VA Puget Sound Unveils "Wall Of Heroes." KING-TV Seattle, WA (6/29, 6:36 p.m. PT) broadcast that the "VA Puget Sound Health in Seattle" recently "unveiled a 'Wall of Heroes' to honor veterans."
Impact: VA Puget Sound, Wall of Heroes

Homelessness Said To Be On The Rise For Iraq, Afghanistan Vets. The Los Angeles Times (6/29, Chong, 797K) said that while "veterans and homeless advocates have long grappled with homelessness in previous generations of veterans," Luis Pinto, who since the end of March "has been living" at the Salvation Army's shelter in Bell, California, "appears to be part of a new, building wave of the problem among those coming back from the latest wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." Toni Reinis, "the executive director of New Directions Inc.," an organization "that offers substance abuse treatment and other services to homeless veterans, said the number of clients from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars grew from 12 in 2007 to 24 in 2008." And in the "first six months of this year, the group has already seen 20, she said." The Times added, "New Directions and other organizations said they are working to put programs in place to deal with the expected increase in veterans needing help."
VA Funding Oversight Reportedly A Problem For Some Nonprofit Groups. In a related story, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (6/30, Rose, 268K) reports "complaints are not uncommon among nonprofit groups that see the oversight that comes with VA funding as a hindrance to helping homeless veterans." The VA "relies on nonprofit groups and faith-based organizations for much of its groundwork, but some are being driven away from seeking funding, organizers say." The VA, however, "is aware of such criticism and has an internal committee 'trying to make sure we're being reasonable,' said Pete Dougherty," the agency's homeless program coordinator.
Impact: Homeless Vets

US Army Ends Retiree Deployment Program. The Washington Times (6/30, Waterman, 74K) says the US Army is "ending a program that has allowed military retirees to volunteer for missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, disappointing many former service members who have embraced a second chance to serve their country." Lt. Col. George Wright, an Army spokesman who himself became a program participant in 2007, "said the program is being terminated because the Army had to reduce personnel to reach a congressionally mandated limit on the total number of soldiers." The Times notes that the program "was set up in 2002 under special wartime powers that enable the defense secretary to recall retirees."
Impact: End of retiree deployment

Speakers Stress Importance Of National Health Information Network. Government Health IT (6/30, Mosquera) reports, "The ability of providers to connect to each other through the national health information network," or NHIN, "equates directly to improved medical care for individuals, Dr. David Blumenthal, the national health IT coordinator, said" Monday at a seminar on the Federal "government's use and development of the NHIN." Other seminar "speakers offered testimonials about the value of a Federal-NHIN gateway," including Sarah Wade, the wife of an injured Iraq war veteran, who "said the ability for physicians to share vital information can make life simpler and safer for the patient. She detailed the real-life burdens she and her husband...experienced in getting care from 15 facilities, including the VA, DOD and private hospitals." Her husband's "care is detailed in 12 unconnected electronic health records, she said," although "she praised the level of care at VA and DOD facilities."
Impact: IT, Health Information

Doctor Defends Cancer Treatment Administered At Philadelphia VAMC. In continuing coverage, the Philadelphia Inquirer (6/30, Goldstein, McCullough, 339K) reports, "The doctor at the center of an investigation into medical errors in prostate cancer treatments" at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, "broke his silence" Monday "morning and mounted an aggressive defense of his actions. At a 'field' hearing" of the US Senate Veterans Affairs Committee called by US Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), Dr. Gary D. Kao, who is currently on leave of absence from the University of Pennsylvania, "defended the quality of the brachytherapy radiation program he said he established and led at the hospital." The Inquirer adds, "Kao stopped treating patients at both the VA hospital" and the University of Pennsylvania "after concerns were raised that 114 patients might have had improper amounts or placement of tiny radioactive seeds to destroy prostate cancer cells."
The New York Times (6/30, A10, Bogdanich, 1.06M) says Kao, "whom regulators accuse of mishandling scores of radioactive seed implants" at the Philadelphia VAMC, told the committee during Monday's hearing "that while he 'could have done better' with some implants, his patients over all received effective treatment for their prostate cancer." After pointing out the Philadelphia VAMC problems "prompted a wider investigation" of VA "facilities, leading to the temporary suspension of...brachytherapy" at "three other veterans hospitals," the Times notes that Dr. Gerald M. Cross, VA's acting under secretary of health, "said his agency had failed to uncover the problem sooner because complications from radiation did not immediately appear and because the program had been accredited by two organizations, including the American College of Radiation Oncology." But US Rep. John Adler (D-NJ) "said after the hearing" he was "very troubled" that the VA "could not offer a better explanation."
The AP (6/30, Dale) reports Kao "admits he sometimes missed his target when placing radioactive seeds or gave patients the wrong dosage," but "he says that is not uncommon." The AP also runs a longer version of this story, and includes coverage of it in its AP (6/30) "New Brief" column, which notes the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) "has found that 92 of 116 men treated" in the Philadelphia VAMC's "brachytherapy program received incorrect doses of...radiation seeds, often because they landed in nearby organs or surrounding tissue rather than the prostate. Kao performed the majority of the procedures under a VA contract with the University of Pennsylvania, where he was on staff."
The Philadelphia Business Journal (6/30, Cancryn) notes that during Monday's hearing, Kao "said...he neglected to inform patients when mistakes were made during" brachytherapy operations, but Kao "maintained his innocence, blaming the NRC's lack of clear regulation and procedural guidelines for his failure to report the mistakes." However, "Steven Reynolds, the NRC's representative, refuted Kao's claims. He said that, since 1972, the NRC has enforced clear guidelines regarding radiation treatments," but Rep. Adler "chastised Kao's conduct and the lack of supervision by the hospital and the NRC." Two "other lawmakers," Sen. Specter and US Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), "shared Adler's sentiments about the lack of oversight." Meanwhile, Dr. Richard Whittington, "the medical center's chief of radiation oncology, assured the committee that all of the hospital's programs are undergoing review to prevent any more mistakes."
NRC Official Cites "Lack Of A Strong Safety Culture" At VA Hospital. The WHYY-FM Philadelphia, PA (6/29, MacDonald) website also covered this story, as did WPVI-TV Philadelphia, PA (6/29, 11:16 p.m. ET) and WTXF-TV Philadelphia, PA (6/29, 10:15 p.m. ET), which showed the NRC's Reynolds saying at Monday's hearing that what his agency has "seen and...documented" in its inspection report "is a lack of a strong safety culture...at the VA Philadelphia." WTXF added, "VA officials admit the surgeries continued for six long years. The VA says despite two investigations, it got the clearance to keep operating so it did." The VA "finally halted the procedures last year after the problems kept mounting. Another hearing is scheduled in DC for next week." The KYW-AM Philadelphia, PA (6/29, Tawa) website, meanwhile, noted that at Monday's hearing, the VA's Cross "promised better patient disclosure, training, and oversight."
Claim Filed Against VA. The Philadelphia Inquirer (6/30, McCullough, 339K) says Mitchell Paul, a lawyer representing Barry Lackro, "one of the 92 veterans that the Philadelphia VA admits received too little radiation -- or too much -- from radioactive brachytherapy seed implants done between 2002 and 2008," has "filed a claim against the VA."
Impact: Philadelphia VA, cancer treatments