Veterans Corner Radio

Dr. Jacqueline Scott, a board-certified ophthalmologist, discusses the condition we know as cataracts and walks us through how they develop and what treatments are available. As a matter of full disclosure, for the past five years, the doctors have been advising me to have the surgery. This past spring I finally agreed and now for the first time in forty years, I am not wearing glasses. My results...

 Chris Johnston, Deputy Chief Technology Officer Digital Experience,  brings to our attention a new app that the VA has introduced called VA Health and Benefits. This new app can be found anywhere you would download apps for your devices:  Google Play Store, or the Apple App Store. This new application lets you check up on claims and see, among many other things, all your VA letters, vaccine recor...

Christine McCombs is the Community Outreach Officer for the Hillsborough County Florida Code Enforcement Department but more importantly, she is the founder of Operation Code Vet, Inc. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to assisting veterans who may, due to age or infirmity, have properties that are in conflict with Code regulations. It is my feeling that even though this is currently only i...

Karen Worcester, CEO of Wreaths Across America has a wonderful story to tell about one family’s desire to make a difference and in doing so has brightened all of our lives. Hundreds of thousands of wreaths are placed on our veteran's graves each year by this organization and the thousands of volunteers that make it a part of their Christmas, but the organization is much more. Listen in to hea...

Dr. Peter Wills discusses access to the Clinical Contact Center and receiving information from on-call nurses, pharmacies, and other resources. We also talk about the difference between Emergency Room care and that provided by Urgent Care Centers. Knowing that difference can save you from choosing wrong and ending up with a bill for services. The VA has a variety of care choices but unless you kno...

Joseph VanFonda is the CEO of the Disabled Veterans National Foundation. Joseph VanFonda SgtMaj USMC (Ret) a wounded warrior himself brings to the DVNF real-world experience and a true sense of mission, all directed toward serving the veteran. DVNF serves veterans directly and also by providing grants to veterans programs in order to help them assist more military families. Tune in to hear what se...

James LaPaglia, Program Manager for the Veterans Legacy Memorial site brings the good news that the Legacy program is up and running and is available for those interested in memorializing a particular veteran. This program is similar to that offered for sale by funeral homes but is done at no charge to the Veteran and or his family. Listen in to see you can preserve the precious memories your vet...

Director Eric Powell explains what benefits are available to veterans and their families from the National Cemeteries Administration. Did you know that if you chose as a veteran, not to be buried in a National Cemetery that the VA will still provide a gravestone or appropriate marker for your internment in either a standard burial or in the case of cremation the columbarium? This is a program all...

Colonel DJ Reyes closes out our series on the Veterans Treatment Court. How it got started in a tribute to how one man with an idea, who can convey that idea to others, can make a big difference in many lives. Having been active in the court since its inception he is in a unique position to help us understand how it started and now has become the model for courts at all levels across the nation. Y...

Each of the programs this month will be in some way connected to the Florida Judicial District 13 Veterans Treatment Court. This court is a model for the national program approved by congress to set up courts that work to recover veterans who have come into conflict with the law. This, the fourth of these programs highlight the actions of our county Judge Michael Scionti as he deals with veterans...

  Each of the programs this month will be in some way connected to the Florida Judicial District 13 Veterans Treatment Court. This court is a model for the national program approved by congress to set up courts that work to recover veterans who have come into conflict with the law. This, the second of these programs, highlights the actions of our county Public Defender’s office as it deals with ve...

Each of the programs this month will be in some way connected to the Florida Judicial District 13 Veterans Treatment Court. This court is a model for the national program approved by congress to set up courts that work to recover veterans who have come into conflict with the law. This, the second of these programs, highlights the actions of our county prosecutor’s office as it deals with veterans...

Each of the programs this month will be in some way connected to the Florida Judicial District 13 Veterans Treatment Court. This court is a model for the national program approved by congress to set up courts that work to recover veterans who have come into conflict with the law. The first of these programs highlight the actions of our county sheriff’s office as it feeds veterans into this special...

