FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chicago Daily Herald - Aug.23 , 1999
Section: News Page 1
Headline : Veterans fear VA will loose Budget Battle
Officals discuss closing North Chicago
Hospital

Body : Bernie Hubbard left the battlefields of Korea
more than forty years ago but the war still haunts him
Like so many other U.S. veterans,the 67-year-old former Marine suffers
from post-traumatic-stress disorder, which was called "shell shock" and
"combat fatigue"
when Hubbard was a young man . In Hubbard's case , he was plagued by
reoccurring dreams he was being chased by enemy soldiers.It wasn't
until he spoke with a psychologist at the North Chicago VA Medical
Center in 1992 that he knew something was wrong . " I thought everybody
was having bad dreams," the McHenry resident said . After several years
of treatment at north Chicago,Hubbard doesn't dream about the war as
much as he once did. He can also watch combat films without being
overcome by fear . Countless veterans like Hubbard have sought help
for psychological and medical problems at North Chicago . But the
threat of federal cutbacks looming over the center, veterans in the
northwest suburbs are worried the much needed assistance they recieve
at the center would soon dry up
"We're terrified ," Hubbard said . "This is the only place where I can
get help and I'm not the only guy.
Everybody here-they're shakin' in their boots ." Veteran Affairs
officals are looking for ways to cut back services in the Chicago area
if federal funding decreases when the new fiscal year begins in
October.
1.Closing the hospital has been discussed. So has eliminating critical
care at the center, wich would mean veterans with serious conditions
would have to go to Hines VA Medical Center near Maywood or another
facility in Milwaukee .

U.S. Newswire, August 31, 1999



August 30, 1999
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20002
Dear Mr. President:
The 100th National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of
the U.S.
has concluded. We are pleased that you attended and are grateful for
your kind

remarks concerning the service and sacrifice of America's veterans
over the
last one hundred years.

Our by-laws identify the VFW National Convention as the "supreme
governing
body" for our organization. The resolutions passed by the delegates at
each
VFW
National Convention establish the priorities and mandates for the
organization
for the next twelve months. Within a few weeks, your office will
receive a
copy
of those resolutions so you will be aware of the issues that will be a
priority

with our organization during my term of office.

It is because of the critical nature of one particular resolution
that I am
writing today.

During your remarks you emphasized your administration's commitment
to an
open-door policy to veterans and "to make sure that all veterans
receive
U.S. Newswire, August 31, 1999



the high quality care they deserve next year and every year." You
specifically
indicated that the veterans health care system expected to treat
"400,000
more
veterans this year than last year."

It is apparent, with the passage of VFW National Convention
Resolution No.
668 (copy enclosed), that the men and women of the Veterans of Foreign
Wars
have no faith or confidence in Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo
West, Jr.
Mr. West has failed to demonstrate a willingness to be a true veterans'

advocate both with the administration and in the halls of Congress.
Resolution

668 calls for Mr. West's immediate removal and replacement.

We realize that Mr. West has indicated he will leave the Department
of
Veterans Affairs after the budget is submitted for the next fiscal
year which

would be about January 2000. Mr. President, with the passage of
Resolution 668

it is obvious our members do not believe the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs
will present an adequate budget to care for our veterans nor will he
lead the

fight in the halls of Congress to insure veterans receive the funding
required
to provide the care deserved. As the Commander-in-Chief of the
Veterans of
Foreign Wars, I respectfully request that Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Togo
West, Jr. be removed from office immediately to allow a more earnest and

qualified individual to carry forth America's commitment to her 26
million
veterans.
U.S. Newswire, August 31, 1999




My staff and I remain at your disposal to discuss this or any other
issues
affecting veterans and/or our men and women in uniform.

Respectfully yours,
/s/
John W. Smart
Commander-in-Chief

August 27, 1999, Friday, PM cycle

SECTION: State and Regional

LENGTH: 288 words

HEADLINE: VA hospital facing 3rd malpractice suit this year

DATELINE: AUGUSTA, Maine

BODY:
The Veterans Administration hospital at Togus has been named in a
$ 1.7
million medical malpractice suit, the third case filed against the
medical
center this year.

The latest suit was filed by the widow of a Damariscotta man who died
at the

hospital two years ago.

Robin Brandt's suit in U.S. District Court claims her husband,
Richard
Brandt, died after he was given the wrong drug to control a form of
epilepsy.
The hospital, a temporary doctor and a medical staffing agency were
named as
defendants.
The Associated Press State & Local Wire, August 27, 1999



Brandt, who was 49, was doing well for the first 24 hours he was in
the
hospital, but his condition worsened after treatment began, said Sumner
Lipman,

a lawyer for the Brandts.

The hospital declined to comment on the case, and efforts to locate
the
Atlanta-based medical staffing firm were unsuccessful.

A second malpractice suit, which was filed by 77-year-old Laurier
Cote of
Biddeford, has been settled for an undisclosed sum.

Cote and his wife alleged that the hospital gave Cote an ultrasound
and
surgical biopsy of the prostate when he went in to get his toenails
clipped in
March 1998. Cote said the biopsy caused an infection and he had to be
hospitalized for more than a week.

As part of the settlement in the federal court, the VA hospital
admits to no

wrongdoing.

The third case involves Richard Crossman of Windham, who is seeking $
7
million in damages. Crossman alleges the hospital prescribed an
anti-depressant

drug without warning him of permanent side effects that include
urination
problems, and then did not adequately treat him for the side effects
when they
The Associated Press State & Local Wire, August 27, 1999



emerged.

The VA hospital has 76 acute-care beds for short-term patients and
about 100

beds for veterans with long-term needs.