Director's Message September 22, 2023

Here’s what you need to know:

• The COMPACT Act creates a new benefit for the provision of, payment for, and reimbursement for emergent suicide care for those who meet the criteria of Veteran status as defined in 38 U.S.C. 5303A.
• Eligible individuals will receive emergent suicide care at no cost, along with follow up care related to the emergent event for 30 days inpatient and 90 days outpatient.

All Veterans who served for more than 24 months on active duty and who were discharged with honorable status are eligible. You do not need to be enrolled with VA. Veterans who would like more information regarding VA health care should call 1-800-214-1306. For immediate assistance with suicidal ideation, call 988. Community providers can call 1-844-724-7842 with any questions about eligibility.

Upcoming Events

In celebration of the 100th Anniversary of women’s health care at the VA, the VA Pacific Islands Women’s Health Program will host a painting event on Monday, September 25, 2023. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,  at the Oahu Veterans Center at 1298 Kukila Street, Honolulu, HI 96818. If you are a woman Veteran and you would like to attend, please call 808-835-9570 to make a reservation, as space is limited.

VAPIHCS employees will be marching in the Honolulu Pride parade on October 21, 2023, beginning at 8 a.m. at Magic Island. After the parade, there is a free event at Kapi’olani Park across from the Honolulu Zoo, where VAPIHCS employees will host a booth until 5:30 p.m. when the event ends. Please come talk to us. We’d love to see you!

At the VAPIHCS Community Living Center (CLC), we will hold the first in-person memorial to remember and honor our loved heroes who have passed away in the last year. Veterans’ families are invited, as well as staff. The memorial will take place at the CLC from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Friday, October 27, 2023. To RSVP, call Chaplain Paige Morris at 808-433-0270 or email her at Paige.Morris@va.gov. Masks will be required. 

Thoughts from Chaplain Richie Charles

It’s been said that “genius is one percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration.”
This notion is exemplified by the stories of inventors and innovators who turned initial failures into remarkable successes.

Take for instance, Douglas Engelbart, who introduced the computer mouse in the early 1960s to enhance computer interaction. Before his invention, users had to grapple with complex keypunch cards and manual switches. Initially, Engelbart's idea to create the computer mouse failed and ran into funding issues and team departures. However, in 1979, Steve Jobs resurrected the mouse, recognizing that the initial failure didn't mean it was a bad idea. And the rest is history.

A similar story is seen with the modern-day pacemaker. Wilson Greatbatch wanted to create a device that could listen to, and record the human heart, but he failed in that goal. When attempting to record the heart’s electrical impulses, Wilson chose the wrong size resistor. Instead of recording, his device was giving out an electrical pulse of its own. But that failed invention led to our modern-day pacemaker and would result in the saving of millions of lives over the next 60 years afterwards. 

And have you ever used a cleaning product called Formula 409? Do you know how it got its name? The name is a tribute to the two Detroit scientists who wanted to create the ultimate formula for a cleaner that could cut through grease, bacteria, and more. The problem was that they didn’t find a satisfactory formula on their first try. Neither on their 2nd or 100th try. The cleaning agent is called 409 because it wasn’t until their 409th batch that they were satisfied with their product.

Sometimes our greatest opportunities are disguised in what looks like apparent failure and rejection. Rather than give up on good goals, try again, and you might stumble upon something that would result in the good for those you serve. 

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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