state of vba - united states department of veterans affairs · vba chief daniel cooper sits down to...

VAnguard

September/October 2003 1

outlook

State of VBAEx-POW Outreach

Oklahoma City VAMC at 50

SES Development Program

September/October 2003

State of VBAEx-POW Outreach

Oklahoma City VAMC at 50

SES Development Program

VAnguard

2 September/October 2003

Features

Reaching Out.................................................................................................6the largest outreach effort to former POWs in 20 years is underwayMessengers of Hope.....................................................................................8Fred Downs and Jim Mayer bring encouragement to wounded troopsThe Top Tier of Federal Service........................................................10VA has revived a program to groom future executivesCelebrating a Legacy of Service.......................................................12the Oklahoma City VAMC marks a milestoneThe Blackout of 2003: VA Copes......................................................15massive power outage created some challenges for VA facilitiesRunning a Tight Ship...............................................................................16VBA chief Daniel Cooper sits down to talk about the state of VBAFree and Easy Learning.........................................................................20some employees are making the most of the opportunity to learn onlineKorean War Armistice Day Weekend.............................................22veterans and families flock to D.C. for a 50th anniversary last hurrahTribute to a Generation........................................................................23construction of the World War II national memorial is on schedule

Departments

Letters...................................................3 Medical Advances............................29Management Matters......................4 Have You Heard..............................30Outlook.................................................5 Honors and Awards........................31Around Headquarters...................24 Heroes................................................32Introducing........................................28

On the coverSince taking over as VA Under Secretary forBenefits in March 2002, retired Navy AdmiralDaniel L. Cooper has run a tight ship, and he’sgetting results. The claims backlog has beencut by about 175,000 and the length of timeit takes to process a claim has been reducedby several months.

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VAnguardVA’s Employee MagazineSeptember/October 2003Vol. XLIX, No. 5

Printed on 50% recycled paper

Editor: Lisa RespessAssistant Editor: Matt BristolPhoto Editor: Robert TurtilPublished by the Office of Public Affairs (80D)

Department of Veterans Affairs810 Vermont Ave., N.W.Washington, D.C. 20420(202) 273-5746E-mail: [email protected]/pubaff/vanguard/index.htm

VAnguard


letters

Have a comment on something you’ve seen inVAnguard? We invite reader feedback. Send yourcomments to [email protected]. You can alsowrite to us at: VAnguard, Office of Public Affairs(80D), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Ver-mont Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C., 20420, or faxyour letter to (202) 273-6702. Include your name,title and VA facility. We won’t be able to publish ev-ery letter, but we’ll use representative ones. We mayneed to edit your letter for length or clarity.

We Want to Hear from You

New VA SARS Web Site

Proud DadI was a little upset when Iread your last publication.You sent an e-mail out askingfor information on VA em-ployees who have familymembers in Iraq. As usual,employees who work in theelements did not get themessage.

My daughter, Spc. AliciaBauernfeind, is assigned to3rd Infantry Division, 2nd Bri-gade Combat Team, B Com-pany, 123rd Signal Battalion,Fort Stewart, Ga. She wasdeployed September 2002.Her MOS (Military Occupa-tional Specialty) is SatelliteSystems Operator.

Alicia has been in Iraqsince March 20, 2003. Be-fore that she was in Kuwait,Camp New York. I am proudof her. Alicia is a college gradand entered the Army in No-vember 2001.

Alicia is a true Americanhero in my eyes. Please giveher some space in yourVAnguard.

Kenneth BauernfeindEquipment OperatorCalverton, N.Y., NC

Employee AssociationsVAnguard has developed intoquite a good read—I haveenjoyed several of the articles,especially spotlighting the

good work VA employees do.I would also like to see a

new section about the VAEmployee Associations andtheir efforts nationwidethrough their many hours ofwork supporting the medicalcenters and providing giftsfor veterans, volunteering

In the July/August issue, a few names were left off the list ofNCA employees with 30 years of dedicated service, and onename on the list was misspelled. The following employeesalso have 30 years of service: Robert Hardwood, Long Island(N.Y.) National Cemetery; Michael Gavin, Camp Butler (Ill.)National Cemetery; Lawrence Kiyabu, National MemorialCemetery of the Pacific; and Paul Steiner, Long Island Na-tional Cemetery. The last name of Susan E. Gueci, Calverton(N.Y.) National Cemetery, was misspelled.

Corrections

1. Prevents severe illness and influenza-related death.2. Protects other people from the flu.3. Keeps us well and able to help veterans.

Get your flu shot today! For more information,visit www.vaprevention.com or www.cdc.gov/nip/flu.

Note that the new nasal flu vaccine is not avail-able in VA, but may be from your private healthcare provider. As VAnguard went to press, concernssurfaced about health care workers receiving nasalflu vaccine. Flu vaccine given by shot (injection) re-mains the preferred method. For more information,talk with your health care provider, infection controlprofessional, or occupational health practitioner.

with Habitat for Humanity,and helping with floods andother natural disasters. VAEmployee Associations makeup a very important part ofour One VA family.

Fronza G. GouldIT Specialist

Lexington, Ky., VAMC

A 100-foot tall Uncle Sam hot air balloon was on display outsidethe Houston VA Medical Center this summer, delighting patients,staff, volunteers and visitors. It was one of more than 100 balloonscompeting in events and exhibitions during the Ballunar Liftoff Fes-tival, held annually at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

SHAWN D. JAMES

Uncle Sam Comes to Houston

Top Three Reasonsto Get a Flu Shot This Year

VAnguardmanagement matters


VA is Prepared for a Return of SARSSusan Mather, M.D.Chief Officer, Public Health and Environmental Hazards

The SARS epidemic hascome and gone … or has it?No one can say for sure, buteither way, VA is active andinvolved.

SARS, or severe acuterespiratory syndrome, is a vi-ral respiratory illness. It is di-agnosed on the basis of pa-tient history of travel or closecontact with a person withSARS and symptoms, includ-ing a fever, headache, anoverall feeling of discomfort,body aches, and respiratorysymptoms such as coughing.People who care for or livewith someone with SARS areat greatest risk of developingthe disease.

SARS first occurred inChina in November 2002and spread to other parts ofthe world before publichealth measures contained itby July of this year. Morethan 8,000 people worldwidedeveloped SARS and morethan 800 of them died fromit.

In this country, therewere 192 likely cases ofSARS and all of them gotbetter. Most of the affectedU.S. residents had traveled toparts of the world whereSARS was spreading.

We have been followingthe SARS epidemic from thebeginning, making regularreports on SARS and VA ac-tions at health system leader-ship calls and setting up acomprehensive VA Web siteat www.publichealth.va.gov/SARS.

A new directive requiresVA facilities to quickly reportpossible cases of SARS andsubmit regular follow-ups

(less than a dozen possiblecases of SARS have been re-ported in the VA system).We created material formedical and non-medicalstaff, patients, and visitors,and widely promoted con-tinuing education programsfrom the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention, thelead federal agency on SARS.

We’ve made coordina-tion and two-way communi-cation priorities, discussingSARS with and listening tofeedback from a broad arrayof VA staff, such as chiefmedical officers, food service

workers, environmental ser-vices staff, environmental en-gineers, infection controlprofessionals, nursing staff,primary and ambulatory carestaff, emergency managers,education contacts, public af-fairs officers, and others.These yielded key ideas andgood materials such as aposter for triaging patientsand a slide set for in-servicetraining by the Atlanta VAMedical Center, “sneeze”posters for visitors to theOmaha and Durham, N.C.,VA Medical Centers urgingvisitors with certain symp-toms to ask for a mask andtissues, and a sample facilitySARS policy developed bythe Palo Alto, Calif., VAMedical Center.

The department is alsorepresented in a White

The SARS epidemic has come and gone ... or has it?No one can say for sure, but either way, VA is activeand involved.

House “Concept of Opera-tions” plan that describeswhat each agency will do ifthere are local cases or awidespread outbreak. VA ispart of the National DisasterMedical System, which is ac-tivated if the Department ofHomeland Security declares anational emergency. VA hascaches of supplies and medi-cine that could be providedfor all sorts of emergenciesand is part of a national sys-tem to move medical person-nel around the country ifnecessary.

A VA SARS Working

Group—comprised of Cen-tral Office and field staff rep-resentatives in public health,occupational health, infec-tious disease, infection con-trol, nursing, emergencymanagement, prevention,education, public affairs, andother functions—is focusingon:

■ employee issues, such

as policy development foremployees exposed to SARSin the workplace;

■ an enhanced influ-enza vaccination campaign,so that more VA staff canavoid one respiratory ill-ness—the flu—and be ableto take care of veterans;

■ lab access to tests thatcan confirm the disease(none is currently availablefor early diagnosis);

■ personal protectionvia a variety of gowns, masks,gloves, and eye protection, aswell as hand hygiene; and

■ educational materials

on SARS and communica-tions on the disease and whatVA is doing to be prepared.

To paraphrase Louis Pas-teur, chance—and health—favors the prepared mind. Tobe better prepared for SARS,visit www.publichealth.va.gov/SARS. Other key sites arewww.cdc.gov andwww.who.int.

Don’t miss your weekly helping of “VA News,” news forand about VA employees delivered each week in a digest-ible 10-minute video shown daily at 4 a.m., 8 a.m.,noon, 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. (Eastern Time) over the VAKnowledge Network’s Communications Channel. The100th edition of VA News aired this summer. Can’t getto a TV? View it from your desktop computer on theVA Intranet at vaww.va.gov/opa/feature/index.htm.

Are You Watching?

VAnguard


outlook

We Must Not Fail Our Newest Generation of VeteransAnthony J. PrincipiSecretary of Veterans Affairs

Let me make it clear that every military man orwoman wounded, injured or ill from training for orfighting our war on terror receives priority service atVA. None of these heroes can ‘fall through the cracks.’

As the newest generation ofwar-wounded veterans turnsto VA for assistance, now is agood time to remember thewords of Gen. Omar Bradley,who led VA just after WorldWar II—“We are dealing withveterans, not procedures: withtheir problems, not ours.”

In April, I directed VAhealth care facilities to pro-vide “priority care” to activeduty servicemembers in-volved in armed conflict inIraq under statutory authori-zation for VA to care formembers of the active dutyArmed Forces during andimmediately following a pe-riod of national emergencydeclared by the President.There is no question as towhether or not we will pro-vide priority care for these“active duty veterans” duringand after their transitionfrom military to civilian sta-tus.

We’ve heard disturbingreports of continued attackson our military men andwomen serving on the frontlines of freedom in Iraq andAfghanistan. News reportsalso focused on a few iso-lated, yet troubling, cases ofOperation Iraqi Freedom andEnduring Freedom veteransrunning into unnecessary de-lays while seeking VA healthcare and disability benefits.

Such delays and barriersto VA care and benefits areunacceptable. I have initiatedaction at all levels to ensurethey do not happen again.You will hear more aboutpolicy and proceduralchanges, but let me make itclear that every military man

or woman wounded, injuredor ill from training for orfighting our war on terror re-ceives priority service at VA.None of these heroes can“fall through the cracks.”

I established a One VAtask force to recommendshort and long-term initia-tives to make sure we are do-ing everything we can for ourservicemen and women asthey make the difficult tran-sition from wounded soldierto rehabilitated veteran. Thegroup’s immediate focus ison military personnel beingmedically discharged due toinjures incurred in Iraq andAfghanistan, but its overrid-ing goal is to embed changesin VA policy and practice

that will ensure better servicefor military personnel injuredduring any combat opera-tion. The task force firstlooked at where combat ca-sualties are being sent in theU.S. and how to focus VAservices at those locations.

Most of the severelywounded are evacuated tomilitary hospitals in theWashington, D.C., area—Walter Reed Army MedicalCenter and the National Na-val Medical Center inBethesda, Md. Because of thevolume of patients at both, aVA hospital social workerand VA benefits counselorwere assigned to work full

time with patients and staffsto make sure each new com-bat-disabled veteran is awareof the health care servicesand benefits VA offers.

Those who choose VAhealth care for their recupera-tion and rehabilitation athome will be enrolled in theVA health care system beforethey leave their military hos-pital. The VA medical centernearest their home will benotified (each VA medicalcenter now has a point ofcontact for these veterans)and will contact the veteranupon his or her arrival home.

This is a new conceptfor both VA and the Depart-ment of Defense. It meansactively reaching out to and

working with active dutyservicemembers whose mili-tary careers have been cutshort before they are actuallydischarged. It means workingcloser than ever with DoD atevery level to ensure a seam-less transition for these re-cently wounded veterans toVA care. It means respondingto and meeting the needs ofthese veterans first, and tend-ing to administrative detailslater.

