News

By Tom Philpott
Stars and Stripes
Published: October 16, 2014

Editor's note: This story has been corrected.

Congress last August gave the Department of Veteran Affairs 90 days to issue medical “Choice Cards” to 9.1 million veterans enrolled in VA care.

Fargo, ND September 10, 2014 –HeartSprings Community Healing Center of Fargo has completed a study/interview with ten veterans, spanning the Vietnam, Gulf, and Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom Wars.  These veterans are living with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and have difficulty sleeping. 

The Toppers car club, established in 1953, is a non-profit club which hosts the West Fargo “Cruise Night” every third Thursday during the summer months and the annual “Rod and Custom Car show” every spring at the West Fargo Veterans Arena.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                

June 18, 2014          

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sloan D. Gibson today directed all Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Medical Center and Health Care System Directors to conduct monthly in-person reviews of scheduling practices in every clinic within their jurisdiction.  Site inspections will include observing daily scheduling processes and interacting with scheduling staff to ensure all policies are being followed to deliver Veterans the timely care they have earned.

By Patricia Kime 
Military Times Staff writer
May. 14, 2014 - 06:08PM

The Veterans Affairs Department may not be overprescribing potentially addictive opioid painkillers, but a new report says VA is failing to screen adequately for potential abuse or protect some patients who are given such drugs.

Among those at risk, according to the VA Inspector General, are patients with known substance abuse problems and those taking other medications that can have fatal consequences when mixed with opiates.

WASHINGTON — Problems with a parts supplier and the need to modify certain design features led the US Navy to announce Wednesday that the commissioning of the new nuclear-powered attack submarine North Dakota won’t take place at the end of May as scheduled.

“This decision is based on the need for additional design and certification work required on the submarine's redesigned bow and material issues with vendor-assembled and delivered components,” the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) said in a statement.

March 20, 2014

By Leo Shane III
Military Times Staff writer

After being jilted again and again by the Pentagon in pursuit of a common digital health records system, the Veterans Affairs Department is hoping a new makeover will finally get its own system noticed — and perhaps get defense officials to commit to a long-term relationship after all.

By George Altman
Army Times Staff writer

Lawmakers in a deeply divided House of Representatives can’t agree on much anymore, but they’re unanimous on at least one thing: Veterans shouldn’t be stuck with out-of-state tuition costs at public universities.

A bill that would force schools to ease such residency rules for vets — or lose GI Bill eligibility entirely — passed the House Feb. 3 without a single dissenting vote, 390-0.

January 27, 2014 by Yvonne Levardi

Start your engines, folks: The 2014 tax filing season’s green flag waves for taxpayers on Jan. 31. Gather your W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, 1098s and any cancelled checks or receipts you might need, take a deep breath, and dive into tax filing fun!

OK, maybe it’s not always fun, but it can be made easier if you’re able to get assistance when you need it. Being a Veteran or an active-duty Servicemember means you have options for assistance, too.

Adds Five Illnesses Related to Service-Connected TBI

WASHINGTON – Some Veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who are diagnosed with any of five other ailments will have an easier path to receive additional disability pay under new regulations developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The new regulation, which takes effect 30 days from today, impacts some Veterans living with TBI who also have Parkinson’s disease, certain types of dementia, depression, unprovoked seizures or certain diseases of the hypothalamus and pituitary glands.