Director's Message February 3, 2023

Most school children don’t learn a lot of Black history growing up, just as they don’t learn a lot of Native Hawaiian history. School curriculums have improved, and there is more of an emphasis now on including all cultures who have helped to found the United States of America.  Even now there are those who do not recognize the importance of history as the beacon of light that can help us all toward our journey to a more perfect union. That’s why observances of Black History Month, as well as other cultural and ethnic history observances, are so crucially important.  It is our ability to learn and assimilate our new knowledge and understanding into both compassion and empathy that makes us unique. 

Here are some fun facts you may not know:

Before becoming known for having his own talk show, Montel Williams enlisted in the U.S. Marines after graduating high school. He went to basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina, where he was promoted to platoon guide. After basic training, he was sent to the Desert Warfare Training Center at Twenty-nine Palms, near Palm Springs, California. During his marine enlistment he attended the naval academy prepatory school in 1975.  He was accepted as the first black enlisted marine into the naval academy and was graduated in the class of 1980.  He obtained degrees in general engineering and international security. He would ultimately depart the navy with the rank of lieutenant and received the Navy Achievement Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Navy Commendation Medal.

Here are other African Americans who you know:

Before representing Harlem for decades in Congress, Charlie Rangle earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his service in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, where he led a group of soldiers out of a deadly Chinese army encampment during the Battle of Kunu-ri in 1950. Actor/Comedian Sinbad served in the Air Force as a boom operator aboard KC-135 Stratotankers. Before selling millions of records as a global rap star, MC Hammer served as a Third-Class Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy. Morgan Freeman was an Airman First Class in the Air Force before becoming an Oscar-winning actor.

As of the 2021 census, there are roughly two million Black American Veterans.  African Americans have served in every United States war including the Revolutionary War.  African Americans have also contributed famous poets like Maya Angelou and Robert Hayden. They’ve contributed famous athletes like Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympic games and Jackie Robinson, who was a star at Football, Basketball, Track, and Baseball. Dr. Carter G. Woodson, known as “The Father of Black History,” started the first Black History Week in 1926 to ensure that students would learn Black History. It grew into Black History Month starting in 1976 and continues today.

There are so many more people that deserve to be listed, but it would take years to tell you about all the stories of Black Americans in history, and that’s the real purpose of observance months. It’s to help us learn about things we might not have known, and to highlight the fact that so many groups of people have made significant contributions to the history and the distinctiveness of our Nation. Our nation is truly a diversified quilt blended with the multicolor threads of many peoples and cultures.  Our country’s greatness is the coalescence of immigrants who have come together within the fabric of our Bill of Rights and Constitution  to become a welcoming and compassionate oasis of freedom and democracy.

PACT Act Enrollment Efforts Continue

The PACT Act was passed in August of 2022, and VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS) is working hard to enroll new veterans who have become eligible under this legislation. Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors are the heart of America, having dedicated their lives to serving and sacrificing for this country—for all of us—in the times when we’ve needed them most. Now, it’s our job to serve them as well as they have served us by delivering timely access to world-class health care and earned benefits.

If you are in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI) please join us for a PACT Act Community Call February 8 and 9, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hyatt Saipan, 873 Micro Beach Road Garapan, Saipan, Mariana Islands, United States, 96950. This event isn’t just for newly eligible Veterans. Veterans who are already enrolled may also come for vaccines, diabetic foot checks, health screenings, blood pressure checks, or benefits questions.

Whole Health Theme of the Month: Personal Development

Whole Health is something that we talk a lot about here at VAPIHCS. This month’s theme is Personal Development, and VA has a lot of programs devoted to just that. If you want to start therapy, VA has counselors to help you do that. If you want to get in shape and move more, VA has programs to help you do that. Even if you just need help and advice finding housing or a job, VA has programs for that. If there’s something about yourself that you would like to improve, or some aspect of your personal development that you need help with, give us a call and set up an appointment with your Primary Care team. Let them walk you through what is available and find the resources you need to succeed. You can have a better 2023 with VA! Call 1-800-214-1306 to make an appointment.

Veteran’s Access to Bases in Guam

Veterans often have questions about access to military bases and services in Guam. For VA, the most important issue is access to the military installation where Guam Naval Hospital is located. That’s because most Veterans are referred there for specialty care. Previously, Veterans had to be on a list and have an appointment that day to get on to the medical installation where Guam Naval Hospital is located. This has changed. Veterans can now take their Veteran Identification Health Card (VHIC) to the security office and get a sticker that will allow them to access to Guam Naval Hospital for a two-year period. Although this sticker must be renewed every two years, it will still make accessing medical services much easier for Veterans of Guam.

