Wednesday, November 17, 2010

PVA Opens New Augusta Center to Help Paralyzed Veterans

November 17, 2010 01:30 PM Eastern Time

New Augusta Center to Help Reduce Paralyzed Veterans’ Unemployment Rate

Augusta Vocational Rehabilitation Center Will Work With Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Center to Provide Injured Veterans with the Skills They Need To Secure Solid Careers

AUGUSTA, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paralyzed Veterans of America:

Center Opening and Press Conference


WHAT:


Paralyzed Veterans of America is opening its newest Vocational Rehabilitation Center in Augusta, GA. This center, located at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, will work in conjunction with their spinal cord injury unit to provide both physical rehabilitation as well as vocational training to ensure that injured veterans enhance their skills and secure solid careers. The center also develops relationships with local businesses that express a desire to hire these dedicated and hard working Americans.

Based at the Spinal Cord Unit of the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, the vocational center—the fourth of its kind—is being established through an innovative public-private partnership between Paralyzed Veterans, Agility Defense & Government Services (Agility DGS), and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The new center will support veterans from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida.


INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS:
Media are invited to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony with current veteran participants in the physical and vocational rehabilitation process, vocational counselors, Paralyzed Veterans of America and VA officials, members of the Augusta Chamber of Commerce, and senior managers from Agility Defense & Government Services.

Reporters will have access to the physical as well as vocational rehabilitation centers and can interview selected participants including vocational counselors and veterans in the physical and vocational programs.


WHEN:


Thursday, November 18, 2010


10:00 AM Opening Ceremony


10:20 AM Interview opportunities


10:40 AM Tours of the vocational and rehabilitation centers
(Note: interview times and tours are flexible based on reporter needs)


WHO:


Local injured veteran and vocational program participant, Kenneth Dixon


OIF/OEF veteran and vocational program participant, Chris Sullivan


Chairman of the Board of Directors, Augusta Chamber of Commerce, Phil Wahl


National President, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Bill Lawson


Vice President, Agility Defense & Government Services, Rich Brooks


WHERE:
Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center
950 15th Street, Augusta, GA


Contact:
Matt Scherbel
202-857-2204
301-233-9257


scherbem@fleishman.com

Minnesota Veteran Homes Administrator Retaliation Against Residents, Reminiscent of Cold War Russian Tactics

Full article at: Minn. Veterans Home Officials Suspended for Allegedly Punishing Residents Who Complain

Published November 16, 2010

Louie Klimek

Top administrators of a Minnesota veterans home have been suspended for allegedly retaliating against veterans who complained about their quality of care.

Problems at the Veterans Home in Hastings were first discovered this summer by the Veterans Affairs Department's inspector general after a veteran staying at the home complained to Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.

The whistleblower said administrators went as far as to swap one veteran's medication, then tried to have that veteran committed to a mental health facility because they thought he was complaining about his care to a local reporter, MyFoxTwinCities.com reported.

A few months later, the inspector general's July investigation revealed a pattern of unethical behavior.

"Staff feared losing their jobs and patients feared retaliation in the form of violation of resident rights for voicing concerns," the director of the VA Medical Center said in a September response to the Inspector General's inquiry.

Veteran Louie Klimek, whose case triggered the investigation, says he was just giving an interview to a reporter about woodworking, when he was retaliated against roughly a year and a half ago.

He says the home's top administrator, Chip Cox, mistakenly assumed Klimek, known as being a squeaky wheel, was complaining about his care.

"Chip Cox came into my room and said the interview was over and had police there, and came and took me to Regions Hospital," he told MyFoxTwinCities.com.

Klimek, who had lived at the home for seven years, stayed in the hospital's psych unit for six weeks, as administrators tried to get him civilly committed as mentally ill and dangerous, the station reported. When that failed, Klimek says, they tried a second time, even changing his medication without his knowledge.

PTSD More Than Doubles Risk for Cardiovascular Death

Full Article at: Post-traumatic stress disorder linked to death, atherosclerosis in veterans
November 17, 2010

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) more than doubles a veteran's risk of death from any cause and is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010.

PTSD is more than a psychological disorder, and the study suggests that physicians should provide early and aggressive evaluation and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with PTSD, said Naser Ahmadi, M.D., M.S., and Ramin Ebrahimi, M.D., co-principal investigators of the study. PTSD is a cluster of symptoms that can include emotional numbing, avoidance of certain situations, hyperarousal, sleep disruptions and impaired concentration.

"This study for the first time appears to point to the mechanism for the cardiovascular part of that excess mortality risk: accelerated atherosclerosis," said Ahmadi, a research scientist at the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center. "Our trial is the first to make a direct association between PTSD and atherosclerotic coronary disease as measured by coronary artery calcification (CAC), a standard test that is commonly used in studies such as ours because it can be measured non-invasively."


"Among veterans with calcium buildup, those with PTSD had a 48 percent greater risk of death from any cause and a 41 percent greater risk of death due to cardiovascular disease compared to non-PTSD veterans."


"The study's findings are important because they show that PTSD predicts death independently of known cardiovascular risk factors, Ahmadi said. "We also believe we have found a mechanism by which PTSD could increase the risk of cardiovascular events via atherosclerosis. If we focus on early detection and management of cardiovascular risk factors in veterans with PTSD, we might be able to delay the onset of cardiovascular disease."