Using Art as Therapy Using Art as Therapy - US Department of

VAnguard

September/October 2007 1

outlook

September/October 2007

Using Art as TherapyA Lifeline for Veterans in Crisis

Changing Lives

Making the Spiritual Rounds

Using Art as TherapyA Lifeline for Veterans in Crisis

Changing Lives

Making the Spiritual Rounds

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2 September/October 2007

Features

A Lifeline for Veterans in Crisis 6Suicide Prevention Hotline is working to help save the lives of veteransGiving Back to Those Who Gave So Much 8VA employees volunteer to help WWII veterans visit their memorialChanging Lives 10Vocational rehabilitation counselors help veterans make the transitionUsing Art as Therapy 18Applying paint to canvas helps veterans learn about themselvesMaking the Spiritual Rounds 22A day in the life of a VA chaplainNo Longer at Rock Bottom 24VA Palo Alto’s William Meyers has left his troubled past behind‘Sammie’ Medal Winner 25Tampa VA’s Dr. David Vesely is honored for his 25-year research career

Departments

3 From the Secretary 32 Have You Heard5 Outlook 34 Honors26 Around Headquarters 35 Heroes30 Introducing 36 Veterans Day 200731 Medical Advances

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VAnguardVA’s Employee MagazineSeptember/October 2007Vol. LIII, No. 5

Printed on 50% recycled paper

Editor: Lisa Respess-GaeglerAssistant Editor/Senior Writer: Renee McElveenPhoto Editor: Robert TurtilPhotographer: Art GardinerWriter: Amanda Hester

Published 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: [email protected]/opa/feature/vanguard

On the coverDr. Mark Heuser stops in during art therapygroup to visit with veteran John Wright, whois working on a new acrylic painting. Wrighthas multiple sclerosis and is a current resi-dent of the Baltimore VA Rehabilitation &Extended Care Center. Heuser is director ofthe Geriatrics & Long Term Care ClinicalCenter for the VA Maryland Health CareSystem. photo by Art Gardiner

http://www.va.gov/opa/feature/vanguard

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from the secretary

VA Employees Delivered in Executing Our Noble MissionJim NicholsonSecretary of Veterans Affairs

Tremendous pride, accom-plishment and respect—theseonly begin to describe mystrong feelings as I leave theDepartment of Veterans Af-fairs.

Overriding all those emo-tions is my sense of deep grati-tude—gratitude to those weserve, our veterans; gratitudefor the opportunity to lead VAin carrying out its noble mis-sion; and gratitude to you—all 244,000 VA employees—who have supported me, in-spired me and rarely failed toexceed my expectations.

You have lived up to farmore than just my expecta-tions. The expectations ofCongress, the Americanpeople and our veterans de-mand excellence in everythingwe do each and every day. Youdeliver under tremendouspressure and public scrutiny.

You delivered in establish-ing new polytrauma units tomeet the complex medical andrehabilitation needs of seri-ously injured combat veterans.You delivered in making surepriority care and service for re-turning Operation Iraqi Free-dom and Enduring Freedomveterans became standard op-erating procedure throughoutVA. You delivered in treatingmore than 1 million veterans aweek for their health needs.

I don’t have to tell youthat VA’s mission, noble as itis, is also one of the most chal-lenging in government. Wemeasure our work in “mil-lions” of veterans and “bil-lions” of dollars, but the truemeasure of our success rests inthe mind of that individualveteran as he or she calls a VA

facility, submits a benefits ap-plication, or waits to see a VAdoctor. We strive hard to meetevery veteran’s expectations ofus.

Our mission was frontand center during HurricaneKatrina and its aftermath. VA’svaunted electronic medicalrecords system proved itselfagain, assuring veterans conti-nuity of care even thoughtheir hospitals and clinics wereflooded. VA volunteers fromaround the country staffedemergency medical receptioncenters for the storm refugees.

But most telling were theselfless acts of VA staff at theNew Orleans medical centerwho stayed with their patientsthrough grim and dangerousdays until evacuation was pos-sible, while their loved onesand property were at theflood’s mercy. That’s awe-in-spiring—that’s VA!

Much has been done, butmuch remains. The backlogand turnaround time for dis-ability claims is a challenge.We are working with Con-gress, the Department of De-fense and veterans service or-ganizations to shorten the de-cision time. The Veterans Ben-efits Administration is com-mitted to overcoming thatchallenge and we are addingemployees.

I am optimistic a govern-ment-wide approach to sys-temic change, as reflected inrecommendations by PresidentBush’s Commission on Carefor America’s Wounded War-riors and the President’s TaskForce on Returning War onTerror Heroes, which I washonored to chair, will result in

a fairer, more efficient andspeedier benefits adjudicationprocess. VA is ready and will-ing to work in new ways toserve veterans.

Many of those ideas willcome from the new AdvisoryCommittee on OIF/OEF Vet-erans and Families I created,and from the 25 other VA ad-visory groups that bring out-side expertise, experience andwisdom to bear on VA policyand practice. The OIF/OEFcommittee members have metwith me and are holding pub-lic meetings around the coun-try. Their unique insights andthe information they gatherand present to our leadershipwill help focus our strengthsand increase our sensitivity tothe new generation of war vet-erans entering the VA system.

As I left Rome three yearsago, where I served as U.S.Ambassador to the Holy See,the Pope asked me what wasAmerica’s vision for its future?I was able to tell him thatAmerica wanted to enhancethe human condition world-wide by striving for freedomand dignity for all people. Itold him that includes howAmerica wants to care forthose brave souls who havefought for and achieved free-dom for us and so many otherpeople in the world.

After my service with youas your Secretary of VeteransAffairs, I know that there isnothing in the world remotelyclose to VA or to the wonder-ful, caring professionals whocarry out its mission. Thankyou, and goodbye.

Deputy Secretary Gordon H. Mansfield became ActingSecretary following the resignation of Secretary JimNicholson. Nicholson tendered his resignation to Presi-dent Bush on July 17, to be effective no later than Oct. 1.

Mansfield assumed the roleon Oct. 1 and will serve as ActingSecretary until the next nomineeof the President is confirmed bythe Senate. Appointed DeputySecretary by President Bush inNovember 2003, Mansfield hadpreviously served as VA AssistantSecretary for Congressional andLegislative Affairs since Aug. 1,2001.

Prior to joining VA, Mansfield had served as execu-tive director of the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA)since April 1993. He previously held a number of positionsat PVA from 1981 to 1989.

Mansfield Named Acting Secretary

Gordon H. Mansfield

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Saying Goodbyeto Secretary

Jim Nicholson

Clockwise from top left: President Bush announces his nominationof Jim Nicholson as Secretary of Veterans Affairs at the White Housein December 2004.

Secretary Nicholson visits members of the 116th Armored CavalryBrigade of the Idaho National Guard in Kirkuk, Iraq, in May 2005.

In September 2005, Secretary Nicholson surveys the damage fromHurricane Katrina to the Gulfport campus of the VA Gulf CoastHealth Care System with VISN 16 Director Robert Lynch, M.D.

Flanked by veterans organization leaders, Secretary Nicholson an-nounces the launch of the Veterans Pride Initiative, intended to en-courage veterans to wear their military medals on patriotic holi-days, at a news conference in VA headquarters in October 2006.

Secretary Nicholson presents a bouquet to his wife, Suzanne, duringhis farewell reception in September.

WHITE HOUSE

MICHAEL L. MOORE

ROBERT TURTIL

TARYN ALVARADO

TOM BOWMAN

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more than $385 million tohomeless service providers.The grants have been used tofund such things as transi-tional housing, storefront ben-efits and community drop-incenters, clinics and mobilemedical units, and the pur-chase of a van to provide cli-ents a way to access otheravailable services.

VA has expanded pro-grams so that there are com-munity-operated programs ap-proved in every state, PuertoRico, and several programs ontribal lands. A series of No-tices of Funding Availabilitypublished in the Federal Reg-ister requested proposals fromcommunity providers to createa funding opportunity todouble our services for specialneeds programs for homelesswomen veterans with children,

frail elderly, terminally ill andchronically mentally ill underthe Homeless Providers Grantand Per Diem Program.

VA is hosting the largestnational conference on home-less veterans Oct. 18-19 inSan Diego. The goal is tobring together VA clinicalstaff, community service pro-viders, representatives of fed-eral partners and academics toboth celebrate past success—including a significant reduc-tion in the numbers of home-less veterans—and to developa path to end chronic home-lessness among veterans.

Working to End Chronic Homelessness Among VeteransPete DoughertyDirector of Homeless Veterans Programs

The truth is that most of them exist quietly, almostinvisibly, trying to cope in an environment as hostile andtough as they faced while in the service.

Veterans who find themselveshomeless share a commontragedy. Misunderstood, iso-lated and frequently unseen—they are veterans often per-ceived as missing in America.

The vast majority of menand women who have servedour country in times of warand peace endured the tempo-rary disruption of military ser-vice to return and resume anormal life. Sadly, a small per-centage of veterans camehome to find they were unableto pursue the American dreamthey had worked to protect.

Relationships that nur-ture, the comfort of a stablehome, and the satisfaction ofproductive work have eludedthese veterans. Some of themstruggle with devastating ad-dictions, mental illness anddebilitating physical problems.Some suffer the effects ofpost-traumatic stress disorderfrom their military service.

Mistakenly, many citizensaccept the common miscon-ception that these men andwomen sit in doorways beg-ging for handouts by shakinga cup, or accost people on thestreet, aggressively panhan-dling. The truth is that mostof them exist quietly, almostinvisibly, trying to cope in anenvironment as hostile andtough as they faced while inthe service. Their only missionis to get through the day, andfor the most part they mustdo it alone.

Twenty years ago, VA be-gan developing programs inour hospitals and regionalbenefits offices—and in coop-eration with community-basedorganizations—in an extensive

effort to provide improvedmedical care and access tobenefits, as well as developnew links to resources offeringresidential care and treatmentprograms to address the spe-cial needs of homeless veter-ans. Initially those efforts wereto establish domiciliary careprograms for homeless veter-ans and to provide contractresidential care programs withcommunity service providers.

Since those modest pilotswere established to reach outto homeless veterans and suc-cessfully helped veterans re-turn to society with full func-tion, a host of other actionshave been initiated to ensurethat those in need of healthcare and benefits assistancecan be seen and served appro-priately. Since 1987, morethan 400,000 veterans have

benefited from the programsand services VA and its com-munity and faith-based part-ners have provided.

In July, the Vietnam Vet-erans of San Diego hostedtheir 20th stand down forhomeless veterans at San Di-ego High School. Standdowns for homeless veteransbegan as the idea of severalVietnam veterans who feltcompelled to respond to thetragedy of homeless veteransthey saw unfolding every dayon the streets, and had cometo the realization that acrossthe nation hundreds of thou-

sands were living the samedesperate existence. Recallingthe benefits combat personnelderived from military standdowns, they adopted that con-cept. During times of militaryconflict, soldiers were evacu-ated from the front lines andtaken to stand down sites,where for a brief time theywere able to enjoy the basiccomforts of showers, cleanclothes, good food, and mostimportantly a respite from theharsh and hostile environmentof combat.

At its core, the standdown’s philosophy is toachieve “a hand up, not ahand out.” In 2006, VApartnered in 125 stand downevents and helped to engagemore than 27,000 veteransand their family members.More than 15,000 VA em-

ployees and others volun-teered, harnessing the collabo-rative efforts of both the pub-lic and private sectors to pro-vide a wide range of services.

The largest single compo-nent began in 1994 when VAinitiated the Homeless Provid-ers Grant and Per Diem Pro-gram. State and local govern-ments, Native American gov-ernments, and faith-based andnonprofit organizations mayapply for up to 65 percent oftheir costs to create a varietyof services to assist homelessveterans. Since its inception,the program has awarded

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On a hot August night, a Viet-nam veteran with a history ofpost-traumatic stress disorder

found out his wife was leaving him.That was the last straw. He had a gunand a plan to kill himself.

As a last resort, he called VA’snewly established around-the-clockSuicide Prevention Hotline. He toldthe counselor that he was severelydistressed. Although the veteran de-clined the counselor’s offer to provideimmediate 911 services, the counselorconvinced him to leave his gun be-hind and drive to the nearby VA hos-pital.

VA health care providers methim at the emergency room door, es-corted him through the system andadmitted him for intensive mentalhealth services. He is now safe and re-ceiving treatment. The local suicideprevention coordinator is followinghis care and maintaining contact withhim.

A Desert Storm veteran calledthe hotline, stating he was on abridge and about to jump off. Theveteran was tearful, saying there wasno reason for him to go on.

The hotline operator kept himon the line while alerting a co-worker to call the police in the citywhere he lived. While the veteranwould not give his exact location,the hotline counselor’s co-workerlooked up the veteran’s address andprovided it to police, who then sentsix units to the bridge nearest towhere the man lived.

The police dispatched a crisis in-

tervention team that was able to talkthe man into getting off the bridge.

A number of similar stories withsuccessful outcomes have taken placesince VA set up its 24-hour, seven-days-a-week Suicide PreventionHotline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255), inlate July.

Dr. Janet Kemp, VA’s nationalsuicide prevention coordinator, whoalso is associate director for educationand training at the mental healthCenter of Excellence at Canandaigua,N.Y., said the hotline has receivedmore than 4,300 calls from veteranssince it became operational.

In testimony before the HouseVeterans’ Affairs Committee on Sept.

18, VA Secretary Jim Nicholson saidthe hotline was established to helpaddress suicides among veterans, andis another example of recent measurestaken by the department to strength-en one of the nation’s largest mentalhealth programs.

Since the hotline became opera-tional and received its first call onJuly 25, 659 callers (as of Sept. 30)have been referred to a VA suicideprevention coordinator, 433 transfersto community hotlines have beenmade, and there have been 127 res-cues.

The Canandaigua-based counse-lors who take the calls are profession-

ally trained in crisis intervention todeal with any and all situations. Theyhave referred more than 300 veteransto local suicide prevention coordina-tors or mental health professionals forfurther counseling and treatment.Several callers received emergencyrescue services or urgent referrals tolocal VA facilities for immediate care.

“This is quite literally a life anddeath situation for many of those whocall, and we have already made a dif-ference in a number of veterans’lives,” Kemp said.

Calls sometimes come from rela-tives, such as the wife of a veteranwho served two tours in Vietnam andhad a history of psychological admis-

sions for PTSD. His wife was espe-cially concerned because the veteranhad recently been hospitalized and hisfather had committed suicide.

