VA Reaches Out to Former Prisoners of War Department Enlists Public’s Help in Contacting Former POWs

Do you know any former prisoners of war (POW) or their family members? If so, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) needs your help. VA is once again reaching out to former prisoners of war not currently using VA benefits and services, urging them to contact the Department to find out if they are eligible for health care, disability compensation and other services. “One of VA’s highest priorities is meeting the needs of former prisoners of war,” said (former) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson. “They are extraordinary men and women who have endured captivity, suffered extreme deprivation and sacrificed their own freedom to preserve the freedom of all Americans. ”VA estimates more than 25,000 former prisoners of war are alive today. VA is trying to contact the remaining POW’s not receiving any benefits or health care through an outreach program that includes asking citizens to pass the word to veterans they know. VA also extends a helping hand to the surviving spouses   and family members of former POWs, who may be eligible for certain benefits and services. In recent years, VA has expanded benefits to all former POWs with strokes and certain common heart diseases. More than a dozen other diseases were already covered. The government’s effort to inform former POWs about improvements in benefits faces a particular hurdle with older veterans who may not have been in touch with VA for decades. A majority of former POWs are veterans of World War II, and their military service was before the use of Social Security numbers as military “service numbers.” As a result, it is difficult for VA to track down those who have not been in contact with the Department in recent years. During recent years through a nationwide outreach campaign that included direct mailings and the help of news media and veterans organizations, VA has added hundreds of former POWs to its compensation rolls, people who had not previously been receiving benefits to which they were entitled. If you know a former POW, please ask him or her to contact VA at 1-800-827-1000. Details about benefits and services available to former POWs and family members are available on the American Former Prisoners of War website.   Volunteer Requirements As many of you are aware, volunteer requirements never seem to end. A few years ago, a person would come to our office ready to volunteer. That person would fill out a volunteer application and could actually start their volunteer assignment that same day! In today’s society, that can no longer happen. In an effort to insure the safety of our patients, staff and other volunteers, we must conduct additional security checks for a variety of assignments. Now, instead of same day volunteer assignments, we are looking at an approximate two-week start time for new volunteers. Some of the requirements for new volunteers include: Volunteer application (completed and signed) Parental approval for student volunteers (signed) Volunteer Orientation Completion of form 2280 (position risk and sensitivity level designation) Copy of assignment position description Two forms of photo identification Fingerprinting and background check for some assignments Completion of the National Practitioner Data Bank – Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (NIPDB-HIPDB) for volunteers with frequent 1:1 patient contact Parking decal Drivers must have: - All of the above - Defensive Driving Course - Physical - License check by VA Police

Winter 2007 Voluntary News Director's Message | Former POWs Albany | Bath | Canandaigua | Syracuse | Western New York Voluntary Staff

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