Salmon VA center now open

By LAURA ZUCKERMAN

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

SALMON -- Decades of hoping and years of planning were behind this week's opening of a clinic to serve U.S. military veterans in Lemhi County.

The Salmon clinic, equipped with three exam rooms in a newly built structure at 705 Lena St., starts providing medical care to hundreds of area veterans today. While officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are eying a long-term goal of providing all primary care services, the Salmon Outpatient Clinic's initial offerings will range from dressing wounds to collecting blood work. Blood work will be sent overnight to the VA lab in Boise for analysis.

The clinic's full-time team is led by Gary Moore, a licensed social worker; registered nurse Laralee Shaffmaster; and Mike Taylor, a licensed practical nurse. A physician and physician assistant will be on hand for several days on alternating months. With veterans making up an estimated 19 percent of Lemhi County's population -proportionally the highest in Idaho -- the clinic is well-placed to provide aid to those who have aided the nation, Moore said. "This is about vets; it's not about us," he said. Idaho counted some 136,000 veterans in 2010, when there were five outpatient clinics in the state associated with the VA.

Spearheaded by Sue Dickens, Lemhi County's representative for the VA, local officials nearly a decade ago targeted the need for a clinic for a community located many miles from the nearest government medical facility. Moore, who has worked for the VA for five-plus years, was the first wave of support. He was dispatched to Salmon during the summer of 2006 to provide behavioral health services.

The needs of veterans differ depending on the conflicts, branches and locations where they served, Moore said. For example, exposure to Agent Orange, a blend of herbicides heavily applied by the U.S. military in Vietnam, has been linked to certain cancers and other diseases, according to the VA. That compares to a higher number of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan coping with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition also known as "shell shock" or "soldier's heart."

Many of those who served in World War II, Moore said, today are combating ailments ranging from exposure to asbestos to loss of hearing. What singles out growing populations with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, however, is that there is no apparent sign of injury. You can't see either one of those conditions, making them difficult for other people to ferret out," Moore said.

If you go The new Salmon Outpatient Clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30p.m. Monday through Friday. Veterans who wish to schedule appointments at the new clinic first must contact the Boise VA at (208) 422-1000 to have their care transferred to the Salmon facility.

The number for the Salmon facility is (208) 756-8515.

Access to Recovery

The Idaho National Guard, Military Reserve Members, and Veterans of All Branches

Access to Recovery (ATR) provides access to substance abuse treatment and recovery support services that focus on long-term recovery. It is a federally funded program that pays for services for military members and is completely confidential.

ATR provides access to the following services:

• Substance Abuse Assessment
• Individual Counseling
• Group Counseling
• Family Counseling
• Substance Abuse Education
• Case Management
• Recovery Support Services

To access services, call 1-800-922-3406 and inform them you are a military service member or veteran interested in receiving services through the Access to Recovery program.

For more information about this program, please visit:
www.atr3.dhw.idaho.gov
or contact Michael Bartlett, ATR Program Coordinator:
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: (208) 332-7243

All inquiries are confidential.

View and print the flyer

Transition Assistance Program

TurboTAP is an Integrated, Life-Long Resource for Military Transitioners and their Families.

Now, at your fingertips within www.TuboTAP.org, all the information and access you need to connect to employment opportunities, information about re-employment rights, veterans and education benefits, self-help guides and checklists, face-to-face community support services, and transition advice.  TurboTAP is as valuable to you when you are coming onto active duty as it is when it's time to go back home. Visit the TurboTAP web portal today and establish your TurboTAP life-long Account for individual transition planning and benefit alerts. You'll be glad you did!

www.TuboTAP.org is an Official Department of Defense website.

Career Exploration

Career Exploration Main Document

Career Exploration Checklist for Success

Personal Strengths, Achievements and Personality Traits

Active Duty Relocation Checklist

Service Unique Transcripts

Financial Planning for Transition

The forms for this module are complex. If you need in-person assistance, check with your local military community service center, or go to www.nfcc.org to search for a nearby non-profit consumer credit counseling center that can help you with budgeting.

Financial Planning for Transition Main Document

Financial Planning for Transition, Your Checklist for Success

Financial Planning Worksheet for Transition

Compensation Comparison Worksheet

Job Search Strategies

Job Search Strategies Main Document

How to Write an Elevator Speach

Job Search Strategies, Your Checklist for Success

Sample Job Application

SMART Job Search Goals

Troops to Teachers

Networking Plan

Effective Resumes and Cover Letters

Effective Resumes and Cover Letters Main Document

Sample Chronological Resume

Sample Functional Resume

Sample Combination Resume

Military Joe Resume… BEFORE

Military Joe Resume… AFTER

Cover Letters – Example 1

Effective Cover Letters

Military Training and Experience

Interviewing Excellence

Interviewing Excellence Main Document

Facts about the Americans with Disabilities Act

Interviewing Excellence, Checklist for Success

Questions Job Candidates May Want to Ask

Interviewing with a Disability

Personal Strengths

Sample Interview Questions

Writing the Perfect Thank You Letter

Negotiating Your Ideal Compensation

Negotiating Your Ideal Compensation Main Document

Compensation Comparison Worksheet

Evaluating Multiple Job Offers

Negotiating Your Ideal Compensation Checklist