The VA staff involve-ment at Walter Reed andBethesda has been replicatedby VA hospital social workerand veterans benefits counse-lor teams at Eisenhower (Au-

gusta, Ga.), Brooke (San An-tonio, Texas) and Madigan(Seattle-Tacoma) ArmyMedical Centers that are alsoreception points for Opera-tion Iraqi Freedom and En-during Freedom casualties,particularly those from Na-tional Guard and Reserveunits. These VA teams arenot working at the militaryhospitals full time becausethere are fewer casualties atthese locations, but they areon call and make regular vis-its.

We will no longer waitfor recently wounded service-men and women who arestruggling to overcome com-bat injuries to contact VAabout care and benefits. Our

policy, supported by thesenew procedures, is to reachout to them in a One VAmanner that ensures we gothe extra step to serve them.Through this process, we cantake care of these veteransclosest to their homes, even ifthey are on active duty, andprovide continuity in careand benefits throughout theirrecovery, rehabilitation andreturn to life.

Today’s servicemembersdid what was required ofthem and some paid a heavyprice. I know I can count oneach of you to do your levelbest to honor our commit-ment to these heroes.

VAnguardfeature


Abroad effort is underway toreach out to former prison-ers of war and their widows.

It’s the largest national outreach toex-POWs in 20 years, according toDiane Fuller, head of outreach inVBA’s Compensation and PensionService.

The effort got underway latelast year when Dennis Rhoades, whoworks in C&P Service, conductedan in-depth review of a CD-ROMdatabase containing the names,dates of service, and periods of cap-tivity for 113,000 U.S. formerPOWs.

He began by deducting records

without social security numbers,which left him with about 70,000.Next he deducted those who died,leaving about 52,000. He ran thisagainst VBA’s veteran database,called BIRLS, and came up withabout 25,000 names. He cross-checked these with the C&P masterrecord, a listing of VA compensationand pension recipients, and identi-fied about 6,000 ex-POWs who hadnever filed disability claims. By us-ing their social security numbers, hewas able to track down mailing ad-dresses for 4,600 ex-POWs.

Phase one of the plan was tocontact them, along with ex-POWs

receiving compensation for disabili-ties rated less than 50 percent, andinvite them to file new or reopenedclaims.

Putting the Plan in PlacePOW coordinators like Robert

“Tony” Pedigo, a rating specialist atthe Indianapolis VA Regional Of-fice, were responsible for contactingex-POWs in their respective states.Pedigo received names and addressesfor 172 ex-POWs throughout Indi-ana—72 who had never filed aclaim and 93 who are rated 50-per-cent disabled or less. Before lickinghis first stamp though, he put him-

The largest nationaloutreach by VA toformer POWs in 20years is now underway.The effort is focusedon those not receivingVA benefits and thosewith disabilities ratedless than 100 percent.

Reaching OutNATIONAL ARCHIVES PHOTO

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self in the shoes of the octogenar-ians he was trying to reach.

He figured the letter needed tobe in large type so it would be easyto read, and he’d have to include afull listing of the ex-POW presump-tive conditions. He also decided tosend a simple claims form with thebasic name and address informationalready filled in and a self-addressedstamped envelope. “All they had todo was check the presumptive con-ditions for which they wanted to beevaluated, sign the form and send itback,” said Pedigo. His efforts re-sulted in 16 original and 39 re-opened claims.

The outreach plan ultimatelyprogressed into a second phase tar-geting ex-POWs with disabilitiesrated less than 100 percent. As a re-sult of these efforts, more than 1,153ex-POWs nationwide filed new orreopened claims for disability com-pensation from February to July2003. The final figures are still beingtallied.

Review Uncovers AccountingGaps

Back in headquarters, the data-base review uncovered gaps in theway VBA tracks the number of ex-POWs receiving monthly disabilitychecks. For years, the C&P masterrecord indicated there were about14,000 ex-POWs receiving VA dis-ability benefits. That figure was sig-nificantly lower than the total num-ber of living ex-POWs, estimated tobe about 39,000 as of January 2003.

By cross-checking the names onthe C&P master record with thenames of ex-POWs on the BIRLSrecord, Rhoades discovered therewere actually about 23,000 ex-POWs receiving benefits. Thismeant VBA was compensating morethan 60 percent of all living ex-

POWs rather than just 30 percent aspreviously thought. In addition,VBA now had contact informationfor roughly 27,600 ex-POWs. Thatleaves an estimated 11,000 who VAis unable to contact. “We have theirnames, but that’s it,” said Rhoades.“No social security numbers, no cur-rent addresses. Just their names.”

A Team EffortTo contact these 11,000 ex-

POWs, VBA and VHA’s EmployeeEducation System are teaming up fora public affairs outreach campaigninvolving radio and television publicservice announcements and storiesin national and community newspa-pers. Though still in the early plan-ning stages, the campaign seeks toencourage ex-POWs who are not re-ceiving VA benefits, or their wid-ows, spouses or children, to contactVA by calling 1-800-827-1000 andasking to speak with the ex-POWcoordinator.

Dr. Walter H. Cox, health edu-cation officer at the Birmingham,Ala., Employee Education ResourceCenter, and Gailand Smith, VBA’snew POW coordinator, are workingon the plan. Their first step is tosubmit a proposal to Nora Egan,VA’s chief of staff. “We’re going toteam up with a variety of veterans,civic and professional organizationsto aid us in this effort,” said Cox,citing AARP and state nursinghomes as examples. One of the orga-nizations involved is the AmericanEx-Prisoners of War. “We’re workingvery closely with VA on this,” saidClydie Morgan, the group’s nationaladjutant.

Just Leave Me AloneInforming ex-POWs about VA

benefits is one thing. Getting themto file a claim is another. Steven L.Tate, an assistant coach on the post-determination team at the SeattleVA Regional Office, has located ex-POWs in Washington State who

don’t want VA benefits. All theywant, he said, is to be left alone.During phase one of the outreach ef-fort he tried to contact 53 ex-POWswho weren’t receiving VA benefits.Nine responded and filed claims buttwo got angry during a follow-upphone call and told him never tocall again. “They were very upset,”said Tate. One of the tactics he findsuseful is involving a spouse.

During an event last year, he satdown with an ex-POW and tried toget him to submit a disability claim.The veteran resisted and said hisonly health concern was his hearing.But when Tate questioned his wife,she admitted her husband sufferednightmares and other symptomssometimes associated with post-trau-matic stress. With her help, Tate gotthe veteran in for an extensive ex-POW physical where he was foundto be 100-percent service-disabled.

It can be difficult convincingproud World War II veterans theyshould apply for VA disability ben-efits, something they view as ahandout for the weak or those whocouldn’t get by on their own. Onething you never want to do, accord-ing to Tate, is try to lure them in bysaying they might be totally dis-abled. Rather, he suggested puttingthe emphasis on how a VA claimdocuments and validates their expe-rience.

Most of the first-time ex-POWclaims he received this year werenot generated at the VA regional of-fice. They started as walk-in visits atthe nearby Seattle VA MedicalCenter by veterans seeking medicaltreatment or help offsetting the ris-ing costs of prescription drugs. Thisis precisely what the outreach cam-paign is designed to achieve: to getthem to take that first step. Whenthey do, Tate recommends being“ready to wow them when they walkthrough those doors.”

Left: These American World War II soldiers,marching along a road, were captured bythe Germans during the surprise enemydrive into Allied positions.

By Matt Bristol

VAnguardfeature


With their Kevlar body ar-mor and rapid access tomedical treatment, sol-

diers wounded in Operation IraqiFreedom are surviving what wereonce fatal injuries. One day they’rebusting down doors in Baghdad andthe next they’re lying in a hospitalbed with busted-up limbs.

“When you first see them,they’re still confused and can’t seemto comprehend the magnitude ofwhat happened to them,” explainedFrederick Downs Jr., VA’s chief ofprosthetics, describing his visits towounded troops at Walter ReedArmy Medical Center in Washing-ton, D.C., which has received al-most 300 battlefield casualties fromthe war in Iraq.

Downs knows exactly whatthey’re going through. As a 23-year-

old lieutenant with the Army’s 4th

Infantry Division, he was nearlykilled when he stepped on a“Bouncing Betty” land mine on Jan.11, 1968, near Chu Lai, Vietnam.He survived the blast, but lost hisleft arm above the elbow. Now,more than 30 years later, he shareshis story with soldiers who havesimilar injuries. “I want them to un-derstand there is life after amputa-tion,” Downs said.

A Simple MotiveSince April, Downs and Jim

Mayer, director of Leadership VA,have visited more than 60 woundedsoldiers at Walter Reed and Na-tional Naval Medical Center inBethesda, Md., as volunteer ampu-tee peer visitors. Their motive issimple, according to Mayer, who lost

Vietnam veteransFred Downs and JimMayer are deliveringa powerful messageto young soldierswounded in Opera-tion Iraqi Freedom:there is life aftertraumatic injury.

Messengers of Hopeboth legs to a land mine on April25, 1969, while serving with the 25th

Infantry Division in Vietnam. “Ifyou’ve been through an amputationand you see others who are experi-encing that trauma, you just want tohelp them in any way you can,” hesaid.

Their efforts began during the1991 Gulf War after hearing newsreports that Saddam Hussein haddispersed a million land mines tomaim and kill coalition forces ifthey invaded Iraq. “We were con-cerned there were going to be a lotof casualties and we wanted to dosomething to help,” Mayer recalled.The question was, how could theybest help the wounded?

Messengers of Hope

Above: Fred Downs, left, and Jim Mayerhave visited more than 60 wounded sol-diers at military hospitals since April.

ROBERT TURTIL

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Mayer found the answer when afriend asked if he could remember aparticular turning point during hisrecovery at Brooke Army MedicalCenter in San Antonio. “I remem-ber a former patient who came tovisit us one day, it was just a chanceencounter. He lost both arms andhad these prosthetic hooks. I wasmesmerized because I realized hehad a life,” he said.

The encounter provided hopefor his own future, something hesaid severely wounded soldiers rarelyhave. “After a traumatic injury, youlive hour to hour, day to day andyou tend to block out the future. Atfirst you put your hope on the shelfbecause hope is too far in the fu-ture.”

And so it was that Mayer,Downs and about a dozen otherVietnam veterans, many whoworked for VA, started visitingwounded soldiers and sharing theirstories of overcoming traumatic in-jury. During the first Gulf War,Mayer estimated he volunteeredabout 800 hours at military hospi-tals. He organized field trips, picnicsand hosted backyard barbecues. Healso started bringing milkshakes oneach visit, leading patients to nick-name him “the milkshake man.”

Unforgettable StoriesThe group dwindled after the

war, but Mayer and Downs contin-ued visiting servicemembers injuredin training accidents or deploy-ments. Some of the stories are hardto forget. There was the soldier in-jured on the train to Bosnia whenelectricity arced from a cable to hishelmet and blew off his legs. Therewas the Ranger who broke his backwhen he fell out of the Black Hawkhelicopter during the 1993 raid inMogadishu. And there was the sailorwho lost his legs when he gottangled in a rope trying to rescue ashipmate and was dragged through aporthole.

Mayer keeps in touch withmany of the patients he’s met overthe years. Twenty-two of the 58wounded soldiers he met during thefirst Gulf War showed up at hishouse for a July 4th barbecue in 1996for their five-year reunion. He seesothers at two of VA’s National Re-habilitation Special Events—theNational Veterans WheelchairGames and the National DisabledVeterans Winter Sports Clinic.Some even come to his April 25“Alive Day” celebrations, an eventhe has held every year since 1970 tomark the day he almost died.

The Emotional Side of InjuryAs American troops began the

build-up for Operation Iraqi Free-dom, Mayer and Downs, along withtheir buddy Jack Farley, a Vietnamveteran and amputee who serves as ajudge with the U.S. Court of Ap-

peals for Veterans Claims, expandedtheir volunteer role by meeting withmilitary surgeons at Walter Reed toshare their insights into traumaticinjury. “We talked about how we feltwhen we were injured and how wethought the medical staff could helpthe wounded soldiers,” said Mayer.

Dr. Artie Shelton, a retiredArmy colonel who commanded afield hospital in Somalia and nowworks as a consultant in VA’s trans-plant program, helped arrange themeeting. He said the Army physi-cians are extremely qualified andwell trained, but they may not fullyunderstand the emotional and psy-chological complexities of traumaticinjury. “The doctors know the medi-cal side, but Jim and Fred can tellthem about the full impact and re-percussion on these soldiers,”

Shelton said.Among the aspects of recovery

Downs stresses are encouraging thesoldiers to do things on their own.“Never tell a guy he can’t do some-thing,” he said. “You need to en-courage him to try, to test himselfand see what he can do. It speeds uptheir psychological healing andhelps them get back into life again.”

