FederalDaily - June 19, 2007
VA Centers to Offer Longer Hours
In an effort to broaden the availability of health care for military veterans, Secretary of Veterans
Affairs (VA) Jim Nicholson has ordered longer hours for the VA’s 153 medical centers. The new
initiative is focused on the VA’s mental health service providers, Nicholson said June 15, noting
that he wants to ensure the VA’s more than 9,000 mental health professionals are available when
veterans need them. “Illness doesn’t follow a 9-to-5 schedule,” Nicholson said.
VA operates the largest integrated health care system in the country and about 5.5 million veterans
are expected to seek health care from VA’s system this year. The extend-hours effort is the most
recent in a series of VA initiatives designed to improve mental health care for returning combat veterans,
Nicholson said. These include the hiring of suicide prevention coordinators for each medical center,
the addition of 100 new adjustment counselors for VA’s 207 Vet Centers and the hiring of 100
new medical center employees to serve as advocates for the severely wounded. To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1348
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Union Says Supreme Court Ruling Has Limited Reach
The Supreme Court ruling last week that limited how a Washington state teachers union could spend
nonmembers’ money will have little impact on how other public-employee unions operate, said AFL-CIO
General Counsel Jon Hiatt. In a June 14 statement, Hiatt noted that the unanimous court ruling turned
on a complicated set of facts unique to the Washington state case. The high court upheld a Washington
state law that required the teachers union to get the consent of nonmembers to spend their representation
fees on political activities, Hiatt said. However, it left untouched the broader issue of the so-called
agency or representation fees—which unions collect from nonmembers because they benefit from
collective bargaining even though they haven’t joined, Hiatt said. The National Right to Work
Legal Defense Foundation, a Springfield, Va.-based organization that represented the nonunion teachers
in the Washington case, had asked the court to review whether union officials should be able to collect
such fees from nonunion members. “The Supreme Court’s decision has very limited practical
effect and will not affect any existing union practices.” Hiatt said. To see more, go to: www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr06142007.cfm
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Army Launches Transition Units for Wounded Vets
The Army launched a new nationwide network of medical and outpatient care services that is designed
to help wounded soldiers return to active duty or transition to civilian life. The Army on June 15
announced the creation of the new Warrior Transition Units that will be located at the Army’s
major installations. The new units are meant to supplement and streamline the Army’s current
transition efforts that it offers along with DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Army’s
Medical Action Plan includes significant current improvements, said Army Chief of Staff Gen. George
W. Casey, Jr. This includes the establishment of a three-member team—a primary-care manager,
nurse case manager and a squad leader—for each wounded soldier, as well as increased outreach
to the families and caregivers of wounded servicemembers. “We have made improvements, but realize
there is still work to be done,” Casey said. “By no means is everything ‘fixed’—but
we are aggressively acting on what we can fix now.” To see more, go to: www.army.mil/-newsreleases/2007/06/14/3614-armys-newest-units-to-address-soldier-medical-care-and-transition-nationwide
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