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outlook

VA’s 75th AnniversaryFinancial Services Center

Operation Welcome Home Warrior

Echo Taps Project

July/August 2005

VA’s 75th AnniversaryFinancial Services Center

Operation Welcome Home Warrior

Echo Taps Project

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Features

Meeting the Payroll 6a dedicated team in Austin makes sure you get paid every two weeksReaching Across the Years 9Vietnam veterans in Ohio are reaching out to today’s returning veteransTriumph Over Frightening Odds 13a VA surgeon in Palo Alto, Calif., performs a rare, dangerous operationTaps Echoing Through the Countryside 15866 brass musicians play taps for a worthy cause75 Years of Service 16VA kicks off a yearlong anniversary celebrationBreaking Down Barriers 22new office helps faith-based groups partner with VA

Departments

3 Letters4 Management Matters5 Outlook24 Around Headquarters28 Introducing29 Medical Advances30 Have You Heard31 Honors and Awards32 Heroes

On the coverVice President Dick Cheney shares the stagewith Secretary Jim Nicholson and Dr. MichaelDeBakey at the celebration kicking off a year-long observance of VA’s 75th anniversary.Thousands of veterans, VA employees andother VIPs attended the July 21 ceremony atDAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Inhis remarks, Cheney commended VA employ-ees for their commitment to serving veterans,telling them, “You can be proud of your asso-ciation with a vital agency of the United Statesgovernment.” Photo by Robert Turtil

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VAnguardVA’s Employee MagazineJuly/August 2005Vol. LI, No. 4

Printed on 50% recycled paper

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

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs810 Vermont Ave., N.W.Washington, D.C. 20420(202) 273-5746E-mail: vanguard@va.govwww.va.gov/opa/feature/vanguard/index.htm

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letters

Have a comment on something you’ve seen inVAnguard? We invite reader feedback. Send your com-ments to vanguard@va.gov. You can also write to us at:VAnguard, Office of Public Affairs (80D), Departmentof Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave., N.W., Wash-ington, D.C., 20420, or fax your letter to (202) 273-6702. Include your name, title and VA facility. Wewon’t be able to publish every letter, but we’ll use rep-resentative ones. We may need to edit your letter forlength or clarity.

We Want to Hear from You

Soldiers prepare to hoist Old Glory during a Flag Day obser-vance at the Chalmers P. Wylie VA Outpatient Clinic in Co-lumbus, Ohio. Participating is Matt Francis (right), a budgetanalyst at the clinic and member of the Ohio Volunteer In-fantry Civil War Living History Association. The event gavethe public an opportunity to learn about life in the Armythrough a Civil War encampment and assortment of modern-day gear used by soldiers in support of Operation Iraqi Free-dom. June 14 marked the 230th anniversary of the U.S. Army.

Raising Old GlorySGT. ANDREW LOVELESS

From the EditorAn article published in a re-cent issue of VAnguardprompted feedback from tworeaders concerned that thestory contradicts theirfacility’s boundary policy andhampers their efforts to edu-cate staff on ethical bound-aries for relationships withpatients. The letters highlightthe need for dialogue on thisimportant subject.

A boundary violationoccurs when a health care

professional’s behavior “goesbeyond appropriate profes-sional limits” and generallyarises “when a personal inter-est displaces the professional’sprimary commitment to thepatient’s welfare in ways thatharm the patient or the pa-tient-clinician relationship,”according to a 2003 reportissued by the National EthicsCommittee of the VeteransHealth Administration.

The report provides theframework for VA boundary

policy, but does not establishnational policy. Individualmedical centers establishpolicies for their own facili-ties. Therefore, not all facili-ties have the same boundarypolicies. The report is avail-able on the VA Intranet atvaww1.va.gov/vhaethics/down-load/Boundaries_2003.doc.

The report emphasizesthat boundary policies focuson protecting the patient andthe patient-clinician relation-ship. Literal applicationwould limit the scope ofthese policies to cliniciansand other health care profes-sionals. The report doesn’tspecify how hospital adminis-trative or operational staff fitinto the equation. But itdoes emphasize the complexscenarios in which boundaryviolations occur and howthese instances are oftenopen to interpretation.

Boundary policies cer-tainly have their place. Clini-cians and other providersclearly should avoid engagingin sexual or financial rela-tionships with patients ortheir families. But accordingto the letters sent toVAnguard, most boundaryviolations stem from well-in-tentioned employees goingout of their way to help aveteran or group of veterans.If this is the case, these viola-tions may present opportuni-

ties to make system modifi-cations to better meet veter-ans’ needs.

For more informationon boundaries, contact theNational Center for Ethics inHealth Care at (202) 501-0364 or by e-mail:vhaethics@hq.med.va.gov.

CorrectionIn the Medical Advances sec-tion of the May/June issue,we stated that the SouthernArizona VA Health CareSystem was the first in VAto perform carotid arterystenting, in February 2005.Other facilities, includingthe VA ConnecticutHealthcare System and theVA Palo Alto Health CareSystem, brought to our at-tention that they began per-forming the proceduremuch earlier.

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some thoughtful stories andinsights on how one personcan make a difference. Ifyou’re planning to invite aveteran to your facility tospeak about his or her experi-ences while serving in themilitary, the Web site also of-fers useful preparation tips tohelp make the event a suc-cess.

A world-class health careorganization is seeking highlyqualified employees to helpmeet its mission to care forAmerica’s heroes. Do youhave what it takes to be amember of the team? Affirm

your commitment today. Therewards will be more far-reaching than you ever imag-ined.

Affirm Your Commitment to Serving Our VeteransLou Ann AtkinsChair, Affirming the Commitment Deployment Task GroupVHA National Leadership Board Communications Committee

Top companies everywhereknow that satisfied employ-ees are the real heart of theorganization. Instilling asense of pride and commit-ment are the keys to successin any business. The workenvironment and salaries areimportant, but the real moti-vator for employees is the in-teraction they have with oth-ers and the sense of achieve-ment they feel at the end ofthe day. Research has shownthat highly committed em-ployees are customer-focused,have greater job satisfaction,and are more likely to staywith the organization.

Affirming the Commit-ment is a national VeteransHealth Administration(VHA) initiative that willhelp us better understandand appreciate veterans andtheir military service, create aculture in which we own theVA mission, and make VA amore gratifying place to workby reinforcing the impor-tance of our service. Affirm-ing the Commitment is builton the belief that when em-ployees open their hearts toveterans and develop strongrelationships with co-work-ers, their work will be moresatisfying and meaningful.

The initiative is aunique program in that itrecognizes employees’ humanspirit and empowers them toadd more meaning to eachworkday. Affirming the Com-mitment will help foster aculture based on employees’commitment and pride inserving veterans.

Most of us spend asmuch time with co-workers

and patients as we do withour family and friends, yetwe sometimes overlook theimportance of developingstrong relationships in theworkplace. When we missout on these relationships,we forfeit something of whatmakes life satisfying.

Affirming the Commit-ment acknowledges your in-ner self and empowers you totake action and make eachday of your life count. Ran-dom acts of kindness, plan-ning an event to honorsomeone, or simply listeningto one another are all ex-

amples of how we make apositive difference in the livesof others. It’s the human ele-ment—our interaction withothers—that makes life moremeaningful.

Every year, we honorveterans with activities andcelebrations during NationalSalute to Hospitalized Veter-ans. We participate in Me-morial Day, Veterans Dayand Pearl Harbor Remem-brance Day programs, andwe look for other ways torecognize every veteran’s ser-vice to our country. AsAmerican citizens, we are in-debted to our nation’s veter-ans for the sacrifices theymade while in uniform toprotect the freedoms we en-joy.

At VA, our employeesare fortunate to have the op-

portunity to help America re-pay that immeasurable debt.Affirming the Commitmentencourages us to celebrateveterans each and every day.

How can you affirmyour commitment to servingveterans? A wealth of com-pelling information and ma-terials is available to you onthe Affirming the Commit-ment Web site (vaww.va.gov/atc). The Affirming the Com-mitment video profiles severalveterans and their families, aswell as VA employees whoshare their inspirational sto-ries.

The video received aninternational Award of Excel-lence in the 2005Videographer Awards Com-petition, and a Bronze-levelaward in the national OmniAward competition, with anoverall score of 8.2 on a 10-point scale. The OmniAward is evaluated by a panelof judges from top produc-tion companies in the worldand recognizes the best videoand broadcast productions.

What other tools areavailable to help you affirmthe commitment? Perhapsyou can discuss the studymaterials available on theWeb site with your co-work-ers, or work with yourfacility’s Affirming the Com-mitment liaison to conductlocal activities. The bookleton the Web site provides

Research has shown that highly committed employeesare customer-focused, have greater job satisfaction,and are more likely to stay with the organization.

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outlook

officials indicated the coun-try seemed to be makingmeasured progress in address-ing some of these issues.

The country has madeeconomic policy strides, aswell. For example, the Na-tional Assembly had only re-cently approved some 15new laws designed to maketheir market rules conformto worldwide acceptableguidelines.

While it is recognizedthat these are newly emerg-ing issues, we will not losefocus on the longstanding

concerns. It should be noted,therefore, that the Vietnam-ese pledged to continue theirsupport for the U.S. effortsto account for those missingfollowing the war. And wewill press forward to achievethe fullest possible account-ing of Americans who re-main missing in action, aswell as to resolve the fullrange of other issues that re-main from the war.

As Americans we cherishopportunities to learn fromthe past and move to a betterfuture. I believe we havesimilar opportunities in ourrelations with Vietnam.

Reflections: A Veteran’s Return to VietnamGordon H. MansfieldDeputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs

I recently had the honor ofbeing appointed by PresidentBush as his representative tohead the U.S. delegation rec-ognizing the 10th anniver-sary of the normalization ofU.S.-Vietnam relations, anopportunity to return toVietnam some 37 years afterI last left.

The July 12 event inHanoi gave me the opportu-nity to work with veteranswho shared similar experi-ences several decades ago.

