News

Mar 27,2014 | WASHINGTON – At a U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Senator John Hoeven pressed Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki and VA Under Secretary for Health Robert A. Petzel to allow veterans in western North Dakota to access health care services in the local community when available.

Local News by Kirsten Swanson last edited on Tuesday, January 07, 2014

The Department of Veteran Affairs announced Tuesday night that the VA Black Hills Health Care System will initiate an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to look at proposed reconfiguration of services at the Hot Springs VA Facility.

Secretary Eric Shinseki met with South Dakota representatives Tuesday to announce that the VA would move forward with plans that could potentially close the Hot Springs VA.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is collaborating with Kaiser Permanente, a leading member of the health care industry, to pool resources and ideas to solve some of the largest and most complex challenges in VA health care. "VA is always on the lookout for opportunities for partnerships with the private sector and other federal agencies to enhance care for Veterans,"said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has initiated a multi-faceted approach to reduce the use of opioids among America’s Veterans using VA health care.   The Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI) is a comprehensive effort to improve the quality of life for the hundreds of thousands of Veterans suffering from chronic pain. 

By Terri Moon Cronk | American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2014

The Defense Department has made troops' health records electronically available to the Veterans Affairs Department to speed up the adjudication of disability claims, a DOD health information technology official said.

WASHINGTON -- For the fourth consecutive year, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy receives the highest customer satisfaction score among the nation’s public and private mail-order pharmacies, according to a respected, independent study. “Our Nation’s Veterans deserve a first-class pharmacy as a part of the exceptional health care available,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “It is an honor to hear from Veterans that we are delivering on that commitment.”

MINNEAPOLIS -- Trista Matascastillo remembers arriving at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center in 2010 for an exam and thinking the hospital didn't quite get the needs of female veterans.

The exam room, for instance, opened onto the patient waiting area, she said. She had to ask that the door be closed. It was a tiny detail, one Matascastillo said staff fixed quickly. But the 16-year veteran keeps the story close by now that she is part of an effort to help the center improve care for women.

Friday, January 10, 2014
By CHABELLA GUZMAN Staff Reporter

Area Veterans may be looking at a longer trip for medical attention if the VA Black Hills Health Care System’s Environmental Impact Statement comes back against the VA hospital in Hot Springs, S.D.

“We take about 10 people a week to Hot Springs,” said John Brehm, director of Scotts Bluff County Veterans Service Office. “I know a lot of them drive up on their own, since they don’t want to wait on the van.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    
February 20, 2014

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced  the phased roll out of newly designed, more secure Veteran Health Identification Cards. The new cards are distinguished by additional security features and will have a different look and feel.