Tbi Expert Dr. Van Boven

[Berta]

Last weeks show was quite compelling and many many vets acessed the broadcast.

Tonight (the show link to SVR at Stardust Radio is here at hadit) Jerrel Cook Host and I as co host will be expanding the interview with Dr. Boven who also blew the whistle on VA and was terminated from the BIRLs program because he found TBI veterans were being denied the help they needed-the purpose of BIRL whioch he was hired to direct.

The promo came to me by email-I dont know how it will come out here-

The show is at 5:30 CT and 6:30 EST.We no longer have a toll free number but callers can call in at 1-319-648-5143 to ask their questions on TBI issues.

------------------------------------------

From Jerrel Cook Producer/Host SVR

The topic of Special Monthly Compensation has come up at SVR before and that all information on the many specific types and levels of SMC are all explained in detail within 38 USC 1114 and 38 CFR 3.350 with the specific medical criteria for each SMC award.By the way SMC is awarded as "S" award, "K", and then the step levels L,L 1/2 M,M 1/2 N, O,P, R-1 and R-2.

VA Moves Texas Brain Laboratory After Years Pass Without Testing

http://media.washingtonpost.com/

Three years ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs established a laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin with high expectations that it would conduct state-of-the art research into combat-related brain injuries. Last month, VA announced it was moving the facility, after spending more than $3 million without testing a single veteran with traumatic brain injury.

The decision follows a two-year battle between VA and the former director of the Brain Injury and Recovery Laboratory, who has accused his superiors of fraud, mismanagement and wasting taxpayer money.

The department is reopening the lab at a VA hospital in Waco, Tex., and vows the work will progress at the new location, but veterans groups want assurances the new facility will have the equipment and expertise to conduct first-class research.

"Two years without any veterans being tested and millions of dollars apparently being spent is very frustrating," said Paul Sullivan, head of Veterans for Common Sense, an advocacy group that held a rally in Austin to protest the move.

The uproar has sparked a congressional inquiry, an investigation by the federal Office of Special Counsel and several internal investigations.

"This move will place our laboratory in an ideal location that will allow us to better serve our nation's military families and veterans," Gerald Cross, VA's acting undersecretary for health, said in a statement released by the department. "This program consolidation will enable VA to meet its mission of better understanding brain injuries and to help veterans recover from such injuries."

Researchers at Waco also will have access to what VA officials call the world's most powerful research MRI machine. The equipment "is equal, if not better, in Waco," said Diana Struski, a VA spokeswoman.

Veterans groups have held high hopes that the research would provide answers to some of the problems that have plagued veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Studies have estimated that about 20 percent of troops returning from those theaters have suffered traumatic brain injuries, though the injuries have proven difficult to detect in many cases.

"This is very important in the long term," Sullivan said. "We believe the brain scan equipment may find subtle injuries that could not be found before."

The laboratory was established by a $6.3 million VA grant awarded in 2003 in collaboration with the University of Texas, which houses a state-of-the-art brain scanner. Robert W. Van Boven, a neurosurgeon, was hired as program director in 2007. Within months, he complained that $1.2 million of the grant money had been wasted before his arrival, and he later alleged that superiors would not investigate his claims.

An investigation by the VA Office of Inspector General last year "partially substantiated" the allegation of mismanagement of department funds.

The investigation neither substantiated nor refuted alleged use of equipment for research of questionable scientific merit, but it did find "multiple deficiencies" in protocols.

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We've made some updates to washingtonpost.com's Groups, MyPost and comment pages. We need you to verify your MyPost ID by logging in before you can post to the new pages. We apologize for the inconvenience.

A subsequent investigation by the Office of Research Oversight for the Veterans Health Administration found that the program's "research activities lacked appropriate administrative supervision."

A team from the House Veterans' Affairs subcommittee on oversight and investigations visited Texas last month to look into the allegations and interview VA officials.

Van Boven was fired in January, which the doctor alleges was in retaliation for his whistleblowing. VA cannot discuss the reasons for Van Boven's termination, Struski said.

The Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency that protects federal employees from reprisals for whistleblowing, has completed its investigation and has begun its legal analysis, according to David Marshall, a lawyer representing Van Boven.

"As a matter of policy, we do not comment on whether or not we are investigating a matter," said Darshan Sheth, an OCS lawyer.

Van Boven has told the committee staff that the move to Waco is an attempt by VA to sweep problems under the rug, and that it will squander the benefits of "incomparable" neuroscience research at the University of Texas at Austin.

John Miterko, head of the government affairs committee for Vietnam Veterans of America, said his organization is concerned the decision to move to Waco may have been "made precipitously" in response to Van Boven's allegations.

"Is this a knee-jerk reaction because he was a whistleblower?" Miterko said. "That I don't know. That's why I'd like to see these investigations carried out."

