by Blake Jones - The Garden Island

U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai‘i, visited Kaua‘i yesterday, offering the island's veterans a chance to bend his ear.

Speaking only briefly to the crowd of 100, Akaka asked audience members to lead the discussion with their questions.

As chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, the open forum last night at the Kauai Veterans Center marked the last of seven formal and informal hearings on veteran issues across the state this month.

Akaka was flanked by officials from Veterans Affairs, including Pacific Islands Health Care System Dr. James Hastings, Regional Director Gregory Reed and Regional Service Center Manager Pat Kelley.

State Sen. Gary Hooser and state Reps. James Tokioka and Roland Sagum were also in attendance.

Local access to care

Among the top concerns expressed was access to health care, particularly long-term care.

Akaka acknowledged off the bat that adequate funding for care and facilities has not always been readily available. But with an additional $3 billion budgeted for care this year - pending full Senate approval - he's hopeful this will change, he said.

While a new assisted-living facility is scheduled for completion on the Big Island in November, there are no such accommodations for veterans on Kaua‘i.

Responding to many of the health care-related comments, Hastings said that the Kaua‘i clinic is working to bring care to veterans in their homes, and the VA has partnered with local hospitals to use their long-term beds. However, he acknowledged that there are no empty beds available on Kaua‘i.

"I recognize this as a major problem," Hastings said

Kaua‘i resident Dan Funamura questioned the discrepancy between care on O‘ahu and on rural islands such as Kaua‘i.

"The fact that we reside on Kaua‘i shouldn't mean that we deserve lesser service," Funamura said.

He pointed to the expense of traveling to O‘ahu for treatment, which comes out of his own pocket.

Funamura said that if the VA can't provide equal options on-island, then it should pay his airfare and other fees.

Hastings acknowledged the challenge that islanders face in seeking care, saying the VA's current transportation reimbursements are based on mileage.

He said whether the reimbursement is 7 cents, 11 cents or 27 cents per mile, that doesn't add up for someone who has to fly the 90 miles to Honolulu.

Hastings noted that he is in discussions with Akaka on this subject, though there is no immediate remedy. On providing more services on Kaua‘i, Hastings said the VA is exploring bringing in specialists and technology as needed.

That, too, is a balancing act, he added, as some cutting-edge procedures are too new and expensive to duplicate on all the islands.

"We can't afford all the services of modern medicine in every site," Hastings said.

Local infrastructure

Some speakers, including VA Advisory Council board member Edward Kuamura, expressed interest in moving the VA clinic on Kuhio Highway to the spacious Kauai Veteran Center on Kapule Highway. Many noted the clinic's tight quarters as well as a lack of sufficient parking for staff and elderly or disabled patients.

Another infrastructure concern, brought up by Kaua‘i Navy League Vice President Larry Schlang, was the state of the Hanapepe Veterans Cemetery. Due to failed legislation that was to fund improvements, Schlang said he would like to see some federal aid.

He cited sinking graves and headstones, a backlog of cremated ashes for the columbarium, no grave liners and no designated person - federal, state or local - appointed to pick up new headstones when they arrive at Nawiliwili Harbor.

Akaka responded that the Kona Veterans Cemetery - one of Hawai‘i's eight, the greatest concentration of any state - recently received almost $750,000 for repairs. He added that there is hope for similar funding here, too.

"We are moving on this," Akaka told the crowd.

National concerns

On national issues, Jim Carroll, a Vietnam veteran, said that there is an acute need to treat post-traumatic stress disorder for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

"They're coming back really, really wound up and no one's unwinding them," he said.

Carroll recommended that the government put as much emphasis on "untraining" soldiers post-deployment as it does on training them pre-deployment.

Akaka agreed with Carroll, noting that he is aware of the changing nature of today's warfare and the "invisible wounds" that it inflicts.

He said there is already legislation in place to meet these demands, and he said his focus is on continuing to meet that need.

Akaka was also asked who will replace U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who stepped down amid controversy, leaving a seat on the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

"Unofficially, I think it'll be Sen. (Richard) Burr," Akaka said.

http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2007/08/31/news/news01.txt