Veterans Corner

Community Contributed

By Jesse Church

Aloha all my fellow veterans and residents of Molokai, old Jesse here with all the veterans news and upcoming events. What is the VA Telehealth program? Telehealth is the use of electronic information to support long-distance health care. Technologies can include videoconferencing, the Internet, and wireless communications to share health information with care providers.

The VA’s program is called the Coordination Home TeleHealth Services for veterans including those with chronic health problems, homebound veterans, veterans who need assisted living services and veterans with mental health conditions. Benefits of this program include prevention or reduction of completions from chronic health conditions, assistance in managing your health and making health decisions, and daily monitoring of your health condition by a registered nurse care coordinator trained in the use of home telehealth technology. If you feel the program is right for you, it’s up you to make an appointment or call your primary care provider and discuss it. But before taking that step, I’d advise you to call the Telehealth office and ask for some literature about the program and talk with someone there.

I have been in the program almost a year now, and I think it’s terrific – it gives a great feeling just knowing that a medical professional is monitoring my health fata daily using a telehealth monitoring device, which transmits data to the Telehealth office by use of the telephone lines. If they feel there’s a problem, they call me and we discuss it. So I want all my fellow veterans to know that I strongly recommend the Home Telehealth Program to all veterans who may be eligible. So please get in touch with your primary care provider and/or the Home Telehealth office in Honolulu – their phone number is 808-433-0445. So take it from old Jesse, it’s one of the VA’s batter programs and you should take advantage of it, all you need to do is ask for it.

This date in history, Feb. 25, 1843, the British flag was raised over the Hawaiian Islands. It came down five months later, the British apologized and the islands were returned to Hawaiian rule.

I have been told by Commander Samuel Makaiwi that the new Vet Center has been completed, and we are waiting for one more department to sign off on it, then we can request the certificate of occupancy from the county. It will not be long now, we are in the home stretch!

Please everyone give your support to our troops in these trying times in the Middle East – they can use all the support and help they can get. They are trying to do a very difficult job and they are doing the best they can, and the people of Molokai send them a big mahalo. If anyone has any questions, suggestions or news, please contact old Jesse at 553-3323. I continue to depend on the information you give me to write this column. Remember that old Jesse loves you all very dearly so until next week, aloha.