Mar-April 2011

VETERAN BENEFITS, NEWS

     This month we will continue our series on entering the VA Health System. In our last two issues we covered the categories of eligibility for VA Health Care, the standard package of VA Health Care, VA Dental Care and last month eligibility for Eyeglasses and Hearing Aids.
     We noticed that the last paragraph re: Eyeglasses and Hearing Aids was incomplete. So, first here is the completion of Eyeglasses and Hearing Aids and continue on with benefits for Geriatrics and Long Term Care.
     Those veterans who have service-connected vision disabilities rated zero percent or service-connected hearing disabilities rated zero percent if these if organic conductive, mixed, or sensory hearing impairment and loss of pure tone hearing sensitivity in the low, mid, or high-frequency range or a combination of frequency ranges which contribute to a loss of communication ability; however, hearing aids are to be provided only as needed for the service-connected hearing disability.
     Veterans meeting the eligibility requirements to receive health care are eligible for diagnostic audiology services and eye & vision care services. Eligibility rules are the same for both inpatient and outpatient medical services. Veterans will not be denied access to audiology services and/or eye & vision care services covered by the Medical Benefits Package because they do not meet the eligibility criteria for hearing aids and/or eye glasses.
                     GERIATRICS AND LONG TERM CARE
     VA provides institutional long term care to eligible veterans through VA Nursing Homes, Community Nursing Homes, State Veterans Homes, and Domiciliaries.
     VA Nursing Home Care Program provides compassionate care in an interdisciplinary environment to eligible veterans with sufficient functional impairment to require the level of service and skill available in VA nursing homes. Veterans with chronic stable conditions including dementia, those requiring rehabilitation or short term specialized services such as respite or intravenous therapy, or those who need comfort and care at the end of life are serviced in the Community Living Centers.
     Their goal is to restore residents to maximum function, prevent further decline, maximize independence, and/or provide comfort when dying. Most Community Living Centers are well suited to providing short-term, restorative and rehabilitative care up to 100 days, and longer term care for veterans who meet eligibility criteria and/or require end of life care, prolonged active rehabilitation, are unable to sustain a placement in a community nursing home, or lack clinically appropriate alternative.
     The Community Nursing Home (CNH) Program has maintained two cornerstones: some level of patient choice in choosing a nursing home close or as close as possible to the veteran's home and family; and a unique approach to local oversight of CNHs. The latter hallmark consists of annual reviews and monthly patient visits. VA Health Care Facility (VAHCF) staff are the only Federal Officials charged with regularly visiting nursing homes. Cont. on Page seven.......

VETERAN LEGISLATION/NEWS
Following is some of the legislation introduced concerning Veterans for the 2011 session. Two of these bills are sponsored by VVA - California State Council. So, at times if the need arises, you may be asked to attend hearings to support passage.
►►AB 167 - Cook, California Stolen Valor Act, Sponsored by Vietnam Veterans of America, CA State Council. - Would create the California Stolen Valor Act. This is similar to the federal act. The need for the bill is that the federal act is being challenged in court by free speech groups. (Apparently, per federal courts, it is a free speech right to mislead and defraud people by impersonating a veteran or falsely claiming decorations, rank, etc.) AB 167 would give the state a tool to use in Stolen Valor cases. It also combines the various codes concerning Stolen Valor in an "act" which makes it easier for law enforcement and prosecutors to understand and utilize the laws.
►►AB 201 - Butler, Veterans courts. Sponsored by Vietnam Veterans of America - CA State Council and the Student Veterans of California. - This bill would authorize superior courts to develop and implement veterans courts for eligible veterans with the objective of creation of a dedicated program or a locally developed collaborative court-supervised veterans mental health program. The goal is to steer mentally ill offenders who are veterans with PTSD, TBI, military sexual trauma, substance abuse, etc. stemming from military service into community treatment. The bill would provide that county participation is voluntary.
►►AB 649 - Harkey, Public postsecondary education: veteran's enrollment. Sponsored by the Student Veterans of California. - This bill would grant priority admission and class registration to members or former members of the Armed Forces within 5 years of leaving active duty.
►►AB 1209 - Cook, County veterans service officers, Sponsored by the CA Association of County Veterans Service Officers. - This bill would appropriate the sum of $11,000,000. from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs for disbursement to the counties to fund the activities of the County Veterans Services Officers.
►►SB 404 - Anderson, Firearms: handgun safety certificates: exemptions. Sponsored by AMVETS. - Existing law generally requires a handgun purchaser to possess a handgun safety certificate (HSC). The law exempts certain persons from having a HSC (law enforcement officers, active duty military, National Guard, etc.) This bill would add veterans to that list. Veterans used to be exempt but were inadvertently removed from the list of exemptions a few years ago when the entire code section on gun sales was re-written.
►►AB 1093 - Davis, Student financial aid: Military and Veterans Benefits Offices. Sponsored by Student Veterans of California. - This bill would require the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and encourage the University of California, to establish on each of its respective campuses a Military and Veterans Office and appoint a full-time Military and Veterans Benefits Advisor for each office to assist a qualified student in determining that student's eligibility for state or federal educational benefits or grants.