The brief visit includedmeetings with top Vietnam-ese government officials,U.S. Embassy representa-tives, American businessleaders, and representativesof U.S. veterans service orga-nizations, as well as the Viet-nam Veterans Association.The delegation was receivedby the Vietnamese ForeignMinister and the Vice Presi-dent of the National Assem-bly.

I also addressed Ameri-

can and Vietnamese businessleaders at the AmericanChamber of Commerce lun-cheon. The delegation’s visitconcluded with a well-at-tended 10th anniversaryevent at the Museum ofFine Arts.

Several key issues andthemes struck me through-out the visit. Among thosewas the warm reception I re-ceived at all of the events,both as a representative ofthe Bush administration andas a returning veteran. Whilewe will never forget the past,

we should look to the op-portunities of the future.

The normalization ofU.S.-Vietnam relations hasbrought about solid achieve-ments across many measures

of international dialogue. Inthe fields of business, com-merce and education, our na-tions have made the most ofexisting relationships whileestablishing new ones thatwill help foster future en-deavors. But we also knowthere is more to do.

If we are to truly cementa durable alliance worthy ofthe second decade in our“new beginning,” we musttogether confront economicissues—the commitmentsstemming from our BilateralTrade Agreement, Vietnam’s

accession to the World TradeOrganization, and the favor-able conditions needed forincreased U.S. investments inVietnam.

On another front, wemust address health and hu-manitarian concerns, likeHIV/AIDS and avian influ-enza. We must also encour-age the cultural and educa-tional exchanges that haveincreasingly come to markour renewed relations.

We must strengthen co-operation on transnational is-sues like the global fightagainst terrorism, crime andnarcotics, and the growingscourge of human trafficking.

To their credit, Viet-namese officials acknowl-edged the differences in keypolicy areas such as humanrights and religious freedoms.The Vietnamese government

Deputy Secretary Mansfield receives a gold medallion from Viet-namese National Assembly Vice President Nguyen Phuc Thanh atthe National Assembly Building in Hanoi.

The normalization of U.S.-Vietnam relations hasbrought about solid achievements across manymeasures of international dialogue.

Editor’s note: While serving ascompany commander with the101st Airborne Division, DeputySecretary Mansfield sustained aparalyzing spinal cord injury froma gunshot wound during the TetOffensive of 1968.

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It’s a Wednesday morning and asmall group of employees in thewest wing of the VA Financial

Services Center in Austin, Texas,are settled into their cubicles, readyto tackle a humongous task. Theyhave brought lunch and dinner withthem and are prepared to workthrough the night if the need arises.Their mission—which they have

readily accepted—is to ensure thatthe more than 235,000 VA employ-ees nationwide receive their payrollallotment on payday Friday.

It’s an assignment that is re-peated every other Wednesday andit impacts every VA employee—from Secretary Nicholson to themost recently hired summer intern.

For more than 35 years now, a

small group of employees, known asthe “elite eighteen,” has issued mil-lions of payroll allotments that totalin the billions of dollars to hundredsof thousands of recipients.

It’s a daunting task that manyVA employees take for granted.

“People probably think thatone’s timekeeper enters their infor-mation into an automated systemand the station’s payroll office takesthe input and just like magic theirwages appear in their financial insti-tution every other Friday,” saidDonna Greenwalt, public affairs of-ficer at the Financial Services Cen-ter (FSC) in Austin.

Greenwalt points out that whileit may look like magic, it actuallytakes a lot of hard work and manylong hours.

“Our nationwide payroll stafftruly is the driving force behind ev-ery VA employee receiving theirwages on time,” said Rodney Wood,FSC director and retired Air Forcegeneral. “They take pride in theirwork.”

It begins with the payroll stafftracking all of the timecard inputfrom each field site and ensuringthey have all of the data from everyVA employee.

“We have a two-week cycle.The payroll cycle ends on a Satur-day and we expect the first set oftimecards to come in on the Mon-day following. That is when our jobactually picks up,” said JulieHawkins, acting chief of nationalpayroll. “We have until 12:30 p.m.Wednesday to process the payroll, sowe’re basically tracing timecards. Af-ter we close on the payroll we do asampling of employees’ pay to makesure that their gross and net is cor-rect.”

Ever wonder how your paycheck ends up inyour bank account every two weeks? No, it’snot magic. These are the dedicated employeeswho make it happen.

Above: Earnings and leave statements areprinted by the Austin Automation Center,which is co-located with the Financial Ser-vices Center. Here, Donald Gober performsa quality check on a folding and sealingmachine. The statements are printed,folded and sealed at 135 per minute.

ROBERT TURTIL

Meetingthe PayrollMeetingthe Payroll

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The payroll staff then authorizesthe release of this data into the Per-sonnel and Accounting IntegratedData (PAID) system.

The PAID system generates apayroll that is certified as being goodto pay and sends the payroll file tothe Department of the Treasury.

Treasury then issues the VA em-ployee paycheck, the PAID systemgenerates the Earnings and LeaveStatement, and “like magic” VA em-ployees get their money—on time.

While an estimated 99.9 per-cent of VA employees are paid elec-tronically, there are a small numberof employees who still have checksmailed to them.

“We can’t stress enough the im-portance of having timecards in ontime. That is the key,” said WarrenMuller, associate director of nation-wide payroll. “If there’s a delay get-ting the timecards in we run the riskof a crisis situation, working late

into the night and well into thenext morning. There have beentimes when we’ve been here untiltwo in the morning.”

On a good day the team finishesits task by the regular close of busi-ness at 4:30 p.m. On other occasionsthe payroll team has been in the of-fice way past midnight.

“For us, there is no tomorrow.We have to meet our deadline. Oth-erwise, someone out there is not go-ing to get paid. And we don’t wantthat so we do the best we can,” saidHawkins. “After all, I know every-one looks forward to payday and wecertainly do not want to let anyonedown.”

The payroll team is currentlyone member short—Lori Huey, amember of the National Guard, hasbeen called to active duty.

Holidays, as much as everyonelikes them, present a challenge forthe payroll staff. It means they have

one less day to do their job; that’swhy timecards are requested early.

“Holiday weeks are differentfrom normal weeks because if theholiday falls on a Monday, instead ofhaving two and a half days to runthe payroll cycle we now have oneand a half days,” said Muller. “If oneof those days is spent chasing downtimecards and trying to find a hun-dred or a hundred and fifty thousandtimecards, that means we only havea day and a half to test a quarter of amillion timecards, a quarter of a mil-lion paychecks.”

In addition to payroll, the staffdoes all of the necessary validationsto ensure that employees receive anaccurate W-2 form prior to Jan. 31of each tax year, that all of the fed-eral, state and local taxing authori-ties get the money they are due, andthat all of the allotments each em-ployee selects get executed as speci-fied.

They also handle all ofthe retirement pay for formerVA employees.

But there is so muchmore the center does forother offices in VA and forother federal agencies. TheFSC has much to be proudof, and has won numerousawards, including the GAOBest Practice Award, high-lighted in a recent issue ofGovernment Executive maga-zine.

“The FSC providesmany other services and ex-pertise to VA that are un-seen by most employees,”said Wood. “One example ofthis ‘behind the scenes’ workthe FSC does involves re-turning value to VA for vet-erans’ programs. During fiscalyear (FY) 2004, the FSC putmore than $30.3 millionback into VA’s coffers as aresult of the rebate pointsthe FSC earned from pro-

Julie Hawkins, foreground, acting chief of national payroll, with Financial Services Center employees BeverlyR. Poe, background left, and Raquenel Stephens. “For us, there is no tomorrow,” says Hawkins. “We have tomeet our deadline. Otherwise, someone out there is not going to get paid.”

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cessing VA’s purchase card transac-tions daily.”

The FSC pays most of thedepartment’s vendors, ensures VAand the department’s EnterpriseFund Office (EFO) receive clean au-

our commitment to providing ourcustomers with both quality cus-tomer service and quality financialproducts and services. We are confi-dent we will continue to excel inour quest to exceed customers’ ex-pectations, and we look forward tothe challenges FY 2005 holds instore for us.”

Next payday, thank your localpayroll staff, and remember the pro-fessionals in Austin. As the sign in apayroll specialist’s cubicle reads:“We don’t believe in miracles. Werely on them.” And the folks inAustin have been doing a miracu-lous job for more than three de-cades.

dit opinions from an independentaudit firm (the FSC led VA to itssixth clean audit opinion and EFOto its seventh clean audit opinionthis year). This is done by running arobust audit recovery product line,and using the capabilities of a state-of-the-art document managementsystem.

“The FSC is not only a verycost-effective service provider, but isseriously committed to excellence byimplementing best practice experi-ences into our programs and projectsso that we can bring the excellenceto you,” said Wood. “We are proudto be part of VA and proud of thework we do to help the departmentmeet its mission. As we advanceinto FY 2005, we plan to continue

Left: Financial Services Center Director Rodney Wood.

Financial Services Center employees Jerry Hullum, left, and Rosalinda Garcia crunch num-bers while John E. Oman works in the background. Left: Rodney Wood is director of the Fi-nancial Services Center. “Our nationwide payroll staff really is the driving force behind ev-ery VA employee receiving their wages on time,” he says. “They take pride in their work.”

ROBERT TURTIL

ROBERT TURTIL

By Ozzie Garza

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Behind the Scenes of VET ITI’ve been there and I know whatyou’re going through. That’s themessage retired Army Capt. Mac

McGowan, a patient at theChalmers P. Wylie VA OutpatientClinic in Columbus, Ohio, wantedto convey to his young neighborwho had just returned from the warin Iraq.

Though humbly professing to be“not very good with words,” the ac-complished writer and retired socialworker wrote a letter to the youngsoldier, thanking him for his serviceand letting him know he had some-one he could talk to. Someone whoknew what war really looks like,sounds like and feels like years afterthe final bullets have been shot.

McGowan was an airborne in-fantryman in Vietnam. He survivedthe Tet Offensive and countlessother battles that didn’t earn namesor places in the history books. Hewas wounded and decorated forvalor, but his memories aren’t alwaysheroic; most, in fact, are tragic.

