[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 133 (Thursday, October 10, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S10354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                WEST VIRGINIA VET CENTER RECEIVES AWARD

 Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, once again I rise to 
congratulate the Morgantown Vet Center in my State of West Virginia for 
receiving both the ``Clinical Programs of Excellence'' award presented 
by the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Administration and the 
``Vet Center of Excellence'' award presented by VA's Readjustment 
Counseling Service.
  For the second time in a row, the skilled, dedicated staff of the 
Morgantown Vet Center has been recognized by VA for providing the best 
of VA care in their field. To receive either of these two awards once 
would be an outstanding accomplishment. But to receive both of them, 
twice in a row, by continuing to meet such high standards of care is 
something to be enormously proud of.
  The services provided by the staff at the Morgantown Vet Center 
include individual and group counseling, family/marital counseling, 
sexual trauma counseling, substance abuse counseling, vocational and 
employment assistance, VA claims and benefits information, help for the 
homeless, and social service and health care referrals. They provide 
readjustment counseling to combat veterans and their families, 
including veterans who served during Vietnam, Korea, World War II, and 
the Persian Gulf.
  The staff at the Morgantown Vet Center is extremely dedicated, and 
literally hundreds of veterans have benefitted from their expertise. In 
fiscal year 2001, 11,528 visits were made to the Morgantown Vet Center, 
a 41 percent increase in the number of visits for fiscal year 1998. 
This growth is just one of the many positive facets of Morgantown's 
program that allowed VA to select them once again as a ``Clinical 
Program of Excellence.''
  So to each and every one of the staff at the Morgantown Vet Center, 
thank you again for the exemplary work you do, for your 
professionalism, your dedication, and your compassion.
  Congratulations for a job well done.

                          ____________________