A hotline counselor provided herimmediate support and encourage-ment. The veteran received a call thenext day from the suicide preventioncoordinator and was referred to men-tal health counselors at VA. His wifecalled the hotline counselors back af-terward to thank them for “saving hislife.”

Some calls have come from veter-ans of Operation Iraqi Freedom andOperation Enduring Freedom. Theaunt of an Iraq war veteran called,

Suicide Prevention Hotline is working to help save the lives of veterans.

A Lifeline for Veterans in Crisis

DANIEL V. RYAN

“This is quite literally a life and death situationfor many of those who call, and we have alreadymade a difference in a number of veterans’ lives.”

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the hotline counselor, the womanagreed to be referred to the suicideprevention coordinator, who helpedher access the multiple counseling ser-vices she is now receiving from VA.

Though calls to the hotline havecome from relatives and friends, mostare from veterans themselves. Thecalls often deal with previous mentalhealth issues such as PTSD that havebeen exacerbated by a recent situa-tion. Some situations involved veter-ans with weapons who could possiblyhave harmed themselves or others.

Dr. Ira Katz, VA’s deputy chief pa-tient care services officer for mentalhealth, said VA’s Suicide PreventionProgram is unique because the hotlinecounselors can deal with the immedi-ate crisis and refer callers to the sui-cide prevention coordinators who canhelp the veteran receive needed men-tal health services or be admitted fortreatment.

“This program gives us the abilityto deal with the immediate crisis andto conduct follow-up to make sure theveteran’s mental health issues aredealt with on an ongoing, long-termbasis to help prevent future situationsfrom arising,” Katz said.

saying she feared her 28-year-oldnephew might hurt himself. The vet-eran initially declined to talk tohotline counselors, but the suicideprevention coordinator called thenext day and convinced him to comein for an evaluation.

The coordinator met him at thedoor and walked him through theemergency room and triage area. Theveteran also was evaluated at theOIF/OEF walk-in clinic. He was en-rolled for primary care at a commu-nity-based outpatient clinic closer tohis home, and is being monitored.The veteran expressed his gratitudeand said VA had “passed the test.”

Calls also have come fromwomen veterans, such as one from aveteran with two small children whoreported that she was very depressedand having panic attacks.

The veteran recently moved anddid not know many people in the areawhere she now lives. Although shehad never harmed her children be-fore, she was concerned she mighthurt them if she did not get helpsoon.

She had been a victim of sexualharassment in the military and waslikely to benefit from a more thor-ough evaluation. After talking with

Do you know how to recognize thesigns that someone is consideringsuicide and what actions youshould take? Dr. Janet Kemp, VA’snational suicide prevention coordi-nator and associate director foreducation at the Center of Excel-lence in Mental Health and PTSD atCanandaigua, N.Y., offers some tips.

Warning signs include:

■ Hopelessness■ Helplessness■ Uncontrolled anger/rage■ Violence towards self or others■ Withdrawing/isolation■ Loss of interest in usual pursuits■ Anxiety■ Dramatic mood changes■ Marked changes in eating and/orsleeping habits■ Increased use of drugs or alco-hol■ Feeling trapped■ Feeling like a burden to others■ Lack of purpose■ Talking about wanting to die/making plans to die

What to do if you think someone isconsidering suicide:

■ Express your concern■ Ask if he/she is thinking aboutsuicide■ Be willing to listen attentively■ Be non-judgmental■ Seek additional support fromfamily, friends and/or professionals■ Explore available alternatives■ Don’t act shocked■ Don’t minimize their pain■ Don’t be sworn to secrecy■ Get help from individuals and/oragencies that work in the field ofcrisis intervention and suicide pre-vention

Suicide Signsand Prevention

From left: Patrick Coffey, Shanna Fernandez, Margaret Lane, Denise Slocum, Lois Harvey,Cari Malcolm, Mark Murphy and Regina DeLeo take calls from veterans in crisis on VA’s Sui-cide Prevention Hotline. Based in Canandaigua, N.Y., the hotline is staffed with counselorsprofessionally trained in crisis intervention.

DANIEL V. RYAN

By William N. Outlaw

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Gail Gibson said she “couldn’tthink of a better way tospend a Saturday.”

Gibson, a management analystwith the Office of Information in theVeterans Health Administration, wasone of nine VA Central Office em-ployees who volunteered to meet oneof the six “Honor Flights” arriving atReagan National Airport in Washing-ton, D.C., or Baltimore-WashingtonInternational Airport in BaltimoreSept. 7-8, flying in some 800 veteransof World War II to visit the monu-ment constructed in their honor.

Making their visit possible was aformer VA employee—Honor FlightNetwork founder Earl Morse. In 2004,Morse was working as a physician as-

sistant at the VA community-basedoutpatient clinic in Springfield, Ohio,when he invited a couple of hisWorld War II veteran patients to ac-company him to Washington, D.C.Morse, a private pilot, had rented anairplane and planned to visit the na-tional World War II Memorial andVietnam Memorial with his father, aVietnam War veteran. The plane hadtwo empty seats. Morse knew that hispatients lacked the financial resourcesto make the trip on their own.

Visiting the war memorials wasan emotional experience for his fatherand patients. Once he saw how thetrip impacted them, he knew he wason to something.

He met with his fellow pilots in

the Aero Club at Wright-PattersonAir Force Base in Dayton and asked ifanyone was interested in flying WorldWar II veterans to Washington, D.C.,to visit their memorial. Eleven pilotsvolunteered to fly the veterans at nocost.

Word got out in the community,and people started donating money tothe local VFW post to pay for mealsand a shuttle service for the veterans.Honor Flight was established, and hassince grown from its humble begin-nings into a national network usingcommercial airlines instead of privateplanes.

As the veterans onboard the re-cent flights slowly made their waydown the jetway leading into the

Giving Back to ThoseWho Gave So MuchVA employees volunteer to help World War II veterans visit the

memorial built in their honor in the nation’s capital.

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VA employee volunteers, airline employees,and strangers waiting for their flights greetWorld War II veterans as they disembarkfrom their Honor Flight at Reagan NationalAirport. Debbie Ladwig (second from left)works at VA Central Office.

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waiting area of Reagan National Air-port, they were greeted by an enthusi-astic crowd of VA employees, airlinestaff, and strangers waiting for theirflights. The crowd stood up, ap-plauded and cheered, startling thefirst veterans entering the waitingarea. After realizing that all the fusswas being made over them, theysmiled shyly. Several veterans salutedthe crowd, others doffed their caps,and one really hammed it up by tak-ing a bow.

Like many in the crowd, DebbieLadwig had tears streaming down herface by the time the last veteran leftthe jetway. As director of communi-cations for the VHA Office of Infor-mation, Ladwig learnedabout the volunteer op-portunity during a workconference at whichMorse spoke and ex-plained what his non-profit organization doesfor World War II veter-ans.

Honor Flight Net-work raises funds tohonor World War IIveterans by flying themto their nation’s capi-tal—at no cost to theveterans—so they canvisit and reflect at theWorld War II memorial.VA employees attend-ing the conference do-nated enough money to fund trips for40 veterans.

Ladwig’s 85-year-old uncle, IsraelBenn, served under Army Gen.George S. Patton during World WarII. She said she wanted to honor heruncle by volunteering.

“Their military service has en-abled me to live freely in this coun-try,” Ladwig said.

Just outside the airport, ShannonCollins directed traffic as volunteersand veterans boarded several char-tered buses. With a clipboard in onehand and a BlackBerry in the other,she consulted her lists and answered

denly stopped. One runner wearing agreen T-shirt turned around, walkedup to Amdal, said something to him,then shook his hand. The runner re-joined his group and they continuedon their way.

He said the young runnerthanked him for his service. Askedhow that made him feel, Amdalturned his head away as his eyes filledwith tears and said, “It made me feelemotional.”

Collins is looking for VA employ-ees interested in volunteering for thenext Honor Flights, arriving Nov. 2-3and Nov. 21. Visits will begin again inApril 2008. She said the time com-mitment can be as little as an hour or

as long as a full day—whatever time the em-ployee has to give.

Volunteers areneeded to greet veteransand welcome them astheir flights arrive atReagan National andBWI. Once the veteransarrive at the World WarII Memorial, volunteersare needed to pass outwater and boxed lunches.Some veterans need as-sistance getting aroundin their wheelchairs orcould use a strong arm tolean on to steady them asthey walk around thememorial.

Collins said volunteers are alsoneeded in the cities where the flightsdepart to send the veterans off in styleand to greet them when they return.Flights in November originate fromFargo, N.D.; Detroit; Columbus,Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; and Cleveland.For a volunteer application, visitwww.honorflight.org.

For more information about howto volunteer for the next HonorFlights, contact Collins at (202) 461-5846 or e-mail her at [email protected].

questions. Collins, a managementanalyst, is also with VHA’s Office ofInformation and was responsible forrecruiting and coordinating VA vol-unteers for the event.

Once the buses arrived at theWorld War II Memorial, veteranswere greeted by yet another group ofvolunteers. Jane Parsons passed outbottles of cold water as she movedthrough the throng. She is the staffassistant to the director of EnterpriseSystems Management in VHA’s Of-fice of Information.

She said she volunteered tohonor her 85-year-old father—ArthurL. Doyle Jr.—who served in the Armyin the Philippines during WW II.

Parsons’ father may have crossedpaths with another veteran whoserved in the Pacific Theater. ShirleyErickson served as an Army nurse at afield hospital in Okinawa duringWorld War II. The 86-year-old trav-eled on one of the Honor Flights fromher home in Cooperstown, N.D., tosee the World War II Memorial forthe first time.

“It’s quite important to be able tosee this before I die,” she said.

As Navy veteran James Amdalmade his way around the World WarII Memorial, three teenaged runnerspassed him on the sidewalk, then sud-

World War II veterans (left to right) Alex Balanca, Lewis Cua and JohnBortos traveled to Washington, D.C., on Sept. 8 to visit the memorial built intheir honor, courtesy of the Honor Flight Network.

ART GARDINER

By Renee McElveen

http://www.honorflight.org

mailto:[email protected]

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Vocational rehabilitation counselors help veterans transitionfrom the military to civilian careers.

Ron St. Clair went through VA’s Vocational Rehabilitationand Employment (VR&E) Program himself, and now helpsother disabled veterans pursue the specialized trainingand/or education they need to land a job. ART GARDINER

It takes the dazzle of a magician,the leadership of an orchestra con-ductor, the listening skills of a

therapist, and the empathy of a chap-lain to be a good vocational rehabili-tation counselor at VA, according toRon St. Clair.

He ought to know. He wentthrough the program himself.

After retiring from the Air Forcein 1987, St. Clair was in security op-erations for a Defense contractor inWashington, D.C. The job requiredhim to travel a great deal. In 1990, hetripped over a telephone cord in hishouse, hit his head on the coffeetable, and broke his neck.

St. Clair was a quadriplegic—hisdoctor told him he would never walk

again. He proved his doctor wrong bywalking out of the hospital sixmonths later.

“I don’t use the word ‘can’t,’” St.Clair explained. “If you get stuck on‘can’t’ it becomes a part of you.”

St. Clair knew his physical limi-tations would prevent him from con-tinuing in the security career field. Hecould walk short distances, but hisbalance was affected by the accident.He uses a scooter to get around.

The Air Force veteran applied forvocational rehabilitation servicesthrough VA’s Vocational Rehabilita-tion and Employment Program(VR&E). The VA counselor deter-mined he was entitled to the benefit.St. Clair went back to school at the

University of Maryland–EasternShore, where he earned a bachelor’sdegree in Rehabilitation Services. Healso received a master’s in Rehabilita-tion Counseling from the MedicalCollege of Virginia, Virginia Com-monwealth University.

He has worked as a vocational re-habilitation counselor at the VA re-gional office in Washington, D.C., forthe past seven years. St. Clair workswith 175 veterans of the VietnamWar, Grenada, Bosnia and the GulfWar.

Linda Clark is another VR&Esuccess story. Like St. Clair, she nowworks as a vocational rehabilitationcounselor. She retired from activeduty in 2001 after serving in the Air

ChangingLivesChangingLives

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James P. Burke III conducts a briefingon VA’s Disabled Transition Assis-tance Program (DTAP) at the Na-tional Naval Medical Center inBethesda, Md., for injured sailors andMarines still serving on active duty.

Force for 20 years as a human re-sources/budget officer. As a recentlydischarged veteran and former clientof the VR&E program, Clark said shecan identify with the problems facedby today’s veterans.

“Coming out of a closed system[the military] … we need to preparethem a little better,” said Clark of theefforts extended to servicemembers byboth the military and VA. “Young sol-

diers or older established ones expectthings to happen as they did while inservice,” she explained.

The most commonly broachedtopic during her first year as a VR&Ecounselor at the D.C. VARO was warstories.

“Veterans come in mostly want-ing to talk about their old units stilldeployed in combat, not about wherethey want to go now that they have

been discharged,” she said. “I let themtalk about it in order to establish adialogue, and a certain degree of trust,but eventually I have to get themthinking about their other interests.”

Clark works with 124 veterans,most of whom are returning from theOIF/OEF theaters of operation.

Another veteran on the VR&Estaff—Marine Corps veteran KenFenner—is the vocational rehabilita-tion counselor in charge of VA’sComing Home to Work program atthe D.C. VARO. He seeks to providemeaningful work experiences for ac-tive duty servicemembers in medicalhold at the National Naval MedicalCenter in Bethesda, Md., and WalterReed Army Medical Center in Wash-ington, D.C. These servicemembershave been injured in combat or dur-ing training and are within sixmonths of receiving a medical dis-charge from their branch of servicebecause of their injuries.

Fenner matches the service-members up with employers at some20 federal agencies to receive unpaid,on-the-job experience in such careerfields as logistics, contracting andpublic affairs. The training can lastfor weeks or months. Fenner ex-plained that servicemembers are notallowed to receive a stipend duringtheir training while they receive ac-tive duty pay. Participating agenciesinclude VA, the Department of Hous-ing and Urban Development, the De-partment of Agriculture, and the Na-tional Aeronautics & Space Adminis-tration.

