VA Town Hall Meeting with Secretary Bob McDonald and Congressman Sanford Bishop (D-GA)

1 July 2015, Central Georgia Technical College – Macon, GA

• Congressman Bishop opened the meeting with thanking the audience for their service and then stating his intent was to not just thank us with words, but with actions.  Congressman Bishop then gave a short bio for Secretary McDonald and introduced him to the audience.
• Secretary McDonald stated his three main objectives are:

1. Rebuilding trust with veterans and the nation
2. Improving service to veterans and driving down the claims backlog– 81% of veterans now have a choice in where they go for medical care and in the last year, overdue claims are down 77% and his goal is to have no overdue claims by the end of this calendar year
3. Eliminating homelessness – homelessness is down 33%, but his goal is 0% by the end of the year

• Secretary McDonald’s strategy to transform the VA is 5-fold:

1. Improve the veteran’s experience – wants the VA to be known as the best government agency for customer service
2. Improve the employee experience – without happy employees, service will suffer
3. Improve internal service support – specifically the IT backbone (outdated) and scheduling
4. Create a culture of continuous improvement (training employees in Lean Six Sigma)
5. Create strategic partnerships – the summer of service initiative seeking to have 100,000 volunteers.  The VA can’t do this alone and needs help.

Question and Answer session:

• Q: VFW concerns: $2.6B budget shortfall adversely affecting access to care; Needing a supplemental appropriation to fund the VA; wanting full view of the VA budget next year – will Congressman Bishop support?
• A: Congressman Bishop gave his full support as the ranking democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
• Q: How can the VFW help?
• A: The budget shortfall was based on the required operating expenses for the VA, being above the appropriation.  Like all other government agencies, the baseline funding was cut.  The VFW and other Veteran Service Organizations can continue to push for sufficient funding.  The VA needs to hire more people if they are to drive down timelines, yet requests for additional hiring funds keep being stripped out by Congress.  Veteran Benefit Advocates have served mandatory overtime for over 4 years, and this isn’t sustainable.  Additionally, the VA has kept 7 million appointments since last year and has seen an increase in the number of veterans seeking care from the VA, even if they have other medical providers.
• Q: What is being done to remove ineffective and inefficient employees?
• A: 91% of VA facilities have new directors or new leadership teams, hundreds have been fired, and more are under investigation.  The way to help is when service is good, provide the name, place and time so employees can be recognized; similarly, if service is poor, to take action the VA needs the specifics (name, place, time, issue).  Secretary McDonald is committed to holding his personnel accountable
• Q:  For veterans with the Choice card, can there be a list distributed or on the website that has the participating providers?
• A:  Good idea, they will work it.  There also needs to be better information passed down on how the Choice card works.  With the change in policy to 40 miles driving distance (versus as the crow flies), twice the number of veterans are now eligible.  The VA has added staff and is working with HealthNet and TriWest to add providers.
• Q: Camp Lejeune water treatment and birth defects.  Can it cover children retroactively since thousands have been spent over a lifetime for care?
• A:  Right now the law states who qualifies and it didn’t cover recipients retroactively.  The VA has proposed making the law retroactive, but it hasn’t passed yet.  Additionally, as more laws are passed and qualified recipients increase, the VA needs the additional funding for care.  The VA is continually studying groups (recent decision on C-123 crews).
• Q:  Personal case – Hepatitis C now approved for benefits and drug regiment for cure, but the veteran not compensated for travel
• A:  The VA does have approval for Hepatitis C care and a regimen that will cure Hepatitis C at $600/pill (versus $1000/pill in the community).  The member should get in touch with the staff to work on reimbursement
• Q:  Why is it so difficult for Gulf War Syndrome to be approved?
• A:  There are multiple symptoms and the science isn’t good.  The VA is working to improve the science.
• Why is there no continuity of care between VA facilities?
• A:  VA facilities operate independently and are not linked by one system that documents medication and records.  The VA has a team working to create an IT backbone that will allow veterans to be helped at any VA medical center.  Congressman Bishop is advocating for a seamless DoD to VA health record system.
• Q:  What funds are available to rehabilitate hotels, buildings, etc. for veteran & family housing?
• A:  There are funds available and the VA will work with developers to fund projects
• Q:  What is being done to upgrade discharges for members separated under other than honorable conditions due to PTSD?
• A: The Department of Defense handles service characterization boards, and Secretary McDonald met with SecDEF Carter last week to ask that DoD double their efforts
• Q:  What is the VA doing in regards to veteran hiring initiatives and veteran preference?
• A:  Vet preference still matters to the VA.  Contact the VA for employment opportunities.  There are other initiatives like Warrior for Wire – training in the IT space, work with Gas companies for employment, etc.
• Conclusion:  Secretary McDonald stated the VA is making progress, but asked the audience to be patient.  If anyone has a specific issue with the VA, or has a positive experience, provide him the name, date and time to bob.mcdonald@va.gov

Governor Deal’s 2015 State Memorial Day Observance & Dedication of the State OIF/OEF Memorial

Yesterday we had the honor of attending the Governor’s Memorial Day Observance ceremony out at the new Liberty Plaza by the State Capitol. It was a beautiful day to celebrate and remember those Veterans from the State of Georgia who made the ultimate sacrifice. The event itself was full of Veterans from all branches and corners of the state as well as many elected officials on hand including Senator Mike Dugan, who gave some very heartfelt remarks about his time in the military and what it meant to him.

