The 9 Line

Episode 64 - Back On Their Feet

The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System sees patients every day who have experienced limb loss, or have limb difference requiring them to have prosthetic devices that allow them to live as close to normal as possible.  But, the Prosthetics Department here is just part of the story, we also have staff at our facility that helps Veterans learn HOW to use their prosthetics to regain mobility and maneuver life without a limb.  Together, our Prosthetics Department and our Kinesiotherapists help to get Veterans back on their feet, both figuratively and literally.

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Joel Stunz, Prosthetics Lab Supervisor, and Jessica Blackwell, Kinesiotherapist, about how they work together to assist Veterans with limb loss or limb difference, the advances in prosthetics that are making amputee Veterans' lives easier, and how helping Veterans with limb loss requires them to be cheerleaders in addition to therapists and technicians.

Episode 63 - Remembering Vietnam

March 29th marks the 50th Anniversary of the removal of American combat troops from the Vietnam War.  In 14 years of American involvement in Vietnam, 2.7 million servicemembers saw time in-country and close to 60,000 lost their lives.  The war in Vietnam also dramatically reshaped American culture, how Veterans were treated when returning from combat, and transformed many elements of the American military.

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we'll talk to Paul Solid, an Army Veteran who saw combat in Vietnam, about his experiences while serving in that conflict, what impact the war in Vietnam and the resulting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder had on his life, and the hard-learned lessons he carries forward with him to this day.  We'll also speak to Chris Fairweather, a VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Peer Specialist, about his role in supporting our Vietnam Veterans through our Vietnam Veterans PTSD Support Group.

Episode 62- Training Day

Becoming a medical professional is a lot of work and requires a lot of training.  Not only do hopeful future doctors, dentists and optometrists need to complete medical schooling in their chosen profession, but they also have to take part in a residency program that tacks on a few additional years to their training before they can practice on their own.  At the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, we have a multitude of residency programs to help grow the future of medicine and it is estimated that 70% of physicians in America serve at least part of their residency in a VA facility.

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Dr. Eric Agulia, Residency Program Educator and Dr. Carlos Rodriguez, VASNHS Resident, about the ins and outs of choosing both residency programs and residents, the advantages of doing a residency with the VA, and how the VASNHS adapted their residency programs during the COVID pandemic.

Episode 60 - Back to School

'Degree inflation’: the rising demand for bachelor’s degrees in jobs that didn’t always require one, is something workers in just about every American industry is facing.  It is an issue where the people currently doing the work don’t have degrees, but as they retire or leave their positions, their replacements will be expected to. In the United States today, 37.9% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 65 have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Among Veterans in the same age demographic, that number increases to 42%.  No matter which way you look at it, a four-year degree is becoming an increasingly vital thing in society but some Veterans are leaving the service seriously behind the power curve in getting a degree.

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with James Taylor, VA VITAL Program Manager and Jeff Detrich, UNLV Director of Adult Education Services and their respective programs, how they help Veterans navigate the higher education process once they've left service, and how they coach Veterans to remain enrolled in education programs.

Episode 59 - Donating Life

Every year, almost five million people will need a blood transfusion, which translates to someone needing a blood transfusion every two seconds.  But even with such a vital component of life being needed so frequently and constantly, only three percent of eligible people in the United States donate blood every year.  So few people donating blood is critical enough, but when you add in the fact that blood has an extremely short shelf life, the need for more donors more frequently is critical.  So critical, the United States is currently facing a deep blood shortage.

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak to Leanne Beasley, VASNHS Blood Bank Supervisor, and Brittany Estrella, Communications Manager for Vitalant, about the current blood shortage, who can give blood and some of the requirements, and how the process works from the point of donation to using that blood to save a life.

Episode 58 - Resolution Coaching

A new year is here and for a lot of people, that means a renews drive to get healthier as part of a New Year's resolution.  For some people, it is a resolution to exercise more, for others it is eating healthier.  But, as motivated as people can be to stick with their resolutions, by the time February rolls around, many people have already lost the drive to continue.  However, did you know that the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System has Whole Health coaches who can help you live a healthier lifestyle no matter what time of the year, whether part of a resolution or not?

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with two of our Whole Health coaches about the role they play in a Veteran's health, some of the ways they help to keep Veterans motivated, and what qualities make a good Whole Health coach.

Episode 57 - The PACT Act

On August 10th, President Biden signed into law a piece of legislation to address the healthcare challenges brought on by Veterans being exposed to a range of toxins through military service.  That law is what is known as the PACT Act, and aims to expand VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances.  The Act adds to the list of health conditions that we assume (or “presume”) are caused by exposure to these substances. This law helps us provide generations of Veterans—and their survivors—with the care and benefits they’ve earned and deserve.

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Tina Tallerico, the Acting Director of the Veterans Benefits Administration's Reno office, and Lauren Castillo, Veteran's Readiness and Employment Program Officer, about what the PACT Act means for our Veterans, who it impacts and who's eligible, and also talk about some of the benefits available to Veterans through the VBA. 

Episode 56 - Honoring our Veterans

November 11th is Veterans Day, when we come together as a nation to recognize Veterans and the role they've played through history in making America the country that it is today.  Here are the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, our Veterans are our mission and reason for existing, and we honor our nation's Veterans every day of the year by delivering high-quality healthcare in the ways that best suit their needs.  Everything we do is focused on one thing, and one thing only...our Veterans.

On this episode of The 9 Line, we're joined by VASNHS Executive Director Bill Caron, as we talk about what Veterans Day means to him.  We'll also talk with him about some of the methodology we use to track employee satisfaction, in addition to discussing the PACT Act and what that means for our OIF-OEF era Veterans.

Episode 55 - Forty Winks

Sleep might be the one thing that can make or break your day before it is even started.  Get a good night's sleep, and it sets you up for a good day ahead.  Have a poor night of sleep, and chances are you'll be cranky, unfocused, and unproductive.  That's why the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare system has a group of folks dedicated to making sure Veterans can get a great night of sleep through diagnosing sleep disorders and then prescribing a course of action, whether it is medication or something like a CPAP machine.

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Dr. Susan Bannick-Mohrland about some of the issues that keep Veterans from having a good night's sleep, how we diagnose those issues, and talk about the nationwide shortage of CPAP machines and how we're filling the gap in the meantime.

Episode 54 - Keeping the Lights On

If you ask people what's one thing that gets taken for granted in our everyday life, some people would respond with the creature comforts we enjoy. Things like having lights on in your house, hot water to wash clothes and dishes and air conditioning to keep your house cool.  In a hospital setting, those things aren't just a creature comfort, they are vital to being able to providing quality health care.  Without electricity, life sustaining equipment doesn't work.  Without hot water, we'd have a hard time maintaining a sanitary environment, and without cooling our hospital would be a lot less comfortable and wouldn't be an ideal healing environment for our Veterans.

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with three members of our Engineering staff about what it takes to keep the lights on at VASNHS, how they manage all of the construction and upgrades continuously underway in our facility, and talk a little bit about why they choose the VA as their place of employment in career fields they could work anywhere.