Front row (l to r): John C. Tomosky, Commander, 1st District, American Legion Dept. of Pennsylvania; Joe Gunkle, American Legion Commander, Bridesburg Post 821; Stanley Fabiszewski, American Legion Housing for Homeless Veterans Corp.; Michael Nutter, mayor of Philadelphia; Terry Lewis, American Legion Housing for Homeless Veterans Corp. Back row (l to r): Carter Oosterhouse; Pennsylvania State Representative Tony Payton; John Stevens, Head Coach of Philadelphia Flyers

(l-r): Frank (veteran), PPL representatives Don Stoudt, Don Spade and Donna Schanno, and veterans Doug and Jim. Not pictured are veterans Rick and Dan

Pennsylvania Power & Light employees delivered all the makings of a full thanksgiving dinner to the veterans living at Veterans Place in Ephrata.  The Ephrata home is one of the three homes owned and operated by the Pennsylvania American Legion Housing for Homeless Veterans Corporation.

“We (the employees of PPL) just want to say thank you for their service and this is one way we can do it”, says Donna Schanno, the spearhead of this project.  “All the employees of PPL donated money to ensure that these veterans would be able to have a real Thanksgiving dinner.”  Under the watchful eye of Donna, Don Spade and Don Stoudt went grocery shopping and then delivered the goods to the veterans living in the home.

Don Spade, a Vietnam veteran, and Don Stoudt make sure that there was enough food to not only take care of Thanksgiving, but to provide them with meals up through Christmas.

“We have been doing this for several years and with the generosity of the employees of PPL we will continue to do this for many years to come,” relays Spade.

“It is always a pleasure to do this for these veterans,” says Stoudt.  “I know the veterans who live here appreciate it.  It gives us a good feeling as well.”

“Wow,” the veterans exclaimed as Spade, Stoudt and Donna continued to bring in bag after bag of food, including pumpkin pies, cranberry sauce, corn, potatoes and much more, along with a 20-pound turkey.  “The food just kept coming and coming,” the veterans said.  “We couldn’t believe our eyes.”

The veterans living at the Ephrata home gave their thanks to the employees of PPL for thinking of them during the holiday season and for their concern and generosity in providing them with all the fixings that will make this Thanksgiving something to really be thankful for.  The veterans at Veterans Place wish God’s blessing upon everyone and hopes that each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and dinner – they sure did!

The veterans living in the Coraopolis home received Thanksgiving dinner donated by Housing for Homeless Veterans Corporation and the veterans living in the Philadelphia home enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinner from Angel Food Ministries.

You voted and the housing for homeless Veterans Philadelphia home won.  It’s time to watch the HGTV (Home & Garden Television Channel) Change the World: America’s Heroes at 8:00 pm on Veterans Day, Wednesday November 11th.

HGTV’s Carter Oosterhouse and Monica Pedersen, along with more than 200 volunteers from the Pennsylvania American Legion and Rebuilding Together, worked together to renovate our Philadelphia home.  Volunteers spent some 2,300 hours on the project.

This house is a transitional home for homeless veterans, a program operated by the Pennsylvania American Legion Housing for Homeless Veterans Corporation.  In the three-bedroom townhouse, homeless veterans receive food and shelter, plus help finding work and a permanent place to live.  Since 1994, nearly 400 veterans have successfully left the program and have gone on to become productive members of the workforce.

This episode, showcasing a St. Louis home and our Philadelphia home, become two of the biggest and best remodeling projects in HGTV history according to HGTV.

On this Veterans Day, watch HGTV for supporting our veterans - Change the World: American Heroes at 8:00 pm on HGTV.

Washington (Oct 1, 2009) - The leader of The American Legion says he is concerned over a Department of Veterans Affairs directive that refuses public disclosure of inspection reports that might reflect negatively upon VA facilities.

National Commander Clarence E. Hill says, “I am bothered by VA’s practice of designating facility reports that measure timeliness and quality of care as ‘protected documents’ for internal use only.  VA administrators as well as veterans who turn to VA for their health care would benefit from knowing the state of affairs at VA facilities.”

Hill’s statement was prompted by the VA’s refusal to readily disclose information contained in a report issued by the Long Term Care Institute (LTCI), an organization hired by VA to provide quality reviews of its Community Living Centers (CLC).  The reports issued by the LTCI assess the quality of care being provided in VA facilities and provides recommendations for addressing any deficiencies.

Of the more than 100 CLC reports, one, from June 2008 detailed incidents of wholesale neglect of some veterans residing in the Philadelphia CLC.  This report was obtained by a Pittsburgh newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) recently and became the basis of a critical story by the paper.  Many veterans objected to the fact that it took an investigative reporter using the FOIA to bring the matter to light.

The Department of Veterans Affairs maintains that information provided in the LTCI reports constitutes quality management activities protected by federal statue.  This code (38 U.S.C. §  5705) provides that records and documents created by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) as part of a designated medical quality-assurance program are confidential and privileged and may not be disclosed to any person or entity except when specifically authorized by the stature.  There is no authority contained within the statute for disclosure to members of the news media, says the VA.

The department argues further that congressional oversight committees are able to obtain copies of quality assurance documents when the documents are requested for official oversight purposes.  The VA also points out that the situation in question occurred more than a year ago and that once leadership became aware of the problems they took swift action.

A VA spokesperson says: “Many changes have been implemented at the Philadelphia Veterans Community Living Center, including disciplining and terminating personnel contracts, installing a new leadership team, hiring specialists in the areas of wound care and staff training, installing new equipment in the Nutrition and Food area, and beginning nearly $10 million in construction projects.  The Department of Veterans Affairs places the highest priority on the safety, security and dignity of all of our Veteran patients.”

“That is all well and good, but we still believe it is the responsibility of the VA to make the findings in this report, and others like it, accessible to its stakeholders - America’s veterans,” Hill said.  “We can work together to improve the VA health care system by identifying and deficiencies realized in these reports.  If, for instance, The American Legion is aware of deficiencies and problems affecting the health and welfare of our veterans in VA care, we can assist with resolving them as we have for decades.

“in particular, The American Legion’s ‘A System Worth Saving’ program is employed to follow up on GAO reports, IG inspections, and independent findings to identify where positive steps have been made by the VA to improve identified issues, Hill added.  “Without the ability to use all information available, an incomplete and misleading picture emerges.  Conversely, a hand-in-hand cooperative approach is to everyone’s benefit, especially the most deserving parties of all - our nation’s veterans.

“The American Legion has a long history of advocating on behalf of America’s veterans.  By working with VA to identify areas in need of improvement, we can continue that proud tradition by providing a strong voice for VA and working with Congress to provide a budget that will enable facility administrators to adequately address any issues identified in these reports.”

With a current membership of 2.5 million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and the mentoring of youth.  Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.