For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
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Flu shots still available for registered veterans
Question: Is it too late to get a flu shot from Department of Veterans Affairs facilities?
Answer: No. The VA Medical Center is still offering flu shots to registered veterans. Veterans who are 65 and older or have chronic diseases are high-risk candidates for complications from the flu.
Call 433-7676 for details, or if you have a VA appointment scheduled, the shot can be obtained during your visit.
Q: How does VA health care compare to the private sector?
A: Veterans continue to be more satisfied with their health care than the average American, according to an annual report on customer satisfaction that compares the VA health care system with private-sector health care. The ratings come in the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index, which ranks "customer satisfaction" with various federal programs and private-sector industries.
The ACSI, an independent survey of customer satisfaction within the federal and private sectors, gave VA's inpatient care a rating of 83 on a 200-point scale. That is 10 percentage points higher than the 73 rating achieved for inpatient care by the private-sector health care industry.
VA's rating of 80 for outpatient care was five percentage points higher than the 75 rating for private-sector outpatient care and nine percentage points higher than the average satisfaction rating for all federal services. The latest findings mark the sixth consecutive year VA's health care system has outranked the private sector for customer satisfaction.
If you served, or know someone who did, check on eligibility for benefits and services from VA at the VA Medical Clinic at 433-0600, or the Honolulu VA Regional Office, (800) 827-1000. You can also review benefits and services from the VA Web site, www.va.gov.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran, call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049 or visit the VA Web site at
www.va.gov/hawaii or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.