VA pathologist was found to be "impaired" and misdiagnosed patients

Fayetteville VA Medical Center Pathologist Fired, Nearly 20,000 Local Veterans At Risk
5 News Online
Melissa Jones
June 18, 2018

Parks said the pathologist saw 19,794 patients. Letters are being sent out to all of them, or to their family members. The hospital is responsible for 53,000 patients each year, he said. Of the more than 19,000 patients involved, 5,250 have died since 2005, and those deaths are under review. He said they did not know if any of the deaths was related to the pathologist's review.

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) -- Officials with the VA Medical Center in Fayetteville and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced an investigation Monday after a pathologist was found to be "impaired" and misdiagnosed patients, resulting in at least one death.

Dr. Skye McDougall, the Network Director and CEO of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, began the announcement on Monday.
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Marine tattoo of Titan 2 caused viral lie

Reminder: It is not true just because you read it on social media!

Nazi or not? Tattoo sparks Twitter storm over wounded Pasco veteran 
Tampa Bay Times
Howard Altman
June 19, 2018

The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is pushing back against a social media post implying that a combat-wounded New Port Richey veteran has a Nazi symbol tattooed on his arm.

Justin Gaertner of New Port Richey, who lost his legs to an explosion in Afghanistan, trained as a forensic analyst to fight online pedophiles through the Department of Homeland Security. [CHRIS URSO | Staff (2015)]

In a tweet Monday afternoon, ICE officials denied the veteran is associated with Nazis. It quotes Justin Gaertner, a Marine who lost both legs to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2011, saying that the tattoo is not an Iron Cross but a "Titan 2" design, the symbol of his platoon.

Gaertner has been featured in news stories about a public-private program to investigate pedophiles, called the Human Exploitation Rescue Operative Child-Rescue Corps or HERO. Created by U.S. Special Operations Command, Homeland Security Investigations and the National Association to Protect Children, the program trains wounded, ill and injured commandos in computer forensics and law enforcement skills to help in the fight against online child sexual exploitation.
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Vietnam Veteran left Leavenworth VA Hospital with gun in parking lot

Veteran found shot in VA parking lot
Leavenworth Times
June 19, 2018

A Vietnam War era veteran died from an apparent suicide last week on the grounds of Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Leavenworth, according to a statement released by a hospital spokesman.

A Vietnam War era veteran died from an apparent suicide last week on the grounds of Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Leavenworth, according to a statement released by a hospital spokesman.

The veteran, who was identified as Michael Douglas, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at about 4 p.m. Wednesday in the emergency department parking lot of the Eisenhower VA Medical Center, according to a statement issued by Joseph Burks, public affairs officer for VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System.
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And how many more to the uncounted?

How many more of these older veterans will keep being left off the list of veterans who matter?

Miss America from tiara to tarmac?

Miss America Joins the Air Force
Military.com
Under The Radar
June 19, 2018

Scanlan is now an Airman First Class in the Air National Guard. She's also a law student at UC Berkley.

Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011, speaks to the crew of the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Charles Drew from the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Cape St. George during a replenishment at sea. (Christopher Johnson/U.S. Navy)

During her term as Miss America, Scanlan participated in USO tours, visited Walter Reed and Bethesda military hospitals and toured several military installations.
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Veterans are twice as likely as civilians to die by suicide

Please pay attention to this, since too many fall into the easy stuff of "raising awareness" that robs veterans of hope they can heal and #TakeBackYourLife instead of taking it.


Veterans more likely than civilians to die by suicide, VA study finds
NBC News
by Maggie Fox
Jun.18.2018

While the trend hasn’t changed since 2014, deaths by suicide are increasing among veterans just as they are in the general population.

James Kohr places an American flag at a veteran's grave at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Odessa, Texas, on May 28.Jacob Ford / Odessa American via AP file

Veterans are twice as likely as civilians to die by suicide, the Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday in its latest report on suicide.

Veterans make up more than 14 percent of all suicides, although they account for only 8 percent of the total population, the VA report said.

While the trend hasn’t changed since 2014, deaths by suicide are increasing among veterans just as they are in the general population, the VA found. Data for the study was obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Death Index.

“After adjusting for differences in age, the rate of suicide in 2015 was 2.1 times higher among veterans compared with non-veteran adults,” the report reads. Data for 2015 was the latest complete set of numbers available.

The rate was 1.3 times higher for male veterans compared with civilians and twice as high for female vets, the report found.

“In 2015, an average of 20.6 active-duty service members, non-activated Guard or Reserve members, and other veterans died by suicide each day,” it said.
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