In an effort to revamp the Veterans Affairs department, President Obama has nominated a new candidate for the VA's undersecretary of health position.

According to Military Times, Obama has selected Dr. David Shulkin, currently the president of Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey. The source also noted that the president nominated LaVerne Council, CEO of Council Advisory Services, for the post of the VA's assistant secretary for information and technology. The two positions have gone unfilled for months, but once the Senate approves Obama's choices the new leaders are expected to take over immediately.

NJ.com reported that Shulkin has been at Morristown since 2010. Previously, he was vice president of Atlantic Health, and spent time as president and CEO of New York City's Beth Israel Medical Center. His experience as both a doctor and an administrator is what made him the president's first choice, explained the source. His selection was informed by a search committee that examined prospective candidates and sent Obama their recommendations.

The job Shulkin will likely be taking over was previously held by Robert Petzel, who resigned after it was revealed that VA facilities all over the country, but particularly the branch in Phoenix, had incredibly long wait times that officials believe may have cost some veterans their lives. In addition to improving the quality of management for the department, Obama made it a priority to get veterans the best medical care possible in their life after service. NJ.com noted that president signed a bill in August that would fund private medical care for former servicemembers who could not get a VA appointment within 30 days.

Although there is not an official timeline for when the Senate will approve Obama's choices, they are expected to agree with his decisions and start enacting much-awaited changes in the near future.

Vets Drive Yellow NYC is a new program that is helping former servicemembers get jobs as New York City taxi drivers in their life after service. 

According to NBC New York, the hiring initiative involves seven taxi garages, the owners of which are paying for the hackney licenses of returning soldiers in order to help ease their transition to civilian life. Having the owners purchase the licenses also speeds up the process, which can often be lengthy. 

AM New York explained that cab drivers are in high demand throughout the city, mostly due to the spike in popularity of ride sharing programs like Uber and Lyft. Since many soldiers are returning from war actively searching for ways to support themselves, matching them up with cab companies seems like a natural choice. 

Veterans can take advantage of the program by attaching their discharge papers to their driver applications. This will get them hiring preference so that they can immediately schedule the mandatory drug and driving tests and have their official licenses within a month. 

Garage owners are excited to take on former servicemembers, mostly because the skills they learned in the service translate well to the fast-paced life of NYC taxi driving. Not only are they a trustworthy and respectable pool of applicants, but many of them drove in combat situations. They are more than equipped to handle the often unpredictable streets of the Big Apple. Additionally, they hope passengers will return to using cabs in place of ride sharing apps once they know they will be helping to support veterans with every ride. 

Participating veterans have been pleased with their experiences so far. 

"It's a job where you do get to travel a lot and travel with a purpose. It's interacting with people from every single culture, every single place," veteran and taxi driver Peter Lloyd told AM New York. 

President Obama's administration is set to announce the creation of a panel that will be charged with determining ways the Veterans Affairs Department can better help soldiers in their life after service. 

Reuters reported that VA Secretary Robert McDonald will officially announce the details of a board at an event at the Phoenix VA facility. President Obama will also be there to unpack the details of how the panel will work and what the goals of this initiative are. Bloomberg explained that while he is in Phoenix, the president will meet with VA employees, veterans organizations and veterans to talk about the current strengths and weaknesses of the VA Department, and learn what they believe should be done to make improvements. 

The committee members have yet to be revealed, though Reuters noted that they will come from both the private and public sectors. Their combined experience runs the gamut from customer service to veteran advocacy. The group is comprised of not only health care professionals but also business moguls, academics and organization managers. The range of strengths and passions is intended to help ameliorate every facet of VA care.

After a Connecticut man passed away while trying to clear his roof of snow, brave and helpful first responders finished the job for his family.

According to CBS6, first responders in Manchester, Connecticut, received a call that Miroslaw Dobrowski, a 57-year-old resident attempting to shovel snow from his roof, was having a heart attack. The responders arrived at the scene to find the man unconscious, still on the roof. They immediately started doing CPR on the roof in attempts to save Dobrowski's life. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, they were not able to save him and he perished at the hospital, reported the source. 

After witnessing the heartbreaking scene, the first responders knew they wanted to do something to help Dobrowski's family. The Hartford Courant reported that police officers Bernie Hallums, Adam Desso and Tomacz Kaczerski, along with local firefighters and medics, returned to the home later that day and finished shoveling off the roof. 

