WSU to Study Iraq Toxins' Effect
Spokesman-Review
by Bert Caldwell
Research to examine how exposure might damage offspring of soldiers
Washington State University scientists will use a $1.7 million grant to study what multi-generation genetic damage might be done by toxins U.S. troops could encounter in Iraq.
The research using laboratory rats, not humans, will be the first for the military to examine the epigenetic effects of pesticides, herbicides and other compounds, said lead scientist Michael Skinner, director of the university's Center for Reproductive Biology.
Previous studies have looked at the health effects of other substances, notably the Agent Orange used to defoliate jungles in Vietnam, on the soldiers directly exposed, he said, not on their children or grandchildren.
"The science really had not caught up with the trans-generational stuff," said Skinner, one of several WSU pioneers in the field of epigenetic, or multi-generational, inheritance.
Besides herbicides and pesticides – which and in what combinations has not been determined – the study also will look at the effects of explosives residues, he said.
The four-year study will allow researchers to see how any changes in genetic chemistry that develop are passed along through two subsequent generations of rats, he said, noting that only the first two years of research have been funded.
Among the problems that might develop are kidney disease, or changes in the male and female reproductive organs, he said.
If any genetic markers are identified in rats, Skinner said, follow-up research could look at whether they might show up among members of the military as well.
That would be of particular interest to Dave Holmes, interim chief operating officer of the Institute for Systems Medicine, which was awarded the U.S. Department of Defense grant passed through to Skinner.
Holmes' son, Tim Hammond, did two tours in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps.
"They sprayed all kinds of stuff on them," Holmes said.
Although the grant money, the first awarded ISM, will fund work in Pullman, he said the organization's supporters hope any subsequent clinical studies will be done in Spokane.
"There's a lot of excitement about making it happen," he said.
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VA DOCUMENT REVEALS HOW EMPLOYEES ARE "GAMING" THE APPOINTMENT SYSTEM
Lists 24 ways that VA employees are "gaming" to make themselves appear more efficient while veterans' health care suffers.
NOTE from Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org ... I have been writing about the waiting list issue since 2004, and VA employees have only gotten better at "gaming" the figures.
I detailed the use of log books for waiting lists before veterans could get on the electronic waiting list. That way, the original date requesting an appointment was not entered into the system. VA employees would wait until an appointment opened up (within 30 days) and then take the vet out of the log book and put them into the system, using that date as the date of request. This made it look like the VA had fulfilled their 30-day appointment commitment to the veteran.
In 2007, and again in 2008, VAOIG blasted the agency for their practices. You can find those reports and more information about waiting lists here ...
Now, William Schoenhard, VA's Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operation and Management, his issued a memorandum with an attachment that details 24 ways VA employees are "gaming" the appointment and waiting list procedures. The memorandum portion of the document is to the right ... click for larger view.
The problem with Schoenhard's document is that it a great learning tool for VA employees who wish to keep "gaming" the system. Schonehard even explains how "gaming" can be detected, thus giving employees warning to find a better way to hide their sins. The perversity of this is pointed out below in a commentary by Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland.
The entire document is available here for viewing or download.
Read it and weep. Just think of all the thought and time it must have taken to come up with these "gaming" ideas. This, while veterans waited for health care.
Remember, health care delayed is health care denied!
The Games People Play
by Jim Strickland
Has it ever happened to you? Have you shown up for an appointment at your VA Clinic or Medical Center only to be told that you don't have an appointment? Tried to make a convenient appointment 2 months away and were told that the rules don't allow that? Is your appointment scheduled in an old fashioned log book rather than the computerized system VA uses? These are the games that are played with your appointment schedule.
The VA says that it takes pride in your care. The truth be known, VA takes even more pride in keeping score so that everyone looks good on paper. Thus, the system that keeps track of the performance of clinics and hospitals is "gamed" in ways that seem to annoy Mr. Schoenhard. "These (gaming) practices will not be tolerated." he tells his troops, "This is not patient centered care."
It's unfortunate that the VA doesn't get it. Any time there is a system as complex as the ones VA puts in place to ensure compliance with the rules, the users of that system are going to bend it to make it useful to suit their own goals. There is an inevitability about that process....more rules will always breed more infractions of the rules.
In this case Mr. Schoenhard has decided to express his angst by sending forth a memo telling all the schedulers at VA just how to better game the system. If they didn't already know how to cancel patients who aren't checked in 15 minutes prior to the scheduled appointment time, they know it now.
Don't get caught y'all..."These practices will not be tolerated." Oh sure...I can only imagine the message is loud and clear. As they read all those neat tips and tricks people throughout the VA Health system are wondering, "Jeez, why didn't I think of that?"
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