By Jim Vines | jim.helpingveterans@gmail.com
The Department of Veterans Affairs announces that all of its 152 medical centers are now actively represented on Facebook, the world’s largest networking site.
This marks an important milestone in the overall effort to transform how the VA communicates with veterans providing them the health care and benefits they have earned. Veterans for a long time have asked the VA to provide relevant information at the local level. By leveraging Facebook, the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to expand access to the VA information.
The process that began with a single Veterans Health Administration Facebook page in 2008, has now produced over 150 Facebook pages, 64 Twitter feeds, a You Tube channel, Flickr page, and the Vantage Point blog. Additionally, in June 2011, the VA produced a Department wide social media policy that provides guidelines for communicating with veterans online. The strategy is designed to help break down long perceived barriers between the Department and its veterans.
Veterans of all eras depend on the VA to get the right information to the right person at the right time. With more troops returning home, the VA has a responsibility to connect with the thousands of service members who have been and continue to enter the system. Military personnel use the social media more than ever before, so that has increased the need for for accurate and current information.
VA medical centers clinicians can’t discuss the specific health concerns of an individual veteran on Facebook, however they can provide helpful information and lead them in the right direction. In the last year, for instance, the VA’s Crisis Line counselors have successfully intervened on Facebook in cases where veterans have suggested suicidal thoughts or presented them with other emotional crisis.
Facebook’s mission is to make the world more open and connected and Facebook is excited to see government agencies using their services to better connect with veterans, providing information and delivering services. The VA currently has over 345,000 combined Facebook subscribers. The department’s main Facebook page has over 154,00 followers and its medical centers have a combined subscriber-ship of over 69,000. The department plans to continue expanding its Facebook presence while also focusing on bringing Twitter to every VA medical center as well. For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/veteransaffairs.
Veterans of the Persian Gulf War with undiagnosed illnesses now have an additional five years to qualify for benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Not all wounds of war are fully understood. When there is uncertainty about the connection between a medical problem and military service, veterans are entitled to the benefit of the doubt. Many military personnel have attributed a range of undiagnosed or poorly understood medical problems to their military services in the Persian Gulf. Chemical weapons, environmental hazards and vaccinations are among the possible causes.
Under long standing VA rules, any undiagnosed illnesses used to establish eligibility for VA benefits had to be claimed by Dec. 31, 2011. The new change pushes the date back to Dec. 31, 2016. Veterans or survivors who believe they qualify for these benefits should contact the VA at 1-800-827-1000 or local veterans service officer. In our area contact Lee Downs at (940) 325-2998.
Happy New Year, and I will speak to you again next week.
Jim Vines is commander of AmVets Post 133 in Mineral Wells.
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VA now has complete Facebook presence
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