Struski said the problems uncovered at the laboratory in Austin were "part of the decision" for the move. She said VA also wanted to eliminate "a lot of duplication" with work that will be conducted at the Waco facility, which is getting a $49.9 million upgrade.

VA says the Waco location will also enable it to work with service members stationed at nearby Fort Hood, the largest U.S. Army installation in the world.

(full story at Washington Post and VA Watchdog)

Edited July 1, 2009 by Berta

[john999]

What station is SVR Stardust radio on exactly. Is it FM or AM and what is the dial address. You can tell I know nothing about this. I knew a Marine who was a high school friend who got blown off an APC and had headaches. They never mentioned TBI and I bet he did not get a dime in compensation.

[Berta]

John-the station is in Iowa at 1630 AM- I need to check that but it is on their homepage.Their primary audience is all on line to hear the show- we are heard in Iraq, Afganistan and countless other countries-wherever a serviceman or women or veteran is -they can hear the show via their PC with a media player and if they join the chat feature they can interact on line with us.

Only the chatters see the chat and we get copies of it after the show-there is much cabitzing and humor sometimes in the chat that gets off the track but we all know each other anyhow from hadit or other vet sites.

But Chatters also ask provocative questions we can ask the guest.We also get our show CUEs sometimes in the chat room so that we know we have a call in or worse yet- if there is a pending tornado (I am serious)weather is our prime concern when it is showtime.

Try the Stardust link here John- and see if there is any show on the air -there are many other types of shows at Stardust too- and this will give you idea of how your media player is picking up the show.

Jerrel is in Missouri, I am in NY, and Jeff (Stardust) is in Iowa in a station he built onto his home -fully FCC licensed.

As a civilian all he ever wanted to do was have a radio station that could honor our military and help veterans.

He sure has succeeded but it isn't easy and not profitable for him at all.

The host Jerrel and I and our guests are all contacted by phone before the show- and our PCs literally become sattelite stations as we do the shows by phone, reaching thousands.

Dr. Van Bowen is a great guest- I certainly had a point that hopefully reached many vets last night when I mentioned Symptomatology on TBI.

I have read countless BVA cases where the vet was denied for TBI because they had suffered a pre service or post service injury or auto accident that the BVA said had caused their TBI.

Without any documented syptomotalogy consistent with a TBI in a pre or post service injury-

then the vet needs to show documentation of symptomatology of TBI (there are countless symptoms) shortly after the TBI inservice event.

If VA has no real proof or evidence that something else caused the TBI but for service, then 'no' evidence becomes the veteran's best approach to support the inservice etiology.

I also mentioned hubris but hope no one took that wrong-

the example I gave was say a IED puts 5 men and women down and a medic does triage. Say one of the servicemen/women is knocked out for a few minutes, but gets up, dusts themselves off and appears to have minor scratches or bruises and then immediately begins to help the medic and denies any real problems from the blast as they want to either help with wounded or-as you guys did in Vietnam-and I imagine in Iraq too-to retaliate with fire if IED origin can be assessed.

The soldier who appears to have the most minor IED injury could in fact have the worst TBI affect.Or at least have some brian trauma they might not realise for quite some time.

I think many many Vietnam vets and vets in other combat scenarios certainly suffered TBI from explosions and the shock waves but never were treated for TBI nor was it assessed in-theatre.

SMRs however could reveal headaches, malaise, confusion, short term memory problems and other symptomatology that could be associated with a proven blast or land mine event-even an auto accident in the field -and even buddy statements -that could help a vet claim TBI from a past inservice injury.

TBI became the "signature" wound of Iraq due in part to modern weaponry.

Actually it was a signature wound of warfare since the beginning of time when you use common sense.

Dr. Van Bowen blew the whistle on VA when he found VA had wasted over 3 million so far on their TBI program and as he said not a single TBI vet has benefited yet from the VA's sophisticated TBI technology.Nor from the money allocated to treating TBI vets.

That is beyond outrage.Where did the money go?

And what is the VA really doing for these TBI vets?

As you well know many were given a PD diagnosis before they were found to have -not PD at all but a physical traumatic closed head injury-TBI. Which has ophysical, emotional, and neurological affects.

The TBI C & P- the new one dated 2007 is quite comprehensive.

I wonder how many TBI vets actually get all the testing these new TBI C & Ps require.

We all use the link here to Stardust Radio, and then click on the SVR button and the show should come through your media player.

To join the show's chat room takes a few minutes to download that and chat roomer people (many are hadit members) can ask questions there in the on line chat that Jerrel or me can ask the guest.

Anyone with a PC with media players can access and participate in the shows.

Also the shows are taped and available where the SVR archived shows are.

[Stretch]

I really want to be in the Chat room for this show. I got started with something and didn't remember until it was too late. I need to invent some kind of planner that has alarms that will go off several times before an event happens.

Now I will have to go to the SVR archives to listen to what happened.