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VA Healthcare Network Upstate New York - VISN 2
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Summer 2007
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Outstanding Health Care Comes from Listening
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Attention
OIF and OEF Veterans
When filing a VA application to VA Regional Offices in Buffalo and
New York, please indicate at the top of your application that you are
an OIF/OEF veteran.
For general information about OIF/OEF veterans benefits, go to www. seamlesstransition.va.gov.
If you have questions about your application,
call the Buffalo OIF/OEF team at (716) 913-8964 or the New York team at
1-800-827-1000. You can also go to iris.va.gov to send an e-mail inquiry.
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What Brings You Joy?
As a follow-up to last issue’s article, “Be
Happier Now,” we asked readers to let
us know what brings them joy. Here are a
few responses we received:
“I find joy in collecting old postcards
from all over the world and noting how far
mankind has come both in culture and in
new technology.”
“I have a favorite radio station that
plays my favorite songs. I reminisce about
where I was when the song came out.” |
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About Our Mailing List
We make every effort to
maintain an accurate mailing
list. To be removed from our mailing list or to notify us of a patient's death, please call the Veterans Service Contact Center at 1-888-823-9656.
If you would like to be added to our mailing list or have a suggestion for us,
please write to: Editor,
Veterans’ Wellness
Network 2 Communications
465 Westfall Road
Rochester, NY 14620
or e-mail: Kathleen Hider.
Please be sure to include
your phone number with all
correspondence. Do not send your Social Security number or medical history.
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Editorial Board
Kathleen Hider
Barbara Sellon
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Stephen Lemons,
Network Director
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VA continues to garner praise in the national press for leading the
health care industry in customer satisfaction, provider performance
measures, bar code medication, data security and
online personal health care maintenance and telemedicine. VA consistently
provides care above the health care industry norms because we continually
solicit veteran input. One of our listening posts is a VA survey mailed
to patients after they receive either inpatient or outpatient care from VA.
Though the survey is lengthy, I encourage you to fill it out. Your feedback is
important and provides VA the data needed to make policy and process changes.
I hope you enjoy reading some of the preventive health articles on how to protect
yourself from too much sun and heat this summer. Have a safe and healthy summer.
Sincerely,
Stephen Lemons, Ed.D.
Network Director
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How’re We Doing?
We’d like to know what
you think about our health
services. Are you satisfied or is there
room for improvement? The best way
to tell us is by filling out the Survey of
Healthcare Experience of Patients (SHEP)
you may receive in the mail shortly after
a visit. More important, it’s the best
way to spur on improvement in the
system. (All information in the
survey is confidential.) |
The VetHome Program: A Step Closer to that
White Picket Fence
The Homes for Veterans Program offered
by the New York State Division of Veterans
Affairs and the State of New York Mortgage
Agency (SONYMA) provides a number
of benefits for veterans wishing to buy a
home. The VetHome Program features:
• a waiver of the requirement that buyers
need to be first-time owners
• a fixed interest rate that’s 0.5 percent below
the standard below-market interest rate
• closing cost assistance of $5,000 or
5 percent of the requested loan amount
• no borrower points.
For more information, log on to www. nyhomes.org* or www.veterans.state.ny.us* or call 1-800-382-HOME (4663). |
Keep Your Appointments
During the first three months of this
year, a whopping 24,705 VA patients
in upstate New York were “no-shows” for
scheduled health care provider appointments.
By calling to cancel, you allow other
veterans who need to see a provider to be
given your slot.
A missed appointment can have a harmful
effect on your health, too, especially if
you have a chronic condition like high blood
pressure, heart disease, diabetes or asthma.
For you to do your part to stay healthy,
keep your appointments. To help your
fellow veterans get timely care, please
remember to call to cancel any appointments
you can’t make. |
| * Links will take you outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs Web site. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked web sites. The link will open in a new window. |
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Summer 2007
Outstanding Health Care |
Eye Do |
HealtheVet |
Healthy Trip
Battle of Sexes |
Relieve Dry Mouth |
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
VA News and Updates |
Health Beat |
VA Wellness Programs
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| Reviewed/Updated Date: July 19, 2007 |
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