Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 14, 2015
If you think for a second sending veterans away from the VA instead of fixing it is a good idea, then you need to read this. Mom: Daughter Waited 10 Days in ER for Mental-Health Bed, Associated Press September 11, 2015
A 19-year-old New Hampshire woman experiencing a mental health crisis spent 10 days in the common area of an emergency room in Maine because no beds were available in treatment facilities, the woman's mother said Friday.
Maureen Cahill of Northwood, New Hampshire, said she desperately searched for treatment options across five states while Chyann Cahill-Hassett remained in a special wing of the emergency room at St. Mary's Hospital in Lewiston. Her daughter was moved to the hospital's psychiatric floor Thursday after WMTW-TV reported on the family's plight, Cahill said.
That's really the problem of pushing veterans away from the care they were promised. No one is talking about the long lines of civilians waiting for help or what they have to go through.
Ever call a doctor's office for the first time and expect to get right in to see them? Hell no. You know they have other patients, so if they are taking new patients at all, they can only see you when they can see you. While it is true they many know how many folks live in their area, they never know how many will want to go to their office instead of another doctor.
The VA knows how many veterans are in the country and in their area but they don't know how many will seek care or when they will. They can only guess and do the best they can with what they have.
Congress moves slowly to respond and increased funding behind when veterans showed up due to poor planning.
Florida is a great example of this. We're have the third largest population of veterans in the country. Our Veterans
Florida has the third largest population of veterans in the nation after California and Texas with more than 1.5 million veterans – 12 percent of the Sunshine State’s population 18 and over.Yet around 2004 planning started for Lake Nona VA Hospital and the groundbreaking was in 2008 followed by building in 2010.
Wartime veterans make up about 75 percent of Florida’s total veteran population (1.2 million).
There are more Vietnam-era veterans than any other wartime category in Florida with more than 523,743.
There are more than 233,293 veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq who claim Florida as their home of record. Florida has more than 166,000 women veterans.
Once the Department of Veterans Affairs takes over the $665 million Lake Nona hospital, which is expected to happen in December, a three-phase roll out to establish services will begin, said Mike Strickler, spokesman for the local VA medical center.In 2004 "If Congress can find the money for the estimated $150 million project, the hospital would be built on top of the existing VA outpatient clinic, near Baldwin Park."
There are 380,000 veterans living in Central Florida. Orlando is the largest metropolitan area in the country without a VA hospital.But as of 2015 the price went up and so did the number of veterans in this area, The new Orlando VA Medical Center is located on a 65-acre campus in southeast Orange County. The 1.2 million square foot facility cost $600 million to construct.
The truth is VA claims have been like living on a rollercoaster ride. They go way up and then go way down but when you read about the veterans in those numbers, it isn't a matter of weeks, or months or even years. In too many cases it is decades.
There is no limit to the amount of time a veteran can fight to have his claim approved. Even after death, his family can keep it going. But as with every "crisis" members of Congress whine about they never seem to mention too many facts. Why? Because they want to give up on the VA and toss veterans to the wolves for profit. You and I know they have had jurisdiction over the VA since 1946 but have gotten away with just letting it all go to hell over and over again.
The only question we should all be asking is "Why hasn't Congress fixed what has been wrong with the VA after all these years?" It isn't as if they haven't heard any of this before. CSPAN has done a wonderful job of covering all the hearings but too bad they were weren't listening.
This hearing goes back to 2003 about waste and fraud in the VA.
JUNE 10, 2003
Veterans Affairs Operations
Officials testified about recent reports of fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement in the Veterans Administration. Among the topics they addressed were absentee doctors, felons as patients, and efforts to rectify the problems.
Jeff Miller (Now Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee) was there during this hearing as they were talking about claims, waste, fraud, abuse, copays along with claims backlog. 1:20
The VA also uses contractors to process claims and hiring temps.
When do we get answers from members of Congress on any of this? It isn't as if veterans haven't contacted their elected officials but it is doubtful they were ever given explanations as to why all this has gone on this long. Reporters, well, they are too busy covering folks running around the country for an election that is over a year away.Dependency Claims Contract – VA recently awarded a contract for assistance in entering data from paper-based dependency claims into VA’s electronic rules-based processing system. The contractor is entering the information from the paper-based dependency claims just as a claimant would enter information if filing the claim online. The contract calls for 40,000 dependency claims to be processed per month when operating at full capacity. The contractor is currently ramping up to that capacity.Hiring Temporary Employees – VBA is in the process of hiring 200 temporary employees, who will be provided specialized training in processing the less complex non-rating claims and work actions.
Would be nice if they actually took the time to report on what they have already sucked at!
In 2006, I experienced either a minor stroke or an MS attack on Jan 14. I waited two weeks for a bed at Altoona Pa Va hospital. When I was admitted I was told that I would be there for 31 days. I was fortunate in that one nurse told me I was admitted in better shape than most veterans leave the facility.
ReplyDeleteI have had a few years now to ponder the how did they know how long I would be a patient and the why of that determination. Obviously it was a funding issue. I also wonder how was it that at the end of the 31 days the doctor came to me and said "You MIGHT have MS" At that point I had had 7 MRI both in the VA system and outside that all read almost word for word with the determination that I had MS. The first diagnoses was mad in 1999.
I am frequently told by VA doctors that they can't find records of tests like MRI's, Colonoscopy's.etc. I'm also on various medication and one in particular gabapentin 1800 mg per day, on the data sheet provided by VA pharmacies state that the patient should have blood work done every three months. The last time I was to the VA outpatient clinic for routine check up, the doctor said she would see me in a year and that I wouldn't need any blood work. In the meantime I have had surgery for a hole in my eardrum that both Army and VA dr.'s have glossed over with comments like " you have a humongus hole in your right eardrum" since 1975 Finally a VA surgeon at the Pittsburgh VA said she could repair it and has recently performed the intricate surgery. I'm in recovery from the surgery at this time so I'm not a hundred per cent sure yet if the surgery was a total success. I'm hopeful and even if not I'm thankful for this surgeon.