Spread the Word, 2 Bend Events August 13th

Two events that are important to get the word out about. The first is:

The Great Giveaway

August 13, 2011

8:00 am-1:00 pm

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

2555 NW Shevlin Park Rd in Bend

They will have clothing, shoes, bedding, towels, rugs, curtains, toys, books, small appliances, dishes, silverware, utensils, some furniture, purses, bags, and holiday items. If you ride the bus, the #3 will drop you off at the corner of Mt. Washington and Shevlin Park. Everything is free!

Donations are being accepted and can be dropped off at the church on the 11th and 12th from noon to 8 pm.

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And the second is:

A full day of  Services for at-risk and homeless Veterans called a-

Stand Down

August 13, 2011

8:00 am- 4:00 pm

 Bend Community Center

1036 SE 5th St

(Behind the Humane Society Thrift Shop)

This is a Veterans only event

Free transportation to/from Madras, Prineville, La Pine, and Bend

For more information and details, call COVO at 541-383-2793 or Steve at 541-350-3802

Veterans can come down any time between 8:00 am- 4:00 pm. There will be representatives from:

• Disabled Veterans Outreach Program (DVOP)
• Central Oregon Vet Center
•  Veterans Services Officers (VSO)
• Bend VA Clinic
• Local Veterans Employer Rep (LVER)
• VA HUD-VASH Housing Program Manager

Additional services provided by NeighborImpact, Red Cross and Bend Community Center. There’s a lot  more services offered free to veterans!  If  you’re couch surfing or are having problems please come this was meant for you!

This event was made possible by Central Oregon Veteran’s Outreach receiving a grant from the federal government. We’re real excited about this. It’s the first one held in Central Oregon and hopefully not the last!

Warrior Games Televised May 16th-21st

The second annual Warrior Games will take place Monday, May 16th through the 21st. I received confirmation The Pentagon Channel will be covering the games beginning with Opening Ceremonies May 16, through the finals and Closing Ceremonies, May 21. Results and features will be broadcast on “Around the Services”, their daily newscast, which airs at 12:30, 3:30 and 5:30 pm EDT.  The show is streamed live at www.pentagonchannel.mil and is posted on the site later each afternoon. On Friday, May 21 the entire show will air live from the Olympic Training Center, where most of the competitions are held. Also, on Friday, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) announced that VERSUS, part of the NBC Sports Group, will air a  2011 Warrior Games special presented by Deloitte on Saturday, June 18, at 7 p.m. ET and will re-air the program on Tuesday, June 21, at 5:00 p.m. ET.  Coverage of the event will also be carried on the official U.S. Paralympics website, USParalympics.org.

Roughly 200 disabled active-duty service members and military veterans will compete.  According to a Department of Defense article, “the competition is open to military members and veterans with bodily injuries as well as mental wounds of war, such as post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.” The events are shooting, swimming, archery, track and field, cycling, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball.

2010 Warrior Games poster

Department of Defense Warrior Games site

A profile of one of the participants

Glunta to Light Warrior Games Torch

Warrior Games on Facebook

The Army will be represented by 100 competitors, chosen out of a pool of more than 9,000 active-duty soldiers recovering in Warrior Transition Units. The Marine Corps will send 50 competitors, the Air Force will send 25, and the Coast Guard and Navy will combine to send 25. The 2011 teams are listed below.

• Air Force Team
• Army Team
• Navy/Coast Guard Team
• Marine Team

In Central Oregon we have at least a couple of nonprofits which help veterans get back in the game.  One is Oregon Adaptive Sports and the other is Central Oregon Project Healing Waters. And, the national nonprofit Wounded Warrior program helps get wounded veterans into a lot of sports.

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Follow up to the games.

War veterans show Games can play important part in recovery

Paralympic Military Sports Camps

Gaining a New Perspective

“Heroes in Sisters” Event for Veterans with Physical Disabilities March 4th-6th

Know any Central Oregon veterans with physical disabilities who would be interested in a weekend of camaraderie and using adaptive ski equipment up at Hoodoo courtesy of Oregon Adaptive Sports (OAS)?

March 4,5,6 2011 the fourth annual, “Heroes in Sisters” event for Armed Forces Men & Women past or present with physical disabilities will be held March 4^th, 5^th or 6^th. The event is being sponsored by Oregon Adaptive Sports (OAS), Hoodoo Ski Area & the Central Oregon Community. In cooperation with DS/USA Wounded Warrior Project, these organizations have come together to say “Thank you”’ and show our appreciation to these veterans and for their commitment and their sacrifices made defending our freedom.

They will be hosting Oregon’s injured and disabled Veterans for a day of snow riding with their adaptive Equipment and Instructors, 3 nights lodging (with spouse, friend or family member). It will include a Meet-n-Greet the Evening of the March 4th, a ski day and celebration the evening of the March 5th. March 6th is an open day and night to relax and enjoy Central Oregon all with their complements.

