Veterans
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
First announced two years ago as part of the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative, VA oncologists have now used IBM Watson for Genomics technology to support precision oncology care for more than 2,700 veterans with cancer.
Precision oncology is the practice of biologically directed cancer care. For example, the mutations in a cancer's genome (the cancer's DNA) can significantly impact the treatment options available to treat that cancer and the likely outcomes after treatment. By knowing the cancer genome, oncologists and patients are able to choose therapies that specifically target the patient's cancer.
VA’s precision oncology program primarily supports stage 4 cancer patients who have exhausted other treatment options. The partnership extension with IBM will enable VA oncologists to continue using Watson for Genomics through at least June 2019.
“Our mission with VA’s precision oncology program is to bring the most advanced treatment opportunities to Veterans, in hopes of giving our nation’s heroes better treatments through these breakthroughs,” said Acting VA Secretary Peter O’Rourke. “We look forward to continuing this strategic partnership to assist VA in providing the best care for our veterans.”
VA treats 3.5 percent of the nation’s cancer patients – the largest group of cancer patients within any one health-care group. In order to bring precision oncology advances to this large group of patients, with equal access available anywhere in the country, VA established a central “hub” in Durham, North Carolina.
In this facility, a small group of oncologists and pathologists receive tumor samples from patients nationwide and sequence the tumor DNA. They then use AI – the ability of a computer program or a machine to think and learn – to help interpret the genomic data, identifying relevant mutations and potential therapeutic options that target those mutations.
More than one-third of the patients who have benefited from VA’s precision oncology program are veterans from rural areas where it has traditionally been difficult to deliver cutting-edge medical breakthroughs.
“VA is leading the nation to scale and spread the delivery of high-quality precision oncology care, one Veteran at a time,” said Dr. Kyu Rhee, chief health officer for IBM Watson Health. “It is incredibly challenging to read, understand and stay up-to-date with the breadth and depth of the medical literature, and link them to relevant mutations for personalized cancer treatments. This is where AI can play an important role in helping to scale precision oncology, as demonstrated in our work with VA, the largest integrated health system in the U.S.”
For more information about the VA’s precision oncology program, visit https://www.research.va.gov/pubs/varqu/spring2016/4.cfm.
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
VA introduced VEText in March and 138 VA facilities are currently using the automated interactive text-message system, which reminds veterans of upcoming health care appointments, allowing them easily to confirm or cancel the event.
“Every missed appointment represents a lost opportunity to provide faster access to care for a veteran in need,” said VA’s Acting Secretary Peter O’Rourke. “VEText underscores VA’s commitment to digital modernization and represents a milestone in putting more user-friendly capabilities in the hands of Veterans and our employees.”
According to the Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Veterans Access to Care, as of July 9, more than 3.24 million patients have received VEText messages and canceled 319,504 appointments, freeing up time slots for other veterans to use.
Veterans who have previously used the VA health-care system – with a cell phone number listed in their electronic health records – are automatically enrolled in VEText.
Veterans can update their phone numbers during the check-in or check-out process for an appointment, at any kiosk.
VEText is integrated with VA’s electronic health records system and does not require manual action by VA staff.
Appointments are automatically scheduled and canceled via text message, freeing staff to provide more personalized care to veterans.
“VEText has changed the way we communicate with our veteran patients,” said John Ullyot, VA Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. “Veterans appreciate the convenient, user-friendly system and understand this technology not only helps them, but their fellow veterans as well.”
For more information about VEText, visit https://www.va.gov/HEALTH/VEText.asp.
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- Written by: Governor’s Office
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA, has announced that Staff Sgt. Rosenkrantz's remains have been identified and that he will be buried on July 20 with full military honors.
In September 1944, Staff Sgt. Rosenkrantz, 28, of Los Angeles was a member of Company H, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, participating in Operation Market Garden to break German defensive lines on the Western Front.
On Sept. 28, 1944, German tanks and infantry launched an attack on Staff Sgt. Rosenkrantz’s platoon, which was occupying Heuvelhof, a farm located south of the town of Groesbeek. Staff Sgt. Rosenkrantz was killed and, due to enemy fire and the proximity to enemy troops, his remains could not be recovered.
Between 1945 and 1952, Canadian, Dutch and American graves registration teams were active in the area and recovered Staff Sgt. Rosenkrantz’s identification tags, along with fragmentary remains too sparse to be identified.
Several sets of unidentifiable remains were buried as unknowns in American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in Europe.
After thorough research and historical analysis, one set of remains circumstantially associated with the location of Staff Sgt. Rosenkrantz was disinterred by DPAA on June 14, 2017.
Scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used DNA and anthropological analysis as well as circumstantial evidence in the identification of the remains.
The governor and first lady extend their deepest condolences to his family and friends.
In memorial, Gov. Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol. Staff
Sgt. Rosenkrantz's family will receive a letter of condolence from the governor.
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
Alongside the state data sheets, VA also published the National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide, a strategic framework for the nation’s collective efforts to prevent veteran suicide over the next decade.
