VISN 2: Veterans' Wellness, Winter 2006

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VA Healthcare Network Upstate New York - VISN 2

Winter 2006

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday!

	Thanks for writing! We’d like to thank all the veterans who write us with comments, questions and suggestions. Your input helps us to improve Veterans’ Wellness magazine and the service you receive from VA Healthcare Network Upstate New York. If you have a suggestion for an improvement to VA health care or an idea for an upcoming article, let us know. E-mail the editor or write to Editor, Veterans’ Wellness, Network 2 Communications, 465 Westfall Road, Rochester, NY 14620. Please include your phone number for verification. In the future, we hope to highlight more of your ideas in Veterans’ Wellness.

	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: . Please be sure to include your phone number with all correspondence. Do not send your Social Security number or medical history.

	Editorial Board Kathleen Hider Barbara Sellon


Stephen Lemons, Network Director

I’ve been visiting and touring each of our upstate New York VA Medical Centers. This has given me the opportunity to learn more about what we’re offering veterans and to hear firsthand from patients about how we’re doing in meeting their needs. During my visits, I’m talking with medical center staff and leadership to ensure the health care needs of all our veterans are being addressed — from the newest veterans just returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to the veterans we’ve been serving for years.

I’m also witnessing some of the newest programs and technology being offered to veterans in our region. Here are some highlights:

Albany Stratton VA Medical Center is the first VA to offer TomoTherapy® radiation treatment. TomoTherapy targets radiation therapy directly to the patient’s tumor and limits the damage to surrounding healthy tissues. Veterans suffering from prostate, head, neck, lung and brain tumors will benefit tremendously from this new cancer treatment.
The Polytrauma Team at the Syracuse VA is helping to rehabilitate veterans who’ve recently suffered two or more injuries to their body. The center’s spinal cord injury unit is also being renovated and expanded.
The Buffalo VA is piloting the national initiative to eradicate methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a rapidly growing health care-associated infection, responsible for more than 100,000 hospitalizations each year. This initiative will enhance patient safety by reducing MRSA-related infections.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has named the Canandaigua VA one of the three centers of excellence in the country that will focus on mental health and posttraumatic stress disorder. As a center of excellence for mental health, the Canandaigua VA will provide clinical treatment, research and training, and establish “best practices” in the care of veterans with mental illness.
In our continuing effort to improve veterans’ health care access through partnerships with other agencies, in January, the Bath VA will begin collaborating with DePaul Addiction Services to provide detoxification care to veterans in the network’s southern tier.

On my visits, I’ve also observed some of the issues facing our medical centers, including access to care, parking and program space. I want to assure you that these issues are being addressed both organizationally and financially in 2007. I look forward to providing you with an update on our improvements in the next issue of Veterans’ Wellness.

I wish each of you a very healthy, happy and safe holiday season.

Sincerely,
Stephen Lemons, Ed.D.
Network Director

Reviewed/Updated Date: January 16, 2007