| Veterans
News Flash 
VA Creating Advisory Panel on Rural Health
BILLINGS, Mont., Feb. 20, 2008
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake
today announced the creation of a special Rural
Health National Advisory Committee to advise him
and the senior leaders of the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) about health care issues affecting
Veterans in rural areas.
In the last decade, VA has created outpatient
clinics that bring health care closer to where
Veterans actually live, Peake said. This advisory
committee, working within the highest levels of
VA, will ensure the Department remains responsive
to the health care needs of rural Veterans.
While Peake said many of the details of the panel
are still being formulated, the committee will
consist of members familiar with rural health issues.
The members will come from the federal, state and
local sectors, academia and Veterans service organizations.
The advisory committee will provide guidance to
Peake and to Dr. Michael J. Kussman, VAs Under
Secretary for Health. The panels first meeting
is tentatively scheduled for this summer.
VA has 25 similar advisory committees, each with
between 10 and 15 members. Members are typically
appointed to one-, two- or three-year terms to
ensure continuity of operations.
Milestones for VAs Rural Health Initiative
-- Established Office of Rural Health in VA headquarters
(February 2007)
-- First report to Congress on improving access
to mental health and long-term health in rural
areas (September 2007)
-- Increased mileage reimbursements for patients
for first time in 30 years (February 2008)
Expanding current programs
that provide:
* Services to Native American Veterans
* Mental health
* Long-term care
Expanding existing telehealth
programs and investigating new applications
* VA patients in 30 states now use telehealth
devices
* Established telehealth training center for VA
professionals in Lake City, Fla. (January 2004)
Current technology permits
* Patient care coordination among health care
professionals
* Exchange of routine clinical data from home-bound
patients
* Continuity of care to mobile senior snowbirds
Projects under consideration
* Mobile health care vans
* Transportation grants
* Collaborating with non-VA facilities
* Patient education through pod casts
SOURCE:
US Department of Veterans Affair
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