Wilson County News - Tell It Like It Is - The VA - More Good Care and Bumbling Bureaucracy

October 31, 2009 | Comment on this blog entry

Harlingen, Texas, October 31, 2009: The ink had not even dried on our
latest commentary about VA care and operations before another flood of
email from across the country hit our computer. Veterans had a lot
more to say.

Marc Martinez a Navy veteran from McAllen, TX is still expressing his
anger over the slow movement of the VA in the Rio Grande Valley. �We
have more than 100,000 veterans here in deep South Texas�, he writes.
�They have been fighting for more than 30 years to have a VA hospital
built in this area. During all of that time they have been forced to
spend countless hours on the highway driving more than 270 miles one
way to a VA hospital in San Antonio. Even by Texas standards that is
a long trip. It usually adds up to about 5 hours of fast driving,
followed by an overnight hotel stay, followed by a day long wait at
the hospital to receive service and than a repeat of that long 270
mile trek back home. For many of us this is a trip that has been
required weekly or monthly for years.�

Sidney A. Schwartz of San Benito, TX wrote of the government�s attempt
to improve the administrative situation for veterans. He writes, �I
am a surviving combat veteran of WWII. I was informed the VA had a
new program to provide picture ID cards so war veterans could be
quickly identified in the event medical help was needed. The regional
VA office in Harlingen administers the program. All of my records and
documents were copied but no ID picture was taken. I was told the
documents had to be confirmed before a photo would be taken. I was
given a note that said I would be notified within 10 days to return
and complete my application. Since no notification came after eight
weeks, I returned to the VA and was told that my documents could not
be verified because they had no picture of me. They said their
computer was down and they could not take my picture. I was told to
return in two weeks when the camera would be fixed and online. Just
after two weeks I returned again and was told the camera was still not
working. In the future I should call first because they did not know
when the camera would be working.� Sidney went on to explain that
when you call the Harlingen VA you get a computer answering machine
and not a person, so that didn�t work for him either. It is not known
if he ever received that ID card.

William Carr says, �I like a lot of vets, have had terrible
administrative service from the VA. I do not use them medically or
otherwise. Here in Carteret County, NC we do have one of the best
VSOs (Veteran Service Officer) however, Colonel Hank Gotard, USMC
(Ret) in the VA pantheon. He really looks after the troops and is
highly respected.�

Jim Bathurst is a retired Marine who served 36 years in both the
enlisted and officer ranks. He now resides south of Springfield, IL.
He tells about the wonderful care he received from the VA clinic in
Billings, MO. After numerous CT scans and MRIs they flew him to the
Salt Lake City Regional VA Medical Center for back surgery. He says,
�I could not have been more pleased with the outcome. In fact, upon
returning home, I sent a personal letter to the Director of that
hospital telling him how pleased I was with the experience. Everyone,
and I do mean everyone, down to the guy who swept the hallway floors
at night could not have been more professional, courteous and caring.�

Bathurst also praised the Billing clinic saying, �It was run by a
retired US Army Colonel, Urologist. It ran like a finely tuned clock.�

He concludes, �I have been to many VA clinics and medical centers
since retiring and the lonely one where I found problems was with the
Mountain Home facility in Johnson City, TN. They are severely over
burdened, almost to the point where they have become inefficient. The
problem as I saw it was when the government changed whom the VA
clinics would see. They basically started seeing and accepting
everyone who ever served a day in the military. I saw men and women
in Johnson City that had spent two years in the military and had no
service connected problems at all. They simply went to the VA because
they could�and it was free. It�s no secret that when something is
free it WILL be taken advantage of by not just a few of our fellow
Americans, but many of them.�

Gale Gabriel is a veteran who has visited a VA clinic and hospital in
Wisconsin with mixed emotions. He says, �You can, on occasion, get a
dedicated caregiver but for the most part they will give a cursory
exam, prescribe some pills and send you on your way. Some, like
Minneapolis are so large it reminds me of herding cattle. I also was
disappointed with my first visit to the new clinic in Harlingen, TX.
I went to the new clinic and could not make an appointment because
they say I don�t belong there. I arrived at 8, waited all morning,
left briefly for lunch and returned to find they had called my name in
my absence. I then waited another hour to see the doctor who only
gave me a ten day supply of the pills I needed because, as they said,
I belong in Wisconsin.�

Mike Bailey is a former Army Staff Sergeant and an Operation Desert
Storm veteran. He holds the administrative side of the VA in complete
contempt. His words, �The whole system sucks, plain and simple.� He
continues saying, �On the healthcare side I have to do an about face
and tell you the truth. I get better care at the Charlie Norwood VA
medical Center in Augusta, GA, that I received from doctors I choose
from the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Plan 1, I had from the Postal Service
when I worked there. On the other hand, I wouldn�t give you a nickel
for the Dom VA in Columbia, SC. I will only go there on the day I am
ready to die. They might hasten it.�

Eric Muth is a former Army Staff Sergeant from Milford, CT and he has
strong complaints about going to his VA clinic for a scan of his left
leg, which had a blockage. He charges the doctors ordered a scan of
the right leg and then noted in his records that �Does not contemplate
having surgery at this time�. He only managed to get the situation
corrected when he threatened a malpractice suit. They then did a scan
on the correct leg.