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Rebecca Lee 916-501-8788
Call Rebecca for the Special Discounts available for Veterans
Many East Lawn locations in the Sacramento area
Pre-Arrangement Plans are also available.

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www.eastlawn.com

Navy League of the United States
“Citizens in Support of the Sea Services”

Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, & Merchant Marine
Please join us for dinner & speaker in 2011
Sacramento Council Dinners 1730 1st Tuesdays
Plaza Hof Brau, 2500 Watt Ave. (at El Camino)

Contact: Phelps Hobart, NLSAC@cwo.com
Website: http://www.navyleaguesacramento.org

HELP YOUR BUSINESS AND SUPPORT THE VVA
Advertise in the Capitol Veteran. Reasonable Rates!!!
One issue, business card size is $5.00. Get one month free by advertising for 6 months at $25.00. Call the office for more information or submit your copy with a check to VVA by mail.

SOME OF THE MEMBERS ENJOYING THE FIELD TRIP TO SANTA ROSA FOR THE VIETNAMESE TET FESTIVAL. THANKS TO J.C. TERRY FOR THE PICTURES

ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE IN SACRAMENTO.

MORE PARADE

THE MARINE CADETS AND AL MARTIN'S WEST COAST RAIDERS, VIETNAM RE-ENACTORS JOINED THE CHAPTER IN THE PARADE ON MARCH 12.

                 MORE ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE

                                       SGT. SAM UPDATE
     We haven't had an update on Sgt. Sam's condition in some time. For those new to the newsletter. Sgt. Sam was critically wounded in Iraq and not expected to live. His new wife Erin dedicated her life to his recovery and Same is slowly making headway. You can keep track of Sam's progress at his father-in-law's blog at: www.tneria01.wordpress.com. Here is the latest: Sam's vision has improved significantly. He is able to complete more complex task vision therapy tasks. His concentration in all aspects of his physical, vision and occupational therapy has really improved which has led to greater strides overall in Sam's physical and mental well being.
     He is very healthy and still making some small improvements. There was a little accident in mid January while he was in physical therapy using the standing frame. The therapist and Erin noticed Sam, who never complains of pain, was indeed making some grimaces like he was hurting while they had him in a standing position. They asked him to rate his pain, 1-10, and he said it was a 9 out of 10. It turns out that due to low bone density, Sam actually broke a bone in his foot. He is currently in a boot and taking vitamin D and calcium supplements taking him out for more sun. Chap. note: It is a slow process to recovery that our wounded warriors must go through.

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VETERANS BENEFITS, CONTINUED