The Coming Home to Work pro-gram benefits both the servicememberand the potential federal employer,Fenner said. It allows servicemembersto network from inside the govern-ment agency they are training withand gives them firsthand experiencewith jobs and career possibilities. Fed-eral employers are not obligated tohire the servicemembers, but manydo. Fenner noted that some federalemployers have been so impressedthat they were willing to use their

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As a vocational rehabilitation counselor atthe Washington, D.C., VA Regional Office,Shayla Mitchell works exclusively with Op-eration Iraqi Freedom/Operation EnduringFreedom veterans. More than 50 percent ofthe 100 to 150 veterans she works with areseverely injured.

After an entitlement decision ismade, the veteran and the counselorwill work together to develop a reha-bilitation plan. The plan follows oneof five tracks:

1 Re-employment

2 Rapid Access to Employment

3 Self-Employment

4 Employment Through Long-term

Services

5 Independent Living

For more information, visitwww.vba.va.gov.

Five Tracksto Success

“I don’t use the word ‘can’t.’ If you get stuckon ‘can’t’ it becomes a part of you.”

Veterans’ Recruitment Appointmentauthority to appoint the service-member to a position within theiragency upon the servicemember’s re-lease from active duty.

The D.C. VARO gets the wordout about programs available to dis-abled servicemembers leaving activeduty through monthly briefings atmilitary installations and medical fa-cilities in the D.C. area. VR&E staffmembers coordinate with military li-aisons at Fort Myer, Va.; Fort Belvoir,Va.; Henderson Hall in Arlington,Va.; Quantico Marine Corps Base;

Andrews Air Force Base; and the Na-tional Naval Medical Center.

Air Force veteran James P. BurkeIII conducts many of these monthlybriefings as employment coordinatorfor VR&E at the D.C. VARO. He re-cently conducted a briefing on theDisabled Transition Assistance Pro-

gram for half a dozen sailors and Ma-rines at the National Naval MedicalCenter.

“We focus on the services youwill need to get and keep a job,” hetold the servicemembers. “Keeping ajob can be challenging, especiallywhen you have a disability.”

Overseeing the work of these vo-cational rehabilitation counselors isP.C. Jenkins, vocational rehabilitationofficer and retired Air Force veteran.

“We can find jobs in D.C. for ourveterans,” he said. “Federal employerswork with us.”

Although she is not a veteran, as-sistant VR&E officer Brenda Wigginshails from a family of veterans. Herlate father was a Navy veteran ofWorld War II. Two of her brothers areArmy veterans. She is married to anAir Force veteran of the VietnamWar. Her family background is whatmotivated her to seek employment atVA four years ago.

“I like what I do,” she said. “I likeproviding customer service to the vet-erans and their families.”

Wiggins said her office is seeingmany more severely disabled veteransthan in the past. Many veterans re-turning from Iraq and Afghanistansuffer from traumatic brain injury,which makes the job of the voca-tional rehabilitation counselor muchmore complex.

“We have to involve more thanthe veteran and the counselor to planservices,” she said. “We need to getthe psychologist, the social workerand the family involved.”

Wiggins said she is sending herstaff members to training to learn stra-tegic ways to work with veterans re-covering from blast and head injuries.

Shayla Mitchell’s caseload is nowdevoted exclusively to OIF/OEF vet-erans. The vocational rehabilitationcounselor works with 100 to 150 vet-

erans, and of that number, more than50 percent are severely injured. Hertraining as a certified rehabilitationcounselor taught her the characteris-tics of various disabilities and how tohelp individuals make adjustments tothese disabilities in the workplace.

She has a bachelor’s degree infamily and child sciences and amaster’s in rehabilitation counselingfrom Florida State University. She iscurrently working on her doctorate incounseling studies.

Mitchell said she measures suc-cess on the job from within, throughthe self-satisfaction of knowing shehas made a difference in the lives ofothers, and through external meanssuch as a phone call, a letter, or an e-mail saying “thank you” or telling herthat she made a veteran’s life easier.She still receives phone calls andpostcards from exotic locales such asFiji from a Vietnam veteran she sentback to school at the age of 60 to re-ceive training as a multi-mediagraphic artist that led to his currentjob as an underwater videographer.

“I enjoy helping individualschange their lives,” she said.

ART GARDINER

By Art Gardiner and Renee McElveen

http://www.vba.va.gov

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Veterans use their vocational rehabilitation benefitsto pursue their dreams and get their lives back on track.

Army veteran Richard Nero suffered from PTSD, rage and severe depression after getting in-jured in Iraq when his aircraft was shot down.Vocational rehabilitation helped him get his lifeback on track, sending him back to school for computer training.

ROB LA SCOLA

“Down, but not out.” These were thewords Richard Nero used to describethe day that violently rattled hisbrain.

Nero, a staff sergeant in the Mili-tary Police Corps, was on his secondcombat tour in support of OperationIraqi Freedom (OIF) when his lifechanged. On Jan. 7, 2004, he wasonboard an Air Force C5 when theaircraft was shot down by aninsurgent’s missile.

Nero thought he was okay. Hehad no open wounds, just a massiveheadache that wouldn’t go away. That

evening, he went to bed after taking acouple of Excedrin tablets for hisheadache. A few hours later, Nerowoke up feeling hot and sweaty.

“I was covered in black ink,”Nero said. When he finally shined aflashlight on himself, he realized the“black ink” was actually his ownblood. Nero was covered in it. It wascoming out of his eyes, ears and nose.

What had felt to him like a mi-nor head injury was in fact an intrac-ranial concussion, resulting in severeswelling and bleeding. Nero was firsttreated in Kuwait, and then medically

evacuated to the Landstuhl RegionalMedical Center in Germany. He laterfinished treatment at Walter ReedArmy Medical Center in Washing-ton, D.C.

Even though Nero appeared to bephysically fine, he was emotionallyunstable.

After his release from WalterReed, Nero and his wife Greta de-cided to settle in North Carolina.There, Nero sought rehabilitation. Hewas struggling with post-traumaticstress disorder, short- and long-termmemory loss, severe depression, rageand substance abuse.

Two years after moving to NorthCarolina, Nero received a call fromSteven Graham, vice president ofInformatics Business Operations atForest Pharmaceuticals Inc. Before hisdeployment, Nero had spent twoyears working as a computer consult-ant for the St. Louis-based company.Graham offered Nero a position atthe company, and he accepted.

In January of this year, Nero wassupposed to arrive at the VA medicalcenter in St. Louis, but by mistake,found himself at the VA regional of-fice. It turned out to be the best mis-take Nero could have made. It al-lowed him to meet Vocational Reha-bilitation Counselor CorlissStrathearn.

“Richard has changed so much.When he came into my office he hadno emotion. He wouldn’t even smile,”Strathearn said.

Success StoriesSuccess Stories

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Vocational rehabilitation has helped Army veteran Jason Blakemore, who now works full-time for the VFW as an assistant veteran service officer and attends night school in pursuit ofa bachelor’s degree in business.

After taking some time to workon himself, Nero came back to seeStrathearn and asked her to help himget back into school. Strathearncould not believe the changes shesaw in the veteran, who was oncehyperaware and constantly lookingover his shoulder.

Strathearn enrolled Nero in someuniversity courses. Although it wasjust a trial run, Nero has done so wellthat Strathearn is planning on enroll-ing him in more classes for the fall.His goal is to obtain a degree in com-puter science.

“It was questionable whether Ri-chard could benefit from our services,given his PTSD and traumatic braininjury,” Strathearn said.

Today, Nero is 39 years old andemployed full-time at Forest Pharma-ceuticals, where he was recently pro-moted. He and his wife just bought ahouse and are busy raising their babygirl, Laya.

He said he is grateful for all ofthe help he received from Strathearnand the VA Vocational Rehabilita-tion & Employment (VR&E) Pro-gram in turning his life around. Headded that the training he receivedthrough the VR&E Program will go along way to assist him in overcomingfuture employment obstacles as a re-sult of his injuries.

According to Nero, “Corlisshelped me more than anybody in theVA.”

The Young VeteranBeing 20 years old is one of the

best ages for a young adult. You’re notalways expected to make “grown-up”decisions, and you still have time tochange your career path once, twice,or even 10 times.

Jason Blakemore was 20 years oldwhen he left his small hometown ofCentralia, Mo., to embark on his firstcareer path as a soldier. It was thesummer of 2001. While most ofBlakemore’s friends were still figuringout what to do with their lives, hewould soon learn to value his own.

Blakemore had no idea his des-tiny would lie in Iraq. His unit de-ployed there in the spring of 2003.On April 13, 2003, he found out justhow scary warfare can be.

His unit was assigned the missionof clearing out insurgent weaponshidden in an abandoned police sta-tion just south of Baghdad. From thestart, Blakemore had a bad feelingabout the mission.

With only a wire fence separatingthe soldiers from the townspeople,Blakemore and his unit proceeded toclear out the weapons. While theywere performing their task, a whitecar pulled up. A man holding a gre-nade got out of the car, pulled thepin, and lobbed the grenade over thefence.

Blakemore fell to the ground.The grenade landed inches fromwhere he had been standing, guardingthe building. He quickly got up andran for cover behind a Humvee. Afull-blown attack was underway. Menpositioned across from the abandonedpolice station started shooting at thesoldiers.

Although Blakemore was wearingbody armor, he knew he had been hit.His left arm was numb. He thought

his arm had been severed.His platoon sergeant helped

move him into the abandoned policestation. Medics noticed that not onlyhad shrapnel cut up his arm and partsof his foot, a piece had hit his subcla-vian artery. The same piece of shrap-nel that hit his artery also collapsedhis left lung.

Blakemore was taken to a fieldhospital in Iraq for treatment. Hewoke up to find himself in a hospitalin Kuwait. He was medically evacu-ated to Landstuhl, Germany, and laterflown to Walter Reed Army MedicalCenter in Washington, D.C., wherehe spent a week and a half recover-ing.

After receiving a medical dis-charge from the Army, Blakemore re-turned home to Missouri, where hefound a job installing water lines forthe city of Columbia. One day, he gota call from the Veterans of ForeignWars offering him a job as an assis-tant veteran service officer with theVFW.

“I had no idea what a service of-ficer was, but I was installing waterlines and it wasn’t going to take muchto get me out of there,” Blakemoresaid.

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When Army veteran Myles Hunt lost his eyein an explosion while serving in Iraq, hechose a prosthetic eye with an American flagembedded in it.

In July 2006, Blakemore and hiswife moved to St. Louis to start hisnew job. While working at the VFW,Blakemore finally met VA employeeArmando De La Garza. De La Garzahad recommended him for the job,helped file his disability claim, andgot him started with VA’s VocationalRehabilitation & Employment(VR&E) Program.

Blakemore, now 24, is workingfull-time for the VFW and attendingnight school at Webster Universityworking towards a bachelor’s degreein business. He expects to graduate inlate 2008 or early 2009. The trainingBlakemore received will assist him inmaintaining his employment as a ser-vice officer and providing quality ser-vices to veterans.

“Voc rehab has been especiallygood to me,” Blakemore said.

Through the Eyes of a PatriotThere is no question about Myles

Hunt’s patriotism. Just look into hiseyes.

Hunt was living and working as awelder in Carthage, Mo., before hedecided to enlist in the Army in 1996and see the world. One of his tripswould take him to the Middle East.

On April 3, 2003, Hunt’s unit de-ployed in support of Operation IraqiFreedom (OIF). On Sept. 5, 2003, hewas performing his duty as truck com-mander of a Humvee, accompaniedby the driver and gunner. Their mis-sion was to escort a group of ArmyNational Guard engineers to theBaghdad International Airport.

Before heading out, Hunt and hiscrew took the Humvee doors off sothey could dismount quickly in theevent of an emergency. On the way tothe airport, their Humvee was hit bya 122-millimeter artillery round,which had been hidden behind thehighway guardrail.

The explosion knocked everyoneout of the vehicle. After regainingconsciousness, Hunt found himselfdraped over a guardrail on the oppo-site side of the Humvee. He took off

his helmet but put it back on whenhe saw it had quickly filled withblood. While fastening the strap onthe helmet, Hunt noticed his leftthumb had been blown off.

“Sometimes you are in so muchpain you can’t even feel it,” Huntsaid.

Hunt proceeded to look for hisdriver, who was lying motionless inthe roadway. Before Hunt could get tohim, the engineers tackled him. Huntwas so concerned about his comradesthat the engineers were forced to siton him and hold him down.

“You’re not as fine as you thinkyou are,” one of the engineers toldhim.

About 15 minutes later, a heli-copter came to medevac Hunt and hiscrew to a Baghdad field hospital.

Hunt spent a day and a half inBaghdad while doctors worked to sta-bilize him so he could be safelymedevaced to Landstuhl, Germany.Hunt’s final destination, like many se-verely wounded soldiers, was WalterReed Army Medical Center in Wash-ington, D.C.

During the four months Hunt

spent at Walter Reed, doctors per-formed many reconstructive surgerieson his face, as well as traumatic am-putation of his thumb and removal ofhis right eye. He selected a specialprosthetic eye with the American flagembedded in it.

Hunt was medically retired fromthe Army on Aug. 4, 2004. He thentook a job with the Disabled Ameri-can Veterans as a department serviceofficer at the state level in Mt.Vernon, Mo. It gave him an opportu-nity to begin processing vocationalrehabilitation paperwork through theDAV. After joining the National Ser-vice Corps, Hunt was assigned towork as a national service officer intraining for the DAV office in St.Louis.

The St. Louis DAV and VR&Estaff agreed that Hunt would greatlybenefit from being in the NationalService Officer Training Program un-der the combined efforts of bothagencies. That’s where he met DaveAllen, his VA case manager.

“Dave was a great guy. AnythingI needed, I got,” Hunt said.

Hunt’s job allows him to workwith veterans on a daily basis.

“I work with combat veterans,and I love it,” he said. “The vets openup to me because we share this com-mon bond,” he said.

Hunt stays positive, and contin-ues to use his American flag pros-thetic eye to start conversations withpeople.

“People always ask to see myeye,” he said.

The Mom SoldierShakeya Calloway made a “spur

of the moment” decision when shejoined the military a few weeks beforegraduating from high school. That de-cision has helped mold her into thewoman she is today—driven.

As Calloway’s final semester inhigh school was coming to an end,she was like any other senior. She hadbeen applying to colleges and waitingfor her acceptance letters. Although

ROB LA SCOLA

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a year in Iraq, Calloway returnedhome and discovered that she did nothave a job to return to—Citibankhad bought out her former employer.She decided to seek employment else-where and moved to St. Louis in Au-gust 2004.

