VA David Shulkin Fired--Rear Adm. Ronny L. Jackson Replacement

Shulkin is fired; White House physician Jackson will take over at VA
Stars and Stripes
By NIKKI WENTLING
Published: March 28, 2018

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday fired David Shulkin as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs and replaced him with Rear Adm. Ronny L. Jackson, the president's White House physician.

After weeks of speculation that Shulkin would lose his job, Trump finally announced his decision to dismiss him through the president’s preferred mode of communication — a tweet.

Now Jackson, 50, will be responsible for the second-largest federal agency, with more than 350,000 employees. It operates on a nearly $200 billion budget and includes a health care system serving nine million veterans nationwide.

Jackson was selected as White House physician in 2006, while he was still serving in Iraq as an emergency doctor. He served as a physician for former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Jackson appeared before the White House press corps earlier this year, when he reported he examined Trump and found the president to be in "excellent health.”

Jackson must still be confirmed as VA secretary by the Senate. In the interim, Trump announced Robert Wilkie would serve as the acting secretary. Wilkie serves now at the Defense Department as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
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WWII veteran jumped out of plane...because he never did it before

93-Year-Old WWII Veteran Checks Skydiving Off Bucket List
WFMY 2 News
March 27, 2018

He is 93-years-old, served in World War II, and once won the lottery but in his life, he hasn't done one very important thing: jump out of a plane.

Age is just a number when it comes to Stanley Sasine.

He is 93-years-old, served in World War II, and once won the lottery. But the Sandy Springs native says, in his life, he hasn't done one very important thing: jump out of a plane.

So, he did.

At 93, the filter is gone and the years become golden. Surrounded by family, Stanley is happy to show his life in pictures especially the album of his “fun days.”
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Disabled Navy Vietnam veteran saved from burning house

Vietnam vet who is disabled rescued from Schenectady fire
WNYT News 13
March 28, 2018

SCHENECTADY – A Navy Veteran who served in Vietnam is being treated at the Westchester Medical Center’s Burn Unit, according to his nephew. Fire broke out inside Rick Batcher’s house at the corner of Fifth Ave. and Glendale Pl. in Schenectady around 7:00 a.m. Wednesday.

Neighbors knowing Batcher, 69, has a prosthetic leg rushed up the block in the Mont Pleasant section of the city to get him out. Clarence Cohen and his son-in-law tried to break in the door to save the man they called “Ricky.”

"He must have made it right to the door because when I kicked the door in it went on top of him,” Cohen said.

Batcher has lived at his house for 30 years. He is a Life member of VFW Post 357 in Schenectady. He was initially taken to Ellis Hospital, rerouted to Albany Medical Center and then flown to the Westchester Medical Center’s burn unit and in critical condition.
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Florida First Responders Covered for PTSD!

Gov. Scott in Tampa today to sign first responder bill 
WFLA News 
Avery Cotton 
March 27, 2018 

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) - Governor Rick Scott will be in Tampa today to sign a bill into law that aims to help Florida first responders who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Florida lawmakers passed the bill extending workers' compensation benefits for first responders to include treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. 

The Florida House of Representatives voted unanimously for the legislation (SB 376) . 

Lawmakers have heard stories of firefighters and police officers who have taken their own lives or can no longer do their jobs because of repeated exposure to horrific deaths and tragedies, but they don't have benefits that include treatment for PTSD. 

Right now workers' compensation benefits only cover physical injuries. read more here

So, how is that "Veterans Choice" thing working out?

Remember how many times Congress said they needed more money to cover veterans being sent away from the VA? 

Any idea where that money went if they didn't pay the bills?

Department of Veteran's Affairs years behind on payments to local hospitals
WAVI 5 News
By Emily Tadlock
Mar 26, 2018

AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) Many hospitals in Maine provide services to veterans through the VA Choice Program, a system where veterans can choose to receive care closer to home instead of traveling to a VA facility far away.

But, the Department of Veterans Affairs is slow at paying the bills for those services.

Congressman Bruce Poliquin spear-headed a discussion in Augusta Monday designed to ensure hospitals are paid what they're owed.

Lisa Harvey-McPherson with Eastern Maine Healthcare System says, "It's a system wide issue from the Aroostook Medical Center to our hospitals in Hancock County to our very rural hospitals in Pittsfield and Greenville. The Veterans Administration is fundamentally challenged to pay their bills on time. It's highly inefficient on their end and on our end to spend so much time reviewing each and every claim in an effort to get paid."

The Department of Veterans Affairs is years behind on their payments and millions of dollars in debt to hospitals for veteran's services.

This is a challenge for all hospitals, especially for those in rural parts of our state.
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Considering those yahoos thought that veterans becoming disabled serving this country were no longer due the best care we could give them!

Yes, they forget to mention that part all the time. 

