Lebanon Caregiver shortages that have forced veterans to wait for care from the Veterans Health Administration are early indicators of a more general problem in health care, the Cabinet secretary who oversees the 340,000-employee medical care system that serves the nations veterans said Monday.

We are approaching a national train wreck, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald said in a speech to about 150 people at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center that was broadcast on closed circuit television at colleges in northern New England.

Nationally, the VA needs to hire 20,000 to 30,000 new medical personnel, said U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chairman the Veterans Affairs Committee, who joined McDonald for the event.

We do not have enough doctors, Sanders said. We do not have enough nurses.

In White River Junction, the VA has 100 vacancies to fill, said Deborah Amdur, director of the VA Medical Center there.

The VA has already been busy hiring, Naaman Horn, a public affairs officer, said in an email: In the last year, White River Junction VA Medical Center has brought on 56 new employees for new programs and to ensure that we have good access to care.

McDonald stressed that the need for more caregivers extends beyond the VA. Florida needs 22,000 more doctors to serve its general population, and California needs 17,000, he said.

But the VA has a role to play in solving that problem as well, according to McDonald, who described the agencys three-pronged mission of medical education about 70 percent of the nations doctors receive some training at the VA, he said as well as research and clinical care for veterans.

The country needs a strong VA, he said.

Controversy about the role and performance of the VA erupted earlier this year, fueled by reports that veterans were enduring long waits for care at a VA hospital in Phoenix and elsewhere, and that some administrators were doctoring statistics to hide the backlog.

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VA Seeks Personnel Nationwide

National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship Honors Three Community College Alumni for Their Entrepreneurial Achievements

Community college alumni from Florida, Texas and Wisconsin are being honored for outstanding entrepreneurial achievements at the 12th Annual Conference of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship, underway this week in Phoenix, Arizona.

Winning the NACCE2014 Alumni Entrepreneur Awards are Gary Krause of Racine, Wisconsin; Pam Butler of Tallahassee, Florida; and Marilyn Harris of Houston, Texas. Each award winner received a $750 travel stipend to attend NACCE2014 and certificates for five Ed2Go Short Courses. These awards were funded through the generous donation from Cengage Learning, a leading educational content, technology and services company for the higher education and K-12, professional and library markets worldwide.

These alumni entrepreneurs each traveled a very different path to entrepreneurial success, said NACCE President and CEO Heather Van Sickle. We honor them as outstanding role models for others in their communities who have entrepreneurial dreams. We also are proud to highlight the role community colleges played in inspiring and supporting such outstanding business owners and job creators.

Here are the winners stories:

Gary Krause is president and CEO of EKG Concepts, LLC. He decided to return to school 28 years ago after an industrial accident that nearly killed him and left him partially paralyzed for a time meant he needed to find a new career. He studied nursing at Gateway Technical College in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, and became a cardiac nurse, gaining over 20 years of experience in the medical field with an emphasis on emergency medicine and cardiac education.

In 2010, Krause founded EKG Concepts Company in Racine with a vision to develop and market innovative and unique tools to significantly improve the overall process of reading/interpreting EKG output. During his nursing career he had become aware that many high-risk EKG abnormalities are often misread, creating potentially life-threatening situations. His goal was to develop and market products providing improved accuracy, as well as superior ease and speed of use.

The six products Krause has developed during the past three years have been well received by the market with sales growing thanks to a partnership initiated with a distributor in 2013. Two of Krauses products were awarded Top Products at the Journal of Emergency Services Conference in 2012 and 2014. Translation of EKG Concepts products into multiple languages for introduction into Europe and Latin America is in progress.

In addition to managing his company, Krause continues to work 20 hours a week in at a local hospital. He also continues teaching and provides counsel for other entrepreneurs and students.

Pam Butler is CEO of Aegis Business Technologies and a graduate of Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Florida. She is also a graduate of Florida State University, where she became one of the first FSU graduates to earn a B.S. degree in Management Information Systems. After nearly two decades working for the State of Florida in an information systems leadership role. In 1997 she, along with business partner Brad Mitchell, founded Aegis Business Technology, a managed-services provider dedicated to offering technical support to small businesses.

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National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship Honors Three Community College Alumni for Their ...

MAA MEMBERSHIP is a tangible way to express support for your medical alumni association. Dues are collected each year to help underwrite the associations operating expenses. As an independent foundation affiliated with the universitynot funded by the school or the statewe depend on the membership revenues from alumni, faculty and friends to support our programs and services.

BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP include access to online classroom lectures, grand rounds, and historical CPCs. Alumni also receive the Bulletin magazine, a quarterly publication designed to keep classmates in touch with one another as well as updated on developments at the medical school and university. Members receive invitations to reunion celebrations as well as regional- and specialty-related social gatherings. And they are invited to take an active role in the Association by voting on important issues at the annual business meeting.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPis $85 for alumni, faculty and friends. Membership is complimentary to alumni the first four years after graduation. In addition, emeritus membership is granted to those graduated 50 years or upon reaching the age of 70. While no longer required to pay dues, many emeritus members choose to continue sending a membership payment in an amount commensurate with their budget.

