Denver VA Hospital Sign Historical Reminder

Like most states, no one thought about veterans ahead of time. When this hospital was built, troops were in fighting in Korea for about a year. "Almost 40,000 Americans died in action in Korea, and more than 100,000 were wounded."

Unlike World War II and Vietnam, the Korean War did not get much media attention in the United States. The most famous representation of the war in popular culture is the television series “M*A*S*H,” which was set in a field hospital in South Korea. The series ran from 1972 until 1983, and its final episode was the most-watched in television history.

No one was talking about what was happening to them when they came home either. Understandable to assume that what were read in the newspapers today is all new since no one knew what was going on other than the veterans and their families.

"The main building of the Denver hospital, built in 1951 and renovated in 1986, is showing incurable signs of age. As many as three patients are crowded into single rooms."

The 80th Congressional session would have planned and funded the hospital before troops were sent into Korea. Construction began during the 81st. It is easy to assume they did not change the plans as more wounded were coming home from Korea since the renovations did not start until over ten years after troops were out of Vietnam.

When no one plans for what wars do, veterans suffer. This has been repeated throughout our history and shows no sign of changing.

When Congress approved of sending troops into Afghanistan, there were already veterans waiting for care in long lines and for claims to be approved. When they approved of sending troops into Iraq, the lines were longer, waits were longer. What did not grow proportionately preparing for the newly wounded and disabled was the VA.

No political party has taken responsibility for any of this. No politician has been held accountable. The only people found responsible by the public were the heads of the VA during the time when reporters actually cared to report on what was happening to our veterans at the time. God forbid they actually looked back to see how it got this bad or how long it had been going on.

So when you read the rest of this, understand that Congress doomed veterans to history being repeated generations after generations.


Baffled, angry: Veterans share views on current VA hospital conditions
The Denver Post
By David Olinger
POSTED:04/05/2015

Some ask how many more veterans will die
before the new hospital opens.

Darrell Myers, 69, served in the Army but has had problems with his care at the VA Hospital in Denver after a colonoscopy in March. Myers has no complaints about the treatment he gets as a VA patient. "I get very good care from my doctors," he said. But he cannot say the same about the hospital conditions that veterans endure while the VA struggles to finish its new state-of-the-art facility.
(Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)

Darrell Myers praises his Department of Veterans Affairs doctors and relies exclusively on the VA for medical care. But last month, a routine colonoscopy at the VA's aging Denver medical center morphed into a massive bleeding episode, a four-day hospital admission and a blood test mix-up. While he was there, an electrical fire erupted on his floor, and his bathroom door was taped shut.

Ralph Bozella arrived early at the Denver hospital last month for a cancer test. He and other patients ended up sitting in hospital gowns in a hallway because the biopsy room had been commandeered for something more urgent.

"If anybody thinks we don't need a new hospital," he said, "come on down and check yourself in."

Last month, a new price estimate for a medical campus being built in Aurora sent shock waves through Congress.

The VA originally estimated the Aurora hospital could be built for $328 million. Construction began three years ago with a $600 million budget, and Congress has authorized spending up to $800 million. But after the Army Corps of Engineers stepped in to investigate its status and end a stalemate with the construction contractor, the VA issued a stunning new estimate: $1.73 billion.
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