"He would be very appreciative that someone was looking out for his family. We are all grateful to them," Teresa Dobrowski, Miroslaw's wife, told the Hartford Courant. 

Alfred Bettencourt, now 89, was recently recognized for service he did as an 18-year-old soldier fighting in World War II. The Cranston, Rhode Island, native was given a long-overdue Purple Heart Award, in addition to a Bronze Star Medal and World War II Victory Medal, for heroic actions he performed on Dec. 12, 1944, when he was wounded in combat, reported  Cranston Patch. 

According to Military Times, the recognition was severely delayed due to a 1973 fire that destroyed Bettencourt's military records. The former servicemember's family, along with local police and firefighters who had heard the soldier's story, partnered with U.S. Senator Jack Reed to recover these files.

Once they got the official word that Bettencourt would be able to receive the awards, his supporters planned a surprise event at the Morgan Health Center in Johnston, Rhode Island, where the vet resides in his life after service. Many local officials attended the ceremony, including Cranston's mayor Allan W. Fung, to show their respect for Bettencourt's immense sacrifices, noted Cranston Patch. 

"Alfred was just a teenager when he was wounded in combat. On behalf of a grateful nation, today we honor his service with a token of our enduring gratitude and respect," Senator Reed said as he gave the medals to Bettencourt. 

A historic lodge in Maine, formerly owned by cosmetics mogul Elizabeth Arden, will soon become a retreat location for veterans. 

The Associated Press reported that the home, located in Rome, Maine, was constructed by Arden as a summer home in the 1920s. She built an on-site spa and hosted many famous guests, including Judy Garland and Mamie Eisenhower. It was originally situated on 1,200 acres, but the source explained that the land was subdivided following Arden's passing in 1966. Last summer, the property was placed up for sale at $765,000. The Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to provide support to disabled soldiers in their life after service, bought the lodge on Tues., March 2. 

According to the Bangor Daily News, the organization was able to buy the building, along with 17 acres of land, for $460,000, since it requires significant repairs. The nonprofit plans to completely renovate the lodge, making it the country's first "smart" retreat center, meaning it will come equipped with state-of-the-art technology that will allow disabled veterans and their families to fully enjoy their stays. 

The Travis Mills Foundation plans to offer a number of activities to visitors at the Maine facility. Some of these include adaptive sports, spa treatments, fishing, boating, swimming and yoga. 

Veterans in St. Louis will now get hiring priority for city jobs. St. Louis Public Radio reported that Mayor Francis Slay recently signed the employment initiative into law in an effort to eradicate veteran joblessness. 

The priority will come in the form of five extra points on the city's civil service exam for former servicemembers. The source noted that disabled veterans will get an extra five points on top of that, for an additional 10 points. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, voters approved the measure back in November. It was strongly supported and advocated for by Alderman Jeffrey Boyd, a veteran himself who wanted to ease the return to civilian life for local soldiers.

"Having served on active duty and returning home, I have first-hand experience of how difficult it can be when a soldier comes from active duty, matriculating back into the work-force in their hometown," he told St. Louis Public Radio. 

The legislature, dubbed the Veterans Preference Bill, aims to serve veterans in the same way they serve the country, by protecting and supporting them. Some of the positions that will be more accessible to honorably discharged members of the military who successfully pass the exam include working in the parks and recreation department, becoming firefighters or joining the police force. 

St. Louis Public Radio reported that the mayor hopes this initiative will not stop with local government. He told the source that he wants to encourage private employers throughout the city to implement similar hiring standards. Not only will they be helping the men and women who serve the U.S., he explained, but they will be bringing on staff members with important skills learned in the armed forces, like dedication, integrity and leadership. 

A group of injured veterans and supporters are currently cycling from Atlanta to New Orleans on a six-day, 470-mile bike ride in an effort to raise money and awareness for soldiers with both physical and mental disabilities. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that the funds raised by the ride will go toward rehabilitation programs, particularly those that use cycling as a form of therapy. 

Coming together for the health of veterans 
WTVM explained that for those participating, the ride is the experience of a lifetime. In addition to injured vets riding for their peers, the group of 200 cyclists is comprised of many active-duty soldiers. Many of them discovered cycling as a way to exercise their physical and mental injuries and want to help others do the same. 

