Tjos is happening in Conn, I would like to see action by those interested in getting out the vote on Massachusetts issues appearing on the November 4 ballott when we not only pick our national leaders but also what propositions before th voters will affect Massachusetts Citizens. Who better to determine our destiny than those who served!!
October 07, 2008
Knight Ridder/Tribune
WEST HAVEN -- Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and volunteers with the League of Women Voters will be registering voters today at the Veterans Affairs medical center for the first time since a federal ban on the practice was lifted last month.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ended its ban on voter registration drives in federal facilities last month. The ban was imposed in May and was attributed partly to the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal workers from engaging in partisan political activity.
Bysiewicz and state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal fought for the department to overturn the ban, which they called illegal. On June 30, Bysiewicz and Blumenthal were denied access to the hospital when they visited there to register patients.
League of Women Voters volunteer Nancy Ciarleglio said she will be on hand today registering veterans to vote, updating registrations and passing out absentee ballot applications.
It was not clear Monday whether the Democratic and Republican registrars of voters from West Haven would be attending the drive and passing out absentee ballots.
Ciarleglio said she wants to be able to offer in-patient veterans at the hospital the same conveniences as would be offered to someone in a nursing home.
"We are just asking to make it easier to get veterans to vote," she said.
Read more election and voter information, visit the 2008 Election Center on Military.com.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Home Loans Fund for MA Vets
Home Loans Fund for MA Vets
Week of July 14, 2008
Veterans in Massachusetts have access to low- or no-down payment mortgages under the "Home for the Brave" Program. The program will offer affordable home loans to Massachusetts veterans and will include mortgage insurance that will pay a veteran's monthly mortgage payment for up to six months if the veteran becomes unemployed or deployed on active duty. The program was developed by Mass Housing, the state's affordable housing bank. For more information, visit the MassHousing.com website. Learn about proposed national legislation to help vets through the mortgage crisis.
Connect with lenders ready to help you refinance.
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Saturday, July 5, 2008
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AND REMEMBER OUR VETERANS
NOTES FROM VFW AUXILARY NEWS LETTER
Make a real difference in America's communities.
Work to serve veterans and troops
Support our troops and Remember Our Veterans.
Remember by wearing a "buddy poppy" VFW OFFICIAL FLOWER
YOU NOT ONLY HELP NEEDY AND DISABLED VETERAN BUT ALSO HONOR THOSE WHO HAVE SACRICED SO MUCH FOR OUR FREEDOM
Support our troops and Remember our veterans by
FLYING YOUR FLAG
Show Support for the nation, active-duty troops and veterans by flying the U.S> flag on all patriotic holidays.
Encourage others in your community to fly our country's most sacred symbol
VOTING
Throughout the generations, veterans have protected our right to vote.
Encourage members of your community to take this civic duty seriously.
Be part of the Democratic process by working the polls on Election Day.
Offer a ride to the polls to someone who doesn't have transportation.
VOLUNTEERING
Schedule a visit to a lonely or ailing veteran.
Join hospital vollunteers and visit a VA medical Center.
Family Support program.
LOBBYING
Join a grassroots campaign to keep veterans issues in the minds of lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Write Call of Visit your elected officials to esnsure their continued support for our contry's heroes.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Support our returning Middle East Veterans
> HELP VETS REBUILD CONNECTIONS
>WHEREAS: Deployment in a war zone can exact a unique toll on not only those in imminent danger but also on their love ones back home.
>
>WHEREAS; There are mental, emotional, spiritual and relations challenges facing veterans and families before, during and after deployment.
>
>WHEREAS: The support for OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM is to be questioned by many throughout the USA AND THE WORLD.
>
>THEREFOR BE IT RESOLVED that Mass Senior Action urge the Administration. Legislators, Public Officials and all citizens enjoying their FREEDOM create a safe, unconditional, supportive environment for veterans and families and make sure resources are made readily
available.
