____

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Nat’l. Hdqrs., DAV (877) 426-2838

NSO Office, Cleveland (216) 522-3507

NSO Office, Cincinnati (513) 684-2676

Washington Office, DAV (202) 554-3501

Cincinnati HSC,

Sheila Clements (513) 475-6443

Dayton HSC, (937) 268-6511

Ext. 2962

Wade Park HSC, (216) 791-3800

Walter Dryja Ext. 3395

Chillicothe HSC (740) 773-1141

James Keller Ext. 7916

Columbus Clinic, (614) 257-5487

Michael Hackworth

Brecksville HSC, (440) 526-3030

Don Branford Ext. 7353

Warren Clinic (330) 392-0311

Youngstown Clinic (330) 70-9200

Ext. 105

Veterans Administration 1-800-827-1000

DATES TO REMEMBER

June 7-10, 2007 DAV Department Convention

The Midwest Hotel, Columbus

June 8-9, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Victory Chapter #134, Krogers (Wheelersburg) B.G. & K-Mart (Boston).

June 10, 2007 7^th Annual Knox County Veterans Picnic, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Riverside Park, Mt. Vernon, Ohio.

June 19, 2007 DAV Day at the Ballpark, Cleveland Indians, Jacobs Field, Cleveland, Ohio at 7 p.m.

June 29-30, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Brooklyn-Parma Chapter #116, Giant Eagle, North Royalton, Ohio.

June 30, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Dovel Myers Chapter #143, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wal-Mart, Mt. Vernon, Ohio.

July 6-7-8, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Thorold Heinlen Chapter #100, Wal-Mart, Bucyrus, Ohio.

July 14, 2007 Forget-Me-Not Thorold Heinlen Chapter #100, Bucyrus, Ohio.

July 14, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Dovel Myers Chapter #143, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., K-Mart, Coshocton Ave., Mt. Vernon, Ohio.

July 14, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Dovel Myers Chapter #143, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Kroger #820, 855 Coshocton Ave., Mt. Vernon, Ohio.

July 14, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Dovel Myers Chapter #143, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Neff’s Grocery, Mt. Vernon, Ohio.

August 2-3-4, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Madison County Chapter #93, London area.

August 3-4, 1007 Forget-Me-Not, Darke County Chapter #57, Various locations in Darke County.

August 8, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Thorold Heinlen Chapter #100, Galion, Ohio.

August 9-10, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Madison County Chapter #93, Truck Stop.

August 10-11, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Darke County Chapter #57, various locations in Greenville, Ohio

August 10-11-12, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Salem Chapter #122, various location in Salem, Ohio.

August 11, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Thorold Heinlen Chapter #100, Crestline, Ohio.

August 11-14, 2007 DAV National Convention,

Hilton New Orleans Riverside,

New Orleans, LA

August 16-17, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Madison County Chapter #93, West Jefferson & Mt. Sterling, Ohio.

Sept. 13-16, 2007 Forget-Me-Not, Adams County Chapter #71, Old Timers Day, Peebles.

October 13, 2007 2^nd District Meeting,

Additional Information as Date approaches.

October 19-21, 2007 Fall Conference, The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio

March 2-5, 2008 DAV Mid-Winter Conference, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA

June 5-8, 2008 DAV Department Convention, The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio

August 9-12, 2008 DAV National Convention,

Bally’s Hotel, Las Vegas.

October 10-12, 2008 DAV Department Fall Conference, The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

June 4-7, 2009 DAV Department Convention,

The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

October 9-11, 2009 DAV Department Fall Conference, The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

June 10-13, 2010 DAV Department Convention,

The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

October 8-10, 2010 DAV Department Fall Conference, The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

FROM THE STATE ADJUTANT’S DESK

Frank Williams, State Adjutant

It is useless for the Sheep to pass resolutions in favor vegetarianism, while the Wolf remains of a different opinion!

Veterans filing disability claims with the VA wait for an average of 6 months for a response - - about 6 times longer that is typical in the private sector. Pending claims with the VA take an average of 177 days to process. For some the wait is almost a year. And for veterans appealing a decision on a claim the average wait is 657 days - - almost 2 years. Federal law requires disability claims with private insurance companies to be settled within 45 days, although extensions of 30 days or longer are possible.

The backlog of VA claims will not go away until the federal government takes a serious look at expediting the resolution of claims. The biggest factor is the Increased number of veterans from OEF and OIF who are entering the system. The VA processed al most 775,000 claims last year pushing the backlog total to about 600,000. With the VA expecting 800,000 claims this year as troops return from service in Iraq & Afghanistan the problem will get worse.

The VA says it’s working to reduce the appeals processing times and plans to hire 400 additional claims specialists by this summer to help chip away at the backlog.

In Ohio, over 29,000 veterans are expected to die this year. Ohio ranks sixth in the nation in projected veteran deaths and, approximately 85 % of these veterans do not receive care through the VA Health Care System. Most of our veterans who are enrolled in the VA Health Care System will die within their community…..only 4% will die within a VA facility. Many of these veterans could benefit from Hospice Care that provides the veteran and their loved ones end-of-life care with comfort, compassion and dignity.