"When I first found out about ride to recovery, I was still in the depressed mood of me being hurt, so I was trying to figure out what I can do to possibly get out on my own and what better way than ride 600, 400, 300 miles with a bunch of other wounded veterans," Eric Murray, a veteran with a foot injury, told WTVM. 

Vets tout cycling as an alternative therapy 
The Montgomery Advertiser explained that to help the participants prepare for the challenge, Ride 2 Recovery, sponsored by United Healthcare, assisted them by offering indoor spinning classes and long outdoor rides. It was during these training sessions that many of the veterans were able to view cycling as a form of mental and physical rehabilitation. 

For veteran Tim Brown, getting on a bike was more about clearing his head than building muscle. He is one of the former servicemembers riding for psychological health, and he points to cycling as a healthy way for him to manage his anger and depression. Many of the other soldiers participating are amputees, and one vet even praises cycling as a therapeutic way for her to deal with an injury that left her blind. 

Many of the disabled veterans cite the healthy exercise as an alternative to medicine or invasive treatments and want to spread the word about staying active. 

"I wish people knew how good cycling was. This is the best way to medicate yourself. If I wasn't doing this, I would probably be taking three or four pills, honestly," veteran Carmen Vega told the Montgomery Advertiser. 

A new study released by the American Heart Association revealed that female veterans seeking cardiac care from Veterans Affairs facilities tend to be much younger than their male counterparts. They are also more likely to be obese, depressed or experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Study explores the unique demographic in relation to cardiac disease 
The median age for female vets seeking care for heart issues was 57, while the median age for men with cardiac problems in their life after service is 63. This is interesting, noted the Minneapolis Star Tribune, since in the general population women tend to develop heart disease at older ages. Typical non-veteran women also tend to have a number of risk factors, such as hypertension and diabetes, contributing to their cardiac issues, while female veterans had far fewer risk factors. 

The study revealed that 55.3 percent of women with the health problem were also dealing with depression, compared to 31.4 percent of men. About 20 percent of them are also experiencing PTSD, versus 16 percent of men. The Star Tribune noted that these figures could be important for establishing a more solid connection between mental health and cardiac wellness, especially in soldiers. 

Female soldiers and the push toward better care 
Psych Central explained that this study was done largely because there have been few reports focusing solely on female veterans. As this demographic continues to expand, however, it is crucial that medical professionals know their unique health challenges so that they are better able to provide quality care. The source explained that women are typically underrepresented in heart health research in general, so many times physicians are unaware that female patients might show different symptoms or require different treatments than men. 

Within the veteran population, the number of women looking to obtain health care from VA hospitals has doubled in the past 10 years. The study was published in an issue of the AHA's journal, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, in a section dedicated to taking a closer look at the way women experience heart disease. 

"In the future, if we really want to answer all the questions we have about gender differences, then we need studies that are large enough, focused enough, and with the intent from the start to illuminate the issues around sex differences," stated Harlan Krumholz, M.D., S.M., editor of the journal and director of the Center of Outcomes Research and Evaluation at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

A website was recently launched that reveals the nutritional facts for most MREs, or ready-to-eat military meals. 

The site, named The Combat Rations Database, was implemented by the Defense Department's Human Performance Resource Center, reported Military Times. It contains every piece of information about soldiers' meals, from exact calorie count, to fat content, to cholesterol statistics. Currently, people can search for MRE information dating back to 2012. In the future, the database will include meal trackers and calorie counters for soldiers to input their dietary information and get an idea of how healthy – or unhealthy – their food choices are. 

To show just how thorough the information available to soldiers currently is, Military Times investigated the nutrition facts of the crackers typically included in MREs. They found that these crunchy snacks contain 170 calories, 208 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbs, 5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of trans fat, 3 grams of protein and 0 grams of added sugar. 

Military Times noted that the idea behind the website is to provide servicemembers with all the information they need to make nutritious choices, even with limited options. 

"This new website provides military dietitians with up-to-date, accurate and easily accessible nutrition information on ration components, which is essential when educating warriors on proper fueling during missions," Julie Smith, a senior food technologist at the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, in Massachusetts, told Military Times. 

Military chefs and dietitians support the site, the source noted. They acknowledge that while many soldiers know it is important to eat well to stay in top shape, they are not always able to make the best decisions without having complete, transparent dietary information at their disposal. They hope that giving soldiers all the tools they need to make healthy choices will encourage them to do so and improve the health of the armed forces in general.