From New Mexico, Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Revie, US Army (Ret)
writes he has had few dealings with the VA. �The reasons are varied,
but among them is the fact that Las Cruces has a community clinic much
like a forward aid station and has little treatment capability.� He
says the clinic must refer to the El Paso VA Clinic that is 50 miles
away. If things can�t be handled there �The next nearest VA facility
is the Albuquerque VA Hospital, which is 250 miles distant. One
difficulty with the El Paso Clinic�, he says, is that they must refer
outsource patients only to providers in the El Paso area and not to
providers who live in the vicinity of the veteran�s home.�

Writing from Orlando, FL retired US Coast Guardsman William Miller
says,� I dread going to the VA even for my routine annual check-up. I
had shingles last year and the year before that. When I called the VA
clinic to get an appointment for a shingles shot, I was told I
couldn�t get an appointment until July.� He continued seeking help
for another month and was finally told by a nurse, �the doctor would
not authorize a shingles shot since I already had shingles twice and
there was no medical evidence the shot was effective.�

Michael Beggs is a retired Marine Captain from Fredericksburg, VA. He
says, I stepped on a landmine in 1971 in Vietnam and was ultimately
medically retired from the Marine Corps.� Seeking VA help, �I quickly
learned that I would have to report back to the VA hospital annually
for an examination to determine if I was �still wounded�. When I
pointed out to the VA physicians that only chameleons can regenerate
tissue, they were not amused.

The Captain went though all the required examinations and was awarded
his disability rating. Time passed and �Somehow I did not receive one
of the annual �you are directed to report to the nearest VA hospital
for reevaluation� notices�and one half of my disability pay provided
by the VA was stopped.�. The VA stopped his disability pay because he
had �refused reevaluation�. He has now waived his VA rights and the
Marine Corps has resumed paying his disability stipend. �It will be a
cold day in hell before I deal with the VA again,� he concludes.

Retired Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant Art Cohan says, �I hate it that
these great guys and gals get shabby treatment from the VA, and our
Commander in Chief calls them �selfish� for not giving more.�

Army veteran Mike Press says, �The VA is an organization out of
control and Congress refuses to do anything about it. There are 25
million veterans in this country. Let�s get together and make some
changes.�

Disabled Navy veteran Ron Whaley comments, �I know I had to fight them
for years and then tried to be seen by an over worked doctor in an
over worked clinic. It is like a nightmare to most people. We need
mandatory funding for the VA and we need it NOW!�

Finally, to show rank has no special privilege in the VA, Brigadier
General Bob Clements, USAF (Ret) writes, So far my experiences with
the VA trying to file a claim, stink.�

Long time friend, retired Marine and Minister, Pastor Ed Evens writes
from Nashville, TN. �We are fortunate that the VA hospital is backed
up to and only 25 yards from the world class Vanderbilt Hospital.
Many of the doctors who work at Vanderbilt also see patients at the VA
and many of the procedures are conducted at Vanderbilt since they are
connected by two second floor walkways.�

�I am aware through talking with other veterans, that there are
bureaucratic problems with the VA and sometimes you run into someone
who should know more about the system than they do, but there is
usually help available. From what I have seen the new VA Head,
retired Army General Shinseki is making a difference from the top down.

�But here is the key: Ask questions! If you don�t understand what is
going on, or it doesn�t make sense to you, ask questions until you are
satisfied. VA hospitals have a Patient Representative, an ombudsman,
whose job it is to represent your complaint to the staff and solve the
situation. It�s just like when we were in the military. We can sit
around and complain to everybody about something, or we can solve it
by going to that person who has the power to make the right decision.�

Unfortunately, there are uncountable veterans who do not understand or
are unable to fight the bureaucratic system to the point where they
can resolve unsatisfactory situations. Nor should they be placed in
positions where they are required to fight for promised care. We have
seen from reports made by veterans that this vast government operated
Department of Veterans Affairs can be outstanding. We have also seen
it a nightmare for the common man in need of help. There are many
veterans around the country who see the VA medical system as only a
preview of how things will be once the federal government takes over
all medical care for the nation.

Semper Fidelis

Thomas D. Segel

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