>Howard McGowan
>
>M A S C
>WHEREAS: Deployment in a war zone can exact a unique toll on not only those in imminent danger but also on their love ones back home.
>
>WHEREAS; There are mental, emotional, spiritual and relations challenges facing veterans and families before, during and after deployment.
>
>WHEREAS: The support for OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM is to be questioned by many throughout the USA AND THE WORLD.
>
>THEREFOR BE IT RESOLVED that Mass Senior Action urge the Administration. Legislators, Public Officials and all citizens enjoying their FREEDOM create a safe, unconditional, supportive environment for veterans and families and make sure resources are made readily
available.
>Howard McGowan
>
>M A S C
Soldiers risk ruin while awaiting benefit checks
SAN ANTONIO, Jun. 17, 2008 (AP Online delivered by Newstex) -- His lifelong dream of becoming a soldier had, in the end, come to this for Isaac Stevens: 28, penniless, in a wheelchair, fending off the sexual advances of another man in a homeless shelter.
Stevens' descent from Army private first-class, 3rd Infantry Division, 11 Bravo Company, began in 2005 -- not in battle, since he was never sent off to Iraq or Afghanistan, but with a headfirst fall over a wall on the obstacle course at Fort Benning, Ga. He suffered a head injury and spinal damage.
The injury alone didn't put him in a homeless shelter. Instead, it was military bureaucracy -- specifically, the way injured soldiers are discharged on just a fraction of their salary and then forced to wait six to nine months, and sometimes even more than a year, before their full disability payments begin to flow.
"When I got out, I hate to say it, but man, that was it. Everybody just kind of washed their hands of me, and it was like, `OK, you're on your own,'" said Stevens, who was discharged in November and was in a shelter by February. He has since moved into a temporary San Antonio apartment with help from Operation Homefront, a nonprofit organization.
Nearly 20,000 disabled soldiers were discharged in the past two fiscal years, and lawmakers, veterans' advocates and others say thousands could be facing financial ruin while they wait for their claims to be processed and their benefits to come through.
"The anecdotal evidence is depressing," said Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., who heads a subcommittee on veterans disability benefits. "These veterans are getting medical care, but their family is going through this huge readjustment at the same time they're dealing with financial difficulties."
Most permanently disabled veterans qualify for payments from Social Security and the military or Veterans Affairs. Those sums can amount to about two-thirds of their active-duty pay. But until those checks show up, most disabled veterans draw a reduced Army paycheck.
The amount depends on the soldier's injuries, service time and other factors. But a typical veteran and his family who once lived on $3,400 a month might have to make do with $970 a month.
Unless a soldier has a personal fortune or was so severely injured as to require long-term inpatient care, that can be an extreme hardship.
The Army, stung by the scandal last year over shoddy care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, has been working to help soldiers during the in-between period, said Col. Becky Baker, assigned to injured soldier transition at the U.S. Surgeon General's Office.
In a change in policy that took effect last August, the Army is allowing wounded soldiers to continue to draw their full Army paychecks for up to 90 days after discharge, Baker said. It is also sending more VA workers to Army posts to process claims more quickly, and trying to do a better job of informing soldiers of the available benefits and explaining the application process.
"We make certain that we've covered all the bases before we discharge the soldier," Baker said.
She acknowledged, however, that the changes have been slow to take hold across an Army stretched by war. "It's definitely a practice that is new. It takes awhile for new practices to be institutionalized," the colonel said.
Stevens was moved to the Operation Homefront apartment after a social worker at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, acting on her own initiative, rescued Stevens from a homeless shelter there.
"This is a situation where someone used their common sense and they did the right thing, versus saying, `This is the rules. We can't do this,'" Tripler spokeswoman Minerva Anderson said of the social worker.
Typically, the first 100 days after discharge are spent just gathering medical and other evidence needed to make a decision on disability, VA officials say. If paperwork is incomplete, or a veteran moves to another state before the claim is decided, the process can drag on longer. Disagree with the VA's decision, and the wait time grows.
