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Veteran’s Hotline: A word on the flag, Memorial Day

Ed Wilkinson

For the veterans who rode in the Saturday parade, the patriotism shown by spectators made us feel proud, especially when we saw little kids place their hand over their heart or salute when the flag passed by.

Unfortunately, there are adults who could learn from these kids about flag protocol. Specifically, the part about standing up, removing hats and saluting

the flag.



Many events took place over the weekend.

Mother Nature was kind and gave us sunshine all three days.



But, everyone needs to remember what the purpose of Memorial Day is — honoring veterans.

Call about cancellations

When you make an appointment at a Veterans Administration hospital for any reason, please keep that appointment or call in advance if you have to cancel.

In April, the Colorado Health Care System had 4,255 no-shows. The number of no-shows fluctuates, but the monthly average is 3,840 appointments missed each month.

Fiscal year to date, more than 26,000 appointments were lost to no-shows.

Here is one way to put this into perspective: we could eliminate our entire wait list at the Health Care Centers if we could eliminate our no-shows.

This information comes from Jordan Schupbach, the public affairs officer at the Eastern Colorado Health Care System. The statistics reflect statewide data.

Sorry for any omissions

The veterans list that was read at Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony has been updated from last year, but if a name was not read, please accept our apology and contact me.

I will be sure it gets added to the list.

Telehealth reminder

The Craig Community Telehealth Clinic offers U.S. veterans state-of-the-art technology as well as onsite nursing support and remote practitioner availability. The goal is to provide an extensive array of healthcare services to veterans in a setting that is both accessible and professional.

To appropriately plan and coordinate your visit, access to the clinic is by appointment only. The clinic cannot handle emergency needs. Flu shot walk-ins are still on-going for veterans currently enrolled in the VAMC Healthcare system. Questions? Call 824-6721.

Tele-psych available

Veterans can now get tele-pysch services at the Craig VA Telehealth clinic. All they need to do is call (970) 263-2824 to set up a follow-up appointment for their mental health visit to be done there. If there are any questions, contact Jayne Scribner at VAMC Grand Junction via phone or e-mail. Her e-mail address is Jayne.Scribner@va.gov.

For information on these programs and/or other veterans’ benefits, call or stop in the Moffat County VSO office at 480 Barclay St. (west of the Bank of Colorado parking lot).

Call 970-824-3246 or use the fax 970-824-7108. Our e-mail address is veterans@moffatcounty.net. The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Other times can be arranged by appointment only.

Bring a copy of your separation papers (DD-214) for application for VA programs and for filing at our office.


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