Director's Message May 5, 2023
VAPIHCS Veterans, Suicide prevention and mental health are priorities for VA, and here at VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS), we will always do everything we can to help heal Veterans wounds; be they of the mind, body, or spirit.
I’d like to remind you all that the Veterans Crisis Line is now available by calling 988, then pressing 1. We also have mental health professionals on staff who are here to help. You can make an appointment by calling 1-800-214-1306. Don’t wait if you’re feeling depressed, upset, or in need of support. Reach out!
Nurses Month
Each May, Nurses Month is a wonderful opportunity for VA to recognize and celebrate our dedicated nurses for providing Veterans with the highest quality of care. Please join me in taking the opportunity to thank and celebrate all our nurses in May.
Nurses provide not only clinical expertise and knowledge but have proven time and time again that they are the most powerful, compassionate, and determined workforce ever. There is no better mission, serving our nation’s Veterans, as our nurses do every day.
To our VAPIHCS’ nurses, I want to say that of the many obligations you meet daily in your critical mission, the most significant is honoring the promise made to our Veterans. Thank you. Your continued dedication to Veterans inspires us all and may you all have a wonderfully rewarding Nurses Month!
The VA 2K 2023
Every year starting on May 3rd, 2023, we set up collection boxes at clinic locations across VAPIHCS to gather donations for houseless Veterans. After two weeks of collecting donations, we turn in the things that we have assembled and provide them to those within our ranks who spend their days doing outreach with our most vulnerable Veterans.
Items most needed by houseless Veterans:
• New-in-package socks and under garments
• Hygiene items such as shampoo, toothbrushes, mouthwash, etc.
• Shelf-stable foods that do not require cooking or refrigeration (including single serving snacks, like jerky, trail mix, or protein bars)
• New clothing and bedding
• Feminine hygiene products
Our mission to care for Veterans takes so many forms. This is just one of the ways that VA continues to do outreach.
At the end of the collection period on May 17, 2023, each of our locations is encouraged to join with Veterans in their area and participate in a two kilometer (2K) walk. This walk is a chance to talk with Veterans, and to encourage everyone to live a healthier lifestyle and reduce preventable injuries and illnesses. Find out more about VA’s Whole Health approach to health care and discover new ways to support your health and wellbeing.
Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Month
VAPIHCS has always made it a priority to build a diverse workforce and cultivate an inclusive work environment. We do this by developing and implementing policies and programs that promote diversity and inclusion in our workplace as we strive to ensure that VA’s workforce is drawn from the broadest segments of society. This helps us meet the present and future needs of our Nation’s Veterans, their families, and beneficiaries.
On Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) month, we seek to honor and appreciate our AANHPI staff, and Veterans. AANHPIs are the fastest growing racial group in the United States. According to the 2010 Census, the Asian population grew faster than any other race group in the United States between 2000 and 2010 (The Asian Population: 2010 Census Briefs [PDF]). By 2060, AANHPIs are expected to increase over four times as rapidly as the total U.S. population and grow to more than 47 million (Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Issues and Facts).
As one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse groups in the country, AANHPIs trace their heritage to over 30 different countries and ethnic groups and speak over 100 languages and dialects. Although AANHPIs have helped build a strong and vibrant U.S., many still face linguistic, economic, educational, and immigration barriers that often hinder them from achieving their full potential. VAPIHCS is working to ensure that everyone in the Pacific Islands has access to safe, compassionate, quality care as close to home as possible for our AANHPI Veterans, and for all our Veterans.
Thoughts from Chaplain Richie Charles
In the city of Enterprise, Alabama stands a statue of a woman holding above her head a giant insect. This monument is in commemoration of the positive impact this bug had on the city’s prosperity. But the story behind the city’s success may surprise you.
The insect is called the boll weevil, and though its name may sound unfamiliar, by the 1920’s, the boll weevil already held the reputation for being the most destructive agricultural pest in all of American History, resulting in billions of dollars in losses.
Boll weevils are voracious pests of cotton plants, and have been known to decimate much of a farmer’s cotton harvest. In the early 1900’s, the South had an economy heavily reliant on cotton as their cash crop, and the destruction of cotton growth by the boll weevil devastated the South’s livelihood and became a matter of public anxiety.
But you may still be wondering, why does Enterprise Alabama have a statue honoring this destructive bug?
Well in the early 1900’s, farmers were forced to try everything to eradicate the boll weevil, but they finally realized that the best way to limit their damage on the economy was to diversify away from just relying on cotton. Farmers realized that boll weevils were not drawn to peanuts, and they began to plant peanuts instead.
The plan worked. By 1917, Enterprise, Alabama was harvesting more peanuts than anywhere else in the entire nation and brought in millions of dollars of profit to the local economy.
The very creature that brought farms on the brink of ruin became the very creature that placed the city of Enterprise on the path to success. What made the difference? Their willingness to see opportunity in the midst of adversity.
When they looked back in retrospect, they became thankful for the challenges that the boll weevil brought, because it caused them to venture outside their comfort zone and grow in ways that they would have never grown had the boll weevil never came.
Let’s decide to discover the hidden opportunities in our present challenges and grow in new ways.
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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