If they have doubts about whatthey can accomplish, Downs tellsthem about his own life after injury:going to school, getting married,starting a family, writing threebooks, and leading VA’s multimil-lion-dollar prosthetic and sensoryaids service.

He also has gained internationalrecognition for helping establishland mine survivor programs in sev-eral countries. The U.S. Agency forInternational Development recentlyasked for his assistance with a land

mine eradication program in Af-ghanistan. (To learn more about hisrecovery and land mine eradicationefforts, visit the Center for DefenseInformation Web site atwww.cdi.org/adm/1250/Downs.html.)

Mayer and Downs volunteerbecause they’ve been there and be-cause they care. But also becausethey want to bring a little dignity toAmerican troops who suffer trau-matic injuries.

“Vietnam vets, to put it politely,never actually felt welcomed home,”said Mayer. “But these guys comingback from Iraq, we’re going to wel-come them home and become theirfriends, help them reconcile theirinjuries, and bring them a little dig-nity.”

“When you first see them, they’re still con-fused and can’t seem to comprehend themagnitude of what happened to them.”

By Matt Bristol

VAnguardfeature


Aprogram to groom futureexecutives was revived lastyear after being shelved for

nearly a decade as VA decentralizedmany of its leadership positions. TheSES Candidate Development Pro-gram helps VA managers at the GS-14 and GS-15 levels break into thetop tier of federal leadership, the Se-nior Executive Service, where basesalaries start at $113,000.

The program was revived toprepare for retirements among VA’ssenior executives. Eighty-seven per-cent will be eligible to retire by theyear 2007, and if historical trendscontinue, 37 percent of them willretire, according to Marisa Palkuti,development director in the Officeof Human Resources Management,VA Central Office. “This program iscritical for developing an eligiblepool of replacements,” she said.

It may also help balance theprofile of VA’s SES work force. Ac-cording to a February 2003 GeneralAccounting Office report, VA hasthe lowest percentage of women inthe SES among 20 federal agen-cies—just 14.5 percent. The latestclass of candidates, eight womenand seven men, more accurately re-flects the makeup of the VA workforce, where women outnumber men131,000 to 94,900 as of July 10.

Getting InOnly the top qualifiers make it

into the SES Candidate Develop-ment program. All applicants arerated on their potential to meet thefive Executive Core Qualifications:leading change, leading people, re-sults driven, business acumen, andbuilding coalitions/communication.Members of an executive resource

board evaluate applications and for-ward qualifying candidates to theSecretary of Veterans Affairs for fi-nal selection. Of the 300 or so who

applied, just 15 were accepted intothe program.

One of those is Rebecca Wiley,special assistant to the director at

The Top Tier of Fed

Rebecca Wiley, special assistant to the director at the Augusta, Ga., VA Medical Center, isone of 15 employees selected for the One VA SES Candidate Development Program. Aspart of her individual development plan, she’s on a nine-month assignment in headquar-ters working with the national CARES Commission.

ROBERT TURTIL

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the Augusta, Ga., VA Medical Cen-ter. As part of her individual devel-opment plan, she traveled to VAheadquarters in March to work withthe national CARES commission.This nine-month assignment gaveher a close-up look at Capitol Hilland the politics of veterans’ healthpolicy. “It has been a lot of hardwork in a setting unlike anythingI’ve ever encountered,” Wiley said.“I’m gaining a wealth of knowledgeabout VA as a health care systemand how the various parts relate tothe whole.”

Sonia Moreno, who has beenwith VA for 27 years, also made itinto the program. At the time of herselection she was serving as actingdirector of the San Juan, PuertoRico, VA Regional Office. Her de-velopment plan included a shadow-ing assignment with James W.Bohmbach, VBA’s chief financial of-ficer.

While in Washington, D.C.,Moreno got word that she had beenselected for the SES. She returnedto Puerto Rico and submitted herSES paperwork to the Office of Per-sonnel Management for certifica-tion. She credits perseverance andresponsible leadership for helpingher reach the SES.

What’s InvolvedThe program requires candi-

deral Service

The expected wave of retirements among VAsenior leaders has prompted the department torevive a program to groom future executives.

dates to follow an individual devel-opment plan that includes formalcoursework, seminars, special assign-ments, individual coaching andmentoring by current members ofthe SES. It takes most people be-tween one and two years to com-plete the program.

Once they finish, there is noguaranteed appointment to the SES.They’ve got to request a certificateof executive qualifications from theOffice of Personnel Management.Once certified, they become eligiblefor non-competitive placement into

an SES position. The certificationlasts a lifetime.

Keith Wilson is close to com-pleting the program. When hestarted he was working as veteransservice center manager at the NewOrleans VA Regional Office. Hemoved up to an assistant directorposition at the Washington, D.C.,VA Regional Office and was re-cently tapped to serve as acting di-rector of VBA’s new appeals man-agement center.

“I’ve been a field person my en-tire career,” said Wilson, an eight-year Navy vet. “Getting into a for-mal program like this has given me amuch broader strategic perspective.”

The appeals management centerhe directs is a new office establishedto improve consistency and reducethe length of time it takes to process

remanded claims, or those the Boardof Veterans’ Appeals has determinedneed additional evidence. Ratherthan sending a remand back to theregional office where it originated,Wilson’s Washington, D.C., officewill collect the necessary evidenceand either grant the claim or re-sub-mit it to the Board of Veterans’ Ap-peals with the new evidence. “Theoverall goal is to reduce time andimprove quality,” Wilson said.

Other employees selected forthe program are: Lou Ann Atkins,VHA; Ronald Bednarz, VACO;Ernesto Castro, VACO; JeanetteDiaz, VHA; Lily Fetzer, VBA;Willie Hensley, VACO; Joy W.Hunter, VACO; Steve Muro, NCA;Ricardo Randle, VBA; James R.Sandman, Denver DistributionCenter; Suzanne Will, GeneralCounsel; and Sally Wallace,VACO.

The Next ClassA new class of SES candidates

is scheduled to start later this year.A vacancy announcement posted onOPM’s Web sitewww.usajobs.opm.gov will signal thestart of the new class. Applicantswill have to submit a package thatdescribes their ability to demon-strate the executive core qualifica-tions.

For more information on theSES, visit OPM’s Web site atwww.usajobs.opm.gov/ei30.asp. Tofind out more about the One VASES Candidate Development Pro-gram, contact Human Resources De-velopment Service at (202) 273-4967.

By Matt Bristol

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As the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center celebrates its 50th anniversary,employees, volunteers and local veterans reflect on how it has changedand grown with a community that has weathered some tough times.

Top: Keith Plunkett, whohelped identify bodiesafter the 1995 MurrahFederal Building bomb-ing, says he’ll never bethe same; left: PaulHowell lost his daughterin the bombing.

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The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center has seenboth good and challenging times in its 50 yearsof operation. Through it all, the facility has

flourished and remains a stellar force in the community,state and VA health care system.

The 169-bed hospital, which turned 50 on Sept. 14,has 1,500 employees who serve about 250,000 veteransa year. They also serve a community that has come torely heavily on them. “Community involvement hasbeen our strength here,” said Steve Gentling, medicalcenter director, who encourages employees to take partin community outreach.

A Good NeighborOklahoma City has seen its share of pain and suffer-

ing. Who can forget the tragic events of April 19, 1995,when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building wasbombed? Or the F-5 tornado that ripped through thecity in 1999, destroying 900 homes and killing 42 Okla-homa residents.

During these difficult times, Oklahoma CityVAMC staff came to the aid of the community, provid-ing a key health care support team around the clock. Itwas community relations at its finest—being there fortheir fellow citizens in a time of great need. As one lo-cal leader put it, “VA’s involvement was truly a gift fromheaven.”

“The community appreciated the service the VAprovided after the bombing,” said John Tassey, directorof the health psychology clinic. “Many saw VA as the‘go to’ organization.”

The community involvement went beyond employ-ees and volunteers. Tassey recalls patients calling tocancel appointments so the facility’s focus could be onthe bombing victims.

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Celebrating aLegacy of Service

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The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center was built during aperiod that still ranks as the most challenging in VA his-tory: the post-World War II years, when some 15.4 mil-lion new veterans became eligible for benefits.

As the war was coming to an end, PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt tapped Gen. Omar N. Bradley tolead the then-Veterans Administration, a job Rooseveltcharacterized as “the hardest task in the country next tothe Presidency.” At a news conference held after hewas sworn in as VA administrator on Aug. 15, 1945, Bra-dley, who had been a major figure in the European The-ater during the war, said, “I don’t think there’s any job inthe country I’d sooner not have nor any job in the worldI’d like to do better.”

His first challenge was to speed up the construc-tion of new hospitals and additions to existing ones thathad been approved and funded by Congress. The exist-ing VA hospitals were filled to capacity, and there werewaiting lists for admission at nearly all of them. Untilmore VA hospitals could be opened, the Army and Navymade beds available in their hospitals.

Some of the new hospitals, like the one in Okla-homa City, were VA-designed. Others were designed bythe Corps of Engineers, from whom Bradley sought as-sistance to complete the massive construction programas quickly as possible.

After almost two years as VA administrator, Bradleyreturned to the Army, where he soon was named chiefof staff. He had presided over an expansion of the VA toaccommodate the largest veteran population the nationhad ever known.

The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center today.

The Post-World War II Years:A Time in HistoryLike No Other

The bombing of the federal building killed 168 andinjured more than 700 people. Of those, 13 were admit-ted and treated at the Oklahoma City VAMC. Associ-ates spent countless hours at the bombing site, the tri-age areas, and throughout the community long after-ward, providing aid to survivors and families.

Keith Plunkett, a radiologist technician, assisted inthe identification of bodies after the bombing. “I re-ceived word from my supervisor about 20 minutes afterthe bombing that my assistance was needed,” saidPlunkett. “I can honestly say I will never be the sameperson again.”

Neither will VAMC employee Paul Howell, whosedaughter was one of the casualties. “I think it was meantfor me to be a VAMC employee during that time,” saidHowell. “My fellow VA employees came to my house tocomfort me and my family. Everyone was extremelyhelpful.”

Changing with the TimesAs Eldon Holder sees it, the years have brought a

lot of positive changes to the medical center. Holder,who was a patient there when it opened in 1953 andnow serves as a volunteer, remembers the non-privatewards and antiquated equipment. “It’s hard to put intowords the physical changes since 1953,” he said. “I canhonestly say it never occurred to me to try any otherhealth care system. Never thought about it and neverwanted to.”

Employees like Betty Darcy Tyrell never thoughtabout working anywhere else, either. One of the medi-cal center’s original employees, she became the youngestservice chief ever appointed at the medical center, oranywhere in the nation at that time.

The chief of nutrition and food service for 38 years,Tyrell remembers two significant accomplishments forthe medical center: when it became affiliated with theUniversity of Oklahoma College of Medicine in 1977,and when it got air conditioning in 1963. “We were atthis facility for 10 years before air conditioning was in-stalled,” she said. “It truly did make a difference.”

According to Helen Flannigan, who worked in hu-man resources for more than 48 years, the facility’s di-versity program is another of its strengths, bringing itmuch recognition and credit. She made diversity im-provements at the medical center one of her goals, andencouraged supervisors to do the same. Her efforts havebeen rewarded with a national scholarship set up in hername.

A ‘Family-Style Environment’It’s not uncommon to find family members and

spouses working under the same VA umbrella, but a set

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Left: The installationof air conditioning isan advancement thatstands out in formerchief of nutrition andfood service BettyDarcy Tyrell’smemory; below: Dr.Phillip Comp, associ-ate chief of staff forresearch, says investi-gators there arestudying the care ofamputees immedi-ately after surgery.

of triplets working in the same facility is rare. John,James and Joe Morrison were all employed at the Okla-homa City VAMC at one time. Employees often mis-took one for another. All three brothers were also para-troopers in the Army’s 101st Airborne.

“You do see a lot of families working at the Okla-homa City VAMC,” said John Morrison, whose wifeCindy also works at the medical center.

The Morrisons are not the only unique family em-ployed at the Oklahoma City VAMC. The daughterand son-in-law of information security officer NathanTrollinger also work there, in addition to his son-in-law’s mother.

“We enjoy the family-style environment and appre-ciate the down-to-earth attitude of management andstaff,” said Taneil James, Trollinger’s daughter.

Employee Carolyn Killian and her husband Jim,who retired two years ago after a 40-year career withVA, have both their son and daughter-in-law working atthe Oklahoma City VAMC.