Please Note: This event is for Current or Former Armed Service members with physical disabilities and space is limited. If you have questions about eligibility, for more information, or to register for the event contact Kevin McCormack at 541-280-0820, or email kmack@satellitetrans.com You can also sponsor a disabled vets by making a tax-deductible donation in any amount. Again, contact Kevin McCormack.

The Bulletin wrote an article about the event you can find here.

Getting into sports is helpful in successful rehabilitation and a  great confidence builder for veterans who were severely wounded in the line of duty. The slogan of the Disable Sports USA is, “If I can do this I can do anything!”

In addition, OAS and Hoodoo Ski Resort would like to invite all other Armed Forces men and women, past or present, to join their fellow Heroes on Saturday March 5th by offering them $29 discounted lift tickets for the day with their Armed Forces Identification.

I’ll just throw in this article for future reference:

Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Oregon veterans head to Paralympic Games

 

VA Adding Three Health Issues to Agent Orange List

Somebody visited my blog looking for information about updates in diseases that were after effects of exposure to agent orange. Well, I hadn’t heard anything. If I haven’t heard anything about it, I doubt you have. So, I went looking around and here is what I found out:

According to the Business Wire , three new health issues have been identified as the results of exposure to agent orange which was used during the Viet Nam war.  “The regulation adds Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease to the list of presumptive disorders associated with Agent Orange and will expand chronic lymphocytic leukemia to include all chronic B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia.” the Business wire said. Many veterans are potentially eligible for retroactive disability payments based on past claims. The article said, the “VA will review approximately 90,000 previously denied claims from Vietnam veterans for service-connection status for the conditions.”  This applies to veterans who served in Vietnam anytime from Jan. 9, 1962, to May 7, 1975. To read Business Wire’s full article go here.

There is a 60 day review period before it goes into effect. If you would like to find out if you can put in a claim or have yours reviewed call:

• Central Oregon Veterans Outreach (COVO) 541-383-2793
• Central Oregon Vet Center 541-647-5276
• Bend Va Outpatient Clinic 1-800-949-1004

Please tell them you read about it in The Central Oregon Veteran.

You can find a short interview (a little over 3 minutes) with VA Secretary Eric Shinseki here at the American Legion Convention.  He spoke about reducing the backlog of claims and the new guidelines. There is also an article.

If you would like the full details in the Federal Register, you can find them here. It starts at the bottom of the middle column. It runs from page 53202 to 53216.  The Federal Register is the official journal of the Federal Government of the United States that contains most routine publications and public notices of government agencies. It is a daily (except holidays) publication.

Of course in these economic times, there is some concern about the added cost to the VA budget. An article at politico.com presents some of those issues. You can read it here.  And, NPR ran an article as well. You can read it here.

9.17.2010 NPR ran another story.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) to Undergo Clinical Trials for TBI Starting January 2011

I have heard of a new way but controversial way of treating TBI and PTSD. It’s called hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). The patient has a number (usually 40 or 80) of hour to an hour and a half long sessions in a high pressure pure oxygen environment,  the type they use for divers who have the bends (see an article about hyperbaric oxygen therapy here). The whole process takes under a year.

It was mentioned as a new innovative treatment for TBI and PTSD at a round table discussion in the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs. It also can help heal  the ulcerated foot wounds of diabetics (Dr Harch in his testimony below shows some images of such a foot that are amazing on pages 13 and 14).

You will find the press release about the meeting here.

Prepared testimony and a link to the webcast are available at this link. The webcast can be found in the upper right portion of the screen- Dr. Harch starts speaking at 15 minutes. And, again at one hour six minutes.

And the testimony of Dr. Paul G. Harch on behalf of The International Hyperbaric Medical Association can be found here. I found his testimony very interesting.

New clinical trials start in January 2011, information about them can be found here.

If you are interested in participating in the government trials, you can find information here.

There are hazards to the treatment which you can find here (scroll down and you will find the section about the hazards).

And, one more article that’s interesting is here

John Salcedo made an award winning 44 minute film “Brain Storm: Oxygen Under Pressure”

I have found out the Boise VA center does not have a Hyperbaric Chamber and I need to call the Portland VA to find out if they do.

Bend Memorial Clinic has one or is getting one because they are looking for a technician.

Obama Speaks of VA Changes at DAV Convention

The President at the convention of Disabled American Veterans, White House Photo, Pete Souza

Today, the President spoke at the Disabled American Veterans convention in Atlanta. Most of the major news sources focused on his comments about Iraq and Afghanistan, which was the first half of the speech. In the second half , he addressed what changes have been made at the VA and what is happening in the future. Below is a summary of his remarks from the second half of the speech taken from the full text in, The Wall Street Journal.