The updated 2015 state data sheets offer an analysis of veteran suicide data by age, gender and suicide method for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Both the individual state data sheets and the National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide underscore the fact that suicide remains an important national public health concern affecting both veterans and non-veterans in every state.
The state data sheets serve as a critically important tool that helps VA and its partners at the state and community levels design and execute the most effective suicide prevention strategies.
“VA is working hard to prevent suicide among all veterans, including those who do not, and may not ever, use VA services and benefits,” said Acting VA Secretary Peter O’Rourke. “Our work is driven by data that inform our efforts and our partners’ efforts to prevent suicide through a national public health approach.”
Suicide is a complex public health issue. While there is no single explanation for disparities in suicide rates between states, differences in population size, health-care access, and firearm policy are relevant considerations.
The interaction of these factors further highlights the need for a coordinated approach to suicide prevention that involves the broader community to support veterans before they reach a crisis point.
The National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide reflects VA’s vision for a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention that involves different sectors working together to build effective networks of support, communication and care, reaching veterans where they live and thrive.
VA is leading efforts nationwide to understand suicide risk factors, develop evidence-based strategies and identify and care for Veterans who may be at risk for suicide.
“The National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide is more than a strategic plan – it’s a call to action,” said Dr. Carolyn Clancy, executive in charge of VA’s Veterans Health Administration. “Only about half of the approximately 20 million veterans in the U.S. receive VA benefits or services. To end veteran suicide, we need organizations across sectors to adopt the strategy’s framework and join us in delivering support to all veterans.”
The updated 2015 state data sheets are available at https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/Suicide-Prevention-Data.asp .
Download the National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/index.asp under “Strategy and Education.”
Modeled after the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and a complement to the Department of Defense Strategy for Suicide Prevention, the National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide encompasses four interconnected strategic directions: healthy and empowered veterans, families, and communities; clinical and community preventive services; treatment, recovery and support services; and surveillance, research and evaluation.
“An example of VA’s efforts include a ‘Mayors Challenge’ where we work in collaboration with eight cities – teaching local stakeholders how to develop evidence based practices for suicide prevention strategies locally,” said Dr. Keita Franklin, VHA’s Suicide Prevention Program executive director. “We have made great strides in suicide prevention by expanding existing programs and launching new ones, but we are always looking for new, innovative ways to connect Veterans with support and care – and those efforts are guided by data.”
VA and its partners are already putting this strategy into practice across a variety of initiatives.
In recent months, VA has undertaken substantial new efforts, including: Expanding the veterans crisis line; creating new cross-sector partnerships; implementing the joint action plan for supporting veterans during their transition from uniformed service to civilian life; and launching SAVE online suicide prevention training.
Veterans who are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, and those who know a veteran in crisis, should call the Veterans Crisis Line for confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year at 800-273-8255 and press 1, chat online at www.VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat, or send a text message to 838255.
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
Launched in late June, OEHRM will manage the preparation, deployment and maintenance of VA’s new electronic health care record system and the health information technology tools dependent upon it.
“As technology and the needs of our Veterans evolve, we must also evolve our systems to support better care for our Veterans,” said VA’s Acting Secretary Peter O’Rourke. “This office is dedicated entirely to our electronic health record modernization, and will bring significant and diverse expertise to get VA to the end-state that will allow medical records to transition seamlessly for service members departing active duty into Veteran status.”
OEHRM is staffed with knowledgeable, technical and functional subject matter experts and will be led by Genevieve Morris, who is currently detailed to VA from her position as the principal deputy national coordinator for the Department of Health and Human Services. Morris and OEHRM will work in close alignment with VA’s Under Secretary of Health and Chief Information Officer.
As she implements the new health IT initiative, Morris said she will concentrate on what is best for the Veteran community.
“OEHRM, the Veterans Health Administration and the Office of Information and Technology will continue to collaborate closely to ensure this important transition is as smooth as possible for our Veterans, clinicians and staff,” Morris said. “We are working hard to configure and design a system focused on quality, safety and patient outcomes, which will allow health IT innovations within one VA facility to be used across the entire VA health-care system.”
VA signed a contract with Cerner Corp. on May 17 to replace its decades-old Veterans Integrated System Technology Architecture (VistA) health-care records technology over the next 10 years with the new Cerner system, which is in the pilot phase at the Department of Defense, or DoD.
The modernized system will allow VA to have patient data shared seamlessly between VA and DoD.
For more information about OEHRM, to include contract information, employment opportunities and messages from OEHRM leadership, go to www.ehrm.va.gov.
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
As of July 11, VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals has issued more than 64,025 decisions for fiscal year 2018, a record high tied to several efficiency innovations, including a new interactive decision template and a specialty case team, which have allowed the board to serve more veterans.
“Decisions made by the board affect veterans’ lives and it’s up to VA to keep improving this process,” said VA Acting Secretary Peter O’Rourke. “We will continue to innovate throughout VA even while employing the new tools that are already making the process better for service to Veterans.”