"The claims are a lot more complicated than people think," said Ursula Henderson, director of the VA's regional office in Houston.
Amy Palmer, a disabled veteran and vice president of Operation Homefront, which helps newly disabled servicemembers, said: "Nobody's assigned to them. You're on your own once you get out."
Hall is pushing legislation that would force the VA to use compatible computer systems and more consistent criteria and to reach out to veterans better.
"A veteran goes and serves and does what the country asks them to do," the congressman said. "But when they come back they're made to jump through these hoops and to wait in line for disability benefits."
Simon Heine served three tours in Iraq as a tank mechanic before he was discharged with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
His wife quit college so she could figure out how her four children could live on less than $1,000 a month. Eventually, she moved the family of six into an Operation Homefront apartment so they could finish navigating the bureaucracy and wait out the arrival of Social Security and VA benefits.
"It is like giving you a car and taking the steering wheel off. They say, `There is the gas and the brake. Just go straight,' and hopefully, you are going in the right direction," Heine said.
-
Com
washby says:
My Father passed away a couple of years - ago,at the time he was collecting a disabled veterans pension from world war 2 and a reduced benefit from social security.He retired from a state authority in N.Y.His social security was reduced by the amount of his World war 2 disability pension.When he died the social security adminastration started paying my mother his social security benefit because it was higher than hers.The benefit she is receiving is the reduced benefit that my father received because of his disability pension from ww2,she lost his disability pension upon his death,shouldn't her social security benefit be what his full benefit would have been not the reduced amount?
Stevens' descent from Army private first-class, 3rd Infantry Division, 11 Bravo Company, began in 2005 -- not in battle, since he was never sent off to Iraq or Afghanistan, but with a headfirst fall over a wall on the obstacle course at Fort Benning, Ga. He suffered a head injury and spinal damage.
The injury alone didn't put him in a homeless shelter. Instead, it was military bureaucracy -- specifically, the way injured soldiers are discharged on just a fraction of their salary and then forced to wait six to nine months, and sometimes even more than a year, before their full disability payments begin to flow.
"When I got out, I hate to say it, but man, that was it. Everybody just kind of washed their hands of me, and it was like, `OK, you're on your own,'" said Stevens, who was discharged in November and was in a shelter by February. He has since moved into a temporary San Antonio apartment with help from Operation Homefront, a nonprofit organization.
Nearly 20,000 disabled soldiers were discharged in the past two fiscal years, and lawmakers, veterans' advocates and others say thousands could be facing financial ruin while they wait for their claims to be processed and their benefits to come through.
"The anecdotal evidence is depressing," said Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., who heads a subcommittee on veterans disability benefits. "These veterans are getting medical care, but their family is going through this huge readjustment at the same time they're dealing with financial difficulties."
Most permanently disabled veterans qualify for payments from Social Security and the military or Veterans Affairs. Those sums can amount to about two-thirds of their active-duty pay. But until those checks show up, most disabled veterans draw a reduced Army paycheck.
The amount depends on the soldier's injuries, service time and other factors. But a typical veteran and his family who once lived on $3,400 a month might have to make do with $970 a month.
Unless a soldier has a personal fortune or was so severely injured as to require long-term inpatient care, that can be an extreme hardship.
The Army, stung by the scandal last year over shoddy care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, has been working to help soldiers during the in-between period, said Col. Becky Baker, assigned to injured soldier transition at the U.S. Surgeon General's Office.
In a change in policy that took effect last August, the Army is allowing wounded soldiers to continue to draw their full Army paychecks for up to 90 days after discharge, Baker said. It is also sending more VA workers to Army posts to process claims more quickly, and trying to do a better job of informing soldiers of the available benefits and explaining the application process.
"We make certain that we've covered all the bases before we discharge the soldier," Baker said.
She acknowledged, however, that the changes have been slow to take hold across an Army stretched by war. "It's definitely a practice that is new. It takes awhile for new practices to be institutionalized," the colonel said.
Stevens was moved to the Operation Homefront apartment after a social worker at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, acting on her own initiative, rescued Stevens from a homeless shelter there.
"This is a situation where someone used their common sense and they did the right thing, versus saying, `This is the rules. We can't do this,'" Tripler spokeswoman Minerva Anderson said of the social worker.
Typically, the first 100 days after discharge are spent just gathering medical and other evidence needed to make a decision on disability, VA officials say. If paperwork is incomplete, or a veteran moves to another state before the claim is decided, the process can drag on longer. Disagree with the VA's decision, and the wait time grows.
"The claims are a lot more complicated than people think," said Ursula Henderson, director of the VA's regional office in Houston.
Amy Palmer, a disabled veteran and vice president of Operation Homefront, which helps newly disabled servicemembers, said: "Nobody's assigned to them. You're on your own once you get out."
Hall is pushing legislation that would force the VA to use compatible computer systems and more consistent criteria and to reach out to veterans better.
"A veteran goes and serves and does what the country asks them to do," the congressman said. "But when they come back they're made to jump through these hoops and to wait in line for disability benefits."
Simon Heine served three tours in Iraq as a tank mechanic before he was discharged with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
His wife quit college so she could figure out how her four children could live on less than $1,000 a month. Eventually, she moved the family of six into an Operation Homefront apartment so they could finish navigating the bureaucracy and wait out the arrival of Social Security and VA benefits.
"It is like giving you a car and taking the steering wheel off. They say, `There is the gas and the brake. Just go straight,' and hopefully, you are going in the right direction," Heine said.
-
Com
washby says:
My Father passed away a couple of years - ago,at the time he was collecting a disabled veterans pension from world war 2 and a reduced benefit from social security.He retired from a state authority in N.Y.His social security was reduced by the amount of his World war 2 disability pension.When he died the social security adminastration started paying my mother his social security benefit because it was higher than hers.The benefit she is receiving is the reduced benefit that my father received because of his disability pension from ww2,she lost his disability pension upon his death,shouldn't her social security benefit be what his full benefit would have been not the reduced amount?
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
VA benefits and Assistance
We Thank You for Your Service
The Department of Defense notifies VA when service members are released from active duty. Then VA sends a letter with information about VA benefits and assistance to aid transition to civilian life. You can find help with personal and family concerns, and community readjustment issues. There are also toll-free numbers, VA Web sites, and brochures to help you get the information you need.
Toll Free Numbers
Benefits Information 1-800-827-1000
Health Care Eligibility Information 1-877-222-8387
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Medical Care VA Budget
The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is leading a coalition of groups that are pressing lawmakers to approve advance appropriations for medical care as part of the VA’s budget. This would give the VA much more certainty over its funding, as it would know its budget a year in advance. For example, funding for 2010 would have to be approved this year.
The change would mean that “veterans would no longer be used as a political football,” said Joe Violante, DAV’s national legislative director.
“It is a lot cheaper to provide veteran care through the VA than it is to provide it by Medicare or Medicaid,” said Violante. “If we put the resources into the VA it would certainly be fiscally responsible.”
Congress now appropriates VA medical care funds on an annual basis. Political squabbling has delayed VA funding in 13 of the past 14 years — something that has severely hampered the department’s ability to plan and manage its healthcare system, according to DAV’s talking points.
Veterans’ groups say the change would ensure the agency can better handle the growing number of veterans dependent on it for medical care.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Veterans Legislation
Items 1 through 7 of 7
1.
Senate: 'A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a program for the provision of readjustment and mental health services to veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, and for other purposes. ' (S.38)
2.
Senate: 'A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve benefits and services for members of the Armed Forces, veterans of the Global War on Terrorism, and other veterans, to require reports on the effects of the Global War on Terrorism, and for other purposes. ' (S.117)
3.
Senate: 'A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to extend the period of eligibility for health care for combat service in the Persian Gulf War or future hostilities from two years to five years after discharge or release. ' (S.383)
4.
Senate: 'A bill to establish demonstration projects to provide at-home infant care benefits. ' (S.820)
5.
Senate: 'A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to increase burial benefits for veterans, and for other purposes. ' (S.1454)
6.
Senate: 'A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to increase burial benefits for veterans, and for other purposes. ' (S.1468)
7.
Senate: 'A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to extend or make permanent certain authorities for veterans'' benefits, and for other purposes. ' (S.1757)
1.
Senate: 'A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a program for the provision of readjustment and mental health services to veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, and for other purposes. ' (S.38)
2.
Senate: 'A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve benefits and services for members of the Armed Forces, veterans of the Global War on Terrorism, and other veterans, to require reports on the effects of the Global War on Terrorism, and for other purposes. ' (S.117)
3.
Senate: 'A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to extend the period of eligibility for health care for combat service in the Persian Gulf War or future hostilities from two years to five years after discharge or release. ' (S.383)
4.
Senate: 'A bill to establish demonstration projects to provide at-home infant care benefits. ' (S.820)
5.
Senate: 'A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to increase burial benefits for veterans, and for other purposes. ' (S.1454)
6.
Senate: 'A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to increase burial benefits for veterans, and for other purposes. ' (S.1468)
7.
Senate: 'A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to extend or make permanent certain authorities for veterans'' benefits, and for other purposes. ' (S.1757)
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Disabled veterans who do not normally file a tax return will have to file a federal return for 2007 in order to take advantage of the rebate checks that will be mailed later this year. The federal government will begin issuing rebates to citizens in May 2008 as part of the $152 billion economic stimulus package signed into law by President Bush. In most cases, payments will range from $300 to $600 for individuals and $600 to $1,200 for joint filers. For more information, visit the IRS' Economic Stimulus Payments Information Center. Tax Center - To learn more about military taxes, visit the Military.com Tax Center.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Stimulus Payment
Tax Rebate Update: Don't Wait to File
To get your tax rebate from the government, be sure to file your federal taxes.
...you could get your rebate by mail as early as May or June...
Looking forward to getting a cash rebate from the government this year? The IRS estimates that more than 130 million Americans will benefit from an income tax rebate plan that will give $600 to $1,200 to most households and at least $300 to lower-income people, Social Security recipients and disabled veterans. What should you do to make sure you get your share? File your taxes. Only qualified people who file a 2007 return will receive a rebate.
Why Do Your Taxes and File Now?
You should do your taxes now because how much you receive will be based on information contained in your 2007 tax return. Taxpayers who file after April 15 could get their rebates months after those who file on time.TurboTax makes it easy to do your taxes. Get started for free.
What Is the Tax Rebate?
The tax rebate is a one-time cash payment to most American households. As the major part of the government's economic plan to prevent a recession, the rebates are intended to stimulate the economy by encouraging consumer spending.
To get your tax rebate from the government, be sure to file your federal taxes.
...you could get your rebate by mail as early as May or June...
Looking forward to getting a cash rebate from the government this year? The IRS estimates that more than 130 million Americans will benefit from an income tax rebate plan that will give $600 to $1,200 to most households and at least $300 to lower-income people, Social Security recipients and disabled veterans. What should you do to make sure you get your share? File your taxes. Only qualified people who file a 2007 return will receive a rebate.
Why Do Your Taxes and File Now?
You should do your taxes now because how much you receive will be based on information contained in your 2007 tax return. Taxpayers who file after April 15 could get their rebates months after those who file on time.TurboTax makes it easy to do your taxes. Get started for free.
What Is the Tax Rebate?
The tax rebate is a one-time cash payment to most American households. As the major part of the government's economic plan to prevent a recession, the rebates are intended to stimulate the economy by encouraging consumer spending.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Veterans on Home care
VA Gives $4.7 Million to Help Caregivers
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will provide nearly $4.7 million for “caregiver assistance pilot programs” to expand and improve health care education and provide needed training and resources for caregivers who assist disabled and aging veterans in their homes. The pilot programs will support eight caregiver projects across the country. Among the key services provided to caregivers are transportation, respite care, case management and service coordination, assistance with personal care (bathing and grooming), social and emotional support, and home safety evaluations.
Education programs teach caregivers how to obtain community resources such as legal assistance, financial support, housing assistance, home delivered meals and spiritual support. In addition, caregivers are taught skills such as time management techniques, medication management, communication skills with the medical staff and the veteran, and ways to take better care of themselves. The VA pilot programs include:
At the Memphis (Tenn.) and Palo Alto (Calif.) VA medical centers, a project will provide education, support and skills-building to help caregivers manage both patient behaviors and their own stress. This intervention will be provided in 14 Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) programs across the country and also to caregivers in non-HBPC settings at the Palo Alto VAMC.
At the VA medical center in Gainesville, Fla., caregivers will take part in a Transition Assistance Program to provide skills training, education and supportive problem solving using videophone technology.
At the VA Healthcare System of Ohio, headquartered in Cincinnati, caregiver advocates will be available around the clock to coordinate between VA and community services.
At the VA Desert Pacific Network and the VA Sierra Nevada Healthcare System, VA will work with a community coalition to provide education, skills training and resources for caregivers of veterans with traumatic brain injury using computer-based telehealth, including Web, telephone and videoconferencing.
At the VA medical center in Albany, N.Y., a pilot project will convert a three-hour workshop developed by the National Family Caregivers Association called “Communicating Effectively with Health Care Professionals” into a cost-effective multimedia format.
At the Atlanta VA Medical Center, use of computer-based technology will provide instrumental help and emotional support to caregivers who live in remote areas or to those who cannot leave a patient alone.
The Tampa VA Medical Center and the Miami VA Healthcare System are working on a collaborative project. In the Tampa area, the current program will be expanded to provide 24-hour in-home respite care to temporarily relieve caregivers up to 14 days a year. In Miami, the program will coordinate comprehensive community-based care services, including respite, home companions, adult day care and use of emergency response system.
The VA Pacific Islands Health Care System will use the “medical foster home” model of care, in which caregivers in the community take veterans into their homes and provide 24-hour supervision. This program will take place on the islands of Kauai, Hawaii, Maui and rural areas of Oahu.
For more information, visit the Department of Veteran Affairs website.
Comments
takandles
3 days agoSuggest Removal
My father gets Aid in Dependent Care from the VA which is a big financial help. I do not work to take care of him so some of that money is suppose to be to pay me. the down side is that if I want to hire someone for respite care it comes out of my part which I need to support myself. I only get to go to the store when one of my children can come sit with him. I have not gone anyplace else in years. There needs to be more respite care for the caregivers with little or no income such as me. Here in the state of Alabama there isn' much. You have to have no or very little to get help or be rich enough to afford it. What we get from the VA it a big help but not enough.
Temporary relief from the stress and duties of caregiving.
mbsmarttext('Respite Care','bbf852d1-7af3-483e-a7b3-1067f001bd53');
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will provide nearly $4.7 million for “caregiver assistance pilot programs” to expand and improve health care education and provide needed training and resources for caregivers who assist disabled and aging veterans in their homes. The pilot programs will support eight caregiver projects across the country. Among the key services provided to caregivers are transportation, respite care, case management and service coordination, assistance with personal care (bathing and grooming), social and emotional support, and home safety evaluations.
Education programs teach caregivers how to obtain community resources such as legal assistance, financial support, housing assistance, home delivered meals and spiritual support. In addition, caregivers are taught skills such as time management techniques, medication management, communication skills with the medical staff and the veteran, and ways to take better care of themselves. The VA pilot programs include:
At the Memphis (Tenn.) and Palo Alto (Calif.) VA medical centers, a project will provide education, support and skills-building to help caregivers manage both patient behaviors and their own stress. This intervention will be provided in 14 Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) programs across the country and also to caregivers in non-HBPC settings at the Palo Alto VAMC.
At the VA medical center in Gainesville, Fla., caregivers will take part in a Transition Assistance Program to provide skills training, education and supportive problem solving using videophone technology.
At the VA Healthcare System of Ohio, headquartered in Cincinnati, caregiver advocates will be available around the clock to coordinate between VA and community services.
At the VA Desert Pacific Network and the VA Sierra Nevada Healthcare System, VA will work with a community coalition to provide education, skills training and resources for caregivers of veterans with traumatic brain injury using computer-based telehealth, including Web, telephone and videoconferencing.
At the VA medical center in Albany, N.Y., a pilot project will convert a three-hour workshop developed by the National Family Caregivers Association called “Communicating Effectively with Health Care Professionals” into a cost-effective multimedia format.
At the Atlanta VA Medical Center, use of computer-based technology will provide instrumental help and emotional support to caregivers who live in remote areas or to those who cannot leave a patient alone.
The Tampa VA Medical Center and the Miami VA Healthcare System are working on a collaborative project. In the Tampa area, the current program will be expanded to provide 24-hour in-home respite care to temporarily relieve caregivers up to 14 days a year. In Miami, the program will coordinate comprehensive community-based care services, including respite, home companions, adult day care and use of emergency response system.
The VA Pacific Islands Health Care System will use the “medical foster home” model of care, in which caregivers in the community take veterans into their homes and provide 24-hour supervision. This program will take place on the islands of Kauai, Hawaii, Maui and rural areas of Oahu.
For more information, visit the Department of Veteran Affairs website.
Comments
takandles
3 days agoSuggest Removal
My father gets Aid in Dependent Care from the VA which is a big financial help. I do not work to take care of him so some of that money is suppose to be to pay me. the down side is that if I want to hire someone for respite care it comes out of my part which I need to support myself. I only get to go to the store when one of my children can come sit with him. I have not gone anyplace else in years. There needs to be more respite care for the caregivers with little or no income such as me. Here in the state of Alabama there isn' much. You have to have no or very little to get help or be rich enough to afford it. What we get from the VA it a big help but not enough.
Temporary relief from the stress and duties of caregiving.
mbsmarttext('Respite Care','bbf852d1-7af3-483e-a7b3-1067f001bd53');
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Veterans Service
We Thank You for Your Service
The Department of Defense notifies VA when service members are released from active duty. Then VA sends a letter with information about VA benefits and assistance to aid transition to civilian life. You can find help with personal and family concerns, and community readjustment issues. There are also toll-free numbers, VA Web sites, and brochures to help you get the information you need.
Toll Free NumbersBenefits Information 1-800-827-1000Health Care Eligibility Information 1-877-222-8387
The Department of Defense notifies VA when service members are released from active duty. Then VA sends a letter with information about VA benefits and assistance to aid transition to civilian life. You can find help with personal and family concerns, and community readjustment issues. There are also toll-free numbers, VA Web sites, and brochures to help you get the information you need.
Toll Free NumbersBenefits Information 1-800-827-1000Health Care Eligibility Information 1-877-222-8387
Monday, February 18, 2008
http://www.managedmusic.com/Music/PlayBeforeYouGo.php
This in a tribute to our World War II veterans and is passed on to our future generations for cosideration http://www.managedmusic.com/Music/PlayBeforeYouGo.php
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Senate Minority Leader Richard R. Tisei and Malden Veterans Services Director John Webster this week are reminding local veterans who were called to active duty after Sept. 11, 2001 that they may be eligible for a cash bonus through the state-funded Welcome Home program.
Established by the Legislature in 2005, the Welcome Home program provides a one-time $1,000 bonus to Massachusetts soldiers for active service in Iraq or Afghanistan and a $500 bonus to those who served at least six months of active duty at home or abroad since Sept. 11, 2001.
