An Injured Veteran, Wounded in Afghanistan, is the Recipient of the World’s First Full Male Genital Transplant, according to Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins Hospital stated on Monday that a military veteran who served and was injured in Afghanistan, is the worlds’ first recipient of a total penis and scrotum transplant. The surgical procedure was performed last month over a 14-hour period and involved a team of eleven surgeons (nine plastic surgeons and two urological surgeons). The... Read More
VA Looks to Veterans Advocates for Overhaul of Appeals Process
In an effort to gain buy-in from veterans’ advocacy groups before sending Congress any formal plan to streamline the appeals process for veterans’ compensation claims, top officials from the VA met with leaders from several leading veterans’ service organizations (VSOs). While the organization’s Veterans Benefits Administration has made progress in cutting the backlog of initial... Read More
More Research Needed Regarding Agent Orange
It has been reported that the effects of Agent Orange, a toxic herbicide used during the Vietnam War, on veterans – and possibly their children – are still not fully understood, despite more than 20 years of study. The U.S. military sprayed millions of gallons of the chemical to kill forests and destroy enemy cover.... Read More
Hepatitis C Drug Treatment Increased at VA
Thanks to increased funding from Congress and reduced drug prices, the VA will be able to provide expanded drug therapy at VA facilities nationwide. Now all veterans afflicted with Hepatitis C will be able to receive care, regardless of their stage of liver disease; previously, the sickest patients received priority for treatment. The VA is... Read More
Silicon Valley Couple Wants to Help Veterans Work in Tech Fields
Marc Andreessen, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who is one of high-tech’s best-known investors and entrepreneurs, and his wife, Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, a philanthropist-educator-lecturer and author, have pledged to give $275,000 to four non-profits to help more service men and women qualify for high tech jobs. The beneficiaries of the couple’s generosity are the COMMIT Foundation,... Read More
Journalists Learn About Improvements to Veterans Access to Healthcare
On April 8, 2016, Dr. David J. Shulkin, Under Secretary for Health, announced recent positive actions taken by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to improve veterans’ access to health care to more than 100 members of the media. Among the things Shulkin discussed at the health care conference: the new MyVA Access initiative that... Read More
Dedication of 100th VA Grant-Funded Veterans Cemetary
On April 7th, 2016, the new Arizona Veterans’ memorial Cemetery in Marana, AZ, became the one hundredth cemetery funded with a VA grant. The VA’s Veterans Cemetery Grants Program, established in 1980, has 134 partnership cemeteries across the country that improves veterans’ access to burial benefits. More than 35,00 burials were provided in 2015. A... Read More
Veteran’s Benefits Administration Policy on Managing Paper Records Misunderstood
Spot checks at 10 veterans’ benefits offices around the country show that the VA has systematically been shredding documents related to veterans claims. Investigators from the VA Office of the Inspector General arrived unannounced for surprise audits at regional offices in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Oakland, Philadelphia, Reno, NV, San Juan and St.... Read More
Marine Campaigns for VA to Provide Benefits for PTSD or Mental Health Dogs
For Cole Lyle, a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), his therapy dog Kaya did what no prescribed sleep aid or antidepressant could. She helped him eliminate his medications for the condition, better cope with anxiety and reduce suicidal thoughts, nightmares and night terrors. He recently testified before The House Committee on Oversight and... Read More
Senate Vote Passes Equal Access Amendment for Veterans
On July 13th, 2017, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 24-7 to include the Veterans Equal Access amendment as part of the 2018 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which will expand access to medical marijuana for our nation’s veterans. Currently, V.A. doctors are not allowed to submit the necessary paperwork that would... Read More
