For Your Benefit For and about Hawaii's military

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New Veterans clinic is in American Samoa

Question: I have relatives who live in American Samoa who are U.S. veterans. When will the Veterans Affairs clinic there be opened?

Answer: The new clinic in American Samoa was officially dedicated yesterday and will open tomorrow. It is one of 25 new community-based clinics in 17 states and American Samoa. The new clinic is located in a former U.S. Army Reserve building that has been renovated to meet VA needs. The clinic will have a staff of six including a physician, mental health provider, two nurses, one social worker and a clerk. One of the key features in the clinic will be the use of telemedicine technology that will enable patients to be seen and reviewed by providers in Samoa and here in Honolulu, thus greatly reducing the need to fly patients from Samoa to Hawaii and return.

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Q: My husband, who was a veteran, recently passed away. I heard the VA provides a death pension for the survivors. Can you elaborate?

A: To be eligible, spouses must not have remarried and children must be under age 18, or have become permanently incapable of self-support because of disability before age 18. The veteran must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable and must have had 90 days or more of active military service, at least one day of which was during a period of war, or a service-connected disability justifying discharge. Longer periods of serviced may be required for veterans who entered active duty on or after Sept. 8, 1980, or Oct. 16, 1981, if an officer. If the veteran died in service but not in the line of duty, death pension may be payable if the veteran had completed at least two years of honorable service. For additional information on death pensions, contact the VA Honolulu Regional Office at (800) 827-1000.

If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran, call Fred Ballard at the Department of Veterans Affairs at 433-004