Despite this new rule offering easier access for Veterans, there will still be an exception if the Veteran is a convicted felon. Felons can access the medical installation for VA care, but they will need to be accompanied by security personnel. This is not a VA rule. VA negotiates Veteran’s access privileges with the Department of Defense (DOD), and it is the DOD that sets conditions on felons accessing their facilities.

It’s important for Veterans to note that having access to base does not grant access to gas pumps, stores, or other amenities that are on the medical installation. Access to those facilities is still determined by the previous DOD guidelines that were set in place. Veterans have access to Commissary, Gas Station, and NEX or PX privileges if they:

• Have a service-connected disability rating and were honorably discharged or
• Are retired from military service or
• Are a former prisoner of war or
• Are a member of the Army Reserves or
• Have received a Purple Heart or a Medal of Honor

Family members have access if they:

• Are a surviving spouse of a service member (if you haven’t remarried), or
• Are the Primary caregiver of an eligible Veteran (recognized under the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family and Caregivers), or
• Are a dependent or survivor of an eligible service member, or
• Are a dependent of an eligible member of the Reserves

Please note that overseas access may vary by country, and is determined by the DOD. There is no need to apply for access. If a Veteran is eligible, all they need is an eligible identification card to present at checkout. Qualifying Veterans can show their Veterans Health Identification Card (VHIC) or a letter from VA along with their passport of driver’s license. Anyone with questions can call about access to DOD services on base can call: 1-800-827-1000.

In addition to the recent changes in how to access Guam Naval Hospital, there have also been changes to who can sponsor a visitor onto base. At this time, Active Duty, Retired Military, Dependents, and CAC holders can all sponsor a visitor onto base. This does not change who can access the Commissary, NEX, PX, or other stores. It only means they can sponsor someone on base for beach access or other things that do not require an ID. The process for visitors is still the same. All visitors must go to the visitor control center with the ID holder who will sponsor them, and obtain a visitors pass.

If you have been denied access to the medical installation where Guam Naval Hospital is located in the past, understand that the requirements have changed. Please bring your Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC) to the security office and get a sticker that will allow you to access to that specific base for two years at a time.

Long COVID Treatment Program

A program to treat “long Covid” patients has been developed at VAPIHCS. If you have concerns, you can ask your Primary Care Provider for a referral to Epidemiology. If you have ongoing or new symptoms after having COVID-19 that do not go away or that get worse for four weeks after being sick, you may have long COVID. Anyone who has had COVID-19 can experience long COVID. It is estimated that between 4% and 7% of the population will develop long COVID. Women are more likely than men to be affected.

Learn more about the symptoms of long COVID by downloading this fact sheet, with space to write down your own symptoms and share with your doctor. If you think you have long COVID, contact your care team at 1-800-214-1306 to schedule an appointment today.

Thoughts from Chaplain Richie Charles

The 1936 Olympics of Berlin was an exciting event that would prove historic on several fronts. One of the main attractions set on this international stage was Jessie Owens, an African American athlete dubbed the fastest man on the planet during those times. Many recall that event as the moment when Jessie Owens shattered world records, but unbeknownst to many, there was a deeper narrative that Jessie Owen’s victory was also shattering.

To understand the significance of Jessie Owen’s victory, one must consider the backdrop of those times. This Olympic event was held in Berlin, Germany while Germany was still under Nazi Rule with Adolf Hitler at the helm. Historians tell us that Hitler wanted to use the Olympics -which was held on his home turf- to propagate his regime and prove to the world his idea of the racial superiority of the Aryan ‘master race.’

But to Hitler’s dismay, the results of the race did not go as planned. Jessie Owens, who was registered for four different competitions in the Olympics, electrified the audience, coming in first place in every race he competed in. Jessie Owens left the competition with four gold medals, shattering world records, but also challenging the words that sought to define him as inferior.

We all possess an immense power – we all have the power of words. Words can uplift; they can discourage. Words can unlock doors of potential, and words can chill our most precious aspirations. What made Jessie Owen’s victory even more remarkable was his ability not to allow someone’s definition of him to limit his possibilities.

During this Black History Month, let us not forget the intrinsic value that we all possess, and let us choose only to be defined by the right words.

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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