     A State home is owned and operated by a State. They may provide nursing home care, domiciliary care, and/or adult day health care. VA provides federal assistance to States by participating in a percentage of the cost of construction/renovation and/or per diem costs. In addition, VA assures that State homes provide quality care through an annual inspection, audit, and reconciliation of records conducted by the VA medical center or jurisdiction to assure that VA standards are met.
     Domiciliary care is a residential program that provides short-term rehabilitation and long-term health maintenance to veterans who require minimal medical care as they recover from medical, psychiatric or psychosocial problems. Most domiciliary patients return to the community after a period of rehabilitation.
     VA may provide domiciliary care to veterans whose annual income does not exceed the maximum annual "Improved Disability VA Pension Rate" or to veterans who have been determined to have no adequate means of support.
     Other services include:
►Hospice/Palliative care provides comfort-oriented and supportive services in the advanced stages of incurable diseases.
►Respite Care temporarily relieves the spouse or other caregiver from the burden of caring for a chronically ill or disabled veteran at home.
►Geriatric Evaluation and Management (GEM) evaluates and manages older veterans with multiple medical, functional or psychological problems and those with particular geriatric problems receive assessment and treatment from an interdisciplinary team of VA health professionals.
►Community Residential Care provides room, board, limited personal care and supervision to veterans who do not require hospital or nursing home care but are not able to live independently because of medical or psychiatric conditions, and who have no family to provide care.
►Home Health Care provides long-term primary medical care to chronically ill veterans in their own homes under the coordinated care of an interdisciplinary treatment team.
►Adult Day Health Care provides health maintenance and rehabilitative services to veterans in a group setting during daytime hours.
►Homemaker/Home Health Aide Services provides health-related services for service-connected veterans needing nursing home care, provided by public and private agencies under a system of case management provided directly by VA staff.
     Next month, we will cover Extended Care Services criteria and Home Health Services.
     Chapter Note: Many veterans and/or their families are unaware of the services the VA can provide. If you think you need any of the above services, contact the office and we will determine what you qualify for. On another note...if you have never filed for a claim before, come in and let us send for your 201 file, (a complete file of your time in the service). Get your records before the medical records get separated from the rest of your file.

HONOR AND REMEMBER??? OR NOT???
WHAT DO YOU THINK??? - Send your opinions to the chapter and we will publish the comments in the newsletter.

     The simple Honor and Remember banner is designed to honor those who served and died in the military. But a national campaign to add the red-and-white "Honor and Remember" banner to official U.S. flag displays on military holidays is creating painful divisions among veterans and the relatives of loved ones killed in action. For lawmakers nationwide, the "Honor and Remember" debate forces an uncomfortable question: Who can say what should be done to honor people who died for the country? The banner - a red-and-white background with a star, an eternal flame and the words "HONOR AND REMEMBER" - was conceived by a Virginia man, George Lutz, who lost his son in Iraq in 2005. Lutz has visited all 50 states to promote its display beneath the American flag and the POW/MIA flag adopted by Congress in 1989. Delaware, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Virginia have adopted the banner, and federal legislation to do so is pending for a third consecutive year in Congress. "It's public recognition of the price of freedom, and I don't think we can do that enough," said Lutz, of Chesapeake, VA., who has gathered signatures of support from countless relatives of fallen service members and many public officials, including governors and members of Congress.
     Lutz says the campaign helps him mourn his son, Pfc. George Anthony "Tony" Lutz II, killed at age 25. "It's a great idea," said Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) who has sponsored bills in Congress requiring the "Honor and Remember" flag to be flown under the national flag and POW/MIA flag at federal buildings on federal holidays. "There was no flag that was separate and apart to honor those who had given their lives in the defense and honor of the country," Forbes said. But many oppose the new banner's display alongside Old Glory. In Colorado, state senators in late January rejected a second attempt to have the "Honor and Remember" flag flown over the state Capitol on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. The decision literally brought tears to the eyes of some on the Senate State Veterans and Military Affairs Committee after hours of emotional testimony from veterans. Dozens in the standing-room-only crowd dabbed their eyes. Comments included: "We believe Old Glary is the only flag we want representing us," said Marvin Meyers, former chairman of the Colorado Board of Veterans' Affairs. "We fought for it. We're buried under it."
                                                       from the RAO Bulletin.