Although dealing with post-trau-matic stress disorder was, and still is,difficult for her, Calloway was deter-

mined not to let it controlher life. She applied for a jobat Jefferson Barracks and washired as a medical support as-sistant on a psychiatric ward.

During this time,Calloway made an appoint-ment with a vocational reha-bilitation counselor at theSt. Louis VA Regional Of-fice. Calloway had heardabout the program throughthe counselor she was seeingfor her PTSD.

Corliss Strathearn isCalloway’s vocational reha-bilitation counselor. “Corlissis my guardian angel,”Calloway said.

Calloway was hired as areadjustment counselingtechnician at the St. LouisVet Center. She used VA ser-vices to help her get on thesame track she was on beforeshe left for Iraq—to attendgraduate school. She hasbeen accepted to attendWashington University’sGeorge Warren BrownSchool of Social Work in thefall.

“I am so grateful for vocrehab—the VA has the bestbenefits,” Calloway said.

As a social worker, Callowayhopes to help others.

“Really, my goal is to make animpact on someone’s life even if Idon’t know it. To the world I am oneperson, but to one person I could bethe world,” she said.

she was accepted into several differ-ent colleges, her financial situationprevented her from attending.

At the same time, Calloway’s bestfriend was thinking about enlisting inthe military. Calloway was at herfriend’s house when the Army re-cruiter came over to administer apractice test for entrance in the mili-tary for her friend. Without thinkingit over, Calloway told therecruiter she would alsotake the test. She passed.

Enlisting in the U.S.Army Reserve on May 19,1995, provided Callowaywith the funds she neededto attend college. She re-ceived her undergraduatedegree in psychology fromTemple University in Phila-delphia.

In 2003, Calloway wasworking full-time and inher eighth year as an activereservist, literally monthsfrom reaching her expira-tion term of service date.She was alerted on Jan. 14,2003, that she might haveto go to Iraq. Two dayslater, she was officially acti-vated.

She reported to FortDix, N.J., where she spentthree months in trainingbefore arriving in Iraq onMarch 23, 2003. ForCalloway, deploying wasdifficult emotionally be-cause it meant leaving her3-year-old daughter, Nasira,with her mother.

“I missed the wholeyear she was four,”Calloway said.

While in Iraq, Calloway workedaboard a Navy hospital ship, theUSNS Comfort, in the Persian Gulf.Calloway processed Iraqi detaineesinto the National Detainee ReportingSystem, an assignment that consistedof verbal interrogation and finger-printing.

“The interrogations that tookplace on the ship were somewhat dif-ficult,” Calloway said. “Many of themen interrogated were crying hysteri-cally about what had happened tothem under Saddam’s rule. Many hadfear in their eyes because they had noidea what the outcome of their liveswould be.”

She saw things that were difficult

to deal with during her deployment.“I recall one girl who had just lost

both of her parents and almost herown life … she was just two years old.She was covered in blood with bumpsand bruises over her face; she mademe think of my own daughter,”Calloway said.

After spending a little more than

Vocational rehabilitation helped Army veteran Shakeya Calloway gether life back to where it was before she deployed to Iraq—headed tograduate school.

ROB LA SCOLA

By Bianca Villani

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The VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Service presented the first annual VetSuccess Recognitionawards at its national conference in San Diego Aug. 29. The awards recognized leaders within six employment sectors fortheir efforts to hire and support veterans with service-connected disabilities.

■ The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) was honored with VA’s award for their continued dedication and support forhiring veterans with service-connected disabilities. In 2006 and the first two quarters of 2007, VHA hired 422 service-con-nected disabled veterans, with the majority entering into skilled medical positions such as nursing, occupational therapy,radiology technicians, surgical technicians and counselors.

■ The Department of the Army received the Federal Sector award for its continued support and hiring of disabled veter-ans. The Army hired more than 370 veterans with service-connected disabilities for a wide range of jobs including logistics,computer operations, human resources and administrative assignments.

■ The Texas Workforce Commission and Texas Veterans Commission combined to receive the State and Local Govern-ment award for placing service-connected disabled veterans as employment counselors, outreach program specialistsand career advisors.

■ Goodwill Industries was recognized through VA’s Faith-Based and Community Non-Profit award for hiring veterans withservice-connected disabilities to serve as case managers, social workers, managers and computer operations.

■ Lockheed Martin was honored for the creation of apprenticeship and aggressive recruiting programs with VR&E and re-ceived the Private Sector award for placing more than 50 veterans with service-connected disabilities in high-level posi-tions in technical engineering, computer programming, logistics analysis and management.

■ The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers received the Union Sector award for leading the way in hiring veter-ans with service-connected disabilities as skilled electricians and communication technicians.

The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service held an awards ceremony Aug. 23 at the Omni Hotel in San Diego.The national awards recognized three VA employees who are considered the best in their profession.

■ The Gerald C. Braun Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor of the Year award was given to Tristen V. Wendland of the Den-ver VA Regional Office. Wendland was selected for her exceptional work and dedication to the “Coming Home to Work”initiative, for creating Non-Paid Work Experience opportunities for medically discharged servicemembers, and for provid-ing Chapter 31 “Early Intervention/Seamless Transition” briefings.

■ The Employment Coordinator of the Year award was given to Diane Hogg Clayton of the VA regional office in Little Rock,Ark. Clayton was nominated for her work on the Portable Job Resource Lab, for creating Non-Paid Work Experience op-portunities and training videos for medically discharged servicemembers, and for developing a new memorandum of un-derstanding between VA, the Department of Labor, and the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services. In addition, shecompleted her master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, and obtained a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor credential.

■ The Program Support Professional Employee of the Year award was given to Gary L. Ahrenhoersterbaeumer of the VAregional office in Louisville, Ky. Ahrenhoersterbaeumer was nominated for his work on processing more than 850 Chapter31 (Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment) applications and more than 300 Chapter 36 (Education Counseling) applica-tions. His creation of an automated tracking system, coordination of case transfers, and improvement of various office ac-tivities have streamlined daily administrative functions into highly efficient systems that provide timely service to veterans.

Recognizing Leaders in Employing Service-Disabled Veterans

Best of the Best in the Vocational Rehabilitation Profession

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Creative arts therapist Shelley Knoodle asks veteran Leon Allen to talk about what his painting represents during art therapy group at theJohn D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit. At left is veteran Richard Marsh.

Applying paint to canvas helps veterans learn about themselves as theyexplore their feelings and share with others what their art represents.

LARRY MARCHIONDA

For art therapist ShelleyKnoodle, what the individualputs on the canvas is not nearly

as important as what the individuallearns about himself.

As veterans seek health care atVA facilities for their physical andmental ailments, treatment teams of-ten incorporate art therapy into theveterans’ treatment plans. VA offersart therapy at 15 medical centersacross the nation, according to Larry

Long, VA’s director of RecreationTherapy Service. Art therapy falls un-der the umbrella of RecreationTherapy Service, which also includesmusic, drama and dance.

Knoodle facilitates art therapy forboth inpatients and outpatients at theJohn D. Dingell VA Medical Centerin Detroit. Veterans in her groupsdeal with depression, bipolar disorder,schizophrenia and post-traumaticstress disorder.

“I’m not trying to teach art orcreate artists,” she said, “I’m trying todeal with behaviors and responsesthrough art making.”

The veterans in her groups rangein age from 22 to 99 and their mili-tary service spans from World War IIto Operation Iraqi Freedom. She fa-cilitates eight groups each week, withgroup sizes ranging from 10 to 20 vet-erans. Groups have a mix of bothmale and female veterans, with males

Using Art as TherapyUsing Art as Therapy

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Martha Haeseler talks to veteran Carlos Robles about the sculpture he created during an arttherapy group in Giant Steps, the program she coordinates at the VA Connecticut HealthcareSystem in West Haven.

comprising the majority of the groupmakeup.

At the beginning of group,Knoodle offers some introductory re-marks and gives the participants a di-rective on the concept she wantsthem to express through their art. Inone recent group, for example, veter-ans were asked to focus on the con-cept of inner strength. They workedon their drawings for about half anhour and then took turns holding uptheir artwork and explaining what itrepresented to the rest of the class.

“The art-making ‘experiential’ ismore about processing than creating amasterpiece,” Knoodle said. “It’s en-gaging with the media that allows oneto deal with an issue, or just the sakeof making art.”

Her art therapy participants gaina great deal of insight about them-selves through the experientials, saidKnoodle. When veterans begin arttherapy, she sees their defenses “reallycome up” and they’re often quite an-gry about their life circumstances.

“Once they face their fear by en-gaging in the art process, they dis-cover courage as a strength to use out-side the hospital,” she said. “The pro-cess gives them a sense of empower-ment.”

John Wright agrees that he hasgained insights about himself throughhis participation in art therapy. Aresident of the Baltimore VA Reha-bilitation & Extended Care Center(BRECC), a division of the VAMaryland Health Care System, the52-year-old Air Force and Army Re-serve veteran uses a wheelchair due tothe debilitating effects of multiplesclerosis. He no longer has the use ofhis legs and has limited mobility inhis arms and hands.

With the early morning sunlightstreaming into the large picture win-dow in the art therapy room, Wrightleaned forward in his wheelchair andstruggled to keep his right handsteady as he applied lavender acrylicpaint to the background of his paint-ing featuring four butterflies in flight.

Occasionally he would look over tocompare his work with a photographof a brightly colored butterfly affixedto an easel.

While Wright painted, art thera-pist Sandra Widomski pulled out tinsof watercolor paint and helped threeof his fellow veterans get startedpainting pre-drawn sketches of owls.The veterans sat at a large roundtable chatting quietly amongst them-selves and listening to the music

piped into the room.Wright said his physical limita-

tions often frustrate him, but by refus-ing to let them define him throughhis participation in art therapy, he haslearned that “life is what you makeit.”

The products of art therapy canoffer valuable information for careproviders, according to Dr. MarkHeuser, director of the Geriatrics &Long Term Care Clinical Center for

RICHARD THOMPSON

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the VA Maryland Health Care Sys-tem. For the geriatrics physician, arttherapy may provide information use-ful in developing an individualizedtreatment plan for the veteran.

BRECC residents face a variety ofphysical and cognitive health care is-sues: functional limitations due tostroke or Parkinson’s disease, demen-tia and end-of-life care. Heuser ex-plained that the treatment teammight learn something significantabout the veteran’s mental state byexamining the art he produces. Bleakor frenetic drawings could indicatedepression, loneliness, stress,anxiety or pain.

“The veteran’s art mightbe a key piece of informationin planning his course oftreatment,” Heuser said.

Art therapy can be usedas both a diagnostic tool anda treatment modality for resi-dents, according to Heuser.For example, when staffmembers notice that a newlyadmitted veteran is with-drawn and avoiding interac-tion with others, “prescribing”art therapy might help himintegrate into the communityby facilitating connectionswith others.

Connecting veteranswith their communities is oneof the outcomes MarthaHaeseler sees in her arttherapy program, known as“Giant Steps.” The outpatient pro-gram at the VA ConnecticutHealthcare System in West Haven isdesigned for veterans in treatment forpsychiatric disorders such as PTSD,bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.Other veterans in the program haveexperienced childhood abuse orsexual trauma while serving in themilitary.

The majority of the 45 veteransin Giant Steps cannot work due tothe severity of their symptoms, butthey periodically offer their artworkfor sale at VA Connecticut and put

the proceeds toward a variety ofcauses.

Giant Steps participant CarlosRobles particularly likes this aspect ofthe program. The 51-year-old Navyveteran said he used to feel badlyabout not being able to work andworried that he was “a liability” and“not a contributing member of soci-ety.”

Four years of participating in Gi-ant Steps has changed all of that.

“I have learned that I’m not auseless person,” Robles said. “Throughthis program we have been able to

sell our artwork to make money tocontribute to disasters like HurricaneKatrina and the tsunami. When wedo stuff like that, we find that we docontribute.”

Participating in Giant Steps hasalso boosted Pam Taylor’s self-esteemand confidence. The 40-year-oldArmy veteran of Operation DesertShield/Desert Storm learned aboutthe program through other veteransand has been attending group sinceJanuary.

Since leaving active duty in1995, Taylor said she had been with-

drawn and avoided contact with oth-ers. Now she enjoys interacting withher fellow veteran artists in GiantSteps and sharing ideas about art withthem as she creates jewelry or quiltsin group.

“It calms me and keeps me atpeace with myself and life and soci-ety,” she said. “It gets me to inter-mingle with people again.”

An Army veteran from an earlierwar has also experienced improvedself-esteem through his participationin Giant Steps over the past fouryears. Larry Paquette, a 58-year-old

Vietnam veteran, attendsgroup twice a week to drawportraits.

“It makes me feel betterabout myself,” he said.

For Haeseler, the goal ofart therapy depends on theneeds and the wishes of eachindividual veteran.

“For one it might be tofind solace from physicalpain,” she said, “or to be lesscritical of his or her work. Foranother, to gain control overtraumatic material by express-ing it in art, or to find relieffrom symptoms by focusing onsomething positive. It reallydepends on where the veteranwants to go with the art andhelping him or her be com-fortable with doing so.”

Melanie Zarabi workshard to create a culture and a

climate in which the veterans partici-pating in her weekly art therapygroup feel comfortable expressingthemselves through their art. She en-courages the 20 participants in hergroup to “just play and experimentwith the art materials” and not worryabout what the image looks like.

“We’re not after ‘let’s make abeautiful image here,’” she said.

Zarabi is coordinator of the cre-ative arts therapy program at the VANew York Harbor Healthcare Systemin Brooklyn. The program is designedfor both inpatients and outpatients in

LARRY MARCHIONDA

Veterans in Shelley Knoodle’s arttherapy groups deal with depression, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia and PTSD.

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Barone. The 58-year-old Army vet-eran of Vietnam said his pictures werebleak when he first started art therapytwo years ago because he was reallyangry.

He was also attending a combatveterans group, which forced histhoughts about the Vietnam War tothe forefront. Barone said thesethoughts came out in his art. Hepainted an Asian face and an Ameri-can face peering out from the jungle,with red paint splattered on the can-vas. He named his work “Blood onthe Leaves.”

“I have these feelings of guilt,”Barone said. “Art therapy helped meconfront it.”

Today he paints colorful floralson wood and constructs AndyWarhol collages featuring Warhol’sphoto, a Campbell’s soup label, and asplash of red. Barone sells his art onthe sidewalk at Union Square inManhattan two days a week. He hasalso joined the Brooklyn WaterfrontArtists’ Coalition.