The simple message McGowanfirst intended only for his neighborbecame much more after he read theletter to his fellow veteran volun-

teers at the clinic. A match wasstruck.

That small flame became a fire,forging a team of VA staff, veteranvolunteers and local communitymembers who call their efforts “Op-eration Welcome Home Warrior.”The initiative officially kicked offon April 29 as part of the ColumbusVA outpatient clinic’s annual vol-unteer services awards luncheon,but by then the work the team doeswith returning veterans from theglobal war on terrorism had been

underway for nearly six months.

In the beginningAccording to Al Burzynski,

public affairs officer at the Colum-bus clinic, Welcome Home Warriorgrew from grassroots issues andfriendships to the dedicated volun-teer team that operates today. As anew public affairs officer in the VAsystem, Burzynski wanted to learnmore about PTSD because it hadbeen such a hot topic in the media.At the same time, he’d been getting

A group of Vietnamveterans in Columbus,Ohio, is sharing theirexperiences to helptoday’s returningveterans transitionback to civilian life.

The man whose letter started it all: Mac McGowan at home.

RONALD A. BURGESS

Reaching AcrossReaching Acrossthe Yearsthe Years

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to know the veteran volunteers atthe clinic. One of his new friends,Lloyd Davis, a Vietnam veteran whohelped start the team, broughtMcGowan and his letter toBurzynski’s attention. He was struckby the message.

“After reading that wonderfulletter, I asked McGowan, Davis andtheir cohorts from the PTSD sup-port group if they would be willingto speak publicly about PTSD to themedia, the clinic’s stakeholders, cityofficials and at public meetings,”said Burzynski.

Of course, Burzynski had tospeak with McGowan’s PTSD groupleader, Dr. Terry Carlson, about thesupport group members doing inter-views, but through a series of meet-ings about ground rules and proce-dures, McGowan’s entire supportgroup became interested in sharingtheir experiences coping with PTSDand making the transition backhome after serving their country.

But their interest wasn’t somuch in talking to the media. Theywanted to go directly to the soldiers.Those who would be returning fromIraq and Afghanistan with the disor-der were their primary concern.

Rather than being discouraged,

Burzynski saw an opportunity in thedifferent focus of the group and de-cided to make their testimonies anintegral part of his presentations toreturning troops. Soon, members ofthe team were with Burzynski at ev-ery event he attended.

Operation in actionWhen Dan Law returned from

combat duty in Vietnam, his then-girlfriend lived out on a countryroad. Picking her up at night was anordeal for him.

“In Vietnam, ambushes weresprung when the foliage was rightout to the edge of the road,” ex-plained Law, now a member of theWelcome Home Warrior team. “Ican remember her panicking be-cause in the dark of night I cut mylights and was going about 60 milesan hour. She asked me, ‘What areyou doing?’ and I replied, ‘I’m sur-viving, what’s the matter with you?’”

Decades later, a former Marinewho had been out of Iraq for morethan a year was having similar prob-lems relating to his wife and mother.

“He was acting different, hard,which wasn’t the laid-back man weknew,” said Sandra Nading, theMarine’s mother. Nading wanted to

help her son, but when she tried totalk with him, he would get edgyand anxious. He often insisted hewas fine, that nothing was wrong.Nading grew more concerned. Dur-ing a visit to the Columbus clinicfor her son’s ankle injury, Nadingmet Burzynski, who told her aboutthe Welcome Home Warriorproject.

Burzynski suggested that Nadingbring her son in for a friendly chatafter his medical appointment.While Nading went to get her son,Burzynski invited one of the mem-bers of the Welcome Home Warriorgroup, Chuck Kalb, to come talkwith the former Marine. Kalb waseager to meet the young man.

“My son and I were sitting inAl’s office when Chuck walked inthe door and said, ‘You know, I wantto thank you for what you did foryour country.’ He said thank you,but it was more than that,” Nadingsaid. “At that moment I could seesomething had lifted off my son’schest. In just a short talk, Chuck re-ally pulled a lot of stuff out of myson that he didn’t even realize hewas holding back.”

It’s the warrior aspect of Wel-come Home Warrior that Burzynskibelieves gives the operation its highlevel of success. Returning veteransare greeted by older, yet somehowfamiliar, faces. They attest that eyesthat have seen battle can instantlyconnect across generations to form abond and a level of trust far beyondwhat briefings and benefits displaybooths can achieve.

“VA certainly has wonderfulprograms and it is the place to goand get help,” Law said. “But VA isalso a giant system and it can bevery intimidating when you firstcome to it. In the benefit and healthcare structure, veterans can get thefeeling that they are just anothernumber. We provide a face, butmore importantly, a story. Our sto-ries will connect with their stories

Lloyd Davis, center, and Mac McGowan talk with Sgt. Brett Pyles, of the Ohio NationalGuard, during a drill held at the Guard armory 90 days after Pyles’ unit returned from Iraq.

AL BURZYNSKI

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ROBERT TURTIL

and let them know they have foundsomeone to get them through.”

The other veteran volunteerson the team share Law’s dedication.The group has already been to sev-eral Ohio National Guard and Re-serve drills, as well as family readi-ness group functions, and they arereaching out to active duty membersand their families in Ohio throughthe U.S. Army Columbus Recruit-ing Battalion’s Family SupportGroup and community relationsprograms to offer their services.They have visited troops on returntrips and at every stop, they givetheir contact numbers freely to newsoldiers and encourage the troops tocall them anytime. The group’s Website, www.welcomehomewarrior.org,features a listing of the team mem-bers and their contact information.

“Operation Welcome HomeWarrior is like a red carpet for uswhen we get back,” said former

Army Ranger Eric Allen, one of theveterans helped by the program.“Having someone who knows whatI’ve been through because he’s beenthere too makes the difference. I’vefought in Desert Storm and Somalia,but not until I returned from OIFdid I encounter something this kindto veterans.”

The team’s approach is meantto bring a new dimension to theseamless transition concept, puttinga friendly face with familiar experi-ences at the forefront of the VA ex-perience for a new veteran, accord-ing to Burzynski.

“It’s less intrusive in appearanceto have these guys speaking than tohave a VA guy simply give a ben-efits briefing when these soldierscome home,” Burzynski said. “If I goup there during an in-brief for re-turning soldiers and I try to talkabout VA, I can always see a littleapprehension. But when the words

are coming from volunteers whowant to be there and are there ontheir own time to share their storiesand show they care, it makes thatreturning veteran’s transition a littlebit easier. Having that connectionshows them that not only will theVA care for them as an institution,but they will have a whole group ofreal people they can turn to whowill welcome them into the brother-hood of veterans.”

The Welcome Home Warrioridea has already shown some of itsmerit as the volunteer group contin-ues to grow and the positive re-sponses keep bringing new soldiersin.

It’s the personalized attentionthat Burzynski and the team mem-bers say is the key to their successand what makes the difference tothe returning troops. WelcomeHome Warrior works like amentoring program. New veterans

Members of the Welcome Home Warrior team. RONALD A. BURGESS

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had people that wanted to do it;they were people of action and wegot this done. A lot of people ask ifthere isn’t something already likethis out there. The answer, to myknowledge, is no.”

The volunteer veterans of theteam are willing to help other facili-ties start their own teams. “I thinkevery vet that I have talked to hasbeen willing to do something likethis,” said Frank Kearney, teammember and former Army staff ser-geant. “When I got out of the Armyit was thank you very much, go fig-ure it out on your own and that washow it was for most of us. We don’twant that to happen now and wecan prevent it from happening.”

The team’s mission has reso-nated just as clearly with those whohave already seen the operation’sbenefits.

“PTSD is a real syndrome and areal threat because we bring it backto our families, workplaces and com-munities, and they suffer,” saidAllen. “The guys in Welcome HomeWarrior give me bearing and helpme mold my character back to theold Eric that I want to be. They giveme assurance that I’m not the onlyone and there is help, hope, andwith faith, I can come out of this. Ican be progressive and positiveagain. I believe that now and I oweit to them.”

Burzynski believes the successof the Columbus program sends apowerful message to VA employ-ees, too. “We all share the samemission. That mission is taking careof America’s heroes and whateverwe can do to assist in that missionis our basic duty,” he said. “Groupslike Operation Welcome HomeWarrior really help make that mis-sion possible at the personal level. Ihope every medical center reads thisand wants to start a program justlike it.”

partner up with a team member andlearn how to navigate the rigors ofcombat stress and make the transi-tion back to civilian life.

“We deal with the soldiers on aone-on-one basis,” former ArmyGreen Beret Jim Garvey said. “Weget their information and we try tofind someone on our team who is aperfect fit for them to partner upwith. Obviously, I would make agreat companion for a Special Forcessoldier or a heavy combatant, but Imight not be able to relate as well toa medic as one of our other guyscan.”

In fact, Garvey shares a specialrelationship with Allen, who he hastaken under his wing. The two com-bat veterans from different eras peri-odically meet and speak on thephone.

Warrior wisdomThe team’s veterans hail from

the four service branches and a vari-ety of backgrounds, ranging frommedics to explosive ordnance dis-posal technicians. Each has a storyto share and listening ear to spare.

“This is good for the troops andit is good for us. We definitely getthe feeling that we have some wis-dom to pass on to these youngpeople,” McGowan said. “We’vebeen in combat. We’ve been wherethey are and we have been homelonger than they have. We can kindof take them by the hand and leadthem down the trails that we’vebeen on, make sure they don’t stepon the same booby traps we had totrip through going through this.”

The “warrior wisdom” the teamhopes to pass on to the new genera-tion of returning troops is all aboutkeeping hope, and just as in war, itrelies heavily on the battle buddysystem. Troops are encouraged tokeep in touch with their fellow re-turning soldiers, not be afraid to dis-cuss events that happened overseas,and seek VA counseling and care.

Above all, the troops are encour-aged to be careful how they reactaround their families.

