September 25, 2003

Project Cares Does Not Look Good

Project Cares (Capital Asset for Realignment of Services) does not look good for Long Island Veterans. Already proposed by the VA under the Cares Project is the closing of the VA Hospital in Manhattan. The Northport VA sends heart patients to Manhattan for operations. Northport's requests for three new outpatient clinics have also been dropped from the plan. It takes 18 days for a new veteran enrollee to get an appointment at the Albany VA Medical Center. It takes 180 days for that same veteran to see a doctor at the Northport VA Medical Center and 240 days to see a doctor at the VA Plainview Clinic. Concerned veterans should send their opinions in writing to Richard E. Larson, Executive Director, Department of Veterans Affairs (00CARES), 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20420

Nassau County Veterans will remember Veterans Day at a special ceremony at Eisenhower Park on Sunday, November 9, 2003. The event will begin at 10:00 AM at the Veterans Plaza near parking lot 6. The public especially students are welcome to join the veterans.

The most widely unknown state benefit for veterans is the New York State blind annuity. A wartime honorably discharged veteran who becomes legally blind for any reason (including not service connected) is eligible for an annuity payable monthly for a total of $1,000 per year. Unlike most VA benefits the application for this state benefit is very simple and most veterans begin receiving a check within a few weeks. Contact the Veterans Service Office (516-572-8452) for an application.

20 homeless veterans are now enrolled in the Nassau County Veterans Employment and Training (VETS) Program. The enrollees are involved in a process that if followed will lead to employment and self-sufficiency. Nassau VETS has been funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to help 180 veterans reintegrate back into the work force. Any veteran with an other than dishonorable discharge who does not have a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence is welcome to call 516-572-8452. Many unemployed veterans living with friends or relatives are also eligible for this program.

Finding some one who can play Taps at a military funeral or ceremony is not always possible. A solution may be to purchase a ceremonial Bugle from the S and D Consulting Int.Ltd. These battery operated bugles look and sound exactly like a real bugle played by a real person. The VA has authorized these ceremonial bugles at National Cemeteries. For information see www.ceremonialbugle.com or call 212-426-3268.

Veterans applying for social security for the first time are being told to produce a DD214 or report of discharge/separation. To some this may seam like an unnecessary burden. The truth is that the Social Security Administration does not know everyone who served in the military especially if you served before 1973. Additional wage credits are available for veterans who served between 1940 and 2001. If you are approaching the "golden years" and do not have your DD214 or discharge/separation papers call the Veterans Service Agency 516-572-8452.

History was made on August 5, 2003 by the Tiger Team of the Cleveland, Ohio Regional Office of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The team awarded a 10% disability to a veteran who claimed that his hepatitis C was a direct result of the " Jet Injector" used for injections in his basic training. Previously the VA rejected all claims where the "Jet Injector" was the only risk factor. The reason for the change in policy involves an opinion of a VA doctor who said in part " anyone who had inoculations with the Jet injector were at risk of having Hepatitis C and should be tested". Veterans who have been denied a rated disability for Hep C solely on the "Jet Injector" issue should call the Veterans Service Agency to reopen their claim.

According to VA statistics one out of every six women and one out of every ten men experience some form of military sexual trauma (MST). The Veterans Health Administration has been mandated to treat, counsel and provide medications at no cost to veterans who have experienced MST regardless of service connection, time in service or type of discharge. Veterans interested in getting more information should contact Gary Sandler, CSW 631-261-4400 X5928 the Military Sexual Trauma Coordinator at the Northport VA Medical Center.

Effective July 18, 2003 cirrhosis of the liver has been added to the list of presumptive diseases for compensation purposes for former prisoners of war. This means that a former POW does not have to prove to the VA that his cirrhosis of the liver was caused by his /her internment as a prisoner of war. There are now 18 diseases or conditions associated with the status of former POWs that the VA recognizes for compensation purposes. For more information contact the Veterans Service Agency.

Good Medicine! Within 30 days of returning from Iraq all U.S. troops are required to fill out a questionnaire, meet health providers and give blood samples. It seems some of the lessons learned from the first Gulf War are changing procedures.

Project Shad is officially closed. During the 1960s-1973 the Navy participated with the Army's Deseret Test Center conducting tests with chemical and biological elements aboard ships and on some bases. According to the Department of Defense some 5, 800 service men were exposed to these tests. The names of those involved have been given to the Department of Veterans affairs. Information about project Shad is still available by calling 1-800-749-8387.