V A Secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin unveiled the world’s

most advanced commercial pros-thetic — the Life Under Kinetic Evolution, or LUKE arm — during a visit to the VA New York Harbor

Health Care System’s Manhattan campus June 30.

A collaboration between VA, the Defense Advanced Research Pro-jects Agency, or DARPA, and indus-try, the LUKE Arm has more pow-

ADVANCED PROSTHESIS UNVEILED

JULY, 2017 VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7

VETERANS UPDATE

UPCOMING EVENTS

Aug. 15, 5:30 - 7 p.m. VBA & VAMC Joint Veteran Town Hall Meeting 5th Floor Auditorium, main hospital building. Get an up-date from Providence VAMC and VBA Regional Office lead-ership and ask questions.

SEVEN HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE EATING TIPS

H ere are seven tips to help you eat healthy while help-

ing the environment, as well: 1. Make eating healthy a priority. 2. Learn to cook. VA has Healthy Teaching Kitchen programs. 3. Buy food from markets that sell fresh foods — or plant a garden! 4. Prepare meals from plant-based food more often. 5. Structure eating into three meals per day and limit snacking. 6. Reduce food waste — make a meal plan with a shopping list. 7. Choose restaurants with fresh plant-based foods. Get a side sal-ad instead of fries, for a start.

ered movements than any other commercially available prosthesis, helping restore Veterans’ ability to perform a variety of activities.

Dr. Linda Resnik, a research scientist with the Providence VA Medical Center’s Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotech-nology, participated in the arm’s development and was recognized by VA in April with the Paul B. Magnuson Award for her work with upper-limb amputations.

ADAPTIVE SUMMER SPORTS CLINIC

A pproximately 50 disabled Veterans gathered in Rhode

Island July 17 through 20 for the Veterans Summer Sports Clinic, a special rehabilitation-related sporting event by the Depart-ment of Veterans Affairs, the VA New England Healthcare Sys-tem, the Providence VA Medical Center and the VA Boston Health Care System.

Air Force Veteran George St. Hilaire, a patient of the Man-chester VA Medical Center has been participating in the special rehabilitation-related sporting clinic for so many years, he said he lost count. “What would keep me away?” he wondered, when asked what brings him back year after year.

“The Summer Sports Clinic is a very powerful event for the Vet-erans and volunteers,” said Dr. Susan MacKenzie, Providence VAMC director. “It helps partici-pants change their focus from activities they might think they can’t do anymore to a wide

Air Force Veteran James Killingham, a patient of the Providence VA Medical Center, water skiing on Johnson's Pond in Coventry, R.I., Tuesday, July 18, 2017, during the VA New England Healthcare System's Summer Sports Clinic, hosted by the Providence VAMC and the Boston VA Health Care System. (Providence VA Medical Center photo by Winfield Danielson)

Left: Army Veteran Tina Lavallee, a patient of the Providence VA Medical Center, bikes in a hand-powered tricycle along the Greenway Bike Path in Coventry, R.I., Tuesday, July 18, 2017. Above: Air Force Veteran Stephen McCarthy, a patient of the Providence VA Medical Center, putts with his wife Bertha, Monday, July 17, 2017, at the Button Hole Golf Course in Providence, R.I. (Providence VA Medi-cal Center photos by Winfield Danielson)

Website: www.providence.va.gov

Facebook: facebook.com/VAProvidence

830 Chalkstone Ave Providence, RI 02908

401-273-7100

Patient Call Center (PCC): 401-457-3336

Veteran’s Crisis Line: 800-273-8255 press 1 range of things they can do, and it

builds camaraderie as experienced participants share the challenges they’ve overcome.”

This was the second year for Army Veteran Tina Lavallee, a patient of the Providence VAMC. “I was a shut-in before I started this," she said. "Last year I found myself and I exploded — you can’t keep me inside anymore!”