Director's Message January 26, 2024

In the first year of implementing the Comprehensive Prevention, Access to Care, and Treatment Act (COMPACT Act), over 49,700 Veterans received access to no-cost emergency mental health care. Expanding and enhancing access to crisis care and maintaining high-quality mental health care has helped us reach and connect Veterans with the mental health care they need. Last year, the Veteran Crisis Line (VCL) responded to over 1,400 calls for Veterans throughout the pacific islands. Dial 988, then Press 1 to reach the VCL. You can also send a text to 838255 or chat online.

As a federal government entity, our agency undergoes multiple surveys from oversight bodies and agencies, and these surveys help highlight areas that need improvement. Our focus is always to continuously learn and improve, and insight from these surveys helps us remain transparent and make the changes we need to serve our Veterans. In the last year, VA has connected two million Veterans to much-needed mental health services. Suicide prevention is a top VA and VAPIHCS priority. Veteran suicide deaths across the country are devastating, and highest amongst Veterans who do not seek VA medical or mental health care. As a Veteran, I implore you to seek the services you deserve. Call us to make an appointment today: 1-800-214-1306.

National Salute to Hospitalized Veteran Patients

On Thursday, February 1, 2024, VAPIHCS will hold a salute to our hospitalized Veteran patients from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot of the Center for Aging (CFA). This is our local effort to participate in the National Salute to Veteran Patients; a tradition that VAPIHCS is proud to honor. Employees may contact Center for Development and Civic Engagement (CDCE) Chief Schoen Safotu with questions about the event at (808) 433-7725.

We are privileged to live in this country and appreciative of the defenders of freedom who have given of themselves through military service. That is why VAPIHCS takes time each February to encourage our community to express appreciation and respect for those we admire; our Veterans receiving in-patient care.
I served for 35 years in the US Navy, and I am proud to work now to care for Veterans. We work very hard to provide the best, comprehensive treatments to Veterans as they age. We provide that care until it is no longer needed, which is why the National Salute to Veteran Patients is so important. There are no words that can adequately express what their sacrifices have meant to the nation. However, we can take time to express our personal thanks and appreciation to them, and we can make sure that we treat them with the dignity and respect that they deserve in times of difficult health struggles.

Right now, a new generation of servicemen and servicewomen are out there defending our country and protecting each of us. When their watch ends, we’ll be here to care for them as well. VAPIHCS is committed to providing care -and expanding care- for Veterans now, and those to come. No matter what else might change, trust that we will be here providing world-class health care to every Veteran.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Each year at the end of January we observe Holocaust Remembrance Day. This day was set aside so that we could take time to reflect on the actions of Nazis during WWII, in which they killed an estimated 11 million people. Of those, six million were Jewish men, women, and children. We remember them, and the tragedy of that loss. There were also members of the LGBTQ+ community who were murdered in the Holocaust. Disabled people, Autistic people, people who were designated as unfit to live, and people from foreign countries like Romania were also targeted.

As we stop to observe this solemn day, let us think honestly and fully about the prejudice, racism, and xenophobia that drove the Holocaust. We can recognize that it was an evil event in history, but the key is to hold on to why it was evil. It was hatred of those who are different that allowed the Holocaust to happen, and if we let that take root in our homes, communities, and our nation, then the same thing could happen again.

I have always said that I hope every Veteran and employee who walks through our doors feels welcome, regardless of their race, culture, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics. It’s also particularly important to me that all employees feel safe and comfortable to be themselves at work. We must strive to make all our spaces safe so that everyone feels welcome.

When we allow hate to flourish, we invite horrific events like the Holocaust. As we mark Holocaust Remembrance Day let us reflect on how vital tolerance and grace truly are. Let us value our differences, rather than let them divide us. We are stronger together than we ever could be apart.

Guam Community Call

Tomorrow and Sunday, we will hold a PACT Act Community Call on the island of Guam. The event will be in the Agana Shopping Center at 302 South Route 4 in the Rectangle Court & Room on the second floor, Hagåtña, GU, 96910. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both days, Veterans, spouses, and survivors will have access to VAPIHCS staff who can answer questions about PACT Act benefits. Veterans may also get blood pressure checks, health screenings, vaccines, and other services. Please come out and see us.

Thoughts from Chaplain Richie Charles

Perhaps we could all agree that we value the feeling of comfort. Whether it be the feeling of a soft plush pillow, or a soothing massage, few things can make our sojourn through life more enjoyable than the simple comforts of life. But unfortunately, sometimes in life, moments arise where maintaining comfort and doing what the moment truly calls for cannot both be true at the same time.

Sometimes remaining silent in the face of wrongs isn’t a tenable option. But speaking up can understandably make some nervous and uncomfortable. What will others think about me? How will speaking up impact my life? Will anything ever change? These questions are enough to keep our voices muted.

Many simply prefer peace. But, someone once challenged “would you rather keep peace or make peace?” To keep peace is to ignore the wrongs that we see and turn a blind eye to what should change in order to maintain the status quo and not ruffle any feathers. But this peace is only a veneer that covers what’s under the surface. To actually make peace, sometimes we have to take risks, have difficult conversations, and honestly put the hidden issues on the table. The process of doing so may be painful and even awkward in the moment, but if all the parties are willing to do what’s best for the whole, it will always result in a better condition in the end.

With the end of January upon us, we take time to pause and observe Holocaust Remembrance Day. We lift up the memories of the precious souls that suffered and lost their lives under the deepest indignities. Looking back into history may not always be what’s easy, but it can provide us with perspective to help us better engage the moments before us, and value the lives of the people we come across each day. Let’s determine to see in each other a person of inestimable value, and never fail to raise our voice for what truly matters.

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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