Some examples of those important decisions made by the Board include:
– Collaborating with the Veterans Benefits Administration, or VBA, within 24 hours of a board hearing, to begin disbursement of nearly $50,000 in benefits to a homeless widow of a retired veteran;
– Saving a veteran from foreclosure due to quick action from VBA, the board, and a local veterans service organization; and
– Ensuring that a terminally ill Veteran on life support received qualifying benefits quickly after the board was able to draft, issue and dispatch a decision-granting benefits expeditiously.
“Our goal is to provide answers to Veterans and their families,” said Chairman Cheryl L. Mason, Board of Veterans’ Appeals. “We will continue to do so as expeditiously as possible with improved customer service while employing every efficiency.”
The mission of VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals is to conduct hearings and deliver decisions on appeals in a timely manner.
Final decisions on such appeals are made by the board based on all of the evidence, including the veteran’s medical records, and consideration of applicable provisions of law and regulation.
For more information about the Veterans appeals process, visit www.bva.va.gov/.
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
With solutions from private industry and academia, as well as talented individuals who care deeply about preventing suicide and enhancing firearm safety, VA is working with winners of the challenge to learn more about their innovations.
The following individuals were officially announced as winners of VA’s Gun Safety Matters Challenge:
– First place winner: Barret Schlegelmilch, of the Leaders for Global Operations Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for the DuoBox, which is a mechanical device that provides an inexpensive, secure and reliable means of weapon storage, and encourages responsible weapon access with two people present.
– Second place winners: Timothy Oh, Christine Tate and Jorel Lalicki of Vara Corp. for the VARA Firearm Security Response, an "open-environment" biometric safe that revolutionizes access time to a securely locked firearm. Fingerprint authentication and other features allow total control over specifying user access for firearm owners and family members.
– Third place winners: Kathleen Gilligan and Leslie Bodi for the Sentinel, which is a mobile application that helps Veterans connect with their peers using an innovative "buddy system," so in a crisis, they know they are not alone. Sentinel can also control Bluetooth-enabled gun lock boxes, and includes unique features, such as a time-lock and automated emergency calling.
“Suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility,” said VA’s Acting Secretary Peter O’Rourke.. “The Gun Safety Matters Challenge is an innovative example of how VA is continuing to address veterans’ needs through strategic partnerships with community and federal strategic partners.”
In 2015, roughly 67 percent of all Veteran deaths by suicide were the result of firearm injuries. Compared with their age-matched civilian peers, both male and female Veterans have an increased risk for suicide.
“Suicide is a serious and preventable public health problem, and research suggests that most suicidal crises pass within minutes to hours,” said Dr. Carolyn Clancy, executive in charge of VA’s Veterans Health Administration. “Through innovation and invention, if these ideas can build time and space between the impulse to attempt suicide and the ability to do so, for just a few hours, we will save lives.”
More information about the open innovation challenge can be found at https://ninesights.ninesigma.com/web/gun-safety-matters.
For more information about VA mental health services, visit www.mentalhealth.va.gov.
Veterans in crisis or having thoughts of suicide – and those who know a veteran in crisis – should call the Veterans Crisis Line for confidential support 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Call 800-273-8255 and press 1, chat online at www.VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat, or text to 838255.
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- Written by: Governor's Office
Cpl. Joseph Maciel, 20, of South Gate, died July 7 in Tarin Kowt District, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan from injuries sustained in an apparent insider attack that is under investigation.
Cpl. Maciel was assigned to 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, GA. Task Force 1-28 Infantry is currently deployed in support of the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade.
Cpl. Maciel was supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
The governor and First Lady extend their deepest condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time.
In memorial, Gov. Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol.
Cpl. Maciel’s family will receive a letter of condolence from the governor.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
AMVETS has more than 250,000 members across our nation and has served veterans and their families for more than 70 years.
“Ensuring the sanctity of the final resting place of our veterans is integral to respecting their service. I introduced this legislation to ensure the more than 800 veterans buried at the Mare Island Cemetery are properly honored and I’m humbled to have the support of AMVETS as we continue our fight to restore and maintain this landmark,” said Thompson. “We must ensure the cemetery is preserved for generations to come so we can properly honor the sacrifice of our nation’s veterans.”
“AMVETS applauds Rep. Thompson for introducing his bill to honor and preserve the memory and legacy of the veterans interred at the Mare Island Naval Cemetery, including three Medal of Honor recipients," said AMVETS National Commander Marion Polk. "That the federal government provided no funding for the upkeep of these heroes' final resting place when it closed the base in '96 has been nothing short of a national disgrace ever since. AMVETS strongly believes Congress must act swiftly to enact this bill and transfer responsibility for the cemetery's upkeep to the department of Veterans Affairs, where it belongs.”
H.R. 5588 directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek out an agreement with the City of Vallejo, under which the city would transfer control of the Mare Island Naval Cemetery to the VA.
The cemetery would specifically be placed under the purview of the National Cemetery Administration.
The VA would pay no fee to acquire the land, but would assume the obligation of maintaining the cemetery in the future.
Click here for the full text of the bill.
This legislation is co-sponsored by 68 Democrat and Republican members and is also endorsed by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, the U.S. Navy League, and thousands of veterans across the country.
Thompson is proud to represent California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties. A Vietnam veteran, he is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and chairs the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force as well as the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
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