“Whenever I’m milling with theGIs, I ask them if they notice any-thing different about the way theirfamilies react to them,” said Davis,team member and former Army ser-geant. “It’s almost always a yes. I tellthem it’s not really the people[around them] that have changed;it’s the soldier that is not the same.You look at things a lot differentlythan before you went overseas andgot into a combat zone. That reallyhits home with a lot of troops.”

The team is quick to stress theyare not trying to pass themselves offas the sole source of help. They telltroops they are not counselors andare not attempting to position them-selves as counselors.

“We are not trying to pose as analternative to VA counsel, but tobring troops into the VA and letthem know there is help here,”McGowan said. “We get the troopscomfortable in the VA setting.When they feel comfortable enough,we point them in the right directionfor services.”

Burzynski knows what a differ-ence the team is making. He seesexamples of it all the time, and headmires what they’re doing. “It takesa lot of courage to stand up in frontof a bunch of people and share yourlife story, especially when you aredealing with this kind of condition,”Burzynski said of the team. “Theymake this program really work.”

Spreading the wordBurzynski and the team don’t

want their successes in seamlesstransition to be limited to Colum-bus. They’d like to see OperationWelcome Home Warrior efforts getstarted at all VA medical centers.

“There was no difficulty in get-ting this together, and the benefitsfor VA and these veterans havebeen amazing,” Burzynski said. “We By Ryan Steinbach

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The risk of failure was high.This type of cancer had onlybeen successfully removed

once before. But for former Armytank mechanic John F. Frick, whoseliver had a 25-pound malignant tu-mor embedded in it, there were nooptions.

“I’m a mechanic. I was used tofixing broken things,” said Frick.“Now I was broken. I needed some-one to fix me and I turned to VA.”

Frick, 61, got exactly what heneeded, and his doctor and surgicalteam were overjoyed with their sur-gical success. Leading Frick’s nine-hour surgery on May 12 was Dr.Sherry Wren, chief of general sur-gery at the VA Palo Alto HealthCare System and associate professorof surgery at Stanford University.Her surgical team included three op-

A VA Palo Alto HealthCare System surgeonsuccessfully performs arare and difficultoperation to remove a25-pound tumor froma veteran’s liver.

CURT CAMPBELL

Right: Dr. Sherry Wren, chief of general sur-gery at the VA Palo Alto Health Care Sys-tem, visits Army veteran John Frick acouple of weeks after removing his massivetumor during a nine-hour operation.

Triumph OverFrightening Odds

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erating room nurses, a profusionist(who focuses on blood circulationduring surgery), two anesthesiolo-gists and three other attending sur-geons, featuring one of VA’s and thenation’s top cardiac surgeons, Dr.Thomas A. Burdon.

“I won’t lie to anyone,” saidWren, “this was the toughest surgeryI’ve ever done and I wouldn’t agreeto it until Mr. Frick had written awill. I knew what his odds were. Af-ter all, this type of liver surgery hadonly been done one other time suc-cessfully, on a 79-year-old woman inKansas, and her tumor was muchsmaller than Mr. Frick’s.”

Frick had no idea his tumor wasso large. It had been a very slow-growing tumor for years, so he justthought he was gaining weight. Itwasn’t until last winter that hissymptoms got so bad that he cameto the Palo Alto VA emergency

room. He was given a drug calledGleevac in an effort to reduce thetumor’s size. Rather than shrinking,however, it continued to grow at analarming rate, and yet Frick was los-ing weight daily.

“The tumor was eating beforeMr. Frick was,” said Wren. “I knewthat without surgery Mr. Frick hadonly a short time to live.”

It was then that Wren decidedshe had to try to save the veteran’slife. She contacted the local bloodbank to reserve a large backup sup-ply of blood. She ran tests and stud-ied the results with other doctors.She counseled and educated Frickand his three children. Finally, sheput together a team of medical ex-perts rarely seen in a private operat-ing room, which included OR nursesEvie Glasa, Daisy Wong and SusanJohansen; profusionist TonyaBlodget; anesthesiologists Kevin

Fish and Steve Schaefer; surgeonsBurdon, Jim Fann and Basen Safadi;and residents Russel Woo from sur-gery and Zed Reagan from anesthe-sia.

“The fact is,” said Burdon, “onlyin VA could you pull together sevenphysicians and three operating roomnurses for nine hours. Few privatehospitals or insurance companieswould pay for that.”

Frick was astounded to find outso much effort had been made forhim. “I guess my eight years in theArmy really paid off,” he said. “Ihave Dr. Wren on a tall pedestal. Iknow she saved my life and that shecouldn’t have done it without thehospital’s support. I was treated byan A-1 team in surgery and on theward. I simply couldn’t have gottenbetter care anywhere.”

A team of VA Palo Alto Health Care System doctors and nurses, headed up by Chief of General Surgery Sherry Wren, wrestle the cancer-ous tumor from the liver of veteran John Frick.

CHUCK REVEL

By Kerri Childress

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More than 850 buglers andassorted horn players gath-ered at Woodlawn Na-

tional Cemetery in Elmira, N.Y., onArmed Forces Day, May 21. Theirmission: to form a 41-mile line be-tween Woodlawn and Bath Na-tional Cemeteries and play a cascad-ing rendition of taps between thetwo cemeteries. The Echo Tapsevent, sponsored by Bugles AcrossAmerica, was organized to highlightthe need for buglers to play taps at

veteran burials throughout thecountry and to raise the visibility ofnational cemeteries.

Taps, as we know it today, hadits origins in the Civil War. UnionGen. Daniel Adams Butterfield iscredited with composing the haunt-ing, 24-note melody. It was origi-nally written as the end-of-the-daycall for Union troops. Confederatesoldiers on the battlefield soonheard the new call and began usingit, too. It wasn’t long before taps wasbeing played at both Union andConfederate burials.

The Echo Taps event started at9:30 a.m. with buses taking buglersout to their positions. The route par-alleled New York State Routes 352and 17 and Interstate 86 fromElmira to Bath. At 10:30 a.m., theopening ceremony began atWoodlawn National Cemetery. Ri-chard Wannemacher, Acting UnderSecretary for Memorial Affairs, gavethe keynote address.

With the buglers in place fromthe Woodlawn National Cemetery

flagpole to the BathNational Cemeteryflagpole, it was timefor the performanceto begin. The firstnotes came fromHannah RoseSollecito, 15, ofBaldwinsville, N.Y.,a direct descendantof Gen. Butterfield.

On the third note, a second bu-gler positioned about a tenth of amile away began playing. This pro-cess was repeated again and again

Taps Echoing Through the CountrysideHundreds of brass musicians sign on for a dramatic musical event todraw attention to the shortage of buglers for veteran burials.

among the hundreds of brass musi-cians lining the roadways along theroute. It took more than an hourand a half for taps to ring throughthe countryside from cemetery tocemetery.

The day ended with a closingceremony at Bath National Cem-etery. Buses picked up the buglersshortly after they played their fullrendition of taps and brought themto the ceremony. After U.S. Rep.Randy Kuhl (R-N.Y.) delivered clos-

ing remarks, all 866 musiciansplayed taps again, this time in uni-son.

Above and right: The Echo Taps event ended with all 866 brass musi-cians playing taps in unison on the grounds of Bath National Cemetery.

By Michael Nacincik

RICHARD SMALL

RICHARD SMALL

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Thousands of veterans, VAemployees and other VIPspacked DAR Constitution

Hall in Washington, D.C., July 21to kick off VA’s 75th anniversary ob-servance.

There was plenty of nostalgiaduring the hour-long program, asSecretary Jim Nicholson gave asweeping overview of thedepartment’s historic role in shapingAmerican society. He praised gen-erations of VA employees for givingveterans “the full measure of care,compassion and dignity they de-serve.”

There were also plenty of laughsas master of ceremonies AdrianCronauer, the man who inspired thefilm “Good Morning, Vietnam,”joked about the movie and his ownmilitary experience.

Cronauer had the audience roll-ing with his take on the distinguish-ing characteristics of the militaryservices. The Coast Guard is thesmallest branch of service and theArmy the largest, he said. The Ma-rines are the most gung-ho and theNavy has the funniest uniforms. TheAir Force, well, they’re the smartest,according to Cronauer. “Just thinkabout it,” he said, “it’s the only ser-vice where the enlisted send the of-ficers out to battle. ‘Go get ’em sir,I’ll be here when you get back,’”quipped the Air Force veteran.

Later all jokes were put aside ascountry music artist Craig Morganperformed a moving tribute to hislate grandfather. In the song, titled“God, Family and Country” from his2003 release “I Love It,” Morgan

sings of the values he learned fromhis grandfather and other membersof the Greatest Generation: “Hiswas a generation, that answeredwithout question. They knew theyhad to win, ’cause they were fightin’for ... God, Family and Country.”

An Army veteran himself, Mor-gan said he wanted to perform dur-ing the VA anniversary observanceto show his support for veterans.“They are the ones responsible forthe freedom of this nation and weshould never forget that,” he said.

Following the performance, Sec-retary Nicholson spoke aboutAmerica’s commitment to care forits veterans. “No other nation in theworld cares for veterans like we do

and I am proud to tell our story andlead this department,” he said. “To-day, we celebrate 75 years of serviceto veterans and reaffirm our com-mitment to them in the decades tocome.”

A slight pause in the programsignaled the arrival of Vice PresidentDick Cheney, who was introducedby Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., a pio-neering cardiovascular surgeon andresearcher credited with developingthe Mobile Army Surgical Hospital(MASH) unit concept while servingin the Army during World War II.

The first thing Cheney didwhen he took the stage was to thankDeBakey. Not for the introduction,but for helping him get his job.

Anniversary kick-off ceremony in Washington, D.C., combines nostalgia,praise, and even a few laughs.

75 Years of Service

Secretary Jim Nicholson addresses the audience at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., onJuly 21.

EMERSON SANDERS

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Cheney said before he was officiallynominated as a candidate for VicePresident, DeBakey, for whom theHouston VA Medical Center is nownamed, was called in to review hishistory of coronary artery diseaseand certify him fit for duty. “Iwouldn’t be here today if it hadn’tbeen for his fine endorsement,” saidCheney.