“I’m not a Picasso, but I think mystuff is good,” he said.

While the ultimate goal oftherapy may not be to transform vet-erans into the next Picasso or VanGogh, veterans in the program are

creating some exceptional fine art.Knoodle and Haeseler plan local

art shows each spring; the first-placewinners advance to the regionalcompetition. Regional winners thenadvance to the national-level com-petition—the National VeteransCreative Arts Festival—held eachyear in October. Veterans invited toparticipate are selected winners ofyear-long, national fine arts talentcompetitions in which thousands ofveterans enter from VA medical fa-cilities across the nation.

From left, veterans Andrea Lawrence, Edward Barone and Larry Drye go over their artworkwith Creative Arts Therapist Melanie Zarabi at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System’sBrooklyn campus.

“It has helped me get in touch with my innerself. I started believing in my dreams again.”

RAY AALBUE

the treatment of psychiatric disorders.Andrea Lawrence suffers from bi-

polar disorder and depression. The45-year-old Army veteran says she hasachieved a sense of self-worth andhope through her participation in theBrooklyn art therapy program for thepast two years.

“It has helped me get in touchwith my inner self,” Lawrence said. “Istarted believing in my dreams again.”

The former Army cook said hergoal is to someday work as a pastrychef and build a house. She’s beenworking on a drawing of a house sur-rounded by trees with a garden.

Luis Santos has participated inthe Brooklyn art therapy program forthe past five years. The 50-year-oldArmy veteran jokes that he’s notmuch of an artist, but says art therapyhas helped him with his true passionof writing poetry and rap songs.

At the end of group, there is asession called “Open Mike” duringwhich veterans can stand up and sayanything they want. Santos said theycome out of art therapy “so fired upbecause there is so much good humorand camaraderie” that everyone wantsto be the first to stand up and sharewith the group. Santos likes to read

his poetry and perform his rap songs.Larry Drye had been living on

the streets of Brooklyn for 18 yearsbefore joining the VA art therapyprogram in 1999. The 59-year-oldArmy veteran served as a combatmedic during the Vietnam War. Heread an article about VA, and decidedto stop in at the Brooklyn campus.VA doctors diagnosed him as sufferingfrom PTSD.

“I just thought I was a bad per-son,” he said.

Drye said he has difficulty gettingin touch with his emotions. When hefirst started attending art therapy, hedidn’t talk to anyone.

Slowly, he began to open up andstarted talking to his fellow veterans.Working on paintings and collageshelped him work through his PTSDsymptoms.

“I could express the locked-inthings that I’m afraid to talk about orcan’t talk about,” Drye said.

Art therapy has also provided re-lief from PTSD symptoms for Edward By Renee McElveen

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A day in the lifeof a VA chaplain.

Chaplain Richard A. Hansen tendsto the spiritual needs of his flock atthe New Mexico VA Health Care Sys-tem in Albuquerque.

BILL ARMSTRONG

My day begins before dawn as Iprepare for chaplain ministryat the New Mexico VA

Health Care System in Albuquerque.The following is a sampling of minis-try portrayed through a mosaic of en-counters and gleanings, highlightedwith opportunities, challenges, and“ah-ha” moments, all of which illus-trate the role served by the clinicallytrained professional hospital chaplainas a member of the VA caring team.

I saddle up my bicycle, set thepedals in motion and am rewarded bythe sight of a panoramic sky served upwith a sprinkling of stars competingagainst the metro radiance, followedby the first light of the sun eclipsed bythe mountaintops. A crisp morningbreeze brings a lively touch that el-evates my desire to offer praise andprayer to my creator in preparationfor a day containing elements of theanticipated as well as the unexpected.

I pray for wisdom that will enableme to be a non-threatening presencein the right place at the right time topatients who may be at a crossroadsin life. I invite His spirit as my part-ner to provide healing, guiding, rec-onciling and nurturing to the sick,weary, confused, frightened and bro-kenhearted that will be delivered into

coming surgery: “Got to have it done.Have it done or die. Not anxiousabout it, not worried about it.” In re-sponse to my question about whatbrings him this peace, he replies,“Speaking to the man upstairs.” Hegladly agrees to prayer. The veteranthanks me and is soon interactingwith medical staff.

My feet cannot resist the urge todrop into the surgery waiting area.Visitors are assembled in a few smallgroups and separately. I notice oneperson reading, others conversing,and of course, some attached to their

cell phones. Sheets and pillows are re-minders of those who have been thereall night.

I introduce myself, welcome themto the VA, and briefly tell them aboutour chapel availability and chaplainministry. One group summons me in-tently. A daughter informs me thather dad is having open-heart surgeryand asks for prayer. The vet’s wife,Mrs. Tafoya, is also present. We joinhands and I call to God, givingthanks for Mr. Tafoya’s service to ourcountry. I quote scripture assuring ofour creator’s presence and ask for wis-

Making the Spiritual Roundsmy care at the VA medical center.

Arriving, I am ready to bring acaring presence to those who servedand sacrificed for our nation. My firststop is the Pre-anesthesia Care Unit,where surgical patients undergo initialtreatments. I greet Mr. Fletcher*(*patient names have been changed),a 73-year-old Korean War vet await-ing a heart bypass operation. I hopeto achieve a relationship with the pa-tient during my brief visit beforemedical staff preps him for surgery.After introductions, he reportsthoughts and feelings about the up-

BILL ARMSTRONG

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feature

dom for the surgeons, anesthesiolo-gists, nurses and other specialists in-volved in the heart procedure. Calm-ness reigns and anxiety ebbs away.They thank me.

I then head to the Surgical Inten-sive Care Unit (SICU). Tammy, a pa-tient transporter, thanks me for ren-dering support to her fellow em-ployee, who has now resolved sometroubling issues. Investing a listeningear to staff voicing their trials, en-tanglements and triumphs builds rela-tionships and communicates my car-ing interest in them. “Pray for us” isnot an uncommon request fromnurses as they stretch themselves toaddress patient needs.

The SICU effervesces with trade-marks of its label: requests for assis-tance, suctioning, inserting intrave-nous tubes, adjusting tracheotomies,changing dressings and monitoring vi-tals of patients. I greet staff in passingand am able to conduct a brief visitwith Mr. Collins, 65, who just had aleg amputated after a year of exten-sive efforts to clear up a painful, tena-cious infection. He is awake but stillon the ventilator. Unable to speak, hesignals with head nods that his sur-gery went well and initiates a requestfor prayer by placing his hands to-gether in the symbolic gesture.

Navigating through the orthope-dic, surgical, palliative, nursing home,medical and intensive care units, myrole as a servant and active listenerbears fruit. Ms. Chavez, a youngwoman in the Air Force, conveysgratitude for the excellent care she re-ceived from the medical staff. Sheidentifies herself as Catholic, andshares an update concerning her sup-port system and medical condition.She feels good about her progress andaccepts my offer to have prayer withher.

After knocking and receivingpermission to enter her room, Ms.Sirkin informs me that she is “verytired.” She is dealing with a setbackin the form of fluid build-up. I keepmy stay brief; however, she responds

with enthusiasm to my offer to con-tact her congregation and bring herthe Prayer Book for Jewish Personnel inthe Armed Forces of the United States. Ileave a message at her synagogue andpresent her with the prayer book.Hope mixed with passion is expressedas she kisses the sacred scriptures thatserve as a touchstone of her spiritual-ity. She thanks me for addressing herneeds as a Jewish patient. I am re-minded that my role as a chaplain isto offer support to patients in identi-fying, using and fully appreciatingtheir faith resources during the crisisof hospitalization.

Mr. Kingston, newly admitted,seems a bit guarded as I introduce my-

self. He warms up and in the course ofour conversation, I ask, “What isspiritual in your life?” He answers, “Ilost my religion in Vietnam.” I’m in-terested and follow up with, “Can yousay more about this?” Mr. Kingstonpoints to the issue of suffering: “If agood God existed, He would not haveallowed what went on in Vietnam.”The vet continues, feeling free to ex-press his perspectives along with spiri-tual injuries lodged deep within him.A relationship seed is sown by activelistening, watered by meaningful dia-logue, and nourished through re-fram-ing of experiences. My hope is thatsome spiritual healing has occurredwhich will contribute to the overallhealing process.

Throughout the day I return tothe office and drop in on my fellowchaplains. David is making prepara-tions for the Celebration of the Mass.We exchange patient referrals andtalk about favorite hiking areas. Steveis on the Substance Abuse Residen-tial Treatment Program Unit, leadinga focus group, which emphasizes spiri-tual development as a pathway to re-covery. Later in the week he will be

facilitating other support groups, in-cluding one for people workingthrough cancer. Ron, our servicechief, calls us together to discusspreparations for the Veterans Memo-rial Service that will be held just afterMemorial Day. Invitations were sentto families of veterans who died inthe VAMC during the last sixmonths. Returns promise a strongturnout. We also review family rec-ommendations of VAMC staff mem-bers nominated to receive the Out-standing Caregiver Award.

Near the end of the day Ronbreaks the news that Mr. Olsen, aheart patient we both frequently vis-ited, had died after being transferred

to the facility where he hoped to re-ceive a transplant. Sadness deepenswithin me as I recall the moment Mr.Olsen joyfully announced that he wasdeclared eligible for a new heart afterenduring endless setbacks. Ron and Iteam together to provide support tothe grieving nursing staff that caredfor Mr. Olsen.

After writing chart notes of myvisits, I take a break and walk by TheFour Chaplains bronze sculpture dis-played near the chapel. The imagecalls me to reflection and examina-tion.

When the S.S. Dorchester was fa-tally torpedoed on Feb. 3, 1943, theseWorld War II Army chaplains gaveup their life jackets to those in need,saving soldiers’ lives by sacrificingtheir own. Their memorial, in con-junction with my spiritual beliefs, re-mind me of the standard of care I amto provide. I thank God for His avail-able resources that impart this com-passion along with discernmentneeded to carry me through the min-istry day.

“‘Pray for us’ is not an uncommon request fromnurses as they stretch themselves to addresspatient needs.”

By Richard A. Hansen

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Five days a week William Meyersleaves his Environmental Man-agement Service job at the VA

Palo Alto Health Care System andheads to a homeless shelter in SanJose, Calif. No, it’s not where he isliving. It’s where he finds value in life.

A big man, heavily tat-tooed, Meyers is a vet-to-vetpeer counselor, a vocation he fellinto after years of drugs, gangsand even prison.

“I’ve been at the bottom,believe me,” said Meyers. “Iknow what it’s like to have nohope, not to care about any-thing, especially myself. It’s abad place to be.”

After one stint in prison fora drive-by shooting, Meyers wasabout to head back to jail whenhis parole officer told him that ifhe went to VA for help, theywould hold off on jail. Hereadily accepted the offer.

For the next 21 months,Meyers went through VA PaloAlto’s 1st Step Program, Home-less Veterans Rehabilitation Pro-gram (HVRP) and CompensatedWork Therapy (CWT). For thepast six and a half years he’sbeen working for VA and look-ing for any way to give back to asystem that he says “saved mylife.”

Keith Harris, VA Palo Alto’schief of Domiciliary Service, first metMeyers at the HVRP in 2001 andwas immediately impressed.

“Here was this veteran receivingtreatment for homelessness and otherissues, and he was competently lead-ing a meeting of 40-plus veterans andstaff members.”

Meyers served on the USS Enter-prise and got out of the Navy in 1987.He says he started a downward spiralright away, getting involved withgangs and a revolving door at the jail.What really turned his world upsidedown was when a dozen police offic-

ers bound and handcuffed him at agrocery store in front of his 4-year-oldson.

“I knew I had to do something,”Meyers said. “My son is everything tome.”

Today, he sees his now 12-year-old son, William (Andy) Meyers,

weekly and carries a photograph inhis wallet that he proudly shows andtells folks, “He’s top in his class. He’sgoing to go far. And he’s proud of menow, too.”

Another person who’s proud ofMeyers and devoted to him as a

friend is Perry Myrick, custodialmanager for VA Palo Alto’sFisher House, who was an infan-tryman in the Army from 1981to 1984. Like Meyers, Myrickwent through 1st Step, HVRPand CWT.

But Myrick’s motivationwasn’t family, it was Meyers.

“Perry was holed up in aroom drinking,” Meyers recalled.“For more than a week I wouldtake him food every day and sitwith him and talk to him aboutgetting help. I just couldn’tstand to see a really good mansinking like that. I can’t tell youhow proud I am of him now. Soproud.”

Meyers also counsels 12 resi-dents at the Day by Day Resi-dential Living home in San Jose.He is responsible for the resi-dents’ well-being and groupcounseling sessions at the home,which is called a Sober LivingEnvironment (SLE).

“I live at the home and havefor two years,” said Meyers. “Invirtually all aspects of my life I’m

around recovering substance abus-ers—it’s honestly what keeps meclean. It is also what gives me pur-pose. Instead of taking life, I’m givinglife back—there is meaning now,where there never was before.”

William Meyers has left his troubled past behind, finding meaning givingback to a system that he says saved his life.

No Longer at Rock Bottom

Veterans William Meyers (left) andPerry Myrick were both homelesswhen they sought help through VA’sextensive rehabilitation programs.

By Kerri Childress

CURT CAMPBELL

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The heart hormone research ofJames A. Haley Veterans’ Hos-pital physician and researcher

David Vesely, M.D., Ph.D., may revo-lutionize the treatment of cancer, andin the process, save countless lives—not just of veterans, but of people ev-erywhere. Vesely is the first VA em-ployee to be selected for the presti-gious 2007 Service to America(“Sammie”) Career AchievementMedal for medical research.

The “Sammie” Career Achieve-ment Medal recognizes federal em-ployees for significant accomplish-ments throughout a lifetime ofachievement in public service and isaccompanied by a $10,000 award.Sammies are presented by the non-profit, nonpartisan Partnership forPublic Service.

A Nebraska native, Vesely is theTampa VA’s chief of Endocrinology,Diabetes and Metabolism, where hehas worked since 1989. He is also pro-fessor of Medicine, Molecular Phar-macology and Physiology at the Uni-versity of South Florida, where he hasbeen a faculty member for the samelength of time.

He accepted his “Sammie” at anawards banquet held at the AndrewMellon Auditorium in WashingtonD.C., on Sept. 19. The award is forthe physician-researcher’s body ofwork, spanning 25 years, which hassignificant implications for the treat-ment of several serious, often termi-nal, diseases.