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Medical Alumni Membership

PALM BEACH COUNTY SCHOOLS

ST. CLARE CATHOLIC SCHOOL

A 50th anniversary celebration for the school will be held on Sunday. Bishop Gerald Barbarito of the Diocese of Palm Beach will celebrate Mass at 11:30 a.m., followed by a barbecue on the school grounds from 1 to 4 p.m. Families of current students, staff and alumni are invited.

Fifth-grader Kasey Gillespie was chosen as the schools Rotary Student of the Month. She attended a recent luncheon at the Doubletree Hotel where she received her award from the Rotary Club of the Northern Palm Beaches.

LAKE PARK BAPTIST

Students selected to attend the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C.: Anna Blood, Abigail Perree, Riley Ziegler, Caleb Adams, Elana Barnhart, Joseph Karch, Emma Muschett, Ciara Nevad and Kayla Thompson. The sixth- and seventh-graders were selected for their academic achievements and demonstrated leadership potential by their teacher, Annette Schumacher. She also nominated five eighth-graders for the National Young Leaders State Conference, LeadNow 2015: Samantha Barthelemy, Bailey Moss, Matthew Ohnmeiss, Rebekah Thompson and Olivia Carrino. The students were selected for their leadership potential and maturity.

BRIEFLY

The 18th annual Showcase of Schools takes place 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Expo Center at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Representatives from Palm Beach County Choice schools and programs will be on site with information on programs, including Aerospace Science, Performing Arts, Medical, Criminal Justice, Culinary, Engineering, Teacher Education, JROTC, International Baccalaureate, Construction, Technology and Dual Language. New programs available for the 2015-2016 school year include Environmental and Animal Science, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math), Symphony Orchestra, Fire Science, Graphic Arts and the expansion of the arts programs at Boynton Beach High.

The Palm Beach County College and Career Fair is 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach.

TREASURE COAST SCHOOLS

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St. Clare Catholic School to celebrate 50th anniversary

In Dec. 2013, only two and a half years after South Sudan celebrated its first independence day, tensions between the countrys two main ethnic groups erupted into violence. Only 19 months into independence, the worlds youngest country was plunged into civil war.

In addition to giving monetary aid, the international community has stepped up in other ways, providing medical and media attention to the area. Contributing what they can through knowledge and expertise in their respective fields, three UC Davis alumni have been performing such work in South Sudan since the nations inception.

Dr. Matthew Fentress, who graduated from the UC Davis School of Medicine in 2008, currently works in South Sudan with Doctors Without Borders, a medical non-profit organization. Prior to this, Fentress worked with the Global Health Fellowship in developing countries.

The first part of that [Global Health Fellowship] I spent a total of six or seven months in South Sudan, Fentress said. I always knew I wanted to work either outside of the country in the places that didnt have a lot of resources and doctors, or, I wanted to work in areas in our own country where thats the case.

Although Fentress had strong and early convictions about working in a conflict-ridden area, UC Davis history and international relations alum Ismail Kushkush had no plans on working in South Sudan post-graduation. Kushkush now works for The New York Times, reporting in East Africa.

I did take a course in journalism at UC Davis, I just thought of it as a side interest, not something Id be doing for this long, Kushkush said. I thought Id be a history professor!

As an agricultural economics undergraduate student at UC Davis, Dr. Sue Lautze was similarly unaware of her future career in humanitarian aid. Lautze, a representative for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for the United Nations, recently returned to South Sudan after giving talks internationally.

I wanted to go into the international grain trade, and so I had studied Mandarin as well as the economic aspects [of grain trade] when I was at Davis. I went off to China right after UC Davis on a program that put me in the ministry of culture, Lautze said. There, I met some people working for the United Nations (UN) and got to talking to them. I thought Id be working on that for just a little while but its now 26 years later and Ive gotten more and more deeply involved with humanitarian efforts.

Despite the broad range of their studies, all three alumni are working tirelessly in South Sudan, doing whatever they can to help.

The history of conflict in the three-year-old country predates its independence. Serious violent clashes between North and South Sudan began in the early 60s, and tensions ranging from small-scale violence to full-blown civil war continued up until 2011.

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Three UC Davis Alumni lend aid and a voice to South Sudan

UCS staff learn resusitation techniques and how to use a defibrillator at an after school training session. From left resusitation training officer Sam Wilcox Harriet Cheng , alumni development officer, Lauren Weston, head of PE at Phoenix, and Lindy Harper, senior school nurse co-ordinator. Picture: Polly Hancock

Imogen Blake Wednesday, October 8, 2014 9:00 AM

Life-saving medical equipment has been installed at a Hampstead school in the event of a teacher or pupil suffering a cardiac arrest in class.

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Staff members at University College School (UCS) in Frognal were trained to use defibrillators last Thursday by the London Ambulance Service.

