Philadelphia VA tabbed as national research center on homelessness among veterans

October 1st, 2009 Princess Diana exhibit to open in PhiladelphiaPHILADELPHIA — A traveling museum exhibit about the life of Princess Diana will open in Philadelphia on Friday. The exhibit "Diana: A Celebration" is at the National Constitution Center through Dec.

September 22nd, 2009 VA IG says suicide prevention programs implementedWASHINGTON — The Veterans Affairs Department appears to have stepped up its suicide prevention efforts. The agency's inspector took a look at 24 facilities and found they generally met new requirements like appointing suicide prevention coordinators to track high-risk veterans, according to a report released Tuesday.

September 17th, 2009 Vietnam memorial seeks photos of fallen soldiersWASHINGTON — The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is beginning an effort to gather photographs of each of the more than 58,000 men and women listed on the memorial wall in Washington. Organizers announced Thursday that they plan to showcase the pictures at the memorial's planned education center.

September 15th, 2009 DAV seeks participates in online 'march'WASHINGTON — The Disabled American Veterans service organization is encouraging veterans and others to march in Washington — online at least. In what it dubs the "Million Claims March," the advocacy group is using social networking sites to encourage veterans to participate online in chats starting Tuesday about the backlog in disability claims at the Veterans Affairs Department and other veterans issues.

September 3rd, 2009 Philly basketball court shooting kills 1, wounds 1PHILADELPHIA — Police say a shooting during a pickup basketball game at a Philadelphia recreation center has left a 23-year-old man dead and his 19-year-old brother wounded. About 30 people were on and around the Shepard Recreation Center court Thursday afternoon when two men approached, fired three shots and fled.

August 26th, 2009 VA ends Gulf War illness research contractWASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs has canceled a $75 million, five-year research contract with a Texas medical center studying illnesses suffered by veterans of the first Gulf War. The VA says research on the illnesses, however, remains a priority.

August 25th, 2009 Group: 1,200 vets wrongly told they have diseaseCHARLESTON, W.Va. — Former Air Force reservist Gale Reid received a letter from the Veterans Affairs Department that told her she had Lou Gehrig's disease, and she immediately put herself through a battery of painful, expensive tests.

August 24th, 2009 1,200 veterans wrongly told they got fatal diseaseCHARLESTON, W.Va. — Former Air Force Reservist Gale Reid received a letter from the Veterans Affairs Department that told her she had Lou Gehrig's disease, and she immediately put herself through a battery of painful, expensive tests.

August 18th, 2009 6 more cases of botched cancer treatment at Pa. VAPHILADELPHIA — Six more cases have been found of cancer patients being given incorrect radiation doses at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia.

August 17th, 2009 Obama: VA care not affected by health overhaulPHOENIX — President Barack Obama says a proposed overhaul of the nation's health care system is not going to change how veterans get their medical services. Obama on Monday told a convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars that no one in Washington is talking about taking away their benefits.

August 17th, 2009 In Pa., Shinseki pledges to modernize VA systemPHILADELPHIA — The nation's top veterans affairs official says medical benefits for veterans will not change under the health care reforms being considered in Washington. U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki spoke Monday at a town hall meeting with veterans in Philadelphia, where he pledged to modernize the Veterans Administration for the 21st century.

August 17th, 2009 Veterans to routinely be offered HIV testsWASHINGTON — The Veterans Affairs Department on Monday began offering routine HIV tests to veterans who receive medical care. Under the new policy, veterans must verbally consent to the test, and they can opt to decline it.

June 29th, 2009 Pa. doc in VA probe says cancer field evolvingPHILADELPHIA — An oncologist blamed for botching cancer treatments at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center says he's not the rogue physician he's been portrayed to be. Dr. Gary Kao is testifying at a congressional hearing at the medical center in Philadelphia.

June 26th, 2009 Doc in Philly VA hospital controversy takes leavePHILADELPHIA — An oncologist involved in treating veterans who received botched prostate cancer therapy in Philadelphia has taken a leave of absence from the University of Pennsylvania's medical school. University officials say Dr.

June 22nd, 2009 Newspapers: VA in Penn. botched cancer treatmentsPHILADELPHIA — Ninety-two veterans were given incorrect radiation doses in a common surgical procedure to treat prostate cancer during a six-year period at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia, according to newspaper reports Sunday.