Another characteristic which makes the OklahomaCity VAMC special is its volunteers—all 1,455 of them.Clara Hess, a volunteer for more than 32 years and oneof two National Silver-haired Congress Senators fromOklahoma, was instrumental in helping bring geriatricmedicine to the Oklahoma City VAMC in 1994.“There are only three states that have a geriatric train-ing program through the medical school—Arkansas,New York and Oklahoma,” Hess said. “By 2005, thegoal is for every doctor to have had some geriatric train-ing.”

Lonnie and Connie Burts, volunteers for 32 yearsand married for 59, have noticed considerable improve-ments through the years at the medical center. “Now,we even log our volunteer hours through a computer,”said Connie.

Looking to the Next Half-CenturyThe medical center prides itself on its research

achievements. Perhaps the best known of these accom-plishments is the discovery of a cure for Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Syndrome, a condition char-acterized by episodes of rapid heartbeat caused by abnor-mal electrical pathways in the heart.

In 1991, the Oklahoma City VAMC, under Dr.Warren Jackman, developed a method to cure the pa-tient without major surgery. The cure was the result ofnearly 20 years of work and to date has had a successrate of 99 percent.

Through its affiliation with the University of Okla-homa College of Medicine, the medical center staff hasmore than 200 active research projects. Dr. PhillipComp, associate chief of staff for research, keeps a list ofabout 100 investigators active.

“We are particularly proud right now of our ampu-tee research and how to best care for amputees immedi-ately after surgery,” said Comp. “I think our researchwill prove that people are out of shape after surgery andwe need to get them up and fit as soon as possible,which goes against people’s belief today.”

As the medical center marks its 50th anniversary,employees are focusing their attention on the next half-century. Their goal is to continue working closely withthe community and providing high quality care toAmerica’s veterans. That should be reassuring to theOklahoma City community and its veterans.

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By Jessica Jacobsen

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At approximately 4:10 p.m.on Aug. 14, 2003, much ofthe Northeast and Midwest

sections of the country, along withparts of Canada, were plunged intothe worst blackout the continenthad ever experienced. From NewYork City to Detroit and Cleveland,and up to Toronto, upwards of 50million North Americans were leftwithout power in a crisis that lastedfor the next two days.

VA facilities also struggled withthe blackout. Many successes and afew extreme challenges were re-ported. The VA Crisis ResponsePlan kicked in almost immediately,assisting as needed the 27 affectedmedical centers, 118 community-based outpatient clinics, two free-standing nursing homes, eight VAregional offices and five national

cemeteries. Overall, the final reportfrom the Crisis Response Team wasthat there was “no significant dis-ruption” of services to veterans. Butthe full story is a bit more compli-cated.

VBA engaged its emergencytelephone plan within minutes ofthe toll-free system shutting down atthe New York City, Detroit andCleveland VA Regional Offices.Calls were rerouted to VA offices inBoston, Buffalo, Philadelphia, New-ark, Indianapolis and Pittsburghwith minimal disruption.

Medical centers that lost powerhad emergency generators to fill theimmediate need. Those centers dealtwith challenges by scaling back un-necessary functions where possibleto further reduce demands on lim-ited emergency fuel supplies.

Bronx and Cleveland VAMCemployees sweated through theirshifts without air conditioning. Inthe Manhattan area, employeesjoined the throngs of refugees in thestreets trying to make their wayhome across the boroughs.

At the Detroit VA MedicalCenter, donations of bottled waterfrom veterans service organizationsand other community members foruse by patients and employees alikealleviated the shared lack of waterthat the whole city experienced.

At Calverton National Cem-etery in New York State, the black-out didn’t strike until the very endof the business day. During day twoof the crisis, “We were up and run-ning,” said supervisor RoseannSantore, citing 24 burials, the dailyaverage. “We had only one littleproblem requiring that we revampthe computer voice mail on the tele-phone system.”

The largest disruption reportedwas at the Ann Arbor, Mich.,

VAMC, where backup systems atfirst responded normally to thepower outage. “Everyone went abouttheir tasks with flashlights andwalkie-talkies, as if being withoutpower was a natural occurrence,”said Bonnie Johnson, staff assistantto the director.

But within a half hour, theemergency generators feeding theclinical addition housing the ICUs,ORs, labs and radiology began fail-ing due to a faulty fuel-feedingswitch. The disaster plan was fullyactivated, repairs got underway, andtemporary power began relieving thesystem. But staff members deter-mined that three patients needed tobe moved to more dependablemonitoring facilities. This requiredbreaking down a temporary wall tomove patients out of the building tothe main hospital complex.

Elsewhere in the hospital, twosurgeries underway at the time ofthe outage were successfully com-pleted, and a third emergency sur-gery patient was transferred to theUniversity of Michigan affiliate hos-pital. Stranded outpatients were putup at the medical center’s “hoptel.”

Day two of the crisis revealedthat the back-up generators couldn’tsupply the power needed to cool theradiology and pathology areas. Asoutside temperatures climbed intothe low 90s, lab equipment beganshutting down. Physicians were ableto read X-rays by going to the radi-ology reading room, but X-rays werenot available on computer monitorsaround the hospital.

Ann Arbor VAMC’s power wasrestored at about 2:30 p.m. on daytwo. Repairs to all malfunctioningelectrical equipment are either inprogress or have been completed.

The Blackout of 2003: VA Copes

With power restored to the Ann ArborVAMC, staff members return a patient whohad to be moved out of the clinical addi-tion through a temporary wall during theblackout. By Robert Turtil

GUS BUCHTEL

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Retired Navy Admiral Daniel L. Cooper runs a tight ship at the Veterans Benefits Administra-tion and expects to be involved in all aspects of daily operations. The way he sees it,“You have to understand what you’re doing and you have to understand the mechanisms that

make this machine go.” Cooper got a good look at what makes VBA go while serving as chairman ofSecretary Principi’s Claims Processing Task Force in 2001. Since coming on board as Under Secretaryfor Benefits in March 2002, he’s seen the claims backlog cut by about 175,000 and the length of timeit takes to process a claim reduced by several months. Cooper sat down with VAnguard in his office onAug. 7 to talk about the state of VBA, his approach to leadership, and the course he’s plotting.

VAnguard: You’ve summed up your management phi-losophy with the motto, “You get what you inspect,not what you expect,” a reference to your days com-manding submarines. Have you applied that principleto VBA?

Cooper: I think so. We have done a lot of work withour regional office directors to ensure they look verycarefully at what they’re doing. We have teams that wesend out, and you can call it inspections, retraining, ortraining visits. The idea is to improve the way we do ourbusiness. I expect these teams to meet with leadership ofa regional office, to hold entry and exit interviews. I ex-pect them to write a quick report, and then a full report,and I expect the regional offices to respond to those re-ports. So we have incorporated to a greater extent thanthere was before an inspection process with the ideathat everybody participates. We do it as a training evo-lution, as well as looking to make sure we’re doing ourjob properly.

VAnguard: How have your experiences at VA differedfrom your career in the submarine corps?

Cooper: Well, in the submarine force, just like in anymilitary organization, it’s very structured. You have aladder, you have a process, where you know by the timeyou’ve been in five years you should have this trainingor schooling, and you should have had this kind of ex-perience on your ship or ashore, and that goes all theway up. There are absolute plans of progression in yourcareer, and I don’t find that in the civilian world.People need to have a clear understanding of the typesof exposure they should have or the types of trainingthey should have if they want to progress and rise up tobe deputy assistant secretary or under secretary. But

Running a Tight Ship

“I am very pleased at what appears to be the acceptance of wherewe’re going,” said Cooper. He wants VBA to put its emphasis onfive main areas over the next year: quality, customer service, train-ing and development, the Claims Processing Initiative (CPI) model,and IT.

there should be progression. I would like to have thingslaid out so people can see how you get from being thenew guy on the block to being a regional office director

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or being a program director in the loan guaranty, educa-tion, vocational rehabilitation or insurance programs.

VAnguard: How would you characterize your leader-ship style?

Cooper: You know, when you talk about leadership it isa very personal thing. There are many components towhat I try to do. Primarily I try to understand mypeople. Everybody is different. Everybody has differentneeds, different desires, different points in their life, dif-ferent training, different families. I want to help thembecome, in the Army phrase, the best they can be. Sec-ond is what you may call management by walkingaround. I’m trying to visit all the regional offices as fastas I can—I got to my 33rd out of 57 yesterday and I’mgoing to two more in the next three days. I want to seepeople face to face and talk to them. I feel communica-tion is very important. I expect regional office directorsto come to my office every time they’re in Washington,D.C., to talk about how they’re doing and how thingsare going. I want to know precisely what is being done,why it’s being done, what are the problems, what arethe risks, and that sort of thing.

So I guess I want to be involved. I want to be some-one who understands what’s going on and hopefully, canpractically lead the organization. A final component isparticipatory leadership. We try to structure our meet-ings so that everybody can say what they want to say,whether they agree or disagree with what we’re talkingabout. We expect them to participate. We don’t wantpeople going out and grousing about a decision once it’sbeen made; fully participating in the decision at leastgives them full understanding. This is very important tome.

VAnguard: What would you say was your proudestmoment of the past year?

Cooper: There hasn’t been a single proudest moment. Iam very pleased at what appears to be the acceptance ofwhere we’re going, the methods we’re trying to use, andwhat we’ve done. What we’ve tried to do through thetask force is make our work as uncomplicated as pos-sible. What was happening was everybody had to knowsuch a wide range of things as generalists they couldn’tunderstand some of the specifics. So we made it focusedand set up specialized teams. The point is we have tomake sure everyone understands where we’re going andwhy. I’m very pleased with all our employees and theentire organization for the way they’ve accepted whatwe wanted to do and the enthusiasm they’ve shown.Certainly we are proud of the results.

VAnguard: Have there been any disappointmentsyou’d like to share?

Cooper: No. Look, everybody gets into situations.Sometimes you can’t control the situation, but what youcan control is your attitude toward that situation andyour response to it. That’s the only thing you can con-trol. So when you have something bad happen, youhave to look at it as a challenge. Is it good? Well, some-times it doesn’t make you feel all that good. The fact isthat we have had a couple challenges here and peoplehave responded extremely well. When you have a prob-lem, you have to jump on it. If you don’t, it’s going tolinger and it’s going to eat into the organization. Anyproblem you face has that potential.

VAnguard: What are some of the challenges facingVBA in the provision of benefits to veterans and theirfamilies?

Cooper: Since last July, the workload has gone up 4 per-cent. We’re getting 60,000-plus claims a month andthey’re getting more and more complicated. My goal isto get our organization in a position where we can ab-sorb those changes without a disruption in services. Be-cause changes are going to come. I think that the per-sonnel level is something that needs to be looked atvery carefully. Do we in fact have enough people? We’vemade changes. We’ve increased productivity. But prettysoon you get to the point where each person can onlyget so productive. You have to continually look atwhether you have enough people to do the job properly.

VAnguard: What are some of the goals you’ve set andhow do you plan to reach them?

Cooper: If you want to meet a goal, everyone has to un-derstand what that goal is. Part of leadership is setting amutually acceptable goal. The goals we have set are dif-ficult to reach. If they weren’t, why would we call themgoals? There are really five areas I want to make sure weemphasize this next year. The first of course is quality.Now understand that quality is improving. Sometimes Ihear people say that by pushing so hard on timeliness,quality is going down. Well that’s not correct. Last year,using the quality statements we defined in the report ofour task force, we had 81 percent. This year we have 84percent. Another goal is customer service. You know,we’re a service organization. We have customers andthey’re called veterans. They’re called disabled veterans.And so customer service is very important. Training anddevelopment is another area. I want to have some kindof system in place so that we can groom people as they

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come in. Give them a goal, show them how they canget from here to there, and have the training programavailable to them.

The CPI (Claims Processing Initiative) model is thefourth area of emphasis. We found we had 57 offices run57 different ways. Now we have every office run thesame way. But now that we’ve done that, we have to goback and take a look at how we can make improve-ments. So I want to continue to look at our CPI model.The final thing is IT. IT is vital but it can be very detri-mental if not tested, introduced and executed properly.Then we must have comprehensive training and care-fully orchestrated installation. We are improving, but ITis another area we must continue to focus on next year.

VAnguard: Improving claims processing has been agoal of Secretary Principi and the hallmark of yourtenure here at VA. Has the claims backlog been sig-nificantly reduced?

