at the VA, if slowly. Veterans still often face insufferably long waits for treatment and steep bureaucratic hurdles when filing disability claims," but "there is a new sense of urgency under" VA Secretary Eric Shinseki "to change the culture within the 77-year-old" department. Shinseki "has made PTSD a priority, with efforts underway to address concerns from the way claims are processed to the development of new, more effective treatments. 'Brain injuries and the psychological consequences of battle are not new to combat,' Shinseki tells NEWSWEEK. 'We know from past wars that with early diagnosis and treatment, people can get better.'" Newsweek adds, however, "Most veterans interviewed for this" story "agree...that the VA has a long way to go."
Impact: PTSD

VHA Seen As Evidence That Government Can Provide Quality Care.  Bloomberg News (10/2, Jensen) reports, "As Congress considers changing Americans' access" to healthcare, the Veterans Health Administration, "whose projected budget this year is $45 billion, is evidence that the government can provide care favored by patients that may offer savings when compared with private insurers. Researchers publishing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the British Medical Journal and the Annals of Internal Medicine in recent years have endorsed the system," but "a May 2008 Harvard School of Public Health survey found that three out of five Americans don't believe Iraq War veterans get high-quality care. Stories of long waits are common, and some connect the department to the moldy, rodent-infested housing exposed in 2007 at Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a facility run by the Defense Department, not Veterans Affairs." Patients, however, "routinely rank the veterans system above the alternatives, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index."
Impact: VHA as a model for national health care