The Vice President then spokeof the noble mission of caring forAmerica’s veterans—men andwomen who have “shaped the life ofthis nation for the better.”

He commended the work of VAemployees and their commitment tothe department’s mission. “At itsvery best, government service in-volves not just filling a job but keep-ing a special faith. VA employeesunderstand this very well, and youcan be proud of your associationwith a vital agency of the UnitedStates government,” said Cheney.

The Vice President’s commentsweren’t lost on employees like MaryElliott, who facilitates the BusinessOversight Board in the Office ofManagement. “VA is not just an-other government agency. We’resaving lives, saving families, saving

communities,” said Elliott, whocalled the anniversary observance amoving experience.

Robert Volck walked away fromthe observance with a renewed senseof pride in fulfilling the VA mission.“We all get frustrated from time totime, but this ceremony helped toregroup our enthusiasm and refocusour motivation,” said the computerspecialist.

Employees in Washington,D.C., weren’t the only ones who gotto see the anniversary kick-offevent. Eileen Chandler, who worksin human resources at the Mather,Calif., VA Medical Center near Sac-ramento, watched it on her com-puter screen through VA’s ContentDelivery Network, available atnearly every VA medical facility andcoming soon to VA regional offices.

“Watching the program reallyreinforced why I want to be here atthe VA working for veterans … itwas awesome,” Chandler said.

The VA 75th anniversary obser-vance will continue throughout theyear. Visit www.75anniversary.va.govfor more information.

VA’s 75th anniversary observanceattracted a number of VIPs, includ-ing retired Maj. Gen. Patrick H.Brady, who is a Medal of Honorrecipient, and former VA DeputyAdministrator Everett Alvarez.

But the main attraction was agroup of about 45 U.S. veteranswho served in every conflict fromWorld War I to the war in Iraq.They gathered at Fort Meyer, Va.,early on the morning of July 21,where several spoke withVAnguard as they boarded busesdestined for Constitution Hall.

Lloyd Brown was 16 years oldwhen he joined the Navy on April6, 1918. “All the young fellowswere going into the service and Ididn’t want to get left behind. So Ilied about my age,” he explained.He spent the war aboard the USSNew Hampshire searching for en-emy submarines in the North At-lantic. At 103, he may be one of theyoungest World War I veteransalive today.

Standing nearby was HowardGrant, 86, who served with the 9thCavalry “Buffalo Soldiers” duringWorld War II. He joked about theVA being nearly as old as him andsaid, “It’s good to know [VA is] go-ing to be around for these youngervets.”

As the buses departed FortMeyer and made their waythrough the rolling hills of Arling-ton National Cemetery, a policeescort cleared a path through therush-hour traffic leading intoWashington, D.C. The veteranswere whisked into a side entranceat Constitution Hall and assemblednear the main stage where theywould be seated.

Veterans fromWorld War I toIraq Honored

Master of ceremonies Adrian Cronauer, an Air Force veteran and the inspiration for thefilm “Good Morning, Vietnam,” kept the audience laughing with quips about the movieand his own military experience.

By Matt Bristol

ROBERT TURTIL

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18 July/August 2005

Before taking the stage, Viet-nam veteran Manuel Granado saidhe was excited to participate in VA’sanniversary. “I’ve seen tremendousimprovement at the VA over the lastyears. I’m just honored to be a partof this,” he said, noting there are alot of younger veterans returningfrom Iraq and Afghanistan who areequally deserving of recognition.

Corey McGee is one of thoseyoung vets who joined Granado onthe stage. “Just to be there in thepresence of all those veterans wasa little overwhelming,” said McGee,who was wounded April 9, 2004,

while serving with the 10th Moun-tain Division in Fallujah, Iraq, andnow works in VA’s Office of Con-gressional and Legislative Affairs.But in the end, he said it was an ex-perience he’ll never forget.

Left: 103-year-old World War I veteranLloyd Brown acknowledges the ap-plause of the audience as he is recog-nized during the ceremony.

Above: Secretary Nicholson greets vet-eran Eric Franklin, who works in the Na-tional Cemetery Administration in head-quarters.

Left: Secretary Nicholson on stage withveterans representing every conflict fromWorld War I to Iraq.

ROBERT TURTIL

MICHAEL L. MOORE

ROBERT TURTIL

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VA by the numbers Then (1930) Now (2004)

America’s population of living veterans 4.6 million 24.8 million

VA budget $786 million $63.5 billion

VA personnel 31,500 235,978

Number of VA hospitals 54 157

VA medical budget $30 million $29.1 billion

Veterans hospitalized at VA facilities 54,000 587,000

Visits by veterans for outpatient clinic care 800,000 54 million

Number of VA regional offices 54 57

Number of veterans or dependents 900,000 3.4 millionreceiving VA compensation or pensionbenefits

Amount of disability or pension benefits $418 million $27.6 billionpaid

Number of VA life insurance policies 646,000 7.7 million

Face value of life insurance policies $3.3 billion $757 billion

The Birth of VA

During the 1928 presidential elec-tion, Herbert Hoover promised citi-zens: “We in America today arenearer to the final triumph overpoverty than ever before in the his-tory of any land.”

Ironically, the Great Depressionhit soon after and Hoover came un-der tremendous pressure to relievethe economic slump. On April 20,1929, less than two months after hisinauguration, he received a letterfrom Gen. Frank T. Hines, the di-rector of the Veterans’ Bureau, sug-gesting the consolidation of all vet-erans’ activities into one agency.This would improve government ef-ficiency and relieve financial pres-sure resulting from the Depression.

In Hoover’s December 1929State of the Union address, he ex-plained: “I am convinced that wewill gain in efficiency, economy, andmore uniform administration andbetter definition of national policies

if the Pension Bureau, the NationalHome for Volunteer Soldiers, andthe Veterans’ Bureau are brought to-gether under a single agency.” TheVeterans Administration became anindependent agency on July 21,1930, with the signing of ExecutiveOrder 5398, “Consolidation and Co-ordination of Governmental Activi-ties Affecting Veterans.”

President Hoover consideredcaring for veterans to be one of themost important functions of govern-ment. “The consolidated budget ofthese services for the present fiscalyear amounts to approximately $800million, so that the new establish-ment [VA] becomes one of the mostimportant functions in the govern-ment,” the president said.

President Herbert Hoover and his wife, LouHenry Hoover, host a garden reception atthe White House for wounded veterans onJune 27, 1929.

COURTESY HERBERT HOOVER PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

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Celebrating 75 Years ... in hea

ROBERT TURTIL

The United States Marine Band, also known as “The President’s Own,”played a patriotic musical prelude at the kick-off ceremony on July 21 atDAR Constitution Hall.

The Martinsburg, W.Va., VA Medical Center’s 75th antients, employees, volunteers and visitors.

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adquarters and in the field ...

ROBERT TURTIL

nniversary celebration included an ice cream social for pa-

At the Beckley, W.Va., VA Medical Center, Dr. Patch Adams, above withBeckley VAMC Director G.P. Husson, joined the anniversary festivities.The story of Adams’ mission to bring laughter to the practice of medi-cine was told in a 1998 film starring Robin Williams. Adams and agroup of clowns from his Gesundheit! Institute delighted patients, staffand visitors during their visit.

Radio talk show hosts from around the country broadcast live from VA Central Office July19-21 to raise awareness of the department’s 75th anniversary observance. During theevent—called a “Radio Row” in the broadcast industry—the program hosts interviewed anumber of VA officials. Here, Marc Bernier, who hosts a program on WNDB Radio inDaytona Beach, Fla., interviews Under Secretary for Benefits Daniel L. Cooper.

ROBERT TURTIL

CHERYL YOST

JAMES ROBERTSON

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COURTESY MAYANG.COM

BreakingDownBarriers

BreakingDownBarriersNew office aims to improve opportunities for faith-based and communityorganizations.

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in every community.”There are many partnership op-

portunities within VA for faith-based and community organizations.Through innovative pilot and dem-onstration programs, VA is increas-ing these opportunities and expand-ing the availability of communityservices to meet veterans’ needs.

Partnering with faith-based andcommunity groups is nothing new toVA. The VA Voluntary Service pro-

gram, the largest volunteer programin the federal government, has beena critical part of the department fornearly 60 years. More than 350 na-tional and local veterans, civic, andservice organizations contributedclose to 13 million hours of serviceand $40 million in cash or productsto VA last year. There are some93,000 volunteers committed to pro-viding services at virtually all ofVA’s field facilities throughout thecountry.

If your facility or organizationhas a potential partnering opportu-nity or wants more informationabout the VA Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives,visit the Web site www.va.gov/opa/fbci/.

Faith-based organizations have been corner-stones of communities throughout history.Their services are important to the quality of

life in American society. However, accessing federalresources has been difficult for these groups.

Some lack the sophistication tonavigate the federal grant-makingprocess. Others find that outdatedgovernment regulations make ithard for them to compete for federalgrants.

Since 1994, VA has providedcompetitive grant funding to faith orcommunity-based groups, and stateand local governments, for transi-tional housing and supportive ser-vices to homeless veterans.

More than 97 percent of theapproximately $110 million in VAhomeless grants awarded this fiscalyear has been awarded to faith-basedand community organizations. Since1994, VA has awarded more than$230 million to more than 500 suchorganizations through the homelessgrant and per diem program, withfunding earmarked for everythingfrom transitional housing to meals.

In 2001, President Bush signedan executive order establishing Cen-ters for Faith-Based and CommunityInitiatives in five Cabinet depart-ments—Health and Human Ser-vices, Housing and Urban Develop-ment, Education, Labor and Justice.

The purpose of these centerswas “to coordinate agency efforts toeliminate regulatory, contractingand other programmatic obstacles tothe participation of faith-based andother community organizations inthe provision of social and commu-nity services.”

In 2004, the President extended

this initiative to the Department ofVeterans Affairs, establishing theVA Center for Faith-Based andCommunity Initiatives.