Vietnam Veterans Remembered in Bushnell

Ceremony at Florida National Cemetery honors Vietnam War vets
WFLA News
Jeff Patterson
March 27, 2018

BUSHNELL, Fla. (WFLA) - Bruce Burnham is a historian and Vietnam combat veteran.

The Tampa native served as an MP in Vietnam in 1972 and 1973.

During his tour of duty, he earned the Bronze Star for bravery.

Tuesday, Burnham was the keynote speaker in a ceremony to honor others who served.

"That was a very, very difficult time for many of us who just wanted to come back and be normal again," said Burnham.

The gathering at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell was small.

Burnham believes it is because many Vietnam vets still shy away from ceremonies and talking about their service in public because of the way they were treated by protestors when they returned from the war.
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WPFT 5 News got involved, veteran had claim approved in days!

WPFT 5 News got involved with a veteran about his claim. Suddenly, it was approved. 

One more lesson on the squeaky wheel!

Veterans and their families would be automatically eligible as long as they spent more than 30 days at Camp Lejeune and had one of the qualifying ailments, including kidney cancer. 

“They should be paying me,” he said,

But the VA wasn’t paying him, not until last week when we told them about Tom’s story.

And just days later, they granted Tom his long awaited benefits at an 80% disability rating-backdated to March of last year.

He's due more than $1,700 per month.

click link above for video on this veteran.

62 Year Old Veteran Committed Suicide at John Cochran Division Veterans Medical Center Waiting Room

Veteran kills self in John Cochran VA Medical Center waiting room
St. Louis Post Dispatch
March 26, 2018

St. Louis Police Officer Michelle Woodling said the 62-year-old man committed suicide inside the hospital waiting room at 4:19 a.m. Monday.

The John Cochran Division Veterans Medical Center, photographed on Monday, June 9, 2014, is located at 915 North Grand Boulevard in St. Louis. Photo by Christian Gooden

A veteran committed suicide inside the John Cochran VA Medical Center at 915 North Grand Boulevard early Monday.

Authorities have not identified the victim. The hospital said he was a veteran.
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Florida First Responders PTSD Bill Being Signed Tuesday!

Gov. Scott to sign PTSD legislation into law at Tampa Firefighter Museum
ClickOrlando.com
By Mike Holfeld - Investigative Reporter
March 26, 2018

News 6 will join first responders, their families for special ceremony

Gov. Rick Scott will sign legislation Tuesday that will provide first responders with wage compensation as they receive treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Senate Bill 376, approved unanimously by both the Senate and the House, will provide workers compensation benefits, “Providing that, under certain circumstances, post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by a first responder is an occupational disease compensable by workers’ compensation benefits.”

The new law eliminates the mandate that a physical injury must accompany the PTSD diagnosis.

During a special ceremony honoring state fire fighters in Tallahassee earlier this month, Scott took a moment to honor first responders lost in the line of duty and to PTSD.

“I want to thank all firefighters for the sacrifices they make,” he said. “I intend to sign it (SB 376) as soon as it reaches my desk.”

Scott and Chief Financial Officer/State Fire Marshall Jimmy Patronis will join dozens of first responders and their families at a special bill signing ceremony Tuesday afternoon at the Tampa Firefighter Museum.

In an exclusive interview, Patronis said the stories covered by News 6 along with his meeting with first responders and their families, inspired him to make the PTSD law his top priority.

“Suicide in that profession is five times higher than the rest of the United States. I hate that those sacrifices had to take place in order to bring this issue to light,” he said.

Jessica Realin, wife of Pulse first responder Gerry Realin, has been an instrumental force in pushing for PTSD legislation.
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Congress tells Navy "No Atheist Chaplains"

No ‘atheist’ chaplains, lawmakers tell Navy
Navy Times
By: Mark D. Faram
4 hours ago

A command religious ministries department divisional officer and a chaplain baptize a sailor aboard the carrier George Washington. A self-described "humanist" has had multiple attempts at becoming a Navy chaplain denied.
(MC3 Eric S. Brann/Navy)

Lawmakers are applauding a decision by Navy officials to reject the application of a secular humanist — called an atheist by many — to be a Navy chaplain.

It’s the second time the sea service has declined to accept Jason Heap, who calls himself a “humanist” and and a “non-theist,” into the chaplain corps.

A “humanist” is one who doesn’t believe in a god, but in the natural ability of humans to “lead meaningful, ethical lives capable of adding to the greater good of humanity,” according to the Humanist Society.

The latest denial of Heap’s application is at the center of a debate on whether or not one who doesn’t believe in a deity can serve as a military chaplain.

Despite the swirling debate around Heap’s beliefs, or lack thereof, no one is denying his qualifications. Heap holds a master’s degree in divinity from Texas Christian University as well as a theological history degree from Oxford.
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Actually, he's been trying since 2013.