MINORITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORT

Hispanic & Native Outreach

BY JERRY YAMAMOTO, CHAIR

The Minority Affairs Committee wishes to congratulate the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) for its successful Veterans Health Summit held in December in Los Angeles. With partners including the VA and the American GI Forum, LULAC brought out representatives from those organizations and other speakers to address issues about veterans’ health.

VA Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration John Sepulveda, former Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera, Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Clarence A. Johnson, WIMSA Memorial Foundation President Gen. Wilma Vaught, American GI Forum National Commander Francisco Ivarra, U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were among the speakers.

VVA and its Veterans Health Council were represented at the summit by James Maddox, president of Pasadena, California, Chapter 446, and Jerry Yamamoto, your MAC Chair. We discussed the VHC program and its goals in detail with the LULAC organizers, speakers, and presenters.

We received a very positive response about the VHC from VA Assistant Secretary Sepulveda. He especially liked our idea of a drop-down menu on the Electronic Medical Records forms we fill out when visiting a doctor’s office for the first time. He requested a briefing from the VHC for his VHA staff in the D.C. VA Office.

The Minority Affairs Committee continues to establish contacts with representatives in the Native American community and Alaskan Natives. We welcome their contribution of information about their activities. We welcome the input of other groups also.

It is our hope that the New Year will be much better for all.