                                PTSD CONTROVERSY
     Can 100% compensation payments for PTSD be more harmful than help to veterans? From RAO - Satel Article.
     "Military history is rich with tales of warriors who return from battle with the horrors of war still raging in their heads. One or the earliest examples was enshrined by Herodotus, who wrote of an Athenian warrior struck blind "without blow of sword or dart" when a soldier standing next to him was killed. The classic term-"shell shock" dates to World War I; "battle fatigue," "combat exhaustion," and "war stress" were used in World War II. Modern psychiatry calls these invisible wounds post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And along with this diagnosis, which became widely known in the wake of the Vietnam War, has come a new sensitivity--among the public, the military, and mental health professionals--to the causes and consequences of being afflicted. The Department of Veterans Affairs is particularly attuned to the psychic welfare of the men and women who are returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Last July, retired Army General Eric K. Shinseki, secretary of Veterans Affairs, unveiled new procedures that make it easier for veterans who believe they are disabled by wartime stress to file benefit claims and receive compensation. "[Psychological] wounds, " Shinseki declared, "can be as debilitating as any physical battlefield trauma."
     This is true. But gauging mental injury in the wake of war is not as straightforward as assessing, say, a lost limb or other physical damage. For example, at what point do we say that normal, if painful, readjustment difficulties have become so troubling as to qualify as a mental illness? How can clinicians predict which patients will recover when a veteran's odds of recovery depend so greatly on non medical factors, including his own expectations for recovery; social support available to him; and the intimate meaning he makes of his distress? Inevitably, successful caregiving will turn on a clear understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the Columbia reanalysis, the psychological cost of what war was 40% lower than the original NVVRS estimate. One of the most important and paradoxical lessons to emerge from these insights is that lowering the threshold for receipt of disability benefits is not always in the best interest of the veteran and his family. Without question, some veterans will remain so irretrievably damaged by their war experience that they cannot participate in the competitive workplace. These men and women clearly deserve the roughly $2,300. monthly tax-free benefit (given for "total", or 100 percent, disability) and other resources the Veterans Administration offers. But what if disability entitlements actually work to the detriment of other patients by keeping them from meaningful work and by creating an incentive for them to embrace institutional dependence? And what if the system, well-intentioned though it surely is, does not adequately protect young veterans from a premature verdict of invalidism? Acknowledging and studying these effects of compensation can be politically delicate, yet doing so is essential to devising reentry programs of care for the nation's invisibly wounded warriors".

YOUR BRAIN AND MEMORY

     The average adult human brain weights 3 pounds and uses 20 percent of the body's oxygen. There is no sense of pain within the brain itself. Neurosurgeons can probe areas of the brain while the patient is wake and providing feedback.
►►Where are memories kept? They are believed to be processed and stored in various areas of the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain.
►►How can you protect your memories? By increasing your dendrite density. Dendrites are treelike receptive branches extending from the neuron cell bodies. Dendrites increase in number with use and decrease with disuse. Expanding dendrites and refining connections between neurons thickens the cortex, the outer layer of the brain, and provides a neural reserve to maintain brain function.
►►What destroys memory? Senile dementias, including Alzheimer's and cerebrovascular diseases. Genetic and individual health factors play a role in their onset. These diseases affect about 1 percent of people under age 65 but nearly 50 percent among those older than 85.
►►Reversible causes of impaired memory. Stress, Sleep deprivation, Depression, Metabolic disorders, including thyroid diseases, Alcoholism, Vitamin B12 deficiency, Infections, Drugs.
►►When to worry. If you sometimes forget names, it's probably no big deal. If you have trouble remembering how to do things you've done many times before (tying a tie, opening and closing the car door), then you might have a real problem. Other signs to pay attention to: serious trouble making choices, handling money, repeating yourself, feeling more irritable or aggressive.
                                                from the Sacramento Bee
     ►We'll address some ways to keep your brain fit next month
                                  EMERGENCY FOOD
     Last month we discussed some things you needed to do to be prepared for a community emergency. Food storage was one. Here are some guide lines on shelf-life for food storage.
►►Use within six months: Powdered milk (boxed), Dried fruit, Dry, crisp crackers, potatoes.
►►Use within one year, or before date indicated on the label: Canned condensed meat and vegetable soups, canned fruits, fruit juices, and vegetables, Ready-to-eat cereals and uncooked instant cereals, Peanut butter, Jelly, Hard candy and canned nuts, Vitamins.
►►May be stored indefinitely (in proper containers and conditions): Wheat, Vegetable oils, Dried corn, Baking powder, Soybeans, Instant coffee, tea, and cocoa, Salt, Noncarbonated soft drinks, White rice, Bouillon products, Dry pasta, Powdered milk (in nitrogen-packed cans)
     If your electricity does go out, first use all perishable foods from the frig, pantry, garden, etc. Then use foods from your freezer, (put some in a cooler a little at a time to keep from opening your freezer door. Then use your non-perishable foods.

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SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS, ONE CARE PACKAGE AT A TIME. THE DEFENDERS OF FREEDOM, CALIFORNIA CHAPTER IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION (501c 3)FORMED SOLELY TO SUPPORT OUR TROOPS ACTIVELY SERVING OUR COUNTRY TO KEEP AMERICA SAFE.

