One of the most important things we give each other is our attention. VA’s Volunteers have been doing this for 70 years. This week we salute and thank them for their dedication. Read the full story

– The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) top health care official today announced progress and new steps VA is taking to improve Veterans access to health care. Dr. David J. Shulkin, Under Secretary for Health, announced the measures during a briefing to a group of more than 100 journalists attending the Association of Health Care Journalists’ conference April 8 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the opening of the 100th VA grant funded Veterans cemetery. An $8.9 million grant from the VA funded the new Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Marana, Arizona. The cemetery is the 100th Veterans cemetery funded with a VA grant awarded to a State or Tribal organization.

As key team members in Home Based Primary Care, VA’s Occupational Therapists make it possible for home-bound Veterans with complex health care needs to enjoy meaningful lives. Read the full story

Nearly 400 disabled Veterans are hitting the slopes this week at the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass Village, Colorado. The Clinic, sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and DAV (Disabled American Veterans), is the largest adaptive event of its kind in the world and will take place April 3 – 8.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced the award of twelve major contracts that will enhance its ability to deliver timely disability benefits claims decisions to the nation’s Veterans in line with the MyVA initiative. The contracts make up a $6.8 billion enterprise-wide Medical Disability Examination Program under Public Law 104-275, and represent a major step forward in improving the disability examination experience for Veterans.

VA is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the final withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam on March 29 with Vietnam Veterans Day. It is a long-overdue opportunity to honor and thank our Vietnam Veterans. Read the full story

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today the award of $784,421 in Specially Adapted Housing Assistive Technology (SAHAT) Grants to eligible individuals, researchers, and organizations to develop new technologies that would enhance Veterans and Servicemembers’ ability to live in specially adapted homes.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that an information technology system that it deployed in 2014 and enhanced in 2015, the Beneficiary Fiduciary Field System, allowed it to identify claim processing errors affecting approximately 14,000 Veterans and survivors. These Veterans’ and survivors’ claims were initially filed over many years, with some going back as far as 2000. The errors concern cases in which VA had proposed that due to disability or age the beneficiary was unable to manage his or her VA benefits without assistance, but did not complete the action by transferring it within VA for appointment of a fiduciary. These cases represent approximately four percent of such proposals since 2000.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced it will conduct hundreds of events in VA facilities across the nation on Mar. 29 to recognize, honor and thank U.S. Vietnam Veterans and their families for their service and sacrifices as part of the national Vietnam War Commemoration.