The emotional and spiritual offerings of hospice care is especially meaningful to veterans who often face issues relating to their military experiences. When a veteran is diagnosed with a terminal illness by a healthcare provider, the veteran and/or a family member should discuss care options and goals with their VA provider. Hospice eligibility requires a diagnosis of a life-limiting illness, with treatment goals focused on comfort rather than cure, life expectancy deemed by a physician to be months versus years, if the disease runs its normal course and the person accepts hospice care.

To assist veterans and providers, the VA created a webpage containing links to Fact Sheets that provide basic information on each VA benefit program:

http://www/vba.va.gov/benefit facts/index.htm

NOTICE: Our DAV National Commander Brad Barton sent a letter to all VA Health Care employees. All chapter members & officers should read the following excerpt at your monthly meetings: “While media reports of the Walter Reed scandal cast a shadow on military and veterans’ medicine, I want to reassure you that DAV is very proud of you and the VA health care system. Problems arise from time to time in any system that provides for the needs of large populations. But, at its root, VA health care is a constant and shining emblem of how to reform a system for excellence. Over the past two or three years we have seen mounting evidence that VA is a source of dependable, safe and efficient health care for veterans. The system provides a wonderful resource for sick and disabled veterans, which in so many ways are unique to our experience. You offer veterans the best quality at the least cost, and the lowest error rates of any health care system to which you might be compared. Your medication safety program, electronic health record and prevention programs are the envy of American medicine. VA serves the Nation’s veterans well, while supporting and developing new generations of health care professionals and advancing the standard of care through its renowned biomedical research and development programs.

We, the members of DAV, want you to know that we consider VA to be a national treasure. While we may have experienced a momentary controversy brought about because one military medical treatment facility let down our disabled service members, we hold the Veterans Health Administration - - and the work each of you do every day for sick and disabled veterans - - in the highest regard. On behalf of DAV, I salute you.” Signed: Bradley S Barton, National Commander

As always, pray for our troops who are in harms way. God bless America and may he continue to bless the Disabled American Veterans. Never forget that……………………FREEDOM IS NOT FREE…it is bought and paid for by our Veterans like YOU and ME!

NATIONAL SERVICE OFFICER REPORT

Leslie James, NSO

As a result of all the efforts and support from everyone in Ohio, your National Service Office has had another successful year. There were two significant changes provided by the National Organization that has had a major impact on the way we conduct our day-to-day operations. The first one was a National Service Department website or NSO Portal. This Portal provides all the National Service Officers (NSO) with a one-stop access to virtually everything concerned with the DAV, to include the National Service and Legislative Headquarters, Membership, and Fraternal activities. In addition, we are able to access a NSO Internet work site. This is perhaps one of the most valuable tools that have been provided to us in a very long time. This allows us to research for appropriate laws and regulations, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims decisions, General Counsel decisions, medical treatise, and other material so we can try to provide the very best representation to the veteran’s and their dependents.

Without a doubt, the best tool we have been provided since I have been a National Service Officer is the Case Management System or CMS. This is another website that was introduced to us at the National Convention in Chicago. CMS is the first step toward paperless office files. CMS allows NSO’s and Support Staff to do all of our daily work on the computer. We can input all of our submittals, rating board decisions, phone calls, hearings, file reviews, meetings, interviews, routine letters to clients, and may other items in this system. For example, every time a NSO completes a submittal, a rating board letter, conducts a hearing or an interview, attends a meeting; this information is automatically saved to our monthly report. It also keeps track of the number of phone calls NSO’s do on a monthly basis. From January through May of this year we have taken approximately 2500 phone calls. Another tremendous benefit is NSO’s from any office in the country can access any of our clients and assist them with their questions. This is especially beneficial because of the Tiger Team and Resource Team being located in Cleveland. If a veteran living in Alabama calls a NSO in Montgomery, all the NSO has to do is type in the claim number and any action we have taken in Cleveland is available to the NSO in Montgomery. Another great tool of CMS is NSO’s do not have to hand calculate their award letters. All we need to determine is if the award is a new service connection, an increase, pension, etc. and CMS will automatically calculate and input the amounts on our Monthly Report. This one time saving step has allowed your National Service Officers more time to review files and ensure that rating decisions are correct.

As you can see from the numbers below the Cleveland National Service Office has had another very productive year. These numbers reflect a lot of effort, not only on the entire staff in Cleveland, but on all of the hard work done by your Hospital Service Coordinators, Chapter Service Officers, County Service Officers, and the entire membership of Ohio. For that, I want personally thank everyone for all you do to help veterans and their dependents.

Slowly but surely the Cleveland Regional Office is making progress in reducing the number of claims pending in Ohio even while the number of claims has increased in the last year. On May 6, 2006, there were 12,468 rating board claims pending. As of May 7, 2007, there were 13,998 rating board claims pending, a difference of 1,530 claims. At one time during the last year there were over 15,000 rating claims pending.