Cooper: Yes. The primary number ev-erybody seems interested in is thenumber of claims awaiting process-ing—that is what we want to drivedown. I also would like to establish thefact that while we call it a backlog, infact it’s our pending claims inventory.It is never going to be zero, because ofthe large volume of new claims we geteach month. Well, this claims inven-tory peaked at 432,000. We will get itreduced to approximately 250,000. Asof the end of July, it was 275,000. I’dsay we have made progress. Then youtalk about the time it takes to process aclaim. And the number I prefer to useis the average number of days a claimhas been pending. We’re trying to getthat below 100. It peaked at 202 days alittle over a year ago. Today it is at 123days and going down somewhere between five and eightdays a month. So are we making progress? Yes, we’remaking progress!

VAnguard: Appeals are a significant part of VBA’sworkload. Are there any efforts underway to reviewthe appeals process and workload?

Cooper: You bet. We’re doing many more claims butwe’re also getting more appeals. In fact we have aslightly increased percentage of veterans who are ap-pealing. One thing we’re doing is setting up a specialunit in Washington to handle remands when they come

back from the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and to de-velop them as best they can with some help from re-gional offices. That should help because that means theremands don’t immediately get sent back to the regionaloffices. The second thing is we have a specific group setup under Jim Whitson, one of our area directors, to re-view the appeals process itself. It is a multi-step processand we are going to look at it in a logical way to provideevery possible opportunity for the veteran to have theirappeal processed in a professional manner.

VAnguard: How is VBA preparing for the potentialretirement of a large portion of its work force?

Cooper: I think primarily through the development andeducation programs I’ve talked about. We try to work,of course, closely with the VA-wide programs, like LVA.But we’re also setting up some of our own programs. Wehave established, in many of our large regional offices, a

training position so employees who want to improveand move up can have an opportunity to do that. I’mvery interested in getting people into rotations of sometype, whether it’s rotations within a given regional of-fice or to Washington, D.C. I’m absolutely convincedthat as you get more senior in this outfit, you reallyought to understand how headquarters works. And thathappens only by coming in here and understanding thisfunction. Not only does that help us understand the per-spective from the field, but when that person goes backit helps the field understand the perspective from here.

VAnguard: VBA seems to get a disproportionate

Cooper talks with (left to right) Gerald Larson, coach, Vince Crawford, director, and EdBarloon, assistant service center manager, during an August visit to the St. Paul, Minn.,VA Regional Office. He plans to visit all 57 VA regional offices.

ANDREW KIRCHHOFF

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amount of negative criticism in the media, on CapitolHill, and from veterans service organizations. Why doyou think that is and what are you doing to address it?

Cooper: Well, the first part of this answer is that I don’tagree. I don’t think we’re getting a lot of negative criti-cism. As a matter of fact I think it’s been nicely shifted.I was very aware of negative criticism during the taskforce. There was a lot of it and it was because the num-bers were so high. That criticism has abated. I don’tconsider appropriate criticism to be negative. As I said,when criticism does arise, you must jump all over it andtake care of the situation immediately.

VAnguard: Some members of Congress have criticizedVA for not doing enough to help veterans and theirfamilies understand the benefits and services VA pro-vides. How is VBA reaching out to the veteran popu-lation?

Cooper: Every regional office is very cognizant of out-reach, whether it is going out and talking to organiza-tions, or ensuring you have good relations with VA hos-pitals and the community. I’m absolutely convinced thatour regional office directors are very aware of that andhave people who do it. Our outreach office is an impres-sive program run by Diane Fuller. She has done a superjob of reaching out and working with veterans and theirfamilies, particularly during the Iraq war. So yes, we areworking on outreach. It is very important and everybodyhere probably understands that more than at any otherorganization in which I’ve been involved. I’m con-vinced people understand it. Now it’s a matter of help-ing them to do it. Of course, a big part of outreach in-cludes VSOs. We need to work together to ensure veter-ans know about the benefits they’ve earned. So I thinkwe’re attacking it on several fronts. And it’s working.More people are coming to us for benefits. I thinkpeople know a lot more about the VA today than theyever did 10 or 15 years ago.

VAnguard: Anything you’d like to add?

Cooper: I’d just like to say how proud I am of what ouremployees have accomplished over these past few years.Our education service and the regional processing of-fices are doing a fantastic job. The time it takes to pro-cess education claims has been reduced to about 25days. Two years ago it took 50 days. Our insurance pro-gram is among the best in the industry. Employees areturning around the claims from the families ofservicemembers killed in Iraq in less than two days. Ialso want to mention our loan guaranty folks and the

assistance they provide to veterans, not just in getting aloan but also in helping those who fall on hard timeskeep their loans. A technology system called ACE nowcertifies veterans and servicemembers for a VA homeloan in a matter of seconds. It took me about three orfour weeks when I signed up for a VA home loan 30years ago. We also have established a task force to re-view our vocational rehabilitation program to make surewe are doing everything we can to rehabilitate our com-bat-wounded veterans.

VBA employees demonstrate every day that theyunderstand the main reason we’re here. Members of ourArmed Forces are putting their lives on the line rightnow in Afghanistan and Iraq and we’re going to makesure they receive the best possible service when theycome home. That’s why outreach is so important. Thesenew veterans do not know or understand VA. We mustbe activists in reaching out to them and their families.They willingly served our country. We must not failthem now.

Cooper reviews paperwork with program assistant Emma Wallacein his office.

ROBERT TURTIL

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Veterans On the Home Front

VA Employees Supporting the Troops

When it came time for em-ployees at the Waco,Texas, VA Regional Of-

fice to complete sexual harassmentrefresher training, human resourcesspecialist Sherry Zahirniak suggestedusing the VA Learning University’sonline course to meet their trainingrequirement.

“It just made sense,” she said,explaining that the course was free,available via the Internet, and didn’trequire access to a large conferenceroom or training center. Her direc-tor, Carl Lowe, agreed and gave herthe go-ahead to get things started.

Lowe took the course, then an-other and another. Each time helogged on he found something thatinterested him—like how to handleworkplace aggression, cope withstress, and promote diversity. Whenhe found a course particularly help-ful, he’d mention it to Zahirniak

and she’d issue a memo to managersasking them to take it as well. “I hadthe intention of taking one class,but once I got in there I saw therewas a lot more than I expected,”said Lowe, referring to the nearly1,300 free courses available throughthe VA Learning Online Web site atwww.vcampus.com/valo.

Within a few months Lowecompleted 36 courses and wasnamed a category winner in the VALearning Online competition. Sec-retary Principi announced the com-petition on Jan. 29 and offered tohost a luncheon in his office for em-ployees at winning facilities whocompleted the most courses betweenFeb. 3 and June 30.

The competition grouped VAhospitals, regional offices, nationalcemeteries and other facilities intofive categories based on the numberof employees at each facility. Facili-

ties with the highest percentage ofemployees completing VALOcourses, as well as the individual em-ployees who completed the mostcourses at those same facilities, werenamed contest winners. For ex-ample, the Waco, Texas, VA Re-gional Office won category 3, facili-ties with 100 to 499 employees, andthe office’s director, Lowe, com-pleted the most courses at the Wacooffice.

The Beverly National Cemeteryin New Jersey won category 1, facili-ties with one to 24 employees, andprogram analyst Linda Flook-Birnbaum was recognized for takingthe most courses at the cemetery.She took 16 courses in areas such asOSHA safety, effective communica-tion, and how to use Microsoft Ex-cel. “It’s always good to learn newthings,” she said.

The top prize in category 2, fa-

ROBERT TURTIL

Free and Easy LearningFree and Easy Learning

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Day 2002cilities with 25 to 99 employees,went to the Jefferson Barracks Na-tional Cemetery in St. Louis. RandyWatkins, a computer specialist whocompleted 45 courses, led the waythere. He took courses in Javascript, Oracle, and other softwareapplications and learned how to cre-ate spreadsheets and databases tomanage functions he used to trackmanually. “Not only did it help me[professionally], but it also helped inwhat I do here on the job,” saidWatkins, who spent 21 years in theIT field with the Air Force.

Larry Simon, a nursing assistant,completed 90 courses to help theTomah, Wis., VA Medical Centerwin category 4, facilities with 500 to999 employees. Simon learned aboutthe competition through an e-mailmessage and decided to give it a try.Before he knew it, he’d taken themaximum number of courses al-lowed in a single month. So hewaited for the next month andstarted again, until he hit 90courses. The former U.S. Marinesaid you’ve got to be persistent inworking toward your goals.

Dianna Hankins, a secretary,took 70 courses and helped the VAGulf Coast Veterans Health CareSystem, in Biloxi, Miss., win cat-egory 5, facilities with more than1,000 employees. A graduate stu-

dent, Hankins was between semes-ters when she heard about VALOand decided to take courses at homein her spare time. “I saw it as a freeway to further my education,” shesaid.

One of the things she liked bestabout the program is how it tracksyour progress through a specificcourse. Say you log on and spendabout 15 or 20 minutes working ona course. The next time you visitthe site, it remembers where you leftoff and you can start from thererather than having to do it all over.“It’s like going to school in yourspare time,” said Hankins.

Joining the five category win-ners and their facility directors forlunch with Secretary Principi wasVirginia Hall, a nutrition and foodservice employee at the VA NorthTexas Health Care System inBonham. The Secretary presentedher with the outstanding scholar

award for taking 120 courses, morethan any other VA employee duringthe competition. Hall didn’t learnabout the competition until April 4,two months after it started. But thatdidn’t stop her from working herway to the top. “I just want to reachmy full potential,” she said.

The VA Learning University, inpartnership with the Employee Edu-cation System, funds VALO coursesas an investment in employee tech-nical and professional development.Nearly 17,000 employees enrolled inVALO during the competition, put-ting the total number of registeredemployees at about 34,000 as of Au-gust. To register for courses visitwww.vcampus.com/valo.

Bruce A. Gordon, director of theNorthampton, Mass., VA MedicalCenter, used his regular column inthe employee newsletter to encour-age staff to take advantage of onlinelearning opportunities. Here’s someof what he had to say:

When I was a kid I had a real goodhandle on “Distance Learning.” Itmeant putting enough distance be-tween me and the front of the classnearest the teacher. Now that’s alldifferent.

One of my children took a Dis-tance Learning college class thissummer. The house became a class-room, study center and resource li-brary for online learning. I’ve donesome homework on this new ageteaching.

Many courses don’t use a tradi-tional schedule, so there is nothing tomiss. Virtual learning students canlearn at the best and most appropri-ate time for them.

Online courses and degree pro-grams are now rightly perceived tobe topical, challenging, and highlyrelevant, with curricula designedwith the needs of working adultlearners in mind.

In a technological age, the abil-ity to complete a degree online is anasset. Employers are likewise im-pressed by the initiative, ambitionand self-motivation demonstrated byan employee who takes advantage ofthe Internet to develop their knowl-edge and career.

Take advantage of what we canoffer through VALO—VA LearningOnline. Now VA employees can seizelearning opportunities to enhance jobskills and realize personal potential.

It may be October, but e-schoolis always in session. I think I’ll sit atthe front of the class.

e-School: It’sAlways in Session

Some employees are taking full advantage ofthe opportunities VA Learning Online provides.

Left: Winners of the VALO competition(back row, left to right) Randy Watkins,Jefferson Barracks NC; Linda Flook-Birnbaum, Beverly, N.J., NC; Stan Johnson,Tomah, Wis., VAMC; Ralph Church,Jefferson Barracks NC; Dianna Hankins, VAGulf Coast Veterans HCS; (front row, left toright) Julie Catellier, VA Gulf Coast Veter-ans HCS; Dee Blake, Beverly, N.J., NC; Vir-ginia Hall, VA North Texas HCS; LarrySimon, Tomah, Wis., VAMC, and Carl Lowe,Waco, Texas, VARO.

By Matt Bristol

VAnguardfeature


50th Anniversary of the Korean War

ArmisticeDay WeekendKorean War veterans streamed into Washington, D.C., July 25-27 to attend eventscommemorating the 50th anniversary of the armistice that ended the conflict. Ac-tivities included a Saturday celebration at the MCI Center hosted by entertainersEd McMahon (below), himself a Marine fighter pilot during the war, and RandyTravis. An Armistice Day ceremony was held on Sunday at the Korean War Vet-erans Memorial.

The 50-year commemoration of the Korean War began July 25, 2000, theanniversary of the North Korean invasion of South Korea, and officially endsthis Veterans Day.

VAnguard


feature

Tribute to aGenerationThe World War II memorial istaking shape on the NationalMall in Washington, D.C. It isscheduled to be dedicatednext May during a four-daycelebration over MemorialDay weekend.

VAnguardaround headquarters


Secretary Principi presentedthe draft national Capital As-set Realignment for En-hanced Services, or CARES,plan to the independentCARES commission in Au-gust, setting off a three-month period of review andpublic hearings by the 15-member panel. The commis-sion is playing a critical rolein assessing the proposedplan, designed to be aroadmap for the future of theVA health care system.

