Your morning veterans news report for Friday, July 25:
Patient wait times improve for New Orleans veterans, VA officials say (Times-Picayune)
New patients seeking appointments with primary care physicians through the VA system are waiting an average of 31 days today compared with nearly 52 days in May.
Acting VA chief: Phoenix ‘most troubled’ site, but is improving (Cronkite News)
“We’ve taken action on all of the recommendations made in the IG’s May interim report on Phoenix,” Sloan Gibson said, including calling all 1,700 of those veterans and scheduling appointments for a little more than 1,000 of them.
Veterans reform bill collapses (The Washington Times)
Negotiations on the VA reform bill imploded Thursday morning as House negotiators planned to introduce their own bill rather than work with senators in a conference committee.
Veterans urge military to bring dogs home to retire (USA Today)
There are more than 1,775 military working dogs detecting explosives, going on search-and-rescue missions, and guarding troops. In an average year, 300 to 400 dogs retire and are adopted. If they’re not adopted, they are left in a kennel.
Veteran, unable to walk, told by VA he should go to work (Fox 19 Cincinnati)
A Vietnam veteran battling cancer and suffering from heart and lung problems from exposure to Agent Orange was denied full disability benefits from Veterans Affairs and told in a letter they can see no reason he can’t go back to work.