Honor Flight is an amazing experience for all veterans, especially from but not limited to the WII, Korean or Vietnam war eras. Learn how Veterans can get a free trip to Washington DC and visit all the monuments to your service along with spending a wonderful day with your brother and sister Veterans. Learn also how you can also go along as a guardian to provide assistance to these aging warriors....

Emory Health Care Veterans Program treats conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), military sexual trauma (MST), anxiety, and depression related to military service. Treatment is free and confidential for eligible post-9/11 veterans and service members living anywhere in the United States regardless of discharge status, deployment history, or length o...

James Ruhlman, VA Deputy Director of Program Management Educations Services brings with him to Veterans Corner Radio a wealth of information on educational opportunities provided by the VA. It literally is a cornucopia of choices for educational paths not only for veterans but for their families. You may believe you have used up all your education benefits but apply anyway as there are numerous pr...

Anne Marie Dougherty is CEO of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. On Jan. 29, 2006, while reporting on U.S. and Iraqi security forces for ABC’s “World News Tonight,” Bob Woodruff was seriously injured by a roadside bomb that struck his vehicle near Taji, Iraq. Following his recovery, he and his wife founded the Bob Woodruff Foundation. To date, the foundation has invested over $80 million to find, fund,...

Charles Brown, President of Paralyzed Veterans of America, a paralyzed veteran himself shares information on the many valuable services provided to our brave men and women who have developed a debilitating paralysis. I was amazed at all the organization can do to make life a little bit easier for those with paralytic injuries and believe it or not some illnesses result in paralysis.   Our library...

Nick Pamperin Executive Director of Veteran Readiness & Employment shares with our audience this powerful education-based program that is complementary to but separate from the Gi Bill assistance of which many of us are aware.  The goal of the organization is to assist veterans to find and preparing for jobs within their scope of abilities. Listen in to see how this program might just be what...

 Abigail Angkaw, Deputy Associate Chief of staff for Outpatient Mental Health Operations, VA San Diego gives us a first look at a developing challenge, Delayed Onset PTSD. We have all heard about our troops returning from war being affected by this mental disorder, but normally it manifests itself in short order. Now the VA is seeing cases appearing years after the event that triggers it. Listen i...

Dr. Patricia Arola, Asst. Under Sec. for health for Dentistry outlines who is eligible for dental care through the VA system and also discusses lower-cost options for government-sponsored dental insurance. More importantly, she also suggested there might be a path to dental care through a referral from your primary care doctor. Listen in to hear the details.  Our library of shows can be found at w...

Charles Tapp, Chief of VA Financial Services explains how  VA has established a working relationship with numerous banks and credit unions to supply a cost free, fully functioning bank account to any veteran. Veterans can get these accounts in order for them to receive direct deposit of funds to their account rather than waiting for paper checks that are increasingly being stolen. Our library of s...

This is not your grandfather’s VA, nor is it even that of your dad. The VA is currently on the cutting edge of providing not only up-to-date medical treatment but also advanced medical treatment as well. Listen in to hear Gary Velasquez,  CEO, Cogitativo explain how Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence if you prefer, is being used to provide you with advanced treatment even when you don’t k...

Dr. Evangelia Katsoulakis came to us at the behest of Dr. Kelly, the chief of the VA National Oncology Program Office. While on this show Dr. Kelly offered to help us find specialists in various cancers who are experts. In the Prostate Cancer area, he suggested we have Dr. Katsoulakis, a specialist on the staff of the James A Haley VA Medical center. I learned a lot about Prostate Cancer, its dete...

Deputy Director Kevin Friel, Veterans Administration Office of Pensions and Fiduciary Services was on our program back in October of 2021 and the program was so popular in the way he outlined how to control your benefits, we brought him back. In this program he begins by sharing criteria for benefit payments to both veterans and survivors along with some good news on how pensions will be paid. Lis...