The draft plan calls forclosing seven VA hospitals:Canandaigua, N.Y.; Pitts-burgh (Highland Drive);Lexington, Ky. (Leestown);Brecksville, Ohio; Gulfport,Miss.; Livermore, Calif.; and

Secretary Principi has pro-posed to Congress changes inthe pay system for healthcare professionals that wouldhelp the department recruitand retain high-quality phy-sicians, dentists and nurse ex-ecutives.

“VA is facing a criticalsituation,” said Principi.“The complex and outdatedpay system, combined withan increasing workload, havemade it difficult for VA to at-tract and keep sufficientnumbers of the best healthcare professionals.”

The VA compensationstructure for physicians anddentists is a complicated sys-tem consisting of as many aseight different factors. Thepay system for physicians hasnot changed since 1991. Thissystem lacks the flexibility toadjust to the changing com-petitive market for manymedical specialties and

CARES Commission Review of Draft Report Underway

Overhaul Proposed for Outdated Physician Pay System

Waco, Texas. Major missionchanges are proposed for 13others.

Two new hospitalswould open in Las Vegas andOrlando, Fla. The plan alsoproposes new blind rehabili-tation centers in Biloxi,Miss., and Long Beach, Ca-lif.; spinal cord injury centersin Denver, Minneapolis,Syracuse or Albany, N.Y.,and Little Rock, Ark.; and 48high priority community-based outpatient clinics.

The delivery of the draftplan to the CARES commis-sion marked another majormilestone in a process thatbegan in June 2002. Thislandmark study of thenation’s largest health care

subspecialties.Studies have shown that

in shortage specialties, suchas anesthesiology, cardiology,gastroenterology, oncology,orthopedic surgery, radiologyand urology, VA’s total com-pensation lags behind theprivate and academic sectorsby 35 percent or more.

VA has proposed athree-tier system—base pay,market pay and performance-based pay. It would allow thedepartment to offer all physi-cians and dentists market-sensitive pay based onachieving specific perfor-mance goals.

The first tier would be abase pay range that wouldapply to all doctors and den-tists in the VA health caresystem, regardless of grade.Placement in this rangewould depend on anindividual’s qualifications.

The second tier, market

pay, would be determined ac-cording to geographic area,specialty, assignment, per-sonal qualifications and expe-rience. Indexed to the salariesof similarly qualified non-VAphysicians, the flexibility ofthis tier would allow the de-partment to keep pace withmarket trends.

The third tier is linkedto performance and wouldbe based on specific achieve-ments in quality, productivityand support of organizationalgoals.

Under the proposal, aVA radiologist with 10 yearsexperience, who currentlycan make about $190,000annually, could receive payhikes ranging from $32,000to $82,000.

The proposed legislationalso would authorize VA toapprove special pay for thenurse executive at each VAmedical center and at VA

Central Office. Nurse short-ages, challenging health careenvironments and growingadministrative demands haveplaced a premium on highlyskilled nurse executives at alllevels. Here too, the currentpay structure puts VA at acompetitive disadvantage inrecruiting and fails to provideadequate incentive for VAnurses to seek leadership po-sitions and increased respon-sibility. For nurse executives,whose yearly salaries are nowcapped at $125,000, the newpay system would add$10,000 to $25,000 annu-ally.

“With the veteran popu-lation aging, and increasingnumbers of veterans enroll-ing in the VA health care sys-tem, it is critical for VA tooffer more competitive com-pensation for its physicians,dentists and nurse execu-tives,” the Secretary said.

CARES commissioners listen intently to testimony from stakehold-ers at a hearing in Pittsburgh. From left: CARES Commission Assis-tant Director Kathy Collier; commissioners John Vogel, EverettAlvarez Jr., Dr. Richard McCormick, Jo Ann Webb and VerniceFerguson. The commission has held hearings in all major marketsaround the country.

WARREN A. PARK

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around headquarters

system is likely the mostcomprehensive assessment ofVA infrastructure sinceWorld War II, according tothe Secretary.

It sprang from a 1999GAO report criticizing VA’srecord in divesting itself ofvacant and underused build-ings in the health care sys-tem. The GAO concludedthat unless the departmentimplemented more effectivecapital asset planning andbudgeting processes, it could“spend billions of dollars op-erating hundreds of un-needed buildings over the

Nurses from VA, the ArmedForces, Public Health Serviceand the Red Cross who pro-vided medical care to the vic-tims of 9/11, helped the na-tion prepare for bioterrorism,and served in Iraq and Af-ghanistan were honored at aCapitol Hill ceremony heldtwo days before the secondanniversary of 9/11.

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-

the Red Cross promote, pre-serve and protect the healthof our nation. Today westand together to honor theirdedication and commit-ment.”

The Americans forNursing Shortage Relief Alli-ance, a coalition of 37 nurs-ing groups, organized theevent. In addition to honor-ing nurses who are the “firstresponders” to public healthcrises and disasters, the cer-emony called attention to thenation’s serious and growingnursing shortage. Membersof the nursing communityformed the ANSR Allianceto identify and promotestrategies to address thisproblem.

Some 30 VA nurses at-tended the ceremony. Ac-cepting the award on behalfof the department were VANew York HarborHealthcare System nurseswho were directly involvedin dealing with the aftermathof the World Trade Centerattacks: Deborah Hirsch-Temple, infection controlmanager; Dr. Elvira Miller,associate director for patient

services and chief nurse ex-ecutive; Angeli Medina,former patient care team co-ordinator; Karen Biancolillo,who helped coordinate post-9/11 emergency preparednessefforts for VA medical cen-ters in the New York area;and John Tatarakis and Rose-mary Merrill, patient careteam coordinators/clinicalspecialists in mental health,who volunteered for severalweeks at the 9/11 Family As-sistance Center.

Connie Boatright, direc-tor of education and researchfor the VA Emergency Man-agement Strategic HealthcareGroup, who has been instru-mental in coordinating andimplementing VA’s nationalemergency response effortsboth prior to and afterSept.11, was also among thegroup selected to accept VA’splaque, and Cathy Rick, VA’schief nursing officer, escortedthe honorees to the stage.

CNN’s Judy Woodruffwas the event’s mistress ofceremonies, and speakers in-cluded members of Congressand Surgeon General Rich-ard Carmona.

next five years or more.”CARES was launched to

identify the infrastructure VAwill need to care for veteransover the next 20 years, redi-recting resources from un-needed buildings to patientcare. It’s a process aimed athelping the VA health caresystem manage its resourcesmore effectively, so it can de-liver more care, to more vet-erans, in places where theyneed it most.

“Bottom line—the draftplan will allow us to avoidimbalances between the sizeand location of health care

facilities and veterans’ de-mand for care tomorrow,”said VA Under Secretary forHealth Dr. Robert Roswell.

Roswell said every effortwould be made to minimizethe impact of the proposedrestructuring on veterans andemployees. He does not an-ticipate the need for reduc-tions in force or forced retire-ments. If necessary, staff re-ductions will be accom-plished gradually, through at-trition, early retirements, re-assignments to programswhere services are being en-hanced, and reassignments to

other locations.The approximately 100-

page draft national CARESplan is divided into 20 chap-ters and has hundreds ofpages of appendices. The en-tire plan can be viewed atwww.va.gov/CARES.

The CARES commis-sion has conducted publichearings on the draft plan inall markets around the coun-try, giving veterans, employ-ees and other stakeholdersthe opportunity to commenton the plan before it is pre-sented to the Secretary inDecember for final decision.

Hawaii) sponsored the cer-emony. He has creditednurses with teaching him im-portant lessons about copingwith disability while he wasrecovering from injuries hesustained in combat duringWorld War II.

“Too often, nurses areunsung heroes,” Inouye said.“Every day the nurses of theUniformed Services, VA and

VA New York Harbor Healthcare System nurses who assisted withthe aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks accepted VA’saward. Back row, from left: Karen Biancolillo, Deborah Hirsch-Temple, Rosemary Merrill and John Tatarakis; front row: AngeliMedina, left, and Dr. Elvira Miller.

ROBERT TURTIL

Capitol Hill Ceremony Honors Nurses Involved in 9/11 Relief

VAnguardaround headquarters


Secretary Principi andHomeland Security SecretaryTom Ridge were among sev-eral dignitaries who attendeda special ceremony Sept. 17at Walter Reed Army Medi-cal Center.

But the spotlight that af-ternoon was fixed on ArmySpec. Hilario Bermanis of the82nd Airborne Division,who lost both legs and partof his left arm in a rocket-propelled grenade attack June10 in Baghdad. During theceremony, Bermanis, a citi-zen of the Federated States ofMicronesia, raised his onlyremaining limb, his rightarm, and took the oath ofcitizenship by swearing to de-fend the Constitution of theUnited States against all en-emies foreign and domestic.

Though Micronesiansare considered U.S. citizensfor the purpose of militaryservice, the ceremony was a

non-citizen nationals servingon active duty from Sept. 11,2001, to a date not yet deter-mined. Non-citizens can jointhe Army if they have perma-nent resident status andgreen-card eligibility.

powerful tribute to thosewho put their lives on theline to defend a country thatis not their own. SecretaryPrincipi saluted Bermanis forhis service and said none sac-rifice more for the opportu-nity to be called an Americanthan those wounded or in-jured while wearing the uni-form of the Armed Forces ofthe United States.

Bermanis was guarding aweapons turn-in point whenhe and a fellow paratroopercame under attack. The othersoldier was killed instantly.Bermanis, who was awardedthe Bronze Star and PurpleHeart, is one of more than5,000 non-U.S. citizens serv-ing in the Army.

President Bush made iteasier for these soldiers to be-come U.S. citizens last yearwhen he issued ExecutiveOrder 13269, which providesnaturalization for aliens and

Sept. 17 is CitizenshipDay, a designation set byPresident Harry Truman in1952 to focus on the rightsand responsibilities of U.S.citizens, both native-bornand naturalized.

Army Spec. Hilario Bermanis is one of more than 1,500 woundedsince March 19. He became an American citizen during a Sept. 17ceremony at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Micronesian Soldier Wounded in Iraq Becomes U.S. Citizen

ROBERT TURTIL

Dr. Leo S. Mackay Jr. resigned from his position as VA Deputy Secretary on Sept. 30.He accepted a senior executive position in the Atlanta offices of ACS, Inc., a businessprocess and information technology company headquartered in Dallas.

“It is with a degree of sadness, but an immense pride in the accomplishments of theDepartment of Veterans Affairs over the last two and a half years, that I announce myresignation as Deputy Secretary,” Mackay wrote in a Sept. 15 message to VA employees.

Mackay was 39 years old when President Bush nominated him to serve as VADeputy Secretary in April 2001. He was confirmed by the Senate a month later, on May24, 2001. As chief executive officer, Mackay managed the department’s day-to-day op-erations. He presided over the governance process and legislative and budgetary pack-ages. Among his accomplishments are the establishment of a Joint Executive Committeewith the Department of Defense to coordinate senior-level policies, strengthening of a“national shrine commitment” to improve VA national cemeteries, and improvements inthe department’s procurement, finance and computer-based operations.

“I have managed in settings public and private, but I have never been more proudor certain of my colleagues,” said Mackay in a Sept. 25 farewell address in VA Central

Office. “This department has the talent, the track record, and the positioning to compete, toe-to-toe, with the finest cor-porations and public agencies in the nation.”

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Navy’s “Top Gun” training program, Mackay was a vice president ofBell Helicopter Textron before coming to VA.

Deputy Secretary Mackay Resigns

Mackay

ROBERT TURTIL

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around headquarters

The Loma Linda, Calif.,Healthcare System receivedVA’s highest quality award,the Carey Trophy, in the2003 Robert W. Carey Qual-ity Award program. SecretaryPrincipi presented the tophonor to Loma Linda direc-tor Dean R. Stordahl duringa Sept. 25 ceremony inWashington, D.C.

The Carey awards arepatterned after the MalcolmBaldrige National QualityAward program used by or-ganizations around the worldto continuously assess and

improve efficiency and per-formance. “Our staff built,implemented and committedthemselves to the Baldrigeframework,” said Stordahl.“Their commitment and ef-forts are showcased in thisaward.”

The Loma Linda VA,part of the Desert PacificHealthcare Network (VISN22), restructured its businesspractices around theBaldrige/Carey process sev-eral years ago. Among thechanges was a renewed em-phasis on employee develop-

ment and recognition. As aresult, the turnover ratedropped to about 10 percentand employees now rate thehealth care system as an em-ployer of choice.

The restructuring alsoled to the opening of fivecommunity clinics, allowingthe health care system toserve the nearly 285,000 vet-erans in its service areawithin 30 miles of theirhomes. By using AdvancedClinic Access principles, staffhas kept waiting times in allspecialty clinics below 30days even as workloads in-creased.

The Institute for HealthCare Improvement askedLoma Linda to share its “Ad-vanced Clinic Access Prin-ciples in Orthopedics andCardiology” on a global Website it operates with the Brit-ish Medical Journal to high-light best practice improve-ments. A partnership withthe Los Angeles VA RegionalOffice to improve the qualityand timeliness of compensa-tion and pension exams wasrecognized as a “best prac-tice” by the Veterans HealthAdministration.

In addition to the topCarey Trophy winner, severalVA facilities were recognizedfor excelling in individualcategories. The health carecategory belongs to the VACooperative Studies ProgramClinical Research PharmacyCoordinating Center in Al-buquerque, N.M. The center,which packages and distrib-utes pharmaceuticals, haswon this category for thepast three years. They’vedone it by practically elimi-nating errors and setting theindustry standard for cus-tomer satisfaction.

“We achieve excellenceby focusing on our values,”said director Dr. MikeSather. These include provid-ing the highest quality prod-ucts and services; achievingsuccess through employeeteamwork in all activities;safety for employees and pa-tients who volunteer forclinical trials; and continuouslearning by providing train-ing and professional develop-ment to employees and stu-dents. The center is rankedin the top quarter of growth-oriented performing compa-nies in the U.S.

The cemetery categorywas too close to call and re-sulted in a tie between theRiverside, Calif., and FortCuster, Mich., NationalCemeteries. Both cemeteriesfocus on empowering em-ployees to respond to cus-tomer needs and create na-tional shrines to America’sveterans.

Riverside has been themost active VA cemetery forthe past three years, perform-ing nearly 8,000 interments ayear. It’s also among the topin customer satisfaction andappearance. Strong commu-nity involvement contributesto Riverside’s success. “Thisaward recognizes our collec-tive and team efforts,” saiddirector Steve Jorgensen. “Inthe 12 years I’ve been at Riv-erside, we’ve been striving togive the best possible servicewe can.”

Fort Custer, which wonthe cemetery category in lastyear’s Carey Award program,operates on its own “CRE-ATE” leadership model—Communication, Respon-siveness, Empowerment, Ap-praisal, Training and Evolve.

Secretary Principi announced a series of actions that willimprove the employment and advancement of womenin VA by December 2004. They are based on recom-mendations issued by a task force he commissioned inOctober 2002 to “correct imbalances” within the de-partment.

Women currently make up nearly 61 percent ofVA’s work force, but fill only 37 percent of positions atgrades GS-13 and above. “Employment and professionalgrowth of women in VA are critical to providing thehighest quality of service to veterans,” Principi said.

Among the actions he announced are: ensuring thepercentage of women in VA’s Senior Executive Servicemeets or exceeds the government average; ensuringwomen are proportionately represented for high-levelawards; establishing a career-counseling program forwomen; and implementing family-friendly programssuch as day care centers. The moves are designed to in-crease recruitment, retention and promotion of womenwhile fostering a corporate culture that values their in-put and abilities.

The task force made their recommendations afterconsidering federal and private sector best practices andreviewing work force analysis data. They also used anindependent contractor to conduct focus group sessionsat VA facilities in Los Angeles, New York, Washington,D.C., and Little Rock, Ark.

Improving opportunities for women, according tothe task force’s executive summary, will allow VA to at-tract the best candidates, increase job satisfaction, andenhance creativity and performance.

Top Achievers Shine in Carey Quality Award Program

Advancing the Role of Women in VA

continued on page 28

VAnguardintroducing


Johnny Ball

It’s been said that the truemeasure of success is notsomeone’s accomplishments,but rather, what they had todo to get there. That’s espe-cially true in the case ofJohnny Ball.

Two years ago, he was ahomeless veteran living onthe streets of Dallas. Years ofhomelessness and poorchoices had taken a toll onhis life. He was destitute anddying.

In an act of desperation,he called his brother andasked for help. His brotherpicked him up off the streetsof Dallas and brought himhome to Boise, Idaho, wherehe was immediately admittedto the intensive care unit atthe Boise VA Medical Cen-ter. His primary diagnosiswas end stage liver failure.

His condition wasdeemed irreversible. The onlything that could save his lifewould be a liver transplant.He was transferred to the ex-tended care unit and placedin the hospice program,where he would receive com-fort care.

Three months later hiscondition slowly improvedand eventually stabilized.About six months after arriv-ing at the Boise VAMC, he

was discharged.With a new lease on life,

he set his sights on givingback to the hospital that hadgiven him so much. Hestarted volunteering five daysa week, eight hours a day inthe medical center’s extendedcare unit, helping with pa-tient care and recreationtherapy.

He helped with physicaland occupational therapyand did patient transfers orother tasks that requiredmore than one or twopeople. He used his me-chanical abilities to performwheelchair adjustments un-der the direction of thera-pists.

Ball was always willingto help with special events,fishing trips and picnics. Healso worked with the nursingstaff on a daily basis, servingbreakfast trays and helpingout wherever he was needed.He was a diligent volunteerwho showed the utmost careand respect for veterans.

Staff at the medical cen-ter took note of his excep-tional volunteer work and of-fered him a work-studyscholarship to become anursing assistant. He washired as a VA employee inJune 2002 and graduated

from the nursing assistantprogram last September. Henow works as a nursing assis-tant on the very unit wherehe’d been a hospice patientjust one year earlier.

As a nursing assistant,he continues to treat his pa-tients with compassion andrespect. He has taken on theextra duty of Silver SpoonProgram preceptor for volun-teers and now teaches volun-teers how to feed patientsand help them with theirmeals.

Aside from his nursingassistant duties, he continueshis volunteer activities. Hevolunteered to cook ham-burgers and hot dogs on hisday off at the Veteran Recog-

nition July 4th barbecue,even helping with the drudg-ery of setting up and clean-ing up. On New Year’s Eve,he came in to participate inCasino Night with the veter-ans so they would have a safeplace to celebrate and havefun.

Johnny Ball providesoutstanding care to veterans,and his life story is a livingtestament to what VA’s mis-sion truly means. He is re-spectful and dedicated to vet-erans and an asset to theBoise VA Medical Center.This year, he was selected forthe facility’s Nurse ExcellenceAward in the Nursing Assis-tant category.By Michael Farrugia, R.N.

The result is that employees’and veterans’ ideas and inputare valued and used to en-hance services. Bill Francis, aprogram analyst, providedseveral examples of best prac-tices generated from em-ployee and customer feed-back. One involves taking aphotograph of a set gravemarker and sending it with a

letter to the deceasedveteran’s family living out ofstate. Another is calling fami-lies of deceased veterans tolet them know when themarker has been set.

The Carey judges recog-nized the White River Junc-tion, Vt., VA Medical andRegional Office Center andthe Durham, N.C., VA

Medical Center with SpecialAchievement Awards. Theynoted White River Junction’sfocus on key business pro-cesses—knowledge manage-ment, innovation and organi-zational flexibility—and citedthe medical center’s “threebusiness day” response policyfor all customers. Durham’sinnovative approach to man-

agement and medicinecaught the Carey judges’ at-tention. Its pilot test of pro-viding real time patient dataover telephone lines resultedin a reduction of emergencyroom use by elderly patientsliving some distance from themedical center and led to atelephone-based health careprogram.

Carey Awards continued from page 27

JOHN MAGNAN

Two years ago, Johnny Ball was desitute and dying; today, he’s avalued employee at the Boise, Idaho, VA Medical Center.

VAnguard


medical advances

Vitamin C May ProtectAgainst Peptic UlcersVitamin C has been toutedas the cure for everythingfrom the common cold toheart disease. Now a newstudy led by Joel Simon,M.D., at the San FranciscoVA Medical Center hasfound it may also help pre-vent peptic ulcers and stom-ach cancer. The study ap-peared in the Aug. 1 issue ofthe Journal of the AmericanCollege of Nutrition.

Simon and others stud-ied data and blood samplesfrom nearly 7,000 Americanadults collected by the Na-

tional Center for Health Sta-tistics and the U.S. Centersfor Disease Control and Pre-vention. They found low lev-els of vitamin C associatedwith infection byHelicobacter pylori, the bac-teria that can cause peptic ul-cers and stomach cancer.

What their findingsdidn’t determine was whethervitamin C lowers the bacteriaor vice versa. “We cannot becertain if the infection lowersblood levels of vitamin C orif higher blood levels protectagainst infection,” said

Simon. However, even if theinfection does lower vitaminC levels, it would still beprudent for people who testpositive for H. pylori infec-tion to increase their intakeof vitamin C, noted Simon.Testing for H. pylori infec-tion is widely available andoften performed when stom-ach or duodenal ulcers aresuspected or diagnosed.Good sources of vitamin Cinclude citrus fruits such asoranges and grapefruit, aswell as dark leafy vegetablessuch as spinach, collards,broccoli, bell peppers and as-paragus.

Experts Split onWhether 9/11 AttacksRekindled PTSDSymptomsA study published in theSeptember issue of TheAmerican Journal of Psychia-try found the number of vet-erans seeking treatment forPTSD or other mental healthissues in Washington, D.C.,and New York within sixmonths after the Sept. 11 at-tacks was not significantlyhigher than the number ofvisits for the same period in1999 or 2000.

The findings are con-trary to what many ex-pected—that the 9/11 at-tacks would rekindle symp-toms in PTSD patients andthere would be increased de-mand for VA mental healthservices. The study, con-ducted by Drs. RobertRosenheck and AlanFontana, of the VA North-east Program EvaluationCenter in West Haven,Conn., and Yale University,“provides the first informa-tion to suggest that theevents of Sept. 11, at least inthe first six months, had littleimpact on actual use of men-

tal health servicesby a populationwith ready accessand at high risk,”according to a NewYork Times report.

A smallerstudy of VA hospi-tals in the NewYork area foundevidence to thecontrary. MaraKushner, a mentalhealth manager forVISN 3, headquar-tered in the Bronx,found an increasein the number ofveterans diagnosedwith PTSD duringthe nine months af-

ter Sept. 11. That study hasbeen accepted for publicationin the journal Psychiatric Ser-vices.

Richmond VA ReceivesHuman ResearchAccreditationProtecting the safety ofpeople who take part in re-search studies is a hot topicin health care these days.And nowhere is it more im-portant than at VA medicalfacilities. The Association forthe Accreditation of HumanResearch Protection Pro-

grams (AAHRPP) recentlyawarded full accreditation tothe Hunter Holmes McGuireVA Medical Center in Rich-mond, Va., making it thefourth organization toachieve the full three-year ac-creditation; the other threeare the University of Iowa,Western Institutional ReviewBoard, and the New EnglandInstitutional Review Board.

This is the second na-tional recognition bestowedon McGuire’s Human Re-search Protection Program.Last year it received one ofthe first Awards for Excel-lence in Human ResearchProtection. AAHRPP was es-tablished two years ago to re-store public confidence inhuman research by creatinghigh standards to protect re-search participants. McGuireunderwent a rigorous ac-creditation process includingan extensive self-assessment,an on-site visit from a teamof peer experts, and a reviewby the association’s councilon accreditation.

Receiving this accredita-tion is “a tangible demonstra-tion to the public of how im-portant protection of re-search participants is atMcGuire,” said James W.Dudley, the medical centerdirector. “Veterans are a veryspecial group and are eager todo things that benefit others.They trust us, and it’s our re-sponsibility to ensure theirsafety,” he said. AAHRPP ex-ecutive director MarjorieSpeers, Ph.D., congratulatedthe McGuire VA for achiev-ing accreditation. “Researchthat occurs in the VA medi-cal system is vitally impor-tant, and through our volun-tary accreditation program,we are pleased to recognizeMcGuire’s high quality hu-man research protection pro-gram,” she said.

A new study has found more potential benefits of Vitamin C.ROBERT TURTIL

VAnguardhave you heard


Senatorial Visit in N.C.

Back in the Saddle Again

Psychologists from theMiami VA Medical Centerare helping Argentina’s mili-tary doctors treat their veter-ans traumatized during the1982 Falklands War. The in-ternational collaborationcame about when a surgeonfrom the U.S. SouthernCommand contactedMiami’s PTSD program di-rector Dr. Daniella Davidseeking her support in an ex-pert exchange program. Sheagreed and earlier this yearhosted a group of visitingdoctors who spent a weeklearning group processtherapy, psychoeducation andother forms of treatment.

The Argentine officers theninvited David, along withMiami VA psychologists Dr.Gary Kutcher and Dr.Pamela Adams, to visitBuenos Aires for a PTSDconference in May.

Blind veterans are find-ing it easier to get around thePortland, Ore., VA MedicalCenter thanks to the BlindSigns dedicated Aug. 11.Portland is the first VA hos-pital and one of the first sitesin Oregon to install the“signs,” which are grids ofparallel markers oriented in acertain direction that can befelt underfoot or with a cane.

The grids are used to guideblind people by identifyingbus stops, crosswalks,restrooms and other publiclocations: three bars indicatea mass transit stop, four barsfor a crosswalk, and five barsfor a staircase.

VA’s strategic plan wasdistributed within the de-partment and on CapitolHill in August. The plan es-tablishes detailed goals andobjectives, performance tar-gets and outcome measuresfor both immediate prioritiesand long-term goals. It alsoaligns the department’s ad-ministrative branches under asingle business model an-chored in President Bush’smanagement agenda. Keyamong the strategic goals arerestoring the capability of

disabled veterans and ensur-ing a smooth transition fromactive military service to ci-vilian life. To download acopy of the plan, visit the VAWeb site www.va.gov/opp/sps/default.htm.

Combat veterans re-corded their wartime experi-ences at the Chillicothe VAMedical Center duringOhio’s bicentennial celebra-tion on Aug. 12. RobertBarnhart, the hospital’s pub-lic affairs officer, and co-worker Stacia Ruby coordi-nated the event to promotethe Library of Congress’ Vet-erans History Project. Theirteam has completed 30 inter-views with veterans so far.During the ceremony, Cong.Bob Ney (R-Ohio) recordedthe histories of three vets.

Physical therapist Kathryn Porrello and Engineering Ser-vice staff member Jerry Smith helped a cowboy get backin the saddle again at the New Mexico VA Health CareSystem. Veteran Tex Taylor, 84, a saddle maker who livesin Santa Rosa, N.M., suffered two consecutive strokeswithin a few months. During his first round of inpatient re-habilitation in May 2003, he donated a saddle for physicaltherapists to use as a functional tool to teach patientsbalance skills to help them regain an active lifestyle.Smith built a wooden “horse” for the saddle and in Au-gust Taylor climbed aboard to continue his therapy andride once more.

Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) returned to her birthplace ofSalisbury, N.C., to deliver the keynote address for theWomen’s Equality Day observance Aug. 26 at the W.G.(Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center. She spoke about the“noble endeavor” of government service and encouragedemployees in attendance to continue the “wonderful mis-sion” of serving veterans. After the ceremony she visitedwith hospitalized veterans in the geropsychiatry unit.

Jerry Smith and Kathryn Porrello of the New Mexico VA HealthCare System helped veteran Tex Taylor, 84, get back to an activelifestyle after suffering two strokes.

Sen. Elizabeth Dole answers questions from patient John Lingleduring her visit to the Salisbury, N.C., VA Medical Center.Salisbury is Dole’s hometown.

MICHAEL P. KLEIMAN

LUKE THOMPSON

VAnguard honors and awards


Tuning in to the Veteran

The Paralyzed Veteransof America presented theirhighest honor, the 2003Speedy Award, to PatriciaWiseman, the lead socialworker and spinal cord in-jury coordinator at the Hun-tington, W.Va., VA MedicalCenter, during their annualconvention Aug. 4-9 inMemphis, Tenn. She was rec-ognized for dedicating hercareer to improving the livesof veterans with spinal cordinjuries. Wiseman started hercareer in 1972 in the spinalcord injury program at theClement J. Zablocki VAMedical Center in Milwau-kee.

Rory A. Cooper, Ph.D.,director of the Center forWheelchairs and RelatedTechnology at the VA Pitts-burgh Healthcare System,was awarded the Paul M.

MagnusonAwardfrom theVA Reha-bilitationResearchand De-velop-mentService.Cooper,

who also chairs the depart-ment of rehabilitation scienceand technology at the Uni-versity of Pittsburgh, is oneof the world’s leading au-thorities in wheelchair designand technology. He was hon-ored for improving the livesof disabled veterans and con-tributing to the future of VArehabilitation research bymentoring the next genera-tion of investigative scien-tists. The Magnuson Awardis VA’s highest honor for re-search and development.

Two VA health care sys-tems were among the 100

“most wired” in America, ac-cording to a 2003 surveyconducted by Hospitals andHealth Networks magazine,McKesson Corp, and theHealthcare Information andManagement Systems Soci-ety. The VA New York/NewJersey Veterans HealthcareNetwork, VISN 3, headquar-tered in the Bronx, and theVA Great Lakes Health CareSystem, VISN 12, headquar-tered in Hines, Ill., bothmade the most wired list. Inaddition, the Bath, N.Y., VAMedical Center was recog-nized as one of the 25 mostwired “small and rural” hos-pitals. More than 400 healthsystems, representing 1,128hospitals, took part in thesurvey.

The Disabled AmericanVeterans presented theGeorge H. Seal MemorialTrophy for extraordinaryvolunteerism to Marshall R.Harless, a volunteer at theSalem, Va., VA Medical Cen-ter, and Mrs. Charlie B.Miller, a volunteer at theAsheville, N.C., VA MedicalCenter, during their nationalconvention in New OrleansAug. 16-19. The DAV alsohonored George M. Moore,Jr., director of theMartinsburg, W.Va., VAMedical Center, by naminghim Outstanding DisabledVeteran of the Year. Moore isa life member of the DAVNational Amputee Chapter76, New York.

The Iowa Departmentof AMVETS presented theState Commander Award toLila Albrecht, an administra-tive assistant at the VA Cen-tral Iowa Health Care Sys-tem, on June 21. She washonored for going above andbeyond expectations in herservice to veterans.

The VA San DiegoHealthcare System was se-lected as the inaugural win-ner of the Primary Preven-tion Safety Award, co-spon-sored by the National Alli-ance for the Primary Preven-tion of Sharps Injuries andInfection Control Today maga-zine. The award recognizesVA San Diego for its broaduse of safety devices to re-duce or eliminate injuriescaused by needles and sharpmedical instruments. Morethan 600,000 medical sharpsinjuries occur each year inU.S. health care facilities, ac-cording to the alliance’s Website, www.nappsi.org.

Penny Kaye Jensen, anurse practitioner with theVA Salt Lake City HealthCare System, received the2003 State Award for NursePractitioner Excellence forUtah during the recentAmerican Academy of NursePractitioners 18th Annual Na-tional Conference. Jensen, agraduate of Brigham YoungUniversity, served as past co-chair of the Utah Nurse Prac-titioners and was recentlyelected to serve as the staterepresentative to the Ameri-can Academy of Nurse Prac-titioners.

The Veterans HealthAdministration recognizedfour VA medical facilities aspart of the 2002-2003 UnderSecretary for Health’s Diver-sity Awards Program. Firstplace honors went to theWilliam Jennings BryanDorn VA Medical Center inColumbia, S.C., for design-ing and implementing their“Movin’ On Up” leadershipdevelopment program. Hon-orable mention went to theCentral Alabama VeteransHealth Care System forweaving their diversity pro-

grams with the high perfor-mance development model.Special recognition went tothe South Texas VeteransHealth System and theJames A. Haley VeteransHospital in Tampa.

The International Acad-emy of Cardiology presentedthe Albrecht FleckensteinMemorial Award to Jawahar“Jay” L. Mehta, chief of car-diology at the Central Ar-kansas Veterans HealthcareSystem and cardiology direc-tor at the University of Ar-kansas, during the ThirdWorldCon-gress onHeartDiseaseJuly 12-15 inWash-ington,D.C.Mehta,who has been with VA for 27years, has published morethan 800 papers, abstractsand book chapters, andserves on the editorial boardsof 11 professional journals.

Christina Frias, directorof clinical education at theVA North Texas HealthCare System, is the recipientof the National Associationof Hispanic Nurses 2003Janie Menchaca-WilsonLeadership Award, one of thehighest honors bestowed on aHispanic nurse for excep-tional leadership.

Russell Lemle, Ph.D.,chief psychologist at the SanFrancisco VA Medical Cen-ter, received the Associationof VA Psychologist Leaders2003 Leadership Award. It’sthe highest annual awardpresented by VA to out-standing psychologists.

Cooper

Mehta

VAnguardheroes


Averting a Near Drowning

While gathered withothers at a hotel swimmingpool during a family reunion,Janice Gosa, an informaticsservice line member at theTuscaloosa, Ala., VA Medical

Center,saw asmallbodyfloatingfacedown inthe wa-ter. Gosacalled forhelp and

then jumped, fully clothed,into the pool. She pulled anunconscious child from thewater and immediately beganCPR. Soon, the child beganto breathe naturally andopened her eyes. As it turnedout, the victim was Gosa’s 4-year-old cousin, and herquick action prevented a po-tential tragedy for her family.

A typically drizzly Pa-cific Northwest day foundLarry Kemp, cemetery tech-nician at Tahoma NationalCemetery in Kent, Wash.,assisting at an interment ser-vice. A friend of the bereavedfamily began complaining ofchest pains, collapsed andstopped breathing. Kempimmediately radioed the ad-ministrative staff about theemergency, who in turncalled 911, and he beganperforming CPR. Kempwas able to revive thewoman, and stayed withher until rescue personnelarrived. Although his ArmyCPR training gave thewoman a fighting chance,she died later at a local hos-pital.

St. Cloud, Minn., VAMedical Center’s Joe Graca,Ph.D., recently saved aveteran’s life and prevented

possible harm to local policeofficers. When an armed pa-tient threatened to kill him-self at his residence, a SWATteam was called and thecounty sheriff contactedGraca, the veteran’s psycholo-gist. At home and off duty,Graca didn’t hesitate to help.Speaking with the veteran byphone, Graca talked him outof committing suicide andconvinced him to put hisgun down so police couldtake him into custody.

West Palm Beach, Fla.,VA Medical Center staffersWaddys Flores, R.N., RalphCosme, R.N., and AmeilaPerez and her husband wit-nessed an accident involvinga pickup truck. One of thepassengers had been thrownfrom the vehicle into a sugarcane field. The three VA em-ployees and Perez’s husbandimmediately ran into thefield to find the victim. Afterlocating him, they providedfirst aid and contacted rescuepersonnel, who transportedthe injured passenger to ahospital.

Rebecca Gonzalez, anurse practitioner at the Bal-timore VA Medical Center,

was on aflightduring afamilyvacationwhen thepilot an-nounceda medicalemer-gency,

asking if there were anymedical personnel on board.Gonzalez told a flight atten-dant that she could assist.The flight attendant told herthat a man in his 50s wasperspiring heavily, clutchinghis chest and experiencing

shortness of breath. Gonzalezgrabbed a stethoscope andother medical supplies andwent to help. A fellow pas-senger, a physician, soonjoined her. Together theyloosened the passenger’sclothing. Gonzalez continuedto monitor the stricken pas-senger while the physiciantook a short medical history,revealing diabetes and heartdisease. Once the man’s vitalsigns stabilized, they admin-istered aspirin to protect hisheart and ease his pain. Theplane was rerouted to Las Ve-gas, where the passenger wastaken to a hospital.

Tim Joachim, supervi-sory medical technologist inthe engineering office of the

Fargo, N.D., VA Medicaland Regional Office Center,received a call complainingof a “smoky smell.” DaleDeKrey, chief of engineering,alerted the mechanic shopand then went to investigatethe source of the smell. Os-car J. Weiszhaar, a mechanic,rushed to the 3rd floor me-chanical room where the airhandler is located. Heopened the door leading to arelatively new chilled water-circulating pump, finding itengulfed in flames. Weiszhaargrabbed a fire extinguisherand put out the fire. He shutdown the air handler and setup fans to clear the smoke.No one was injured in theincident, and the damagewas minor.

Quick response and a team effort saved a patient at theBath, N.Y., VA Medical Center from drowning in the rain-swollen waters of the Conhocton River. Gerald Hosmer(below), a food service worker, heard cries for help ashe walked near a bridge at the main entrance of themedical center. He spotted a man in the water clinging

to a tree branch.Hosmer raced tothe man, reassur-ing him that hewould help, andthen ran for as-sistance.

He flaggeddown police of-ficers StevenDidas and RogerPrisk, who noti-

fied the station’s fire department. Didas and Prisk soonrealized that the man was losing his strength and was indanger of being swept away. They entered the water,holding on to the patient until firefighters Jim Northup,Michael Grasby, Kenneth Cornish and Barry Edwardsarrived. The VA firefighters secured the man to astretcher and pulled him from the rushing waters, trans-porting him to the medical center for treatment.

Gosa

Gonzalez

KIMBERLY HAAR-BILLS

state of vba - united states department of veterans affairs · vba chief daniel cooper sits down to...

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