The center seeks to identify bar-riers to the participation of faith-based and community organizationsin the delivery of social services; co-ordinate a comprehensive VA effortto incorporate these organizations indepartment programs; propose ini-tiatives to remove barriers; develop

pilot programs to increase their par-ticipation; and coordinate agencyoutreach efforts to the faith-basedcommunity, according to DarinSelnick, the center’s director.

Selnick previously served asCalifornia State commander andNational Executive Committeemember for the Jewish War Veter-ans.

The laws governing federalgrants to faith-based groups areclear, he explained. “Direct federalfunds cannot be used for inherentlyreligious activities and veterans mustreceive services regardless of theirreligious affiliation or beliefs. Mygoal is to make it easier for VA andthese organizations to work togetherto find new ways to serve veterans

“My goal is to make it easier for VA and theseorganizations to work together to find new waysto serve veterans in every community.”

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Even before he was officiallyconfirmed as VA Secretary,Jim Nicholson began visitingwounded soldiers recoveringat Walter Reed Army Medi-cal Center in Washington,D.C.

These visits are an emo-tional experience. The sightof young men and women,their bodies scarred and bat-tered, can quickly overwhelmsome. For Secretary

Nicholson, the visits have theopposite effect. “Just beingaround these soldiers is aninspiration to me,” he saidduring a recent visit.

Secretary Nicholson re-turned to the military hospi-tal on July 19 accompaniedby several players from his fa-vorite Major League Baseballteam, the Colorado Rockies,who were in town for a seriesagainst the Washington Na-

VA Secretary, Colorado Rockies Players Visit Wounded Soldiers

tionals.They stopped by the

physical therapy room, whereabout 20 amputees wereworking out and learninghow to walk on artificiallimbs. The players movedaround the room, speakingto groups of soldiers andthanking them for their mili-tary service. Some handedout autographed team hatsand T-shirts. Others listened

quietly as the soldiers re-counted details of their inju-ries. The soldiers seemed toenjoy the company. “The vis-its are good for their spirits,”noted Lt. Col. BarbaraSpringer, chief of WalterReed’s Physical Therapy Ser-vice.

The players were alsoimpacted by the visit. Listen-ing to the soldiers’ storiesand seeing how they handlelosing limbs and sufferingother devastating injuriesgave Rockies pitcher BrianFuentes a new perspective.“I’m a little awestruck byhow well these guys havecome to terms with their in-juries,” he said. “I don’tknow how I would react intheir situation.”

After spending about anhour in physical therapy, thevisitors met with patients inthe occupational therapyroom and later moved to theorthopedics ward, where re-cently wounded amputeeswere recovering. Later in theevening, several of the sol-diers joined SecretaryNicholson in the stands atR.F.K. Stadium to watch theRockies take on the Nation-als.

ROBERT TURTIL

The VA Report to Employees summarizes thedepartment’s key accomplishments over the past yearin program areas, as well as improvements achievedthrough results-based management.

The report highlights activities associated withVA’s four strategic goals that focus on the delivery ofservices and benefits to veterans, as well as an en-abling goal that addresses cross-cutting activities foreffective management of people, communications,

technology and governance. Many of the enablinggoal objectives parallel the President’s ManagementAgenda (PMA), implemented to improve the man-agement of the federal government. The report alsoprovides an update of VA activities for each PMA ini-tiative and the department’s overall scorecard statusrecently released by the Office of Management andBudget. For more information about the report, go towww.va.gov/opppb/results_report.pdf.

Read All About It: VA Report to Employees

Secretary Nicholson visits the bedside of a wounded soldier with Colorado Rockies players who werein town for a series against the Washington Nationals.

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around headquarters

Social Work, Audiology ChiefsHonored by Professional Groups

Dr. Frances M. Murphy, Deputy Under Secretary forHealth for Health Policy Coordination, was honoredJune 15 in Washington, D.C., as one of the recipientsof the 2005 Good Housekeeping Award for Womenin Government. She received the first-ever Tillie K.Fowler Award, named in honor of the late four-termFlorida congresswoman, who was a powerful voice ondefense issues.

Already well known for her work to help GulfWar veterans with undiagnosed illnesses, Murphy wasrecognized with this award for her contributions onbehalf of veterans with serious mental illness and herwork in transforming mental health service deliverywithin the Veterans Health Administration.

Murphy represented VA on the President’s NewFreedom Commission on Mental Health and wasnominated by the commission’s chairman, Dr.Michael Hogan. The Good Housekeeping Award forWomen in Government is produced in collaborationwith the Center for American Women and Politics and is supported by the Ford Foundation and Wyeth. Thelist of awardees was published in the July issue of Good Housekeeping magazine.

Good Housekeeping Magazine Honors Dr. Frances Murphy

VA’s social work and audiology chiefs recently received na-tional honors from professional organizations representingtheir fields

The National Association of Social Workers named JillManske, VA director of Social Work Service, as the 2005 So-cial Worker of the Year. She was recognized for her leadershipin VA’s seamless transition efforts, which put VA social work-ers at all major military hospitals.

“With her enthusiastic spirit, her creativity and, aboveall, her dedication to duty, Ms. Manske has improved the ser-vices we provide to our nation’s veterans,” wrote Dr. JonathanPerlin, Under Secretary for Health, in a letter nominatingManske for the award.

The American Academy of Audiology presented its high-est honor, the Career Award, to Lucille B. Beck, Ph.D., direc-tor of VA Audiology and Speech Pathology Service. Theaward recognizes Beck for her many contributions to the fieldof audiology.

Beck worked for the acceptance of the doctor of audiol-ogy degree and for VA patients to have direct access to audiol-ogy services. “I am privileged to work for VA,” she said, “be-cause VA has allowed me to create a world-class system forcomprehensive hearing and rehabilitation programs for veter-ans.”

VA Secretary JimNicholson wasnamed one of WestPoint’s 2005 Distin-guished Graduatesduring an awardceremony at theU.S. Military Acad-emy on May 24,right. “I am deeplyhonored to be rec-ognized by WestPoint. My yearsthere as a studentwere among themost importantyears of my life.They built a foun-dation for every-thing I did in mycareer,” said Nicholson, a member of West Point’sclass of 1961.

West Point Honors for the Secretary

Dr. Frances Murphy, right, accepts her award from Ellen Levine,editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping magazine.

SYLVIA GRAHAM

ROBERT TURTIL

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26 July/August 2005

Secretary Jim Nicholson and Maj. Gen.Kenneth L. Farmer Jr., commander ofWalter Reed Army Medical Center, recentlysigned a pact giving severely injuredservicemembers practical help landing civil-ian jobs.

Under the “Vet IT” agreement, VA willoffer vocational training and temporaryjobs at its Washington headquarters toservicemembers recovering from traumaticinjuries at the Army facility. More than 30Walter Reed patients have already receivedsimilar on-the-job experience at VA head-quarters since a pilot program began inSeptember 2004. So far, 15 vets have beenhired permanently by VA. Looking on atright are three of them (left to right): MattBraiotta, Eric Franklin and Tristan Wyatt.

President Bush recognized two VA researchers with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers dur-ing a June 13 White House ceremony. It is the federal government’s highest honor for rising young researchers. With the

award they receive funding over five years to further theirresearch.

Award recipient William M. Grady, M.D., a gastroen-terology researcher with the VA Puget Sound HealthcareSystem in Seattle, studies the mechanisms of colon cancer, amajor cause of cancer deaths among VA’s patient popula-tion. His lab focuses on how cancer cells in the colon be-come resistant to a specific growth factor, or protein, in thebody that normally suppresses tumors. Grady is an assistantprofessor at the University of Washington School of Medi-cine and an investigator at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Re-search Center.

The second recipient, Kevin Volpp, M.D., Ph.D., is astaff physician and health services researcher at the Philadel-phia VA Medical Center and assistant professor of medicineand healthcare systems at the Wharton School and the Uni-versity of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. His research fo-cuses on how economics affects the quality of health care.The issues he has studied include the influence of HMOson cardiac outcomes; financial incentives to promote smok-

ing cessation; and VA’s role in reducing health care disparities.Grady and Volpp presented their work at a small gathering in VA Central Office prior to the White House cer-

emony. “I am appreciative of the VA’s constant support of my research,” said Grady. Volpp’s parents, wife and sister ac-companied him. “I am honored and proud to be able to work with the VA,” he said.

VA Scientists Receive Presidential Honors

Helping Wounded Soldiers Land Civilian Jobs

EMERSON SANDERS

Kevin Volpp, left, and William Grady received the federalgovernment’s highest honor for rising young researchers.

ROBERT TURTIL

VAnguard

July/August 2005 27

around headquarters

Major modifications havebeen made to the currentThrift Savings Plan (TSP),effective July 1. Both FederalEmployees Retirement Sys-tem (FERS) and Civil Ser-vice Retirement System(CSRS) employees are af-fected by these changes:

■ There will be nomore TSP open seasons.

■ Eligible employeescan start, change, stop or re-sume TSP contributions atany time. (Note: participantswho make in-service finan-cial hardship withdrawalsmay not make TSP contribu-tions for a six-month period

following the withdrawal.Consequently, if such a par-ticipant elects to resume TSPcontributions, the electioncannot be effected for anypay date falling within thenon-contribution period.)

■ New Lifecycle Fundshave been established to helpmanage your investments.

As a reminder, the cur-rent limits for TSP employeecontributions are:

■ FERS employees mayelect to contribute up to 15percent and CSRS employeesup to 10 percent of theirbase pay in 2005.

■ Participants who are

This summer, TSP is introducing five new Lifecycle (L)Funds. With the TSP L Funds, you do not need to havethe time, interest or knowledge to manage your TSPaccount. These new funds will put your investment onautopilot.

The April 2005 TSP Highlights article “Investing onAutopilot” provides an explanation of this new concept.This article is available on the TSP Web site atwww.tsp.gov.

Each fund will be based on when you anticipateneeding the money (your time horizon). You pick thefund that comes closest to your time horizon. The restof the work will be done for you.

