INSIDER
Former San Antonio Veterans Affairs contracting official sentenced in bribery case
Read full article: Former San Antonio Veterans Affairs contracting official sentenced in bribery caseA former Veterans Affairs contracting official from San Antonio was sentenced to four years probation and six months of home detention related to a bribery case.
V-J Day 'Kiss' photo stays on display as VA head reverses department memo that would've banned it
Read full article: V-J Day 'Kiss' photo stays on display as VA head reverses department memo that would've banned itThe Veterans Affairs secretary is reversing a department memo that aimed to ban VA displays of the iconic “V-J Day in Times Square” photograph showing a Navy sailor kissing a woman he did not know on the streets of New York at the end of World War II.
Kerrville man sentenced to federal prison for stealing medications from veterans
Read full article: Kerrville man sentenced to federal prison for stealing medications from veteransA Kerrville man was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for stealing medicines from Veterans Affairs patients and selling them for profit.
‘Don’t wait, reach out’: VA campaign hopes to prevent more veteran suicides
Read full article: ‘Don’t wait, reach out’: VA campaign hopes to prevent more veteran suicidesThe US Dept. of Veterans Affairs is taking significant steps to encourage veterans to seek support if they are struggling with mental health.
Texas veteran helps fix loophole in VA policy that denied coverage to living organ donors
Read full article: Texas veteran helps fix loophole in VA policy that denied coverage to living organ donorsA Texas veteran who faced an uphill when looking for coverage for his living donor through the Veterans Choice Program led the effort to change a system flaw to help others.
Dallas, El Paso veterans’ facilities will get $442 million in upgrades
Read full article: Dallas, El Paso veterans’ facilities will get $442 million in upgradesThe funds will help expand the Dallas facility into a long-term spinal cord injury treatment center and pay for a new health care facility in El Paso.
‘Don’t wait’: Veteran exposed to burn pits now on track to get care after PACT Act enacted
Read full article: ‘Don’t wait’: Veteran exposed to burn pits now on track to get care after PACT Act enactedA new law allows nearly 3.5 million veterans exposed to burn pits to get health care through the VA without proving their illness was a result of their service in the military.
Biggest vets groups step up pressure on Trump to fire Wilkie
Read full article: Biggest vets groups step up pressure on Trump to fire WilkieFILE - In this July 7, 2020 file photo, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Richard Wilkie speaks at the National Press Club in Washington. Confronted with a sexual assault allegation at a veterans hospital, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie repeatedly sought to discredit the female congressional staffer who made the complaint. The groups pressed Trump to act in the last weeks of his administration since Wilkie had refused to accept responsibility and was refusing to resign. Wilkie and other senior officials had declined to fully cooperate with the investigation by VA Inspector General Michael Missal. Wilkie is Trump’s second VA secretary after David Shulkin was fired in 2018.
American Legion, Pelosi joining calls for VA chief's ouster
Read full article: American Legion, Pelosi joining calls for VA chief's ouster“It is unfair to expect accountability from the nearly 400,000 VA employees and not demand the same from its top executive. Wilkie and other senior officials had declined to fully cooperate with the investigation by VA Inspector General Michael Missal. Wilkie is Trump’s second VA secretary after David Shulkin was fired in 2018. President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to rebuild trust in the VA when he takes office on Jan. 20. He has selected Denis McDonough, who served as President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff, to be VA secretary.
Vets groups demand Wilkie's dismissal after scathing audit
Read full article: Vets groups demand Wilkie's dismissal after scathing audit“The accountability, professionalism and respect that our veterans have earned, and quite frankly deserve, is completely lost in this current VA leadership team,” said B.J. Wilkie and other senior officials had declined to fully cooperate with the investigation by VA Inspector General Michael Missal. Wilkie is President Donald Trump’s second VA secretary after David Shulkin was fired in 2018. “VA can and must do better,” said Randy Reese, executive director of Disabled American Veterans’ Washington headquarters. He has selected Denis McDonough, who served as President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff, to be VA secretary.
Watchdog faults VA chief over handling of sex assault report
Read full article: Watchdog faults VA chief over handling of sex assault report“The response of Secretary Wilkie and senior VA officials to the veteran’s complaint of sexual assault was troubling,” Missal said in a statement. “The tone set by Secretary Wilkie appears to have influenced aspects of the initial VA police investigation and the conduct of other VA employees,” the report said. On Thursday, Biden said he will nominate Denis McDonough, who served as President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff, to be VA secretary. VA officials did not examine the information, the report said. A study released by the VA last year found 1 in 4 female veterans using VA health care reported inappropriate comments by male veterans on VA grounds.
Explosion kills 2 steam pipe workers at veterans hospital
Read full article: Explosion kills 2 steam pipe workers at veterans hospitalWEST HAVEN, Conn. – Two workers were killed in an explosion Friday while repairing a steam pipe in a maintenance building at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Connecticut, officials said. Alfred Montoya Jr., director of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, said the men were in the basement of the small outer building and had just finished routine maintenance on a leaky pipe. He said the explosion occurred just after 8 a.m. as the pipe was being refilled with steam. “Our prayers are with the families of the victims of this explosion," VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said. The explosion occurred in a building that houses the hospital’s labor shops, such as carpentry and plumbing, a spokesperson for the hospital said.
Bill calling for sweeping VA mental health care changes heading to president’s desk
Read full article: Bill calling for sweeping VA mental health care changes heading to president’s deskStatistics like these prompted a bipartisan group of U.S. senators to draft a bill that would bring sweeping changes to the Department of Veteran Affairs' mental health services. Senate Bill 785, also known as the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, has now passed the Senate and House and is headed to President Donald Trump’s desk for approval. The bill does the following:establishes increased accountability over the department’s mental health and suicide prevention programs;expands VA tele-health capabilities to better serve rural veterans;bolsters and expedites federal research capabilities;directs the VA to embark on a precision medicine initiative that will improve how mental health conditions are diagnosed and treated;makes necessary improvements to the VA mental health workforce. “Mental health is widely misunderstood, and there’s a negative culture associated with it, especially in the military. “Not everyone that they see will fit the parameters they need to see or allow them into a mental health provider.