ACTION BUYS MILITARY ITEMS!

Sea Kayaking is a great, low-stress, outdoor recreation. After kayaking on the East Coast for many years, Steve Keller, Chapter 500 member, and wife Mary, discovered Penguin Paddlers, right in their town of Rocklin. The owner of Penguin Paddlers is a USAF Pararescue Veteran. Penguin Paddlers has an active, friendly club, with the average age in the 60's. They have local and road trips, with clinics and demonstrations. So it's an ideal recreation for VVA members. You can ask Steve at a meeting, or contact him at 916-919-3991, or e-mail: doublekayak@yahoo.com. The Penguin website is: www.penguinpaddlers.com.

                                    CHAPTER INFORMATION
OFFICERS: President: Gregory C. McNeill
Vice President: Jim Singleton
Secretary: Ted Adams
Treasurer: Jerry Quint - is also Alternate State Delegate
BOARD MEMBERS: Monty Montoya, Marty Snezek, Karen Winnett                 STATE DELEGATE: Gregory McNeill
AVVA REPRESENTATIVE: Vacant at this time.
ADDRESS: Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc., Chapter 500
                                            P.O. Box 255484
                                           Sacramento, CA 95865
TELEPHONE:                 916-481-6020 FAX: 916-481-2609
E-MAIL:                          vva500@sbcglobal.net
CHAPTER WEBSITE: www.norcaltrav.com/vva500.htm
FOR INFORMATION: Call or e-mail, Executive Director,
                                           Mary Lou McNeill
NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS: Mail to Chapter address or e-mail information. Please send pictures in jpeg form.
VVA Chapter 500 is a non-profit organization, #68-0208305, CT#75945, United Way #12583. All donations to support our projects such as our Scholarship Fund, Helping Hands Fund, Events for Veterans, and Honor Guard will be gratefully appreciated. You may earmark your donation to the project you wish to support.
VVA500 HALL PHYSICAL ADDRESS: 4441 Auburn Blvd., Suite J
Hall is located at the corner of Auburn Blvd. and Orange Grove Ave. There are several ways of reaching the hall, Auburn Blvd. exits off I-80, Madison exit to Auburn Blvd., Watt Ave. to Auburn Blvd. When you get to the complex, the Hall is on the far end off Auburn Blvd.. Just look for the flag pole in the back corner.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
MARCH BIRTHDAYS
♫♫♫Stanley Sheets - AVVA - ♫♫♫Carl Burke -Army♫♫♫John Moreno - Army♫♫♫Daniel Cameron - Air Force♫♫♫Richard Reynolds - Navy♫♫♫W♫♫♫Charles Todd - Army♫♫♫Joe Cavanagh - Marines♫♫♫George Furtado - Army♫♫♫Michael Nygren - Army♫♫♫Robert Segovia - Army♫♫♫Ronnie Pierce - Navy♫♫♫APRIL BIRTHDAYS♫♫♫Jesse Ramos - Air Force♫♫♫Alfred "Rocky" Trejo - Army♫♫♫William Schlotz - Air Force♫♫♫Joe Feirl - Navy♫♫♫J.C. Terry - Army♫♫♫Bill Lloyd - Army♫♫♫Oscar Uvalle - Army♫♫♫Alan Hayashi - Army♫♫♫Allen Hansen - Air Force♫♫♫Whitley Varney - Army♫♫♫Reynaldo Mendoza - Army♫♫♫Monty Montoya - Army♫♫♫William Calhoun - Marines♫♫♫Herbert Cowan - Air Force♫♫♫Ray Redmill - Army♫♫♫Raymond Engelhardt - Air Force♫♫♫Simon Salugusugan - Army♫♫♫Raymond Horn - Navy♫♫♫Donald Miller - Army♫♫♫Bruce Kilborn - Army♫♫♫Loretta Bustos - AVVA♫♫♫
If your birthday is not here, data is incorrect, submit the correction and/or addition to the office. Contact information is in column on the left. We are not required to list birthday information, but do it as an extra service for our members. Again, National may have your DD214, we may not have received it, it could be misfiled. Resubmit!

Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc.
Sacramento Valley's Chapter 500
P.O. Box 255484
Sacramento, CA 95865
916-481-6020 - vva500@sbcglobal.net

         ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED