Director's Message August 25, 2023

CBOC Chief Kristin Cordaro and the entire Maui CBOC staff have worked tirelessly to help all in need during this devastating event and they epitomize our ethos of safe, quality, and compassionate care. This event has galvanized our commitment to our Veterans and to each other. The innumerable selfless acts of kindness and care are exemplified in our clinical care – our HUDVASH social workers, our Primary Care providers, social workers, nursing and admin staff, our Mental Health staff, Specialty care providers, nursing and admin staff, pharmacy, lab – in every layer of the Maui staff, and it continues every day.

 Teams from our Honolulu and CBOC ohana have flown to Maui to assist as we move forward with recovery efforts, which will continue as long as our Maui ohana needs them. We will continue to support over 3,000 Veterans who live in Maui, and will also make certain that our vulnerable Veterans have the care, communication, and support they need. VAPIHCS staff throughout the pacific are sending Maui their thoughts, prayers, and donations. Answering the call together is what truly makes VAPIHCS one team, one ohana.

 

Continued Support for Maui

VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS) is helping all residents affected by this tragedy in every way that we can. VA has created a resource page for Veterans affected by the devastating wildfires in Maui, and Veterans who need assistance can also call 1-800-214-1306 to speak with someone about resources that are available to them. For Pharmacy assistance, Maui residents can call 1-808-873-3680. The Maui Community Based Outpatient Clinic will continue to open its doors to Veterans in need, and walk ins are welcome.
We are also collecting donations for those affected by the fires. The collection point is Spark Matsunaga Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) at 459 Patterson Road, Honolulu, HI 96819. Some recommended donation items are cell phone chargers, blankets and pillows, clothing, prepaid phones, or shoes, and non-perishable food items and cases of bottled water. These items will be able to be picked up by Veterans and others in need at the CBOC, and they will also be distributed in the community as CBOC staff participate in outreach at community locations.

If you have questions about other ways you can help, please contact our Chief of the Center for Development and Civic Engagement (CDCE), Schoen Safotu at (808) 433-7725 or schoen.safotu@va.gov. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Maui in this difficult time.

Toxic Exposure Legislation
The Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins (PACT) Act was passed over one year ago. We continue to register Veterans under the PACT Act to access more benefits through VA than ever before. Any Veteran with a history of toxic exposure can enroll under the PACT Act, and we’d like everyone to come and speak with us as soon as they can to discover what benefits they may be eligible for.
We have an event coming up at the Oahu Vet Center at 1298 Kukila Street, Honolulu, HI 96818. Staff will be available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on August 31, 2023, and from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on September 1, 2023. All Oahu Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors are invited to attend.

We also have an event at the Arc of Hilo at 1099 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720. Staff will be on hand to speak with Veterans and provide health services from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both September 7 and 8, 2023,   Please call 1-800-214-1306 if you have any questions or if you need more information.
These events are intended to give Veterans an opportunity to talk with staff in their communities. Veterans are still welcome to make an appointment and come see us at our clinic locations if they’d like to enroll under the PACT Act. They can also call or go online to enroll. Making services available in the community is just one of the ways we are making access to health care easier.

 

Apply for Combat Status
Many factors that considered to determine what benefits a Veteran is eligible for. One thing that can impact the benefits a Veteran is eligible for is combat status. This designation is most commonly for Veterans who served in theatres of combat. These theatres of war include specific missions such as:

• Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan

• Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)

• Operation New Dawn (OND) in Iraq

Not all combat Veterans served on these missions. These are the most common combat Veterans eligible for benefits. Other Veterans may qualify for certain service benefits if they can prove they performed in another theatre of combat. For those who served in the National Guard of the Reserve forces, they are not immediately assigned combat status even if they were in combat. These Veterans must apply to have their combat status noted in their records.
VA has established a deadline for all post 9-11 combat Veterans to apply now before the eligibility window closes on September 30, 2023. Please call us at 1-800-214-1306 to find out more about eligibility rules and procedures, and to make an appointment to have a benefits counselor review your DD-214 and associated files. It’s very important to speak with a benefits counselor so that they can help you determine what benefits you can qualify for, and if you need to have combat status added to your records.

 

“Supporting our ‘Ohana”, from Social Worker Daniel Heathcock

After the disaster in Maui, does it seem like you don’t know how you should feel?

Sometimes grief feels that way.  Like there’s a “right” way to do it.  Like there’s an order to follow – a timeline – or maybe there’s something wrong if you’re not grieving right now. I’m here to tell you that those are myths. Grief is a normal human reaction to loss – this can mean the loss of your home, your belongings, your pets, and of course the loss of loved ones dear to us. This normal human reaction can feel unbearable and overwhelming, like a roller coaster you don’t want to be on. Feelings of sadness to anger to numbness are all common. In the initial aftermath, it can be helpful to focus on basic needs, getting stabilized, and finding healthy ways of coping with the intensity of the stress. It’s also important to find connection and community during the loss.

For some, you might be asking yourself, “How do I support someone going through this?”

Dr. Brene Brown talks about sympathy vs. empathy in a popular animated video.  “One of the things we do sometimes in the face of difficult conversations is we try to make things better.  If I share something very difficult with you, I’d rather you say, ‘I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m just glad you told me.’  It is rare that our words can make something better.  What makes something better is connection.” 
It’s the difference between trying to fix a problem and trying to listen and connect with someone having a problem.  There are no quick fixes right now in Maui.  But you can provide empathy and listening when you’re talking with someone affected. For all of us, directly or indirectly impacted, recognize that this is a marathon and not a sprint.

Hearing about tragedy and loss may bring about memories and feelings of your own personal losses.  This means you might feel more emotional during this time, and it may be hard to explain. Having self-compassion will be critical.  This means to be gentler with yourself, acknowledge your humanness, and have grace for your mistakes. Having self-compassion will allow you to not only be more kind to yourself, but it might just promote the same kind of compassionate connection that is needed throughout our ‘Ohana.  

Thoughts from Chaplain Richie Charles
The city of Lahaina in Maui was once the Capitol of the Hawaiian Kingdom before the Capitol was moved to Honolulu in 1845. In that city was a banyan tree which had stood as a sign of hope for the people of Maui. This banyan tree is now heavily charred from the fires that swept across the island, but it is still standing over Lahaina’s courthouse square. This banyan tree was planted on April 24, 1873, when it was just 8 feet tall, as a gift from Indian missionaries. Since that time, it grew to be extraordinary – some even said surreal – standing over 60 feet tall and with a circumference of a city block. It was the largest banyan tree in the United States.
The large canopy of this tree served not only as shade for generations of people, but it has also been the site of weddings, art festivals, elderly people playing chess, families having picnics, and many more people having special moments. Today, many people have hope that there is some chance for this famous tree to be revived despite its badly charred exterior. A protection zone is set up around the tree to protect it with fencing and signage. A team has set up a daily watering schedule to hydrate the ground beneath it. The tree has emerged as a symbol of hope for the people of Maui. Many trees have a regenerating ability within them that can help them bounce back from times of difficulty.
Though hopeful of its’ strength and its’ ability to grow new shoots, the people of Maui are leaving nothing to chance. Instead, they’re doing all they can to rally their efforts to preserve and restore as much as possible of this historic tree. Our concern and devotion to the people of Maui should not be any less. We should continue to marshal our support and gather all that we can contribute to the restoration of what has been lost. One person said to me that life doesn’t get any easier or more forgiving as you go along, and so we must get stronger and more resilient in times of devastation. Let us all embrace hope and work little by little to build back all that has been lost.

One Team, One Ohana!
Adam M. Robinson, Jr., MD, MBA, CPE
Director, VA Pacific Islands Health Care System
VADM, MC, USN, (RET)
36th Surgeon General, USN

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