Through largely VA-funded re-search, Vesely discovered three hor-mones made by the heart that treatcongestive heart failure, kidney failureand cancer. Within a 24-hour period,these hormones are capable of elimi-

nating in test tubes as many as 97 per-cent of human pancreatic, prostate,breast, colon and kidney adenocarci-nomas—malignant tumors in a gland.

Breast, colon, prostate and pan-creatic cancers are all adenocarcino-mas. Of these, pancreatic cancer isconsidered the deadliest—patients areexpected to live only a few monthsafter the disease has progressed.

Published in the May/June 2007issue of the medical journal In Vivo,Vesely’s latest research showed thatup to 80 percent of adenocarcinomasgrowing in lab mice can be curedwith these hormones. Significantly, ofthose human pancreatic cancers thatcan’t be cured, the volume of the tu-mors decreased to less than 10 per-cent of the volume of untreated tu-mors. Vesely found that these micelive normal lives, with no recurrenceof cancer.

Until 2002, Vesely’s research fo-cused primarily on congestive heartfailure and acute renal failure. It wasthat year that Clo, his beloved wife of30 years, died of breast cancer and heexpanded his research to cancer. Hefound that two cardiac hormones hediscovered eliminate two of everythree human breast carcinomas grow-ing in mice, with the third hormoneeliminating 50 percent—all withoutsurgery.

Most funding for Vesely’s researchwas obtained through the VA MeritReview program, which is open onlyto VA employees. The program is runby VA’s Office of Research and Devel-opment, which allocates funds to VAmedical facilities for the scientificallymeritorious research of its employeesrelated to the high priority healthcare needs of veterans. VA profes-

sional staff are encouraged to conductmedical research that contributes tothe nation’s knowledge about diseaseand disability.

“This award is special since I ambeing recognized for something I loveto do—helping millions of people Iwill never meet—and for work Inever expected to receive an awardfor,” said Vesely. “Of course, an awardwhich is completely unexpected is al-ways special.”

The father of five children,Vesely is a 1967 graduate ofCreighton University who receivedhis M.D. and Ph.D. at the Universityof Arizona. He directs the USF Car-diac Hormone Center, a multi-disciplinary operation with staff fromMolecular Medicine, Internal Medi-cine, Ob/Gyn, and Molecular Phar-macology and Physiology.

The next steps in Vesely’s re-search include beginning clinical tri-als testing the heart hormones in con-gestive heart failure and cancer. Ifthese human trials are successful,Vesley will transform how cancer istreated around the world.

Tampa VA’s Dr. David Vesely is honored for his25-year career in heart hormone research.

Physician-researcher David Vesely is the re-cipient of the prestigious 2007 Service toAmerica (“Sammie”) Career AchievementMedal.

‘Sammie’ Medal Winner

ART GARDINER

By Susan Wentzell

VAnguardaround headquarters


Nicholson Presents Award to Little Caesars Founder Michael Ilitch

In recognition of one personhaving the ability to make adifference in the lives of manyothers, Michael Ilitch washonored with the highest ex-ternal award the Departmentof Veterans Affairs has to offer.

The founder and ownerof Little Caesars Pizza traveledto Washington, D.C., to re-ceive the VA Secretary’s Awardfrom Secretary Jim Nicholsonduring a special ceremony onSept. 17.

Ilitch read a newspaperarticle about Army Staff Sgt.Robbie Doughty, who lostboth legs in a roadside bombexplosion in 2004 while serv-ing in Iraq and returned to hishometown of Paducah, Ky.,unable to find satisfying work.Ilitch, a Marine Corps vet-eran, was so moved byDoughty’s courage and deter-mination that he decided hewanted to do something forthe young soldier. He con-tacted Doughty and offered

him a Little Caesars pizzafranchise in his hometownfree and clear—the building,the equipment, even a specialchair for Doughty behind thecounter.

Doughty, 32, asked fel-low OIF veteran Lloyd Allard,47, to go into business withhim. The two served togetherin the same Special Forcesunit in Iraq. Doughty andAllard held the grand openingcelebration of their franchiseon Feb. 1.

Ilitch has continued lend-ing a helping hand to veteranstransitioning from military tocivilian life or seeking a careerchange. In November 2006,he created the Little CaesarsVeterans Program, which pro-vides franchise business op-portunities to qualified, hon-orably discharged veterans.The program, which is nowendorsed by VA’s Center forVeterans Enterprise, offers vet-erans who qualify a benefit of

$10,000 and service-disabledveterans a benefit of up to$68,000 on Little Caesarsfranchise costs.

Prior to the ceremony,Nicholson, Ilitch, Doughtyand Deputy Secretary GordonMansfield put black aprons onover their business suits andhanded out hot slices of pizzaon paper plates to a crowd ofapproximately 100 homelessveterans in front of VA Cen-tral Office. They served thepizza from the mobile pizzakitchen on wheels, known asthe Little Caesars LoveKitchen.

At the award ceremonylater that afternoon, Doughtythanked Secretary Nicholsonfor recognizing Ilitch with theaward, noting that the fran-chise opportunity has made a“tremendous difference” in hislife. He said he hopes otherbusiness owners will followsuit and see Ilitch as themodel for success.

“Veterans helping otherveterans—that’s what it’s allabout,” Doughty said.

Secretary Nicholson saidthe innovative franchise pro-gram developed by Ilitch hashad a “tremendous impact onthe lives of thousands of veter-ans” who are “embracing thisopportunity for a new begin-ning.”

In accepting the award,Ilitch talked about how ex-cited his employees were to beable to do something for theveterans of this country byputting together the LittleCaesars Veterans Program inrecord time. He said before heknew it, his staff had con-ducted the legwork and putthe program together for hisapproval.

“I’ve never, ever seen mycompany so excited,” he said.“We put it together quicklybecause of the joy that itbrought to the employees.”

Ilitch said he anticipatesopening one veteran-ownedLittle Caesars store every 14days in 2008.

Kelsey Mortimer II, cor-porate liaison specialist withthe Center for Veterans Enter-prise, said he has spoken tomore than 1,300 veteransabout franchise opportunitieswith Little Caesars since No-vember 2006 and has referred200 qualified veterans on toLittle Caesars for the veteransprogram.

Mortimer said he is en-couraged by the response andadded that he has had inquir-ies from other business ownersinterested in setting up similarfranchise programs withintheir companies for veterans.

More information aboutthe Little Caesars VeteransProgram is available online atwww.vetbiz.gov or call 1-866-584-2344.

ART GARDINER

Prior to the award ceremony, Michael Ilitch, left, and Secretary Jim Nicholson donned black aprons andserved hot pizza to about 100 homeless veterans in front of VA Central Office.

EMERSON SANDERS

http://www.vetbiz.gov

VAnguard


around headquarters

With a glow of gold in herface and a silver medal claspedin her hands, Marilyn Hilliardstood jubilant as she receivedVA’s first medal at the Sum-mer National Senior Games—the Senior Olympics.

Hilliard, an Army veteranfrom Butler, Pa., won the sil-ver medal in horseshoes (age75-79 bracket). “I’m soelated,” she said. “I was justlike a kid again when I got mymedal. I’ve been training sohard for two years and Iwanted to win. To win amedal on the Olympic level,where there are 12,000 com-petitors, makes it so special.”

A 10-member team outof the 50 who qualified at the2006 National VeteransGolden Age Games attendedthe Senior Games in Louis-ville, Ky. “Our veterans arecompetitive in the nationalarena,” said DewayneVaughan, the event’s director.

The National SeniorGames are a not-for-profit

member of the United StatesOlympic Committee dedi-cated to motivating seniormen and women to lead ahealthy lifestyle through thesenior games movement,much like the National Veter-ans Golden Age Games.

Hilliard qualified to com-pete in the Senior Games atlast year’s National VeteransGolden Age Games. Veteranswho participated in last year’sevent not only competed forgold, silver and bronze medals,but also qualified for the Se-nior Games in some of theGames’ events because theGolden Age Games are an as-sociate member of the SeniorGames.

Known for her strongwork ethic and grace even indefeat, Hilliard plans to per-fect her game and is aimingfor the 2009 gold medal at theSenior Games. In August, shewon yet another medal, thistime gold, at the 2007 Na-tional Veterans Golden Age

Games, which took place inHouston. More than 600 par-ticipants from 36 states andWashington, D.C., were inHouston competing in 14 dif-ferent events.

Although 2007 is not aqualifying year at the GoldenAge Games, veterans still gotthe opportunity to test theirskills and find out what theyneed to improve for next year’squalifying events.

The qualifying events atthe Golden Age Games arehorseshoes, shuffleboard,swimming, table tennis, golf,shot put and discus. Competi-tors who place first, second,third or fourth in those eventsqualify for the Senior Games.

The partnership betweenthe organizations began in2003.

“The National SeniorGames seemed like a logicalchoice, and we approachedthe Senior Games to form thisfantastic partnership,” saidVaughan.

Marilyn Hilliard competes in thehorseshoes event at the GoldenAge Games in Houston in August.She won gold there, and silver atthe Senior Games.

Next year’s Golden AgeGames is a battleground forberths on the Senior GamesOlympic team. For more in-formation about the 2008Golden Age Games, go towww.veteransgoldenagegames.va.gov.

Golden Age Veteran Tosses Her Way to Victory at Senior Games

My HealtheVet (www.myhealth.va.gov), the electronic Per-sonal Health Record for all veterans, has added new func-tionality and enhanced existing features.

Over the past several years, VA has worked to developan eHealth Web portal that would encourage veterans to be-come more involved in their health care. Veterans who takean active role in their health care have a better understandingof their condition, are more aware of treatment options, andgenerally find greater satisfaction with their overall care.

My HealtheVet has no barriers to its availability, and al-lows each veteran to create a Personal Health Record de-signed to meet their specific needs. By consolidating personalhealth information in one easily accessible, secure location,My HealtheVet encourages veterans to become more in-volved with their clinician on health care decisions.

Some features are specifically designed for use by VA pa-tients, but all veterans and VA employees are eligible to takeadvantage of the tools provided by My HealtheVet. If youhave not already logged on to see what is offered, check it

MyHealtheVet Offers All Veterans a Personal Health Recordout today.

New features and enhancements were introduced thissummer.

The My Complete Medications Summary provides VApatients who have completed the In Person Authenticationprocess a consolidated list of all VA prescriptions and self-en-tered non-VA prescribed and over-the-counter medications,herbals and supplements. Providing a printed copy of theMedications Summary to clinicians may alert them to a po-tentially life-threatening drug interaction.

A new Calendar provides an easy way to self-enter per-sonal health information, prescription refills, holidays andpersonal events, as well as stay informed of local and nationalVA events and activities.

The Account Activity History allows the My HealtheVetuser to monitor their account activity.

New Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS Conditions Cen-ters provide information and help with managing those con-ditions.

CURTIS TASSET

http://www.veteransgoldenagegames.va.gov

http://www.myhealth.va.gov

VAnguardaround headquarters


The Office of Human Re-sources Management(OHRM) is introducing sev-eral new automated tools totransform HR services fromtransactional to consulting.One of those new tools, Elec-tronic-Classification (e-Class),will be rolled out in January.

e-Class is a Web-basedapplication designed to pro-vide a library of valid, stan-dard position descriptions(PDs) for use throughout VA.

OHRM has established aproject team dedicated to en-suring that e-Class is custom-ized to meet VA’s specificneeds. The project team iscomprised of HR representa-tives from each of the depart-ment’s three administrationsin various locations.

e-Class will offer a singlepoint of reference and accessto a library of validated PDs.The PDs in the system will be

reviewed by VACO classifica-tion for proper title, series andgrade, so classifiers will onlyhave to consider any uniqueduties at a specific location.

“I really see e-Class asproviding me with a morestreamlined process,” saidMichael Knutson, a classifierat the VA medical center inAnn Arbor, Mich., and mem-ber of the e-Classificationproject team.“It will result inclassifiers being less boggeddown in paperwork, enablingpositions to be classified morequickly. Additionally, I see thismore efficient process allowingclassifiers as well as HR man-agers more time for other ac-tivities.”

Although e-Class will al-low faster classification and in-creased hiring efficiency, it isstill a tool and does not re-place the work done by classi-fiers. Classifiers will still clas-

sify position descriptions, signthe OF-8, validate the accu-racy of assigned duty state-ments, ensure lack of duplica-tion or overlap with estab-lished positions, and promotegood position management.The Office of Human Re-sources Management Com-pensation and ClassificationService will validate the con-tent of the system.

The system will allow ed-iting of established standardPDs and creation of new PDsthrough a position buildingfunction. It provides a data-base of duty statements tohelp users develop new PDs.Classification specialists willhave access to the system andwill work with supervisors toestablish properly classifiedPDs.

Users can also e-mail PDsthrough the system to appro-priate parties for review and

discussion. In addition, thesystem will include a tracking/date-stamping feature to trackmajor actions.

VA managers will alsobenefit from e-Class, accord-ing to Willie Hensley, VAdeputy assistant secretary forhuman resources manage-ment. Faster classification, hesaid, “is something that man-agers and supervisors are goingto be excited about, because itwill help them better managetheir workforce, as well as de-termine what skills theyneed.”

As hiring efficiencies in-crease, VA will be able to staffpositions more quickly and ac-curately, resulting in better de-livery of services to thenation’s veterans.

Visit the HR Transforma-tion Web site at vaww.va.gov/HRTRANSFORMATION formore details.

e-Class Will Allow Faster Classification of Position Descriptions

2007 Federal Benefits Open Season Coming in Mid-NovemberThe Office of Personnel Management has announced thatthe 2007 Federal Benefits Open Season will be held Nov. 12-Dec. 10. Three separate programs will participate in thisyear’s Open Season: the Federal Employees Health Benefits(FEHB) Program; the Federal Flexible Spending AccountProgram (FSAFEDS); and the Federal Employees Dental andVision Insurance Program (FEDVIP). With more benefitchoices, eligible employees need to plan ahead to ensure theyunderstand the various benefit elections and choose the cov-erage that is most beneficial for them and their eligible fam-ily members.

Open Season is also a good time for employees to reviewtheir FEHB coverage and verify that their current plan hasnot been changed or discontinued.