The President speaks of , “our commitment to cut those backlogs, slash those wait times, and deliver your benefits sooner.”  To this end, they are working on a, “single lifetime electronic record that our troops and veterans can keep for life.” He said veterans will be able to download their personnel health records directly from the VA website starting this fall. To speed the claims process along Obama said, they are hiring thousands of new claims processors and , “reforming the claims process itself, with new information technologies and paperless systems.” Veterans will also be able to, “check the status of their claims on-line and from their cell phones.” He went on to say that changes to the rules should make it easier for Viet Nam vets who have chronic diseases because of exposure to Agent Orange to get health care and benefits. Along the same line for Desert Storm veterans, “nine infectious diseases are now presumed to be related to your service”. 

 He spoke of stopping required co-pays for catastrophically disabled veterans and for severely disabled vets there is legislation in the works that, “would allow severely disabled retirees to receive your military retired pay and VA disability benefits.” 

Other issues in the works are ending homelessness for veterans and a design contest is bringing the best minds into service to develop the best technologies to overcome traumatic injuries. And, more support for the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are transitioning back home.  PTSD and TBI were also mentioned.

If you would like to read the speech in its entirety you will find it here. Or, if you would like to listen to it, it’s right below. The part about veterans starts at about 20 minutes.

Trips to Portland VA Medical Center Still to Have Same Day Reimbursement- Temporarily

According to The Bulletin, the Veterans Affairs Department will still temporarily provide same day reimbursement for travel expenses to the Portland VA Medical Center. This occured after loud protests from the VA community and Oregon law makers. 

In 2008, in response to dramatically increasing gas prices (the record high in Oregon was $4.29 in July of 2008 according to fuelgaugereport.com), the amount the VA would reimburse for travel increased from 11 cents per mile to 41.5 cents a mile. An example of the amount reimbursed is, from La Pine to the Hospital and back is 378 miles for a reimbursment of $41.58 at 11 cents per mile and $156.87  at 41.5 cents per mile. The number of vets asking for same day reimbursements increased.  According to the Bulletin, the VA announced earlier this year that they were going to stop the practice of same day reimbursements to discourage fraud. But, it said, if the veteran could show a need they could get same day reimbursement.

Some veterans need to make multiple trips during a month, some even weekly. This can cause a bottle neck of funds, stranding the veteran or discouraging them from making the trip at all.

The closing of same day reimbursements is only delayed, The Bulletin said while there is a review of the impact the new policy would have.

A press release dated July 13th from Senator Ron Wyden’s office  stated that the Senator had secured a commitment from the new Portland VA Director,  John Patrick that he will, “address concerns over a backlog of Fee Basis appeals stretching back more than two years as well as what appears to be improper charging of third-party health insurance for service-related care. The Director has also committed to exploring ways to maintain systems that allow for immediate reimbursement for travel expenses.”   You can read the entire press release here. And, a link to contact Senator Wyden is on the left hand side of that page.

Veterans Program Project Healing Waters Coming to Central Oregon

In the near future, a chapter Project Healing Waters, a program which assists in the healing of veterans through the enjoyment of and recreation in the outdoors will be started here in Central Oregon. The national website  of Project Healing Waters states the group is, “dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active military service personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education and going on outings” The Canadian branch of Project Healing Water‘s slogan is, “Rehabilitation and Healing on the Fly “.

In March of 2007, NPR ran the following series of stories about soldiers taking part in the program.

• Healing Waters; A Soldier’s Recovery, via Fishing
• Casting a Line, Making a Recovery: Neil Frustaglio
• An Injured Sergeant Goes with Life’s Flow
• Disabled Veteran: ‘We Get Where We Need to Go’

Orvis Casting Course in Bend, Oregon

Brad Emery, along with many other people, have been working for several months to get the project up and running . He said a number of people and businesses have come forward with offers to help. The Orvis store in The Old Mill will be providing a classroom for the fly tying, rods for casting instruction and use of their (only one of its kind in North America) casting course. Fly and Field Outfitters and Deep Canyon Outfitters are interested in helping. Owners have offered the use of private lakes.  He went on to say, they are working on acquiring some adaptive equipment to aid veterans who need it to tie flies.

Vets can be in a wheel chair, have PTSD or be an amputee and take part in the program, Brad said. The Bend Chapter will be out of the ordinary  because, there is not a VA hospital close by. He said, “Ours will be more of an out patient group, hopefully to follow up where the groups at the hospitals left off and a link to other Project Healing Waters groups and have them come and see Oregon’s finest.”

They will start out with one or two events and build up to an on-going, long term program. He said, all they are waiting on is confirmation of their affiliation with Trout Unlimited  (to provide an umbrella nonprofit status) before they begin taking vets referred from the Bend VA.

July 20, 2010 I recieved word from Chuck at COVO that they got the confirmation and are working out some details so they can start the program!

If you would like to help, have questions or would like further information you may contact Brad at bdemery1@aol.com.    Their website is located here.

This is a video montage from the National website of Project Healing Waters