The ceremony was so well done and the memorial itself looks great. I encourage anyone visiting downtown Atlanta to make a stop by the Capitol to check out all the memorials honoring our military that are spread throughout the campus.

 

                               

Augusta Technical College Veterans Service Center Ribbon Cutting

Last Wednesday our team was down at Augusta Technical College for a long awaited Ribbon Cutting of the new Veterans Service Center. The day began with a perfect Augusta morning that brought hardly a cloud in the sky and the temperature sitting in the high 60’s and rising. Members of the community came out to show their support for the new facility as well as many staff and students of Augusta Technical College. The center itself is filled with inviting plump leather couches and a back wall lined with computers. The perfect place to hang out or get some work done, all while hanging out with other Student veterans.

After almost dozing off on one of those couches we headed out to Fort Gordon to check out some things the Augusta Warrior Project is doing in their local community to help Veterans. If you aren’t familiar with their work, take a look a this link. We had a really productive meeting with them and are really looking forward to teaming up with them in the future.

Check out some of the pictures from our trip!

Albany Tech

On Tuesday, February 10th, we rolled into the Albany Tech parking lot ready to see what this great school had to offer.  The president, Dr. Anthony Parker, interrupted his busy schedule to met with us for over an hour.  Did you know Albany Tech is an approved government contractor and is the only institution in the state to offer LEAN Six Sigma credit & non-credit training (both green and black belt).  WOW…this is a huge benefit to both the military and industry. Courtesy of Beth Brown, our extremely informative tour guide, we not only explored what Albany Tech is doing on the Prior Learning Assessment front, but had the opportunity to meet with interested folks from the community and the staff to give them an update of what the Military Affairs team is doing.  We must have done a good job since they’re smiling in the picture.  What a great day filled with valuable information on how to give our military members prior learning credit for their experience and training.

Compliance with Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act 2014 (section 702)

Georgia became the second state to comply with public law 113-146.  Both the Technical College and University System of Georgia have approved the policy change offering in-state tuition rates for up to three years post separation for military, their  their dependents or other individuals approved to use Post 9/11 GI bill education assistance .

Fee Waiver for Military using Tuition Assistance

Great news for military using tuition assistance!  At this month’s President’s Council, the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) unanimously approved to allow college presidents to waive all fees (to include the institution and technology fee which were previously unwaiverable), for all military using Tuition Assistance.  The change will take affect summer semester of 2015.  Instead of military members deciding on a program and school based on out-of-pocket expenses, they can choose from our 23 schools across the state and 600+ courses to earn their technical certificate, diploma or associates degree without additional admission fees.  The University System of Georgia has also adopted this policy.  This is just one of the many ways Georgia is trying to make it easier for military members to get the training and education they need!

Veterans Task Force Video Update

Hello all and welcome to 2015! A few weeks back I had a post regarding Georgia Piedmont Technical College the great team Cory Thompson put together for us to make our video. Yesterday we got to meet with all the people involved to brainstorm and get an idea of what we might want to include in our video. I was so impressed with how quickly the team at Georgia Piedmont was able to start forming a plan for the video. This is such a great opportunity for everyone involved and I think it will be such a beneficial reference for all Military Personnel as they ponder what to do next. There are so many great options out there and this video will provide some great information about many of them. I cannot wait for everyone to see it! We are also working on getting more involved in social media so be on the lookout for a new Twitter handle and Facebook page!

Friday, 19 December at the Museum of Aviation’s Century of Flight, over 100 women veterans gathered for a conference hosted by the Georgia Department of Veteran Services.  Presentations included resiliency and how life in the military, especially in a deployed environment, may affect women differently.  The sensitive area of sexual trauma and the resources available was featured, as well as resume and interviewing tips.  Vendors supporting veterans around the state were set up in the back of the hangar.  In case you weren’t aware, Georgia ranks 5th in the nation with the number of women vets, just over 108,000.  As a female vet, it is good to see Georgia supporting this unique population in their 2nd annual conference.  I look forward to next year and hope to pack the Museum of Aviation!

The Technical College and University Systems of Georgia approve in-state tuition for military

Both the Technical College and University System approved to grant in-state tuition rates to military members and their families for up to 36 months post separation.  Now our accredited and respected institutions of higher learning are more affordable for previously out-of-state veterans and their families who decide to make Georgia their home.

Returning Veterans Task Force

A HUGE shout out to Cory Thompson and his Broadcast team at Georgia Piedmont Technical College for agreeing to create/produce a video for the Governor’s Returning Veterans Task Force!  When the Service’s transition programs became more prescribed with no leeway in adding curriculum, the “local” information could no longer be presented to our transitioning service men and women.  In order for our military members and their families to make an informed choice about staying in Georgia, the military installations in Georgia have agreed to show a short video describing what the many state agencies, to include the Technical College System of Georgia, do for our veterans.  As the 8th state in number of veterans, the 5th in active duty and the 5th in women veterans, Georgia is definitely a military and veteran friendly state.  This video is a tremendous initiative since according to the statistics from Ft. Stewart and Hunter Air Airfield, 58% of soldiers separating want to stay in Georgia and 40% haven’t made up their mind.  Thanks in advance to the students, Cory and the leadership of Georgia Piedmont Technical College to taking on this project during Spring semester!