During the FEHB Open Season, eligible employees willbe able to enroll, change options or plans, reduce or cancelhealth insurance, as well as enroll or make changes to pre-mium conversion. FEHB plan guides and brochures will beavailable on OPM’s Web site at www.opm.gov/insure/health.Employees are strongly encouraged to use Employee Expressat www.employeeexpress.gov to make their FEHB Open Sea-son elections.

Employees who want to elect a health care flexiblespending account, a limited expense health care flexiblespending account, or a dependent care flexible spending ac-count for 2008 must make an election during the Open Sea-son. FSAFEDS enrollments do not roll over from year toyear. Visit the FSAFEDS Web site at www.FSAFEDS.com formore information about these options and additional infor-mation about this year’s Open Season.

For employees who may have dental and vision ex-penses, FEDVIP might be worth investigating. FEDVIP is avoluntary supplemental insurance with no federal govern-ment contributions and is not dependent upon FEHB en-rollment. To be eligible to enroll in FEDVIP, employees mustbe eligible for the FEHB Program. It does not matter if theyare actually enrolled in FEHB—eligibility is the key.

Active federal employees will be able to use pretax pay-roll deductions when acquiring benefits under this program.Enrollments in FEDVIP are available as self-only, self plusone, and self and family. Employees may enroll by visitingthe BENEFEDS Portal at www.benefeds.com. For updatesabout the program, visit the FEDVIP Web site atwww.opm.gov/insure/dentalvision.

http://www.opm.gov/insure/health

http://www.employeeexpress.gov

http://www.FSAFEDS.com

http://www.benefeds.com

http://www.opm.gov/insure/dentalvision

VAnguard


around headquarters

It’s been designed, tested andrefined—and now the VALearning Management System(VA LMS) is here. As of Oct.1, the VA Learning University,through its partnership with across-functional team fromVHA, VBA, NCA, Office ofCyber and Information Secu-rity, and Office of Human Re-sources, began introducingthis new tool across VA by of-fering several national manda-tory training courses to em-ployees.

The VA LMS is a Web-based training tracking soft-ware application that enablesemployees to access and man-age their learning activities,and ultimately maintain asingle official training systemof record. Beginning Oct. 1,employees must access the fol-lowing national mandatorytraining courses through VALMS at www.lms.va.gov:■ Cybersecurity■ Privacy■ No Fear■ Prevention of Sexual Ha-rassment

As the VA official train-

ing system of record, VA na-tional mandatory trainingcourse completions will thenbe automatically recorded inVA LMS. This will also enablethe department to have an au-tomated aggregate report of allVA national mandatory train-ing.

VA LMS continues thedepartment’s established com-mitment to lifelong learningand makes it easier for em-ployees to reach their careergoals. VA LMS will eventuallybecome the single portal forall national VA training pro-grams, not just mandatorytopics.

“VA LMS is designed tohelp VA employees managetheir personal career develop-ment,” said Joy Hunter, deanof VALU. “We’re very excitedto watch this system grow toeventually include all facets ofan employee’s training. We’rerolling out this system inphases so that all employeescan be trained on its function-ality and understand all its ca-pabilities.

“Until all phases of the

implementation are complete,dual reporting systems willneed to be maintained,”Hunter added. “The VA LMSis currently the source for na-tional VA mandatory trainingreporting, while local trainingtracking systems like TEMPOand SynQuest will be thesource for your local trainingreports in 2008.”

Phase Two will bring lo-cal learning offerings and se-lected training history datainto the VA LMS. Once datamigrations are complete, facil-ity-based training trackingtools such as TEMPO,SynQuest, and all instances ofVA’s training tracker will nolonger be used.

What this means for em-ployees is that you will:■ Browse and register for allavailable learning events andproducts, both national andlocal offerings.■ See reports generated by thesystem that determine compli-ance with mandatory and re-quired training, and reviewyour own and organizationallearning plans and training

histories.Your local VA LMS point

of contact and VA LMS ad-ministrators are your sourcefor training on use of the VALMS system. Watch for localannouncements in your facil-ity/organization for specifictraining times.

VALU wants to ensure allVA employees have maximumaccess, flexibility and choicesfor continuous learning. TheVA Learning Catalog was onlythe beginning. VA LMS repre-sents the next generation inlearning management.

“We encourage you totake time, over the comingweeks and months, to learnwhat VA LMS can do to makeyour learning easier,” Huntersaid. “Change takes a bit ofgetting used to, but it’s also anexciting opportunity. Our staffand project team will be withyou every step of the way aswe make this transition.”

For additional informa-tion, or to find your localLMS point of contact or ad-ministrator, visit www.InsideLMS.va.gov.

Online Learning: LMS Kicks Off With Mandatory Training Delivery

Thomas C. Doherty, longtimedirector of the Miami VAMedical Center, died Aug. 21at his home in Miami Beach

after a brief illness. He was 85.As a young Marine gun-

nery sergeant in the Pacificduring World War II, his lead-ership under fire was recog-nized on the first of many oc-casions by award of a battle-field commission. He servedin Korea and Vietnam, andwhen he eventually retired as acolonel, his many combatdecorations included the NavyCross, the Silver Star, and thePurple Heart with Gold Star.

Return to civilian life andwork with the Justice Depart-ment and on the staffs of con-gressional committees was in-

terrupted by calls to short-no-tice assignments with the Of-fice of Strategic Services, theCentral Intelligence Agencyand Special Forces units.

Doherty’s VA career be-gan in 1950 and, except forshort detail assignments to theCIA, he had more than a half-century of uninterrupted ser-vice to the department. In1966, he embarked on a ca-reer in health care administra-tion with the agency, and ashort time later began his con-tinuous association, until hisretirement in January 2003,with the Coral Gables, later

the Miami, VA Hospital. Hefirst served as associate direc-tor and from 1974 on as di-rector.

His accomplishmentsduring his 35-year tenure atthe Miami VA included mov-ing the staff and services ofthe 497-bed Coral Gables fa-cility to a modern 1,035-bedhospital in 1968 without sig-nificant disruption of services,leading the Miami VAMC’sresponse to the Category 5Hurricane Andrew after itdevastated south Florida in1992, and dealing with the af-

In Memoriam: Former Miami VAMC Director Thomas C. Doherty

continued on page 30

Thomas C. Doherty

http://www.lms.va.gov

http://www.InsideLMS.va.gov

VAnguardintroducing


singer Joey Fatone and formerDallas Cowboys running backEmmitt Smith. Her theoryabout the show’s surprisingpopularity is that the publichas learned that ballroomdancing is not for wimps.

“Ballroom dancing is veryathletic and artistic at thesame time,” she said. “It’s noteasy. It really takes trainingand dedication to learn thedances.”By Renee McElveen

Elsa Interior

Ballroom dancing isn’t forwimps. Just ask Elsa Interior.

Twenty-eight years ofdancing and 37 years of beingon her feet all day taking careof patients took its toll, andshe had to have both knees re-placed this past January. Butafter completing physicaltherapy, she plans to put herdancing shoes back on.

Interior, 58, is a regis-tered nurse in the Medical In-tensive Care Unit (MICU) atthe Baltimore VA MedicalCenter. She has been a VAemployee for the past 29years. In the MICU, Interiorspends her shifts closely moni-toring the vital signs of hercritically ill patients and re-sponding to Code Blue alerts.Ballroom dancing offersmuch-needed stress relief fromher job.

Her introduction to ball-room dancing came aboutback when disco was all therage. In 1979, Interior wasserving as a nurse in the ArmyNational Guard. During hertwo-week annual training, shemet a fellow soldier who wastraining to be a dance instruc-tor. He talked her into signingup for ballroom dancing les-sons.

Her original intent wasto learn the Hustle, the discodance popular at the time, butonce she was introduced toballroom dancing, she washooked. Interior said shenever did learn the Hustle.

She took lessons at a Fred

Astaire Studio in Baltimore.For Interior, one of the mostdifficult dances to learn wasthe Paso Doble. She finds thepresentation challenging sinceit is one of the most dramaticdances in International Latinstyle dancing. Known as “TheDance of the Bullfight,” it issupposed to create a Spanishbullfighting atmosphere. Thewoman’s role shifts from thematador’s cape to the matadorat different times within thedance.

“You have to think ofyourself as a matador,” she ex-plained. “You have to have alot of character and be veryconfident. I’m very shy.”

Despite her shy nature,her favorite type of dancing isInternational Latin style be-cause “it has a lot of rhythmand it’s fun.”

Once she learned thedances and felt confident inher abilities, Interior startedentering ballroom dancingcompetitions. She trained twohours a week in a group class,took two hours of private les-sons each week, and practicedon her own time. She hasbeen competing seriously since1992. The Ohio Star Ball inColumbus is the big competi-tion, with more than 10,000entries. Interior has made it tothe finals there on five occa-sions.

Interior said ballroomdancing has been a positiveaddition to her life. Besidesthe stress relief, it has given

her a fun way to exercise andincreased her confidence level.

Now in its fifth season,“Dancing with the Stars” isone of Interior’s favorite TVprograms. The show pairs acelebrity with a professionaldancer in an attempt to get ahigh score from a panel ofthree judges and then a highnumber of votes from viewers.

She has been impressedwith several celebrity dancers,including former ‘N Sync

VA registered nurse Elsa Interior dances the Cha Cha Cha with herpartner and dance instructor Slava Sergiev.

Doherty (cont.)

termath of a calamitous elec-trical fire in 2000 that dis-rupted hospital services formonths.

He was the recipient ofnumerous awards from every

major veterans service organi-zation, and was honored bythe governor of Florida for hisoutstanding service, devotionand dedication to serving vet-erans.

He also received the FourChaplains Medal, the Distin-guished Catholic ServiceAward, and the Greater Mi-ami Chamber of Commerce’sHealthcare Heroes Award as

an “Individual of Merit.”Doherty is survived by

his wife, Martha, four chil-dren and eight grandchildren.He was buried at the SouthFlorida National Cemetery.

COPYRIGHT 2007 ALBERT T. PARKER/PARK WEST PHOTOGRAPHY

VAnguard


medical advances

and psychiatry at the medicalschool. “We were able to clas-sify, with 100 percent accu-racy, the various diseasegroups represented in thegroup of research subjects.”

Currently, brain-relateddiseases are diagnosed using acombination of psychiatric in-terviews, behavioral exams,and neuropsychological test-ing, all of which take time andcan be hard on the patient, ac-cording to Georgopoulos.

“This discovery gives sci-entists and physicians anothertool to assess people’s diseaseprogression,” he said. “In thefuture it could be appliedwhen studying the effect ofnew treatments or drug thera-pies.”

Shingles Vaccine Availableto Patients at VA MedicalFacilitiesA vaccine for shingles, whichVA researchers helped develop,is available to veterans who arepatients at VA medical facili-ties nationwide.

VA physicians will offerthe vaccine to patients withappropriate medical condi-tions, usually those who are60 years of age or older andhave healthy immune systems.A single dose of the vaccineoffers protection againstshingles, which is known bythe scientific name HerpesZoster.

VA researchers and pa-tients from across the countryparticipated in studies that ledto the vaccine’s approval bythe Food and Drug Adminis-tration. The vaccine is avail-able immediately to those whoare recommended for thetreatment.

Engineering StudentsDesign Parallel BarAssistant for VA PatientsMechanical engineering stu-dents at Southern MethodistUniversity (SMU) are puttingtheir ideas to work for veter-ans at the Dallas campus ofthe VA North Texas HealthCare System. Students metwith spinal cord injury andphysical medicine and reha-bilitation therapists, who ex-plained challenges they havewith gait training for patientswith SCI.

In the early stages of gaittraining when patients arelearning to walk, parallel barsare used to help them work onmechanics and overallstrengthening of the legs.Therapists presented ideas tothe engineering students andasked them to develop a toolthat could ease these chal-lenges.

The engineering studentsdesigned the parallel bar assis-

tant, which allows the thera-pist to gait train a patient inthe parallel bars without a sec-ond therapist pushing awheelchair behind the patient.The parallel bar assistant hasspecial hand grips that helppull the wheelchair behind thepatient while giving the pa-tient extra grip and reciprocalhand and walking motions.

With the use of the paral-lel bar assistant, the therapistcan concentrate more on themechanics of the patient’swalking and it eliminates theneed for additional staff topush a wheelchair behind thepatient during gait training. Asecond invention is the wheel-chair propulsion trainer thatteaches patients how to prop-erly push a manual wheel-chair.

SMU and VA NorthTexas collaborate annually.Each August, therapists at VANorth Texas present ideas andchallenges to students in themechanical engineering de-partment at SMU. Studentstake these ideas, create a pro-posal by October, and build aprototype to be revealed at theSMU engineering seniorproject presentations in April.

Researchers IdentifyPainless Way to DiagnoseBrain DiseasesResearchers from the Univer-sity of Minnesota MedicalSchool and Brain SciencesCenter at the Minneapolis VAMedical Center have identi-fied a noninvasive and painlessway to diagnose complexbrain diseases. Their researchindicates the possibility of aless-stressful diagnosis forbrain diseases, in addition to amethod of measuring the ef-fectiveness of various treat-ments for these diseases.

The researchers recordedbrain cells communicatingwith each other usingmagnetoencephalography

(MEG) while research subjectsstared at a point of light. Theresearchers classified the 142research subjects by diagnosisafter applying variousmathematic algorithms.

Study participants weredivided into six categories:people with Alzheimer’s dis-ease, chronic alcoholism,schizophrenia, multiple sclero-sis, Sjogren’s syndrome, andhealthy patients in the controlgroup.

“This elegantly simpletest allows us to glimpse intothe brain as it is working,”said Dr. Apostolos P.Georgopoulos, head of theBrain Sciences Center at theVA medical center and profes-sor of neuroscience, neurology

Dr. Apostolos P. Georgopoulos, head of the Brain Sciences Center atthe Minneapolis VA Medical Center, records a patient’s brain cells us-ing magnetoencephalography (MEG). Georgopoulos and colleaguesresearched the potential of using MEG in diagnosing brain disorders.

MINNESOTA MEDICAL FOUNDATION

VAnguardhave you heard


Soldiers’ home recognition

Houston VA teams up to help vets with TBI

Three physicians from the VA Central California Health CareSystem in Fresno have co-authored a book entitled Handbook ofEmergency Psychiatry. Hani Raoul Khouzam, Doris Tiu Tanand Tirath Singh Gill are all on staff in Mental Health Serviceat the medical center.

The 688-page paperback reference book includes chaptersdevoted to treating post-traumatic stress disorder and providingemergency psychiatric care for survivors of terrorism and naturaldisasters. In addition, the authors offer valuable tips on inter-viewing patients in various critical situations.

Three physicians write psychiatry handbook

On June 6, the newly renovated atrium of the WilliamJennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center in Columbia,S.C., was transformed into a grand ballroom for “A Caro-lina Night to Remember.” Attendees enjoyed food, social-ization and dancing in a semi-formal setting. Approxi-mately 40 residents of the Community Living Center, alongwith family, staff and volunteers, enjoyed a catered mealwhile a DJ played music from eras gone by. Veteranssmiled, laughed, and either danced from their wheel-chairs or with staff who helped support them. The DornVAMC has transformed its Nursing Home Care Unit intothe Community Living Center concept, focusing on resi-dent care and maintaining a full life for the veteran. “Weare seeing some residents who previously were less so-cial now attending other activities, asking for therapy,eating more and overall appearing happier,” said TraceyGentilucci, R.N., restorative nurse coordinator.

‘A Carolina Night to Remember’

On Aug. 22, the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center inMountain Home, Tenn., was formally recognized as the siteof a National Soldiers’ Home with a historical marker dedi-cation by the Tennessee Historical Commission. The sol-diers’ homes were the foundation of veterans care in theUnited States following the Civil War. In 1901, Johnson City,Tenn., was designated as a site for the Mountain Branch ofthe National Soldiers’ Homes due to the work of Cong.Walter P. Brownlow.

The facility became known as “Mountain Home” andthe federally funded project propelled Johnson City from asmall railroad town into a major city. With an initial federalappropriation of more than $2 million, Mountain Home ex-ceeded by three times the assessed value of the entiretown of Johnson City at the time. Today, the campus housesthe VA medical center, a College of Medicine and a newCollege of Pharmacy.

Mayor Phil Roe and Charlene Ehret, director of the James H.Quillen VA Medical Center in Mountain Home, Tenn., unveilthe dedication marker recognizing the site as a “National Sol-diers’ Home.”

PAM ENSOR

The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston isteaming up with rehabilitation specialists from the MemorialHermann/The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research Chal-lenge Program, a brain injury rehabilitation program for ProjectVictory. Funded by a $3 million grant from a private founda-tion, the initiative is a comprehensive rehabilitation and com-munity re-integration program that treats servicemembers whohave sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) while serving inOperation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Their goal is to help injured servicemembers with TBIachieve the maximum degree of return to their pre-injury levelof functioning. The program will serve 65 servicemembers an-nually who meet the criteria for care and will be available with-out cost or regard to age, gender or ethnicity.

Recreation Therapist Lesa DePeal dances the jitterbug withVietnam War Army veteran Michael Sterling, a resident of theCommunity Living Center at the William Jennings Bryan DornVA Medical Center in Columbia, S.C..

ROBIN CRONSHAW

VAnguard have you heard


Self-service kiosks for patients

Bikers showing their support

Cagle Memorial Training Room dedicatedThe Charles L. Cagle Memorial Training Room at the VA re-gional office in Waco, Texas, was dedicated on June 12. Cagleretired as an out-based veterans service representative (VSR) in2005 and passed away in 2006. He provided countless hours ofservice to organizations that included the American Red Cross,Habitat for Humanity and the Boy Scouts of America. Theroom features a shadow box containing a photo collage ofCagle, as well as a framed charcoal portrait of Cagle, drawn byJames White, rating veterans service representative. BonnieBabcock, VSR, donated the materials for the shadow box,which was put together by her son-in-law, Larry Bell.

At the dedication ceremony, VARO Director Carl Lowediscussed his personal recollections of the many selfless acts ofservice Cagle and his wife Nancy provided to the community.Nancy and several other Cagle family members were on handfor the ceremony.

The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System has automated thepatient check-in process. The system allows a patient toself check-in for appointments by using his or her VeteranIdentification Card and touch screen input at a kiosk. Theveteran answers a series of prompts regarding next of kin,date of birth, and insurance carrier. If the information is cor-rect, the patient merely responds by pressing “yes” and aprintout with the name, location and time of the patient’sclinic appointment for that day is printed. More than 8,000corrections of patient addresses, next of kin, phone num-bers and insurance information have been processedthrough the system since its implementation in October2005. In addition, the ratio of patients pre-registering has in-creased by 20 percent. The self-service kiosks will eventu-ally be implemented at all facilities within the VAHealthcare-VISN 4 Network.

Three pandemic flu tabletop exercises, designed to strengthenVA’s preparedness and response to pandemic influenza, were con-ducted by the department during National Preparedness Monthin September. A fourth exercise was conducted in October. Theexercises tested selected aspects of VA’s national and local facilityplans for pandemic influenza. Pandemic flu occurs when a flustrain new to humans quickly emerges and causes widespread ill-ness. Past influenza pandemics resulted in high levels of illness,death, social disruption and economic loss.

The exercises were conducted at the Edith Nourse RogersMemorial Medical Center in Bedford, Mass., the White RiverJunction VA Medical Center in Vermont, the VA ConnecticutHealthcare System in West Haven, and the VA BostonHealthcare System.

Pandemic flu tabletop exercises conducted

On Aug. 11, approximately 25 bikers from the Oregon Vet-erans Motorcycle Association converged on the WallaWalla VA Medical Center in Washington to show theirsupport for the resident veterans. The gathering, spon-sored by the national nonprofit organization Soldiers’ An-gels, was a chance for the bikers to sit with veterans,share stories, show off their motorcycles and enjoy aspecial barbeque prepared by the veterans. “This is allabout interaction,” said Karen Locke, a biker and teamleader for the Eastern Oregon branch of the Soldiers’ An-gels. “We bring things for the veterans, but that’s reallyjust an excuse for us to stop by and visit with them.”Army veteran and Walla Walla VAMC Associate DirectorChris Martin said, “We are always looking for ways tohelp our veterans improve their lives and enjoy their stayhere, and this event is just one example of that.”

Kenneth Thrower(left) lends a helpinghand to World War IIveteran James Kelly,81, as they take alook at the motor-cycles gathered at theWalla Walla VA Medi-cal Center.

Air Force veteran Raymond Ayala registers for a recent medical ap-pointment using the self-service kiosk at the Philadelphia VA Medi-cal Center. The kiosks are being installed at all VISN 4 facilities.

JAKE SHAW

JACK WIDMAIER

VAnguardhonors


ter in Indianapolis, the VAHeartland Network in KansasCity, Mo., the VA NortheastRegion 4 Healthcare Networkin Bronx, N.Y., the VA PaloAlto Health Care System inCalifornia and the WhiteRiver Junction VA MedicalCenter in Vermont have allbeen recognized as “MostWired.” In this annual survey,the magazine asks hospitals toreport on their use of informa-tion technology in five key ar-eas: business processes, cus-tomer service, safety and qual-ity, workforce, and publichealth and safety. This year,these VA facilities beat out568 hospitals and health sys-tems, representing 1,284 hos-pitals, to make the top 100.

Pharmacist of the Year honors

Kafer is SAIGE Award recipientA VA employee discovers his lost American Indian heri-tage and passes it on to succeeding generations. That isthe story told in Native America: Diversity Within Diver-sity—a video produced by the VA Employee EducationSystem (EES) for the Under Secretary for Health DiversityAdvisory Board as a training tool to increase VA employ-ees’ understanding of the many facets of diversity. Thevideo focuses on BruceKafer, R.N., the AmericanIndian/Latino outreach co-ordinator for the LouisStokes Cleveland VAMedical Center. Kafer is amember of the OglalaSioux Tribe who wasadopted by Anglo parentsas a baby.

He tracked down hisbirth mother and startedlearning about his Native American culture from hisTiospaye (Lakota extended family), Native elders and oth-ers, and continues to learn the language and traditions ofhis tribe as an adult. Kafer is now passing along thesetraditions to his young fraternal twins. The Society ofAmerican Indian Government Employees (SAIGE) pre-sented Kafer a SAIGE award in June for his involvementwith the project.

Kristina De Los Santos,with the Southern ArizonaVA Health Care System,was named Pharmacist ofthe Year by the ArizonaPharmacy Alliance. She re-ceived the award duringthe organization’s 3rd an-nual meeting held in Tuc-son, Ariz., in July. De LosSantos is a pharmacy pro-gram manager for clinicalservices at the Southern Arizona VA. The Pharmacist ofthe Year award is presented to an Arizona pharmacistwho has actively demonstrated outstanding leadershipand service to the Arizona Pharmacy Alliance or for theprofession of pharmacy in Arizona during the previousyear.

De Los Santos has been an active member of theArizona Pharmacy Alliance for three years, and has beenchair of the Health Systems Academy for the last two.She has also been a mentor for pharmacy students andresidents since 2001 at the Southern Arizona VA.

Kristina De Los Santos

The San Francisco VAMedical Center and the Na-tional Federation of FederalEmployees Local One havereceived the prestigiousSecretary’s Labor-ManagementRelations Award. This awardrecognizes outstanding and in-novative labor-managementrelationships, specifically in ar-eas of cost savings, increasingproductivity, improving ser-vice to veterans and theirfamilies, and improving work-ing conditions for all of VA’svalued employees. Local #1 re-ceived the award for helpingto improve working condi-tions by establishing an out-standing partnership withmanagement. “When employ-ees are acknowledged for a jobwell done and they feel securein their workplace, productiv-ity increases, as does job satis-faction and respect,” saidPatricia La Sala, R.N., presi-

dent of Local #1. “Labor andmanagement at the San Fran-cisco VA Medical Center havebeen successful in working to-gether toward this mutualgoal.” The award was estab-lished in 2002 by then-Secre-tary Anthony J. Principi torecognize outstanding and in-novative labor-managementrelationships throughout VA.

Secretary Jim Nicholsonpresented the Secretary’s Dia-mond Award to World War IIveteran Howard Algeo duringa ceremony at the James A.Haley Veterans’ Hospital inTampa on Aug. 6. The newlycreated award is designed toraise the public’s awareness ofthe outstanding achievementsand contributions of uniqueindividuals dedicated to theVA mission. Algeo started vol-unteering at the Bay Pines,Fla., VAMC canteen in 1983after retiring that same year as

a restaurant manager. Thethen-District Counsel learnedof his volunteer contributionsand solicited his volunteer ser-vices at the Office of DistrictCounsel. Algeo continued tovolunteer with this office as ittransi- tioned to a RegionalCounsel office. His libraryworkload service has saved theoffice considerable supportemployee time.

VA hospitals are onceagain ahead of the curve in in-formation technology. Hospi-tals & Health Networks maga-zine has released its list of the100 Most Wired Hospitalsand Health Systems, and fiveVA facilities and systems madethe cut. The Richard L.Roudebush VA Medical Cen-

Bruce Kafer RICH BOGART

VAnguard heroes


Special delivery in New York

CPR for a congregation member

It was a Sunday morning, just like any other Sundaymorning in May in New York City. It was too early for thetraffic to be backing up and delivery trucks were easilymaking their way on their appointed rounds along 23rdStreet. Everything changed at approximately 7:55 a.m.when a vehicle turned into the VA New York HarborHealthcare System’s Emergency Department ambulanceentrance. A woman jumped out of the car shouting “Helpus, help us!” VA Police Officer Willie Lugo sprang into ac-tion and ran to the car. There was a young woman in theback seat with a newborn baby in her lap.

Lugo attended to the mother and her new daughterwhile Officers Richard Heyward and Robert Hernandezproceeded into the Emergency Department for assis-tance. Deromeo Lee, administrative officer of the day, andAnngela Cooper, social worker, responded to their callwith a gurney and began attending to the mother andnewborn. Officer Miguel Olivera also joined the party andthe police officers gently lifted mom and baby onto thegurney. Once in the ER the medical officer on duty—Dr.Bart Muhs—and his nursing staff members—CarmenValdez and Ophelia Ibalio—assessed the baby and com-pleted the delivery.

Ray

On Aug. 10, Sharron Reed, a registered nurse at the G.V.(Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson,Miss., was at a church banquet when an elderly womanat her table became ill. “You could tell something waswrong. She was having some difficulty breathing,” saidReed, who works in primarycare. Reed and another womanescorted the woman, who wasin a wheelchair, to the outsidelobby. “At first, I thought it wasprobably her blood sugar. She’sa diabetic,” Reed said. “Ithought we would help her getback to the nursing home whereshe stays.” However, as thewoman’s breathing becamemore labored, Reed knew thenursing home wouldn’t be the best option. Soon thewoman’s breathing ceased altogether. Both Reed and theother woman, who is also a nurse, eased the womanfrom her chair to the floor and began CPR. Reed breathedair into the woman’s lungs while the other nurse pumpedthe woman’s chest. “It was successful. Thank God,”Reed said. “I never thought I would have used CPR out-side the hospital setting in a million years.”

ScSottScott

Diane Corcoran, R.N., ahome telehealth nurse fromthe St. Cloud, Minn., VAMedical Center’s Home BasedPrimary Care Service, was afirst responder turned lifesaverat the Fargo Airshow in NorthDakota on June 16. As theshow ended and tens of thou-sands left the field, Corcoranand others witnessed the after-math of an altercation be-tween two young men, one ofwhom lay on the tarmac withhis blue face wrapped tightlyin a blanket. While the otherman was pulled from the vic-tim, Corcoran gave two quickrescue breaths to the lifelessvictim and, finding a faintpulse, stopped other respond-ers from beginning chest com-pressions. The victim report-edly recovered.

Ten female employees—all of them veterans—fromthe VA Pittsburgh HealthcareSystem were concluding ameeting at a restaurant whenthey witnessed an elderlywoman fall from the curb,landing face first onto theconcrete. They rushed to thenow unresponsive woman.Some in the group comfortedher on the sidewalk and kepther head straight as otherscalled 911. The remainingteam members attempted toreassure her family. The VAteam stayed on scene untilEMS arrived. Weeks later, aletter from the woman’s son-in-law appeared in the Pitts-burgh Post-Gazette, praisingand thanking them for reach-ing out to this woman in atime of need.

The new Obstetrics team of the VA New York Harbor HealthcareSystem’s Manhattan campus give a thumbs up for a job welldone. From left are Robert Hernandez, Carmen Valdez, AnngelaCooper, Ophelia Ibalio, Deromeo Lee and Richard Heyward.

RAY AALBUE

Sharron Reed

Documents

Using Art as Therapy Using Art as Therapy - US Department of