The equipment, which deliver electric shocks to patients suffering a cardiac arrest through two pads, was funded by charity Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) UK and is now on standby around the school.

It is part of the charitys Big Shock campaign to have defibrillators installed at all schools.

UCS vice master Chris Reynolds, said: University College School takes the medical conditions and the safety of our pupils, staff and visitors very seriously.

The addition of four defibrillators will ensure that we continue to provide a quick and appropriate response when lives are at risk.

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Students at a Springfield university are getting a chance to use their new skills to help a community that is under-insured.

Drury University and Jordan Valley Community Health Center are placing pre-health science students with health care professionals at the clinic.

Students will work side by side helping patients.

The goal of the Drury Health Service Corps is to help future professionals become patient-centered providers.

Edited from a press release from Drury University:

SPRINGFIELD, Mo., Sept. 30, 2014 As entry into professional health and medical schools becomes more competitive, a new partnership between Drury and Jordan Valley Community Health Center (JVCHC) gives undergraduates the chance to experience and work in a real-world medical setting well before they take that next step in their academic careers.

The Drury Health Service Corps places pre-health sciences students inside the federally qualified health center in downtown Springfield to work alongside the medical staff and interact with patients. This gives them valuable and increasingly, essential volunteer experience in a real clinical setting. The work includes helping patients navigate the building and sign up for the online patient engagement portal, as well as assisting the JVCHC staff with a variety of customer-service related tasks.

VIDEO: Drury University Health Service Corps The Drury Health Service Corps seeks to go beyond a mere shadow internship and to truly place undergraduates in the midst of the patient-provider dynamic. It will help them cultivate the empathy, understanding and skills necessary to build relationships with the medically underserved, so that they are better prepared to become patient-centered health care providers in the future.

Medicine is certainly a people business and thats something medical schools are looking for individuals who are not only academically prepared but are able to go out and interact with people in a really positive way, says Dr. Beth Harville, assistant professor of biology and chemistry and director of Drurys pre-health sciences program.

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Drury University Teams Up With Jordan Valley Community Health Center To Promote Patient-Centered Care

Two alumni from the Moravia Central School District will be inducted into the district's Hall of Achievement Saturday.

The honor recognizes alumni whose personal and professional lives have distinguished them as personifying the type of role model the school district celebrates.

"It is our hope that this is another step in providing our students with positive role models individuals who have walked the same halls as our current student population," Superintendent Michelle Brantner said in a statement. "Through the recognition of these outstanding individuals, we show our sense of pride in our school district, community and our students past, present and future."

This year's inductees are Michelle Hartnett Lyon and William James Newhart.

Lyon, a member of the Class of 1988, received a two-year degree at Cayuga Community College after graduating from Moravia. She continued pursing her education by receiving an bachelor of science degree in accounting from SUNY-Oswego.

For more than 20 years, Lyon has worked at Cornell University and is currently the Director of Budget & Finance for the College of Human Ecology. She married in 1997 and her children attend school in the Moravia district.

Lyon served on the Moravia school board for three terms, served as president of the Moravia Youth Basketball League and enjoyed coaching youth.

According to the district's statement, "Michelle believes that MCS wasn't too big to be a number and wasn't too small to limit the opportunities of education."

A member of the Class of 1956, Newhart played football for Moravia and enjoyed acting in school plays.

After high school, Newhart spent four years in the U.S. Navy, Air Transport Squadron 22, in Norfolk, Virginia. He married Marjorie Keagle and has two children.

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Moravia hall of achievement to induct two alumni Saturday

Joshua Smith graduated from LSA in 1997 and Universitys medical school in 2006.

University Athletic Director Dave Brandon admitted in a statement Sunday night that Shane Morris sustained a concussion but claims that Brady Hoke was not apprised of this before his Monday noon press conference where he denied the concussion and even said Shane could have practiced Sunday were it not for his high ankle sprain.

Brandon then goes on to detail his thorough investigation into the matter:

"I have had numerous meetings beginning Sunday morning to thoroughly review the situation that occurred at Saturday's football game regarding student-athlete Shane Morris. I have met with those who were directly involved and who were responsible for managing Shane's care and determining his medical fitness for participation."

Yet, at Mondays press conference Brady Hoke said he hadn't spoken to Dave Brandon.

I don't think Brady Hoke is a bad man. I don't think he knowingly played Shane despite a concussion. I do, however, think that he's in way over his head, and, now is becoming complicit in Dave Brandon's attempt to sweep this under the rug.

Brandon is playing puppet master and sent his stringed creation into a field of scissors at Monday's press conference. Unfortunately for him, ties are not so easily cut and his future should be inextricably linked to Hoke's.

A 1 a.m. statement?! Really Brandon? How about standing by your coachs side and owning the problem instead of sacrificing him at the podium? Even if you're already packing your bags.

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Josie Ann Lee graduated from the University in 1996.

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Letters to the editor: Alumni response to Shane Morris incident