CalVet Newswatch brings you the latest veteran news from California and beyond, delivered weekly to your inbox and updated daily on CalVet Connect. Scroll down to view highlights of this week’s top articles, or click here to visit our full site.
Napa County declares ‘new normal’ as crews beat back wildfires
NAPA VALLEY REGISTER — After days of thick, choking smoke over the Napa Valley, Sunday dawned blue and clear – much like county Supervisor Belia Ramos’ outlook, one week after massive wildfires broke out in the North Bay.
Yountville veterans home briefly evacuated as wildfires rage in North Bay
ABC 7 — Dozens of veterans in Yountville were evacuated temporarily from one of the largest Veterans Homes in the country as wildfires destroy neighborhoods in the North Bay. Officials said anyone who voluntarily evacuated the Veterans Home can return as the building is no longer in danger.
Residents of CA’s largest veterans nursing home relocated due to fires
SF GATE — The Nuns Fire in Sonoma County forced 137 elderly and medically fragile veterans to be relocated from Veterans Home of California in Yountville to several other skilled nursing facilities throughout Northern California on Tuesday night, according to the California Department of Veterans Affairs.
Amid Fires, California SNFs Face Tough Evacuation Decisions
SKILLED NURSING NEWS — With wildfires threatening multiple communities in Northern California, skilled nursing and other senior living operators are facing a dilemma all too familiar to those who work in the Gulf Coast states: to evacuate or not to evacuate? … In addition, the effects stretch far beyond the immediate danger zones: the California Department of Veterans Affairs elected to evacuate 137 residents from its facility in Yountville, Calif. on Tuesday night, despite the fact that Yountville wasn’t part of an evacuation zone.
- Sunshine Retirement Offers Discount for Victims of Wildfires — SENIOR HOUSING NEWS
- Most VA services continue uninterrupted in Northern California fire zones — VANTAGE POINT
- Senior living facility for veterans caught in middle of Nuns and Atlas Fires — ABC NEWS10
45 years after honorable discharge, Vietnam vet’s name goes on memorial
MODESTO BEE — A Modesto man who died in 2015 is among 14 Vietnam War veterans whose names were added to a memorial in Sacramento because their deaths were a result of their service. On Saturday, Navy veteran Jerry Ray Oliver’s name, along with 13 others, was unveiled during a ceremony at the memorial, which also included honoring the families and laying wreaths.
Four Sacramento-area service members among 14 honored at Capitol Park’s Vietnam memorial
SACRAMENTO BEE — Fourteen names were added to the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Saturday in Capitol Park, including four service members from the Sacramento region, according to the California Department of Veteran Affairs.
BUSINESS WIRE — More than 100 military veterans, first responders and their supporters will ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles during the 2017 UnitedHealthcare California Challenge. The ride, in its tenth year, is a collaboration between UnitedHealthcare and Project Hero, benefiting veterans and first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other injuries.
VA paid millions in settlements to problem employees, according to scathing USA Today report
TASK & PURPOSE — In 2014 and 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs spent nearly $6.7 million to secretly settle cases with hundreds of employees who were either fired or forced into retirement due to inadequate performance, according to a USA Today investigation.
OPIOID CRISIS: Reckless overprescribing of antipsychotics is killing veterans
NEWSWEEK — The last time Janette Layne saw her husband alive, Sergeant Eric Layne was dozing on their couch with the TV on. That was in January 2008. Because of his mounting outbursts of rage and paranoia since returning from Iraq, psychiatrists at two VA hospitals had been prescribing him increasing doses of a drug cocktail for post-traumatic stress disorder that included the powerful anti-psychotic Seroquel.
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