VA needs a Wizard to escape from Oz

by
Chaplain Kathie

When Dorothy traveled to Oz with a nightmare for a travel agent, there was a witch doing everything in her power to get in the way of Dorothy finding a way to get back home. Along the way Dorothy found help from other hurting creatures, all seeking help for what they lacked. It wasn't the Scarecrow's fault he was stuffed without a brain. It wasn't the Tin Man's fault he was without a heart. It wasn't the Lion's fault he lacked courage. All of these things, while they were created without parts of them, they ended up finding what they needed was within them all along. The Wizard offered them an opportunity to find what they were looking for.

The VA has a bureaucratic wicked witch getting in the way of employees dedicated to providing the veterans what they need to recover and heal. These employees, for the most part, are wonderful and care deeply for the veterans. The problem is there has been no real leadership for far too long. The Veterans are shown a shining castle at the end of a road paved with red tape instead of yellow bricks. It breaks the VA employees' hearts to stand helplessly watching veterans suffer because some paperwork was not done right, claims were denied when they know the veteran is suffering because of their service and they can't do anything about it. Rules are rules after all but there was an idiot guarding the gate.

A friend of mine is a Vietnam Veteran. She has a claim that has been tied up for years. She was exposed to Agent Orange, has PTSD and has been tortured by the system. She turned to organizations to help her but they have provided poor advocacy. Recently she was told that her claim number was tied to someone else's name when the claim number was typed in instead of her social security number. When her social security number was typed the claim number popped up but if they went to the claim number itself, it wasn't her name. Think about that kind of screw up happening to you! Recently we read that there has been all kinds of outsourcing to contractors instead of VA employees. This is a huge problem because contractor employees don't really care about what they're doing. These claims are just a bunch of numbers to them, not veterans that served their country and have wounds because of it. They don't take a personal interest to make sure that every document is on the right claim. They are the flying monkeys data entering clicking away on keys and not checking what they are doing.

The solution is in the VA itself. When the leadership actually understands why people work for the VA, why they wanted to work for them VA instead of private companies, then they will understand that what they need is right there and has been all along. The answer is not contractors doing a job for a paycheck instead of dedication.

As for PTSD and the suicides, if they got this extra nightmare out of the way of the veterans finding the healing they need, they would reduce the suicide rate of veterans. Dealing with PTSD and all that comes with it is extremely stressful but adding to that kind of stress having to prove what is wrong with you is because of your service to the nation is sending too many over the edge.

Another issue that cannot be dismissed is the suicide prevention act that takes guns away from veterans with "mental health issues" because these veterans do not want to give up their weapons. They were taught by the military to rely on their weapons and it's a lesson they carry with them everyday. Would you rather have a veteran with PTSD and a gun seeking help or would you prefer to have one with a gun and avoiding the diagnosis and treatment? Common sense tells you that this bill is deterrent to far too many.

I wrote that I had been addressing a group of veterans on PTSD and the Q & A session was all about this ruling. Some of the veterans have jobs requiring guns. Ever think of a police officer keeping their job without a gun or a DEA agent? Having PTSD does not limit all veterans from working. PTSD has different levels and some veterans are capable of holding down jobs. We cannot be so blind to the fact some of those jobs require firearms. Can you think of the Tin Man without his oil can or the Lion without teeth?

Start by getting these two things out of the way. Hire people to work for the VA to process claims and stop outsourcing the work to contractors. Because of the backlog of claims over 800,000, honor the claims there are and then weed them out after. Tackle the backlog of appeals and straighten out the mess they are in. Get rid of the rule that takes guns away from veterans because it keeps them from getting help to heal. If we do not dump water on these two problems the witch wins!

Mental-health care is top priority for our veterans
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin - Walla-Walla,WA,USA

The loss of three psychiatrists in this region's VA health system is unacceptable. Strong leadership is needed to improve health care.

By the EDITORIAL BOARD of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

Day after day soldiers return home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with serious wounds — psychological as well as physical.

Sadly, the Department of Veterans Affairs is still not prepared to adequately address the mental health concerns of veterans living in Southeastern Washington, Northeastern Oregon and Western Idaho. Walla Walla’s Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center is losing the services of three psychiatrists.

Dr. Mohammad Khan, a full-time psychiatrist in Walla Walla, is taking another job within the VA system. Psychiatrists based in Lewiston and Yakima, who served under the Wainwright administration, are also relocating to other facilities.

“The work environment isn’t something they were happy with,” said Brian Westfield, director of the Wainwright Medical Center. Westfield has been on the job since September.

Lack of leadership is apparently at the root of the lousy work environment. Debbi Bernasconi, president of the employees’ union that represents VA professional staff, said the problems began prior to Westfield’s tenure.

“A lot of doctors have left because of a lack of leadership,” Bernasconi said. “We cannot get a straight answer who is in charge of what. We have no organizational chart (with which) to take problems to a chain of command.”click link for more