The number on non-rating claims pending has been reduced in the last year. Last year at this time there were 4,719 non-rating claims pending and on May 7, 2007, there were 4,480, a difference of 239 claims.

A rating board claim is a claim for an increased evaluation, service-connection, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, and in some cases a pension claim that requires rating action and the decision has to be made by a rating board member.

A non-rating claim can be a claim for adding dependents, burial claims, non-service-connected death pension, and occasionally a pension claim for veterans who are over age sixty-five.

One of the things I did this last year was take Alliance Chapter #50 on a tour of our office and the Regional Office. I believe it was very successful because it gave those members an opportunity to observe how we do our work and how the Regional Office processes all their claims. As a result, I would cordially invite any Chapter to contact me if you would like to take of tour of our office and the Regional Office.

On behalf of the entire staff in Cleveland, I want to express how much we appreciate everyone’s support in helping us to accomplish the mission of the Disabled American Veterans.

Respectfully submitted,

Leslie A. James

Supervisory National Service Officer

Veterans Funding Increase Praised

WASHINGTON, May 24—Draft legislation to boost funding for veterans programs to $87.7 billion next year is being hailed as a major victory by organizations representing millions of America’s former defenders.

The $109.2 billion bill crafted by the House Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee provides $43.29 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs. “This represents a significant, much-needed investment in health care and the benefits delivery system for our nation’s sick and disabled veterans,” according to AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The four veterans’ service organizations said the bill provides a $6 billion increase in VA health care funding, exceeding their own recommendation by $294 million. “This is the first time that lawmakers have surpassed our recommendations in the 21 years that we have been publishing The Independent Budget,” the groups noted. The bill also funds the VA biomedical research program at $480 million, as recommended in The Independent Budget, an increase of $68 million over the 2007 funding level.

In addition to the increase for veterans medical care and construction projects, the bill includes enough funding for the VA to hire more than 1,000 new employees to tackle a large backlog of almost 640,000 disability compensation claims. Cutting the backlog would reduce the time veterans must wait for a decision on their benefits, which averages 177 days for an original claim and more than two years for initial appeals.

“The proposed increase in VA funding is a recognition that caring for our veterans is a continuing cost of national security and a willingness to provide the resources to meet those needs,” the groups said. They praised Subcommittee Chairman Chet Edwards (D-Texas) for his leadership in crafting the measure, as well House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-S.C.), Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey (D-Wis.) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for their support of additional funding for veterans programs.

The Independent Budget provides the nation's decision-makers a veterans' perspective on federal spending and national policy priorities for veterans programs. These recommendations are well-considered policy and funding proposals based on the actual needs of the men and women these programs were created to serve. As a comprehensive, authoritative policy document, The Independent Budget focuses on funding recommendations for veterans health care, benefits delivery, medical facilities construction, veterans' cemeteries and other so-called discretionary programs that will be needed in the coming fiscal year.

AMVETS—a leader since 1944 in preserving the freedoms secured by America’s Armed Forces—provides not only support for veterans and the active military in procuring receipt of their earned entitlements, but also community services that enhance the quality of life for this nation’s citizens. (www.amvets.org)

The 1.3 million-member Disabled American Veterans, a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932, is dedicated to a single purpose: building better lives for our nation’s disabled veterans and their families. (www.dav.org)

The Paralyzed Veterans of America, a veterans service organization chartered by Congress, has for more than 60 years served the needs of its members, all of whom have catastrophic paralysis caused by spinal cord injury or disease. (www.pva.org)

The VFW is a 1.8 million-member veterans service organization, now in its 108th year, with a nationwide network of 8,500 Posts and service officers working to build better communities and assist all veterans and their dependents with problems involving VA entitlements and pensions. (www.vfw.org)

Proper Flag Procedures

Nothing evokes such strong emotion as seeing the flag, either at a ceremony honoring a great event or draped over a coffin as a sign of mourning for a hero or loved one.

Its unfurled banner, which symbolizes the love and pride that we have as a nation, is a poignant reminder of America's greatness and our fortune to live in a country which values freedom above all else. It signifies the commitment made by our fallen comrades who battled bravely to defend the honor of this sacred emblem - our American unity, our power, and our purpose as a nation. And it exemplifies the devotion of our leaders who continue to uphold its promise of liberty, justice and freedom for all.

Our nation reveres the flag, not out of a sense of unquestioning worship but out of a deep sense of our national heritage. Strengthened by our noble deeds, splendid accomplishments, and untold sacrifices, the flag reflects America's pledge to uphold democracy and work for peace throughout the world. It is America's strength in honor, as dignified in the stars and stripes of the flag, which helps to establish the moral character of our national foundation.

The flag, endearingly referred to as "Old Glory", represents all people of America. We, the people, are America. It is little wonder that the people of America are moved when saluting the flag as it passes by, reminding us that we are part of this great land. We are "one nation under God."

Information Bulletin

IMPORTANT NUMBERS