LVMAC

LVMAC News — Babb-ling on About Military History

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In This Issue

  • Mr. Babb Talks About the Veterans History Project Roundtable
  • Veterans Affairs Committee Develops Its Operating Budget
  • Looking Forward on the Homelessness Front
  • 2013 Scholarship Season Opening
  • Re-looking Our Employment Programs
  • Health Care Initiative Progressing
  • Project Healing Waters Events Set for 2013
  • Focus on Colleges Begins
  • Report on the War Veterans Council
  • DoD/VA News

MR. BABB TALKS ABOUT THE VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT ROUNDTABLE

David Babb, a historian and interviewer for the Lehigh Valley Veterans History Project Roundtable, a member organization, spoke to the Council at its business meeting on 17 January 2013.

His organization was formed in 2007 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization two capture the stories of all wartime veterans and also those who served on the home front. It collects documents and preserves their personal experiences and then shares those stories with both the public and the Library of Congress.  To date about 200 interviews have been done. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC Tidbit — A Special Retreat for Women Veterans

ALL WOMEN VETERANS IN PENNSYLVANIA,  STAND UP!

 ATTENTION:

What:  Women Veterans Retreat
Where: Comfort Inn, Duncansville, PA
When:  From 22 March at 4:30 p.m. to 24 March at about 9 a.m.
Cost:    Free, courtesy of state VFW Posts and Ladies Auxiliaries
RSVP required:  PAWomenVets2013@gmail.com by 1 March 2013
Primary POC:  Sandy Showalter, Chair, Women’s Programs, VFW Dept. of PA

Registration starts 22 March at 4:30 p.m. Bring a DD Form 214 or its equivalent, VA Card, or Military ID Card.  Program starts 22 March at 6:00 p.m.

This one-of-a-kind event is open to any woman veteran of any period of service and sponsored by women veterans for women veterans. You do not have to be affiliated with any organization — this event is not about organizations. Come learn about your benefits, learn about yourself, enjoy the company of other women veterans, be “vet proud,” and also feel the appreciation of the Blair County community. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC Tidbit — New TRICARE Pharmacy Copays for 2013

As a result of the enacted Fiscal Year National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, beginning this February new  copayments for prescription drugs purchased through TRICARE off-base are about to go into effect. Off-base TRICARE Pharmacy copays will continue to vary based upon class of drug and where beneficiaries choose to fill their prescriptions. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC News — Dr. Bhatia Speaks About the VA’s Mental Health Efforts

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WILKES-BARRE VA MEDICAL CENTER SAYS IT IS PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO MENTAL HEALTH AND RECOVERY

Dr. Aruna Bhatia, Chief of Mental/Behavioral Health Services spoke to the Council at its business meeting on  19 December on the advances in care by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In an honest and straightforward talk, she stated there has been a focus on mental health over the last decade and a lot of work done in recovery,  Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and suicide prevention, albeit with some stumbling along the way. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC Tidbit — The COLA Increase for 2013

Since we have been asked, the President’s signing of the 2013 National Defense Act last November authorized veterans to receive a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase of 1.7% in their compensation and pension payments.  The same applied to survivors enrolled in either a pension or dependency and indemnity compensation program, and also to Social Security recipients and military retirees (except 2012 retirees and REDUX retirees). (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

Forward Observer — Cutting the Red Tape from Veterans’ and Survivors’ Pensions — Somewhat

VBA CHANGES EVR REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

LVMAC Poster Art 2005Besides seeming to signal lately the transition in nomenclature from the poorly named Disability Pension and the Death Pension to the terms Veterans’ Pension and Survivors’ Pension  respectively, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) has gone on to do something truly significant in this benefit area which is worthwhile to our veterans and their survivors: preventing the unnecessary interruption of monthly payments over the failure to file a report on time. The new procedure also applies to Parents Dependency Indemnity Compensation (Parents DIC) because it too is income-based and is, therefore, essentially a pension in the VA’s lingo. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

Forward Observer — Heads Up … VA Seeks to Expand TBI Benefits

VA SEEKING TO PROMULGATE A REGULATORY CHANGE IN HOW IT HANDLES SECONDARY ILLNESSES

LVMAC Poster Art 2005On 7 December 2012 (Pearl Harbor Day), the Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing to change its disability compensation rating rules to  add five diagnosable illnesses which are secondary to service-connected Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). It would improve the timeliness of decisions.  To accomplish this, the VA proposes to add a new subsection to its adjudication regulation by revising 38 CFR 3.310 to state that if a Veteran who has a service-connected TBI also has one of the five illnesses, then the illness will be considered service connected as secondary to the TBI. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC News — McKenrick Talks About a New VA Regional Office

Newspaper Logo 70%In This Issue:

  • The New Director of the Philadelphia VA Regional Office Introduces Himself to the Council
  • Community Educational Outreach’s Journey of Discovery Reaches Its End
  • Changing Our Stripes in Employment
  • Health Care in Our Community is at a Critical Stage in Its Development
  • Adam Keys Smart Home Build May or May Not Continue
  • A New Program Director Has Been Found for the Visitation Program
  • LVMAC is on a Mission to Recruit All the Area’s Universities and Colleges
  • Finally, Something Significant Out of State Government

The New Director of the Philadelphia VA Regional Office Introduces Himself to the Council

Robert McKenrick, the relatively new Director of the newly reorganized Philadelphia VA Regional Office of the Veterans Benefits Administration, spoke to the Council at its business meeting on 21 November. He brought along Eileen Kostic, Manager of the Veterans Service Center, and Leroy Saunders, a Military Services Coordinator.  Mr. McKenrick is a current war veteran from the Army Reserve.

Recently what was known as the VA Regional Office and Insurance Center (VARIOC) split (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC Tidbit — Veterans Day Discounts for 2012 and Pennsylvania’s Act 176 of 2012

We frequently get calls about Veterans discount programs.  On Veterans Day, in particular, businesses often discount goods, services and dining at their establishments as a token of appreciation for our our veterans and servicemembers, as well as their families.  One of the more complete and maintained sources is found at Military.com.  Click here for Veterans Day offerings.

By the way, Pennsylvania’s Governor on 24 October signed into law House Bill 2428 as Act 176 of 2012.  Its importance? (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC Tidbits — A Very Special Veterans Event

What:              Veterans Day Event Celebration
Where:            Veterans Sanctuary, 24 South Fifth Street, Allentown PA
When:             Saturday, November 10, 1-3 p.m.

Join the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council (LVMAC), Treatment Trends and Warrior Songs as we celebrate military veterans on Saturday, November 10, from 1-3 p.m. at the Veterans Sanctuary in Allentown. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago