Director's Message May 10, 2024

The opening of the new Daniel K. Akaka VA Clinic in Kapolei has been exciting, and we will also open a new Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Kailua-Kona which will replace the current, smaller location. There is a new CBOC Annex that will begin construction soon in Guam, and we are remodeling our other sites of care. As we continue to improve care and delivery methods for care to our Veterans in the Pacific Islands, VA is expanding and improving care nationwide, with many notable accomplishments. 
VA achieved all-time record accomplishments for Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors in fiscal year 2023 to include:

• Providing more world-class health care to Veterans: VA delivered more than 116 million health care appointments to Veterans, surpassing the previous all-time record by more than 3 million appointments.
• Delivering more earned benefits to Veterans and survivors: VA delivered $163 billion in earned benefits, including $150 billion in compensation and pension benefits, to 1,535,685 Veterans and survivors – all of which are all-time records. VA also processed 1,981,854 Veteran and survivor claims, surpassing the previous all-time record by 15.9%. 
• Encouraging more Veterans to apply for earned benefits: Thanks to the largest outreach campaign in VA history, Veterans submitted 2,433,729 claims applications – an all-time record and 39% more than in 2022. Veterans also submitted 2,299,815 intents-to-file – an all-time record and 62% more than in 2022. 
• Expanding health care eligibility to all WWII Veterans who served between Dec. 7, 1941, and Dec. 31, 1946, regardless of their length of service or financial status.
• Reimbursing health care costs for family members of Veterans exposed to contaminated drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune from Aug. 1, 1953 to Dec. 31, 1987.
• Supporting more Veteran caregivers: VA provided services, resources, and assistance to 74,200 Veteran caregivers participating in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) and the Program of General Caregiver Support Services (PGCSS).
• Supporting more Veterans in crisis: The Veterans Crisis Line received 1,058,134 calls, texts, and chats over the previous year – up 12.6% over the prior year. VA also provided no-cost emergency health care to 47,723 Veterans in acute suicidal crises through a new program launched in January. 
• Providing more dental care to Veterans: VA dental clinics provided 5.5 million procedures to more than 560,000 patients – an all-time record. This is an increase of 4.8% from the previous high number of Veterans provided dental care in FY 19.
• Providing more life insurance coverage for Veterans: VA provided an all-time record $1.5 trillion in life insurance coverage to 5.6 million policyholders. This includes new coverage awarded through VA life, a program that extended life insurance access to millions of Veterans. The VA Life program has now issued more than $1.1 billion in coverage to eligible Veterans. 
• VA has screened 5,424,783 Veterans for toxic exposures, a critical step to document Veteran exposure concerns, provide education and connect Veterans to available registry, benefits and other services, as indicated.
• Providing more resting places to our nation’s heroes: A record 5.4 million people — including 4.1 million Veterans — are now buried in VA national cemeteries. 
• Commemorating more Veterans on the Veterans Legacy Memorial: Nearly 10 million of the nation’s heroes now have individual commemorative pages in the Veterans Legacy Memorial – the nation’s first digital platform dedicated to the memory of Veterans and service members. This is an all-time record, reflecting an increase of more than 5 million Veterans over the past year alone.
• Processing more Veteran appeals: The Board of Veterans’ Appeals processed 103,245 Veteran appeals, an all-time record and 8.3% increase over 2022. 

National Police Week

From May 12, 2024, to May 18, 2024, VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS) will take part in the celebration of National Police Week. VAPIHCS Police Chief James Ingebredtsen would like to invite Veterans and staff to come and talk with VA Police to learn more about their role and ask questions during several “Coffee with a Cop” sessions. The VA Police force exists to protect Veterans and staff, and all are welcome to come and ask questions, discover how they can help, and learn more about our new officers and their role at VAPIHCS. Join us for the following “Coffee with a Cop” sessions:

• Spark Matsunaga Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) – Monday, May 13, 2024 at 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. 
• Community Living Center (CLC) – Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Daniel Kahikina Akaka VA Clinic –  Friday, May 17, 2024 at 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Chief Ingebredtsen has done a great deal for VAPIHCS, and for Veterans. I am proud that he has risen to the role of Police Chief, and I know that he will excel in this position and treat all Veterans and staff with dignity and respect. Please join me in welcoming the addition of a police force to our VAPIHCS services by coming out to one of these events and meeting with our VA Police. 

Other Than Honorable Discharge Proposed Rule Changes

On April 26, 2024, the Department of Veterans Affairs posted a final rule amending its regulations regarding character of discharge determinations, expanding access to VA care and benefits for some former service members discharged under other than honorable conditions or by special court-martial. When former service members with other than honorable discharges and bad conduct discharges (adjudged at special court-martial) apply for VA benefits and services, we carefully review their records to determine if we can provide them the requested care and benefits. This process helps ensure that VA can provide services to deserving former service members – including certain individuals who faced discrimination, survived sexual assault or harassment, struggled with their mental or physical health, or faced other challenges while serving in the military.

VA’s new regulation will expand access to care and benefits for certain former service members by:

• Eliminating the regulatory bar for “homosexual acts involving aggravating circumstances or other factors affecting the performance of duty” as a bar to benefits.
• Creating a “compelling circumstances exception” for certain former service members.
• Opening the door for previously denied service members to reapply for benefits.
• VA encourages former service members with other than honorable discharges and bad conduct discharges (adjudged at special court-martial) to apply for VA care and benefits today. Over the past 10 years, VA’s eligibility determination rate for these former service members has been 75% – meaning that VA provided care or benefits to 75% of them (57,000+ former service members).

Happy Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 12, 2024. My mother was a source of strength and wise counsel, and it meant the world to me to have her on my side in all my endeavors. To our Veterans who are mothers, or serve as a mother-figure to others, may you have a joyful and fulfilling Mother’s Day!

Thoughts from Chaplain Jewel Davis

I venture to guess that there’s a little bit of kid in each of us. You know, like when we wiped our fingers around the inside of bowls that had traces of leftover cake batter or cookie dough, and when had food fights and fed the dog our peas and carrots; when we made sculptures out of Play-Doh and fingerpainted our bedroom walls, went around and around on merry-go-rounds and up & down slides; when we built sandcastles at beaches, and cannonballed into swimming pools. Those times when we played dress-up in clothes five times too large and in shoes that swallowed our feet. When we awoke extra early on Saturday mornings to watch our favorite cartoons, and oh, let’s not forget when we ran full speed and jumped into puddles of water that beckoned us to get in. When we were probably kids for whom the phrase, “throwing all caution to wind”, meant absolutely nothing.

I further venture to guess it’s this beautiful childlike fascination, courage, passion, and privilege that inspires us to step into those spaces of the nebulous murkiness of illness. To place ourselves where beneath the surface the unknowns are rarely crystal clear. To be present to the realities of struggle and uncertainty and be attuned to fragmented hope that is often in conflict with worry and fear. To ally with Veterans, our leaders, and each other with an unwavering objective to achieve the greater good. And you know what else?  To be delighted by the opportunity to care for the needs of the most vulnerable and deserving persons.

You see, we are here because we’ve already jumped in.  We have arrived as adults to take on the complexities of providing various forms of health care while also being inspired by our childlike immersion and pleasure in the work that we do. How awesome is that?

And so, in closing, I venture to make one final guess, and that is, I hope it is safe to say that the following sentiment applies to us all: “We do what we love because we love what we do.”

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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