titleendendVETERANS SERVICE AGENCY REPORT
August 1, 2024 - 11:00 AM
Director's Report
* Local Activities
o On Sunday June 9th, I attended the Liberty Elks Flag Day ceremony at Lodge 1545. The event was attended by color guards from Liberty PD, Sullivan County Sheriffs Dept, NY State Police, AMVETS Post 50, and American Legion Post 109.
o On Thursday June 27th, our Clerk Sheldon Dillon, visited the Care Center at Sunset lake and Achieve Rehab to investigate the total number of veterans and surviving spouses currently receiving care. A total of 19 individuals have been identified, and we are currently investigating eligibility for pension benefits.
o On July 16th, I attended the Veterans Pillar Meeting at ATI, to address the veterans' suicide and overdose epidemic. The meeting was attended by Carl Lafaro of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Deborah Worden and Matt Kleiman of ATI, Melissa Stickle Deputy Commissioner Dept. of Health and Human Services. Also, in attendance was NYS Senator Pete Oberacker and Camille Obrien. Topics such as accessibility to care and appointment wait times were discussed, as well as clarification regarding statistics recording accidental overdoses in the veterans' community.
o We are working with the Liberty Cemetery Association to replace 21 broken grave markers in the St Peter's Veterans' Cemetery. We have located files in our office for 20 of the 21 Veterans, and more than half of the applications have been submitted to the VA National Cemetery Association.
* PACT Act Updates
o Myself and office staff have been working diligently to acquire proper ratings and effective dates of claims for our clients, as these two issues comprise the majority of the errors received in a VA rating decision. Inadequate C&P exams and unlawful denials caused by a flawed electronic processing system, continue to add to our workload and increase costs to our taxpayers.
o Although veteran suicide and overdose rates continue to climb, Senior VA Officia...
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