Active service does not include active duty for training in the Army National Guard, Air National Guard, Naval Academy, or reservist training.
The bonus is available to service members who were residents of the commonwealth for at least six months prior to entry into the armed forces, and were discharged under honorable conditions.
Fewer than half of the 28,000 qualifying Massachusetts veterans have filed the necessary paperwork to receive their bonus payment.
“We want our servicemen and women to know this benefit is available to them, and we encourage them to apply,” said Tisei. “The bonus payment represents just a small token of the Commonwealth’s appreciation for those who have proudly served our country to protect the many freedoms and liberties we enjoy as Americans.”All applications must be accompanied by a certification of residence issued by the City Clerk or Election Commissioner; a copy of the service members’ discharge papers; and a signed and dated W9 form.
Application forms are available online at www.mass.gov/treasury/veteransbonus/welcomehomebonus.htm.
For more information, contact the State Treasurer’s office at 617-367-9333, ext. 350 or 505, or visit the Malden Veterans Services office at City Hall, 200 Pleasant St., Room 527, or call 781-397-7139.
Established by the Legislature in 2005, the Welcome Home program provides a one-time $1,000 bonus to Massachusetts soldiers for active service in Iraq or Afghanistan and a $500 bonus to those who served at least six months of active duty at home or abroad since Sept. 11, 2001.
Active service does not include active duty for training in the Army National Guard, Air National Guard, Naval Academy, or reservist training.
The bonus is available to service members who were residents of the commonwealth for at least six months prior to entry into the armed forces, and were discharged under honorable conditions.
Fewer than half of the 28,000 qualifying Massachusetts veterans have filed the necessary paperwork to receive their bonus payment.
“We want our servicemen and women to know this benefit is available to them, and we encourage them to apply,” said Tisei. “The bonus payment represents just a small token of the Commonwealth’s appreciation for those who have proudly served our country to protect the many freedoms and liberties we enjoy as Americans.”All applications must be accompanied by a certification of residence issued by the City Clerk or Election Commissioner; a copy of the service members’ discharge papers; and a signed and dated W9 form.
Application forms are available online at www.mass.gov/treasury/veteransbonus/welcomehomebonus.htm.
For more information, contact the State Treasurer’s office at 617-367-9333, ext. 350 or 505, or visit the Malden Veterans Services office at City Hall, 200 Pleasant St., Room 527, or call 781-397-7139.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Vetearns Forgotten
-- Recently, volunteers in Missouri and a handful of other states discovered the cremated remains of war veterans inside small canisters and cardboard boxes. Instead of receiving their promised military burial, these war heroes have been forgotten and left on mortuary and hospital shelves for decades. A national effort is underway to give these veterans a proper and dignified burial.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Bill would clear debt
Contact your Senators regarding
S.2536:'A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from collecting certain debts to the United States in the case of veterans who die as a result of a service-connected disability incurred or aggravated on active duty in a combat zone, and for other purposes.
Please pass this e-mail along to all who care that our service members are giving their lives for their country without their families having to sacrifice any more than they already have due to the loss of their loved one.
Link to the bill and to contact your Senators: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/bills/?billtype=S.&billnumb=2536&congress=110
S.2536:'A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from collecting certain debts to the United States in the case of veterans who die as a result of a service-connected disability incurred or aggravated on active duty in a combat zone, and for other purposes.
Please pass this e-mail along to all who care that our service members are giving their lives for their country without their families having to sacrifice any more than they already have due to the loss of their loved one.
Link to the bill and to contact your Senators: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/bills/?billtype=S.&billnumb=2536&congress=110
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
www.cbo.gov Veterans Affairs
The Department of Veterans Affairs health care system received a highly favorable review in an interim report recently published by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The report credits organizational restructuring and management systems, performance measurement and information technology (IT) as contributors to VA's success. It also outlines ways in which VA can continue serving as a model for other health care systems. The interim report is featured on at www.cbo.gov.
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