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Veteran's E-News (December 2008) |
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FLORIDA VETERANS
MULTI-PURPOSE CENTER |
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Help Us Save
America's Wild Mustangs
Call: 954-791-8603 |
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Florida Veterans Multi-Purpose Center’s
Equine Assisted Therapy Program |
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The natural senses of horses as
prey animals and how they compare to veterans
exposed to the trauma of war. Keen senses allow
horses (and traumatized veterans) to pick up
very slight changes in the environment. Often
more sensitive to subtle movements, far-off
sounds or vibrations, and smells than you are,
horses (and traumatized veterans) are frequently
alerted to imagined potential danger (mountain
lion enemy) while you notice nothing out of the
ordinary. When a horse
(or a traumatized veteran) is convinced that
danger is imminent, his reaction is (flight or
fight) to flee or if restrained in any way, to
break loose. It is the rare horse (or
traumatized veteran) that on its own will calmly
re-assess the situation in the event that he
might be imagining things. |
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Toxic Chemicals Blamed for Gulf War Illness |
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MONDAY (HealthDay News) -- Gulf War illness,
dismissed by some as a psychosomatic disorder,
is a very real illness that affects at least 25
percent of the 700,000 U.S. veterans who took
part in the 1991 Gulf War. It's likely cause
was exposure to toxic chemicals that included
pesticides that were often overused during the
war, as well as a drug given to U.S. troops to
protect them from nerve gas, a frequent weapon
of choice of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
And no effective treatments have been devised
for the disorder.
Those are three key conclusions of a
Congressionally mandated landmark report
released Monday by a federal panel of scientific
experts and veterans. |
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Study links heart disease, Agent Orange Toxin |
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Scientists studying dioxin exposure in humans -
including Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent
Orange - have found a correlation between the
chemicals and the death rates of heart disease
and cardiovascular disease. The research,
presented in Environmental Health Perspectives,
shows that there are “consistent and significant
dose-related associations” with heart disease
and modest associations with cardiovascular
disease. |
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Dioxin Exposure and Cardiovascular Disease |
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Dioxins have long been known as highly toxic
compounds, having been implicated in cancer,
immune system disorders, endocrine disruption,
and birth defects. Animal and in vitro studies
have also suggested a role for dioxins in heart
disease. Now a systematic review of
epidemiologic studies has found an association
between dioxin exposure and death from
cardiovascular diseases, particularly ischemic
heart disease (reduced blood supply to the
heart) [EHP 116:1443–1448; Humblet et al.]. |
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National Resource Directory for Wounded
Warriors |
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Department of Defense Launches National Resource
Directory for Wounded Warriors, Families &
Caregivers. The Department of Defense today
launched the National Resource Directory, a
collaborative effort between the departments of
Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs. The
directory is a Web-based network of care that
includes resources for wounded, ill and injured
service members, veterans, their families,
families of the fallen and those who support
them.
This information has recently been updated,
and can be accessed by visiting this link:
http://www.disabilityinfo.gov |
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VA Worker, 13 Others Charged in Fraud Scheme |
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A Veterans Administration
employee and 13 other people have been charged
with conspiring to steal nearly $2 million in
disability claims. Veterans Affairs service
representative Jeffrey Allan McGill and Daniel
Ryan Parker, a veteran and officer with the
Disabled American Veterans, were among the 14
charged Wednesday by a federal grand jury with
conspiring to defraud the U.S. of $1.9 million
through the submission of false veterans
disability claims to the Department of Veterans
Affairs.
The indictment outlines an alleged scheme for
veterans to falsely claim to have suffered from
bipolar disorder, hearing loss, frostbite, back
injuries and other ailments and disabilities. |
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Gates: Follow law on PTSD-disability rating |
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Defense Secretary Robert Gates has issued a
policy stating that the military will follow a
new law requiring that service members being
medically retired for post-traumatic stress
disorder be rated at least 50 percent disabled,
a provision of the 2008 Defense Authorization
Act. But the Pentagon is ignoring another
provision of the Act that requires a review
board to be set up for medical evaluation cases,
and has even added some pain to service members
who feel they have been wronged: Decisions by
the board, whenever it is formed, will not be
retroactive. |
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Peake Announces Travel Reimbursement
Increases |
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Secretary Peake Announces Travel Reimbursement
Increases for Eligible Veterans WASHINGTON –
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
announced today that eligible veterans will see
an increase in the mileage reimbursement they
receive for travel to VA facilities for medical
care.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B.
Peake announced today that he will use his
authority to raise the mileage reimbursement
from the 28.5 cents per mile to 41.5 cents per
mile for all eligible veterans. |
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VETERANS’ COMPENSATION INCREASE ANNOUNCED |
5.8 percent increase effective December
1stctober 16, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Effective December 1, 2008,
veterans' disability compensation, among other
benefits, will be increased by 5.8 percent, to
respond to the increasingly high cost-of-living
in the United States.This increase was
secured by an Act of Congress, authored by U.S.
Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the
Veterans' Affairs Committee. The exact
percentage increase of 5.8 percent was
determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
corresponding with the increase in the Consumer
Price Index (CPI). The Social Security
Administration reports that this year's CPI
increase is the largest since 1982. Last year's
increase was 2.3 percent. |
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