The funds are named for future decades. Yourchoices are:

■ L Fund 2040■ L Fund 2030■ L Fund 2020■ L Fund 2010■ Income Fund (for those who are separated from

federal service and withdrawing their accounts).

Major Thrift Savings Plan Changes Go Into Effect July 1

TSP Special Notice

age 50 or older may be eli-gible to make catch-up con-tributions, up to an addi-tional $4,000 in calendaryear 2005.

■ In 2005, the IRSlimit for regular TSP contri-butions is $14,000 and forcatch-up contributions$4,000, totaling $18,000 fortax-deferred TSP contribu-tions.

■ Beginning in 2006,the percentage limit of basepay that FERS and CSRSemployees can contribute toTSP will be eliminated. Par-ticipants will be subject onlyto the IRS dollar limit.

■ In 2006, the IRSlimit is $15,000 for regularcontributions and $5,000 incatch-up contributions, total-ing $20,000 for tax-deferredTSP contributions. Catch-up

contributions will be subjectto increases to reflect infla-tion after 2006.

Employees are encour-aged to continue using Em-ployee Express, atwww.employeeexpress.gov,when making changes toTSP. Also, remember TSP’snew toll-free numbers: 1-TSP-YOU-FRST (1-877-968-3778) and TDD 1-TSP-THRIFT5 (1-877-847-4385) for hearing impairedparticipants. For further as-sistance, employees may con-tact their human resourcesoffice; visit the Office of Hu-man Resources Managementand Labor Relations’Worklife and Benefits ServiceWeb site at vaww1.va.gov/ohrm/benefits/tsp.htm; or ex-plore the TSP Web site atwww.tsp.gov.

ROBERT TURTIL

Secretary Nicholson participated in a Red Cross blood drive heldin VA Central Office on July 20. “Blood donors touch lives andsave lives,” said Nicholson, who is on the national board of theAmerican Red Cross. “It’s a small gift with a huge impact.”

Blood Donors Save Lives

VAnguardintroducing

28 July/August 2005

By Jamie Brauner andMatt Bristol

Earl Morse has made it pos-sible for members of theGreatest Generation to seehow America has honoredthem.

The National WorldWar II Memorial was dedi-cated in 2004 to a generationwhose youngest members arearound 76 years old. Themedian age of living U.S.World War II veterans is 82and more than 1,200 dieeach day, according to VA es-timates.

Morse, a pilot andphysician’s assistant at theVA community-based outpa-tient clinic in Springfield,Ohio, didn’t want these vet-erans to pass away withoutever visiting the memorialthat symbolizes America’s ap-preciation for their sacrifice.

He came up with a planin May when he and his dad,a Vietnam veteran, decidedto rent an airplane to fly toWashington, D.C. The planehad two extra seats, so whynot ask a couple of theirWorld War II veteran friendsif they’d like to join them forthe trip?

On May 21, Morse, hisfather, and two friends tookto the skies for the flight toWashington, D.C. Visitingthe war memorials was anemotional experience for hisfather and friends. Once hesaw how the trip impactedthem, he knew he was on tosomething.

When he returnedhome, Morse met with hisfellow pilots at the AeroClub at Wright-Patterson AirForce Base in Dayton andasked if anyone was inter-ested in flying World War IIveterans to Washington,D.C., to visit their memorial.“I asked for volunteer pilots

to help me out, but not justto fly. They had to agree topay 100 percent of the air-craft rental fee. The veteranwas not to pay a penny foranything,” he explained.Without hesitating, 11 pilotsvolunteered.

Morse also looked for athird party to sponsor the

initiative. That’s when Veter-ans of Foreign Wars Post1031 of Springfield, Ohio,joined the effort. When wordgot out about the initiative,people throughout the com-munity began donatingmoney to the VFW post topay for meals and a shuttle

Earl Morse

service for the veterans. Asthe donations mounted, theVFW encouraged Morse toform a nonprofit organiza-tion. He called it HonorFlight.

Since the first flight inMay, Honor Flight hasbrought 43 World War IIveterans to visit their memo-

rial in Washington, D.C.Honor Flight can transport16 to 20 veterans a month.However, they received morethan 100 applications in Julyand have a waiting list ofmore than 230 veterans.

“The program is explod-ing,” said Morse. But as an

organization, Honor Flight isstruggling to keep pace withdemand. Morse knows he’son to something big, but hedoesn’t know how long it willlast. For the time being, hewill continue flying WorldWar II veterans to thenation’s capital to visit a me-morial that, though it be-

longs to them, once seemedimpossibly out of reach. Formore information on HonorFlight, go to the Web sitewww.honorflight.org.

Earl Morse, standing left, a physician’s assistant at the VA community-based outpatient clinic in Springfield,Ohio, with a group of World War II veterans at the National World War II Memorial on July 9. Since May, a non-profit group Morse set up has flown more than 40 World War II veterans to the nation’s capital to see their me-morial. Without his help, these veterans might never have been able to see it.

COURTESY EARL MORSE

VAnguard

July/August 2005 29

medical advances

Women’s Health CareSimilar to Men’s at VAMen and women receive re-markably similar outpatientcare at VA medical facilities,according to a study pub-lished in the Journal of Gen-eral Internal Medicine.

The study looked atnine measures of quality carethat are equally appropriatefor women and men, includ-ing pneumonia and influenzavaccinations; colorectal can-cer screenings; and eye ex-aminations for diabetics, todetermine what percent ofVA patients received appro-

priate care for their gender.Men were more likely to re-ceive appropriate services infive of the nine categories,women in the other four.

“Many recent studieshave shown that the qualityof care VA’s health care sys-tem provides is second tonone,” said Dr. Jonathan B.Perlin, VA Under Secretaryfor Health, and one of thestudy’s co-authors. “We areproud to demonstrate thatthis statement is true forwomen veterans as well as formen.”

Today, women veteransmake up approximately 10percent of VA’s patientworkload. This percentage isexpected to grow in the yearsahead as women make upmore of the military. Fewprevious studies have lookedat disparities between menand women in ambulatorycare settings other than VA’s.Several studies, however, haveshown that women often re-ceive poorer care after beingadmitted to hospitals forcongestive heart failure, coro-nary heart disease, and othercommon medical conditions.

The study’s lead author,Dr. Ashish K. Jha of theHarvard School of PublicHealth, believes that theequal care the study has dem-onstrated may be related tothe large strides in healthcare quality VA has achievedin the past decade. Accordingto a study recently completedby the RAND Corporation,VA patients now receive bet-ter care then the averageAmerican in 348 separatemeasures of health care qual-ity.

The new study, titled

“Quality of Ambulatory Carefor Women and Men in theVeterans Affairs Health CareSystem,” is the first to deter-mine that men and womenhave shared equally in thisadvancement.

Vaccine ReducesShingles RiskRelief from the painfulsymptoms of shingles iscloser for millions of Ameri-cans, thanks to a pioneeringstudy by VA researchers.

Shingles is a nerve andskin infection that afflictshalf of the people who live to

age 85. It iscaused by areawakening ofthe virus thatcauseschickenpox. Thesymptoms can lastmonths, or evenyears. Victims de-velop painful blis-ters, and somemay suffer per-manent nervedamage.

But a newvaccine tested inone of VA’s larg-est medical stud-ies has beenshown to signifi-cantly lower therisk of contract-

ing shingles and reduce theseverity of symptoms. Dr.Michael N. Oxman, an in-fectious disease specialist atthe VA San Diego HealthCare System, led the researchteam that tested the experi-mental vaccine on 38,546volunteers at 22 VA medicalcenters.

The participants, all ofwhom were age 60 or olderand who previously hadchickenpox, were randomlyadministered either theshingles vaccine or a placebo.Those who received the vac-

cine were 51 percent lesslikely to get shingles. And ifthey did get shingles, the vac-cine dramatically reduced theintensity and duration oftheir pain.

“I think the results arequite clinically significant,”Oxman told The New YorkTimes. “There’s a major re-duction in the overall burdenof illness of shingles.” The re-sults were reported in theJune 2 edition of the NewEngland Journal of Medicine.

VA Health Care ‘theBest Around’VA health care was touted as“the best around” in the July18 issue of U.S. News andWorld Report. “Routinelycriticized for decades for in-different care, attacked byOliver Stone in ‘Born on theFourth of July,’ the VA healthsystem has performed majorsurgery on itself. The careprovided to 5.2 million vet-erans by the nation’s largesthealthcare system has im-proved so much that often itis the best around,” the ar-ticle noted.

The article credits muchof the turnaround to an or-ganizational culture that em-phasizes performance, ac-countability and safety, all ofwhich are optimized throughuse of electronic medicalrecords. Other hospital net-works, such as TenetHealthcare Corp., thenation’s second-largest for-profit health care system, arenow looking at VA as amodel of how to run a largehealth care system, accordingto the article.

To read more about howVA has become one ofAmerica’s best health caresystems, go towww.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/050718/18va.htm.

A recent study found that women, who now make up about 10 percent of VA’spatient workload, receive care that is similar to men’s.

VAnguardhave you heard

30 July/August 2005

during Nurse AppreciationWeek in May. The responsewas so positive that severalnurses began wearing themonce a week. “It turns outthere is a lot of emotion andrecognition attached to thosewhite uniforms that lendcredibility to the nursingprofession,” explained nurseexecutive Bonnie Baxter.Baxter also began holdingformal “capping” ceremoniesfor staff members who com-plete their nursing education.The capping ceremony, onceconsidered a milestone in theprofession, fell out of favor inthe 1980s.

A new American citizenThe Twilight Wish Foundation fulfilled wishes for all240 veterans in the nursing home at the PhiladelphiaVA Medical Center during a special Flag Day celebra-tion. The wishes ranged from bingo parties to com-pact discs, DVD players and televisions. One veteraneven got an all-expenses paid trip to Albany, N.Y., forthe 50-year reunion of his graduating class at the Uni-versity of Buffalo. The Twilight Foundation wasfounded in 2003 to enrich the lives of seniors whohave served others. “It was really an incredible efforton their part,” said Judi A. Cheary, the hospital’s pub-lic affairs director. Visit www.twilightwishfoundation.org for more information.

Making wishes come true

More than 100 VAMaryland Health Care Sys-tem employees lined thefront of the Baltimore VAMedical Center’s breezewayto greet Soldier Ride 2005 inJuly. When the cyclists ar-rived the crowd erupted withcheers and applause to wel-come the veterans bicyclingacross America to raise fundsfor the Wounded WarriorProject, which helps veteransseverely injured in Iraq, Af-ghanistan and around theworld. Director Dennis H.Smith presented the riderswith an award and, on behalfof the health system’s em-ployee association, a check

The VA Palo Alto Health Care System hosted a naturaliza-tion ceremony in July for one of its patients—19-year-oldAngel Gomez, who was seriously wounded by an impro-vised explo-sive devicewhile servingwith the U.S.Marines inIraq. Gomez,who is para-lyzed on theright side ofhis body,raised his lefthand to takethe oath ofcitizenshipadministeredby David Still,district direc-tor of U.S.Citizenshipand Immigra-tion Services.Gomez is thesecond Ma-rine to benaturalized at the Palo Alto VA while recovering from com-bat wounds.

for $425. The riders had aquick bite to eat and spentsome time visiting withpatients before heading onto Philadelphia.

When the elevatorswent out June 22 at theJohn J. Pershing VAMedical Center in PoplarBluff, Mo., employeesformed a human chain todeliver lunches up thestairwell to patients on the3rd and 4th floors. All theelevators in the facility’ssix-floor main buildingstopped working at mid-morning and didn’t returnto service until 1 p.m.When lunchtime rolled

around, staff called for volun-teers to help deliver thelunches. Employees fromthroughout the medical cen-ter—nurses, housekeepers,clerks, credit union staff, tran-scribers, business office staff,police, pharmacy staff and oth-ers—answered the call. “All ofthe patients received a warmmeal. No trays were spilled, noone was injured and the humanchain made deliveries in recordtime,” noted staff assistantDewayne Coleman.

Crisp white uniforms andtraditional nurse caps brought abit of nostalgia to the El Paso,Texas, VA Health Care System

Cass Forkin, founder and executive director of TwilightWish Foundation, presents Philadelphia VAMC nursinghome resident Hilda with her wish—a 100th birthday party.

Marine Lance Cpl. Angel Gomez, 19, is sworn inas an American citizen at the VA hospital inPalo Alto, Calif. Behind him are his mother,Antonia, and his father, Paulino, who have beenby their son’s side since he was injured in Iraq.

CURT CAMPBELL

JACK WIDMAIER

VAnguard honors and awards

July/August 2005 31

Birthday honors for volunteer

AMA ethics council appointment

The National Founda-tion for Infectious Diseasesselected Kristin L. Nichol,M.D., chief of medicine atthe Minneapolis VA MedicalCenter and professor ofmedicine at the University ofMinnesota, as the first recipi-ent of the Dr. CharlesMerieux Award. The newaward recognizes proven ex-cellence in clinical and re-search activities, and dedica-tion to improving publichealth. A French humanistand entrepreneur, Merieuxwas a pioneer in the world-wide struggle to eliminate in-

The Atlanta VA Medical Center hosted a birthday party inJune for 99-year-old Ginger Goldhammer, who has beenvolunteering at the medical center for more than 34 yearsand has accumulated more than 37,000 volunteer hours. “Idecided that my life belongs to volunteering,” she said. “Iwish I could do more.” Goldhammer, whose late husbandwas a concentration camp survivor, came to the UnitedStates in 1947.

fectious diseases through im-munization.

Several VA health sys-tems were listed among thetop 100 “Most Wired” hos-pitals for 2005, according toa report published in the Julyissue of Hospitals & HealthNetworks. They are the Rich-ard L. Roudebush VA Medi-cal Center in Indianapolis,the VA Health Care Net-work Upstate New York (Al-bany), the VA New York/New Jersey Healthcare Net-work (VISN 2–the Bronx),and the VA Palo Alto HealthCare System. The nation’s

100 Most Wired hospitalsand health systems—thosethat have invested signifi-cantly in health informationtechnology—have lowermortality rates than otherhospitals, according to ananalysis published with thereport.

Ricky J. Martin, an ad-ministrative officer at theWhite City, Ore., VA South-ern Oregon RehabilitationCenter and Clinics, receiveda Patriot Award from the Na-tional Committee for Em-ployer Support of the Guardand Reserve. He was recog-nized for supporting employ-ees who serve in the NationalGuard and reserves. DaltonMaurin, a vocational reha-bilitation therapist at theWhite City VA and memberof the National Guard,nominated Martin for theaward.

The National Coalitionfor Homeless Veterans se-

lected Denver Mills for the2005 Veterans Affairs StaffAward for his work withhomeless veterans. Mills,team leader of the Concord,Calif., Vet Center, foundedEast Bay Stand Down in1999 to help homeless veter-ans and their families. Thefour-day event providesmedical attention, legal aid,benefits counseling and awide variety of other services.In the past four years, theevent has helped more than1,300 homeless veterans.

John and Agnes Jurek,both volunteers at the Min-neapolis VA Medical Center,received the Volunteer Ser-vice Award from PresidentBush on June 17. The couplewas recognized for their dedi-cation to volunteering. In ad-dition to their efforts at theVA medical center, they vol-unteer at their church andhold senior fitness and bingoclasses.

Sharon Douglas, M.D., associate chief of staff for edu-cation and ethics at the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery VAMedical Center in Jack-son, Miss., was appointedto the American MedicalAssociation (AMA)’sCouncil on Ethical andJudicial Affairs. Douglastreats veterans at theJackson VAMC, is amember of the VeteransHealth Administration’sNational Ethics Commit-tee, and is an associateprofessor of medicine atthe University of Missis-sippi Medical Center. Thecouncil maintains and updates the 160-year-old AMACode of Medical Ethics, widely recognized as the mostcomprehensive ethics guide for physicians.

The Atlanta VA Medical Center’s oldest volunteer, GingerGoldhammer, enjoys a 99th birthday celebration given in herhonor. Two local TV stations featured Goldhammer during theirevening newscasts.

Douglas

ANN HAMILTON

VAnguardheroes

32 July/August 2005

Good advice that paid off

Co-workers to the rescue

During a recent patientouting, Bath, N.Y., VAMedical Center employeesMike Parks and Dave Austinwere forced to make a calcu-lated decision to avert trag-edy. The engine of theirwheelchair bus caught fire,causing a failure of thechairlift, which made aspeedy evacuation from thevehicle difficult, if not im-possible. Parks and Austin re-acted immediately, puttingthemselves in harm’s way asthey fought the blaze. Recre-ation therapist Matt Leszykhelped with the patients,providing water and keepingeveryone calm as Parks andAustin ensured that the fire

was extinguished.VA Hudson Valley

Health Care System’s TerryVogt, assistant chief, Envi-ronmental Management Ser-vice, received a Civilian Ser-vice Medal from the city ofPeekskill for his assistance inthe apprehension of two vio-lent robbery suspects onApril 22. Vogt was honoredfor putting his own safetyaside while providing vitalinformation to the police. Hefollowed the suspects as theyfled the crime scene, keepingin contact with authoritiesuntil they could get to thealleged criminal’s hideout.

John Ramirez, a blindrehabilitation specialist from

the Birmingham, Ala., VAMedical Center, successfullyperformed CPR when one ofthe veterans in his charge be-came dizzy and passed outduring a recreational outing.Ramirez did the breathingand a bystander who hap-pened to be a nurse per-formed the compressions un-til paramedics arrived.

Bay Pines, Fla., VAMedical Center Environ-mental Management Serviceemployee John Sullivan wasworking on VA grounds re-cently when he heard a crash

Diana Withrow, below, a licensed practical nurse withthe spinal cord injury home care program at the Au-gusta, Ga., VA Medical Center, was making a homevisit whenshe noticedthat thehusband ofthepatient’scaregiverdid not lookwell. WhenWithrowasked whatwas wrong,the mancomplainedthat he’d been experiencing “crushing” chest pains fornearly two hours. Withrow took his vital signs and ad-vised him to go to the nearest emergency room be-cause he was displaying symptoms of a heart attack.After initially ignoring her advice, the man was con-vinced to go to the ER. His wife called the next morningto thank Withrow—her husband had indeed suffered aheart attack and was recuperating after having a stentinserted. “If Diana hadn’t talked him into going to thehospital, I might not have my husband now,” she said.

Sylvia Delsa, of the VHA Healthcare Retention & Re-cruitment Office in New Orleans, received a call froman employee’s sister asking if he was at work. She toldDelsa that shehad been un-able to reachher brother athome, despiterepeated at-tempts. Theemployee hadcalled in sickthe day be-fore, but hehadn’t calledor reportedfor work thatmorning, so aconcernedDelsa and co-workers James Washington and Jim Rhoads went tothe man’s home. His car was in the driveway but therewas no response to knocks on his door, so Delsa calledthe police. When they arrived, they were at first hesi-tant to force entry, but Delsa’s persistent alarm that herco-worker might be in trouble just beyond the doorconvinced the officers to act decisively. Entering thehome, they found the man unconscious and near death.He was taken by emergency personnel to a hospital in-tensive care unit. Thanks to his co-workers’ efforts, theemployee survived the medical emergency.

and turned just in time to seean out-of-control car headedstraight for him. Sullivanscrambled out of harm’s way,and the vehicle plowed into astand of bushes. After askinga passerby to summon emer-gency medical personnel forthe driver, Sullivan jumpedinto the still-running car andforced the transmission intopark. He tried to comfortand stabilize the victim toprevent further injury. Onceemergency personnel arrived,Sullivan remained at thescene to assist as needed.

Jim Rhoades, Sylvia Delsa and JamesWashington, left to right, came to the aidof their stricken co-worker.

MARISA PALKUTI

WILL TULLIS