Las Vegas VA betting veterans want help to heal

VA opens gambling addiction treatment center in Vegas

Military Times
By: Patricia Kime
11 minutes ago

LVR3 has 20 beds, including a separate wing with five beds for women veterans, and will focus on individual treatment plans using a “whole health approach” geared to emotional, physical and mental healing.

VA has opened its newest inpatient treatment facility in Las Vegas. The center is available for veterans nationwide. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The Department of Veterans Affairs has opened its second in-patient gambling addiction recovery center, right in the heart of Sin City.

VA officials announced this month that the Las Vegas VA Residential Recovery and Renewal Center, or LVR3, will host 30- and 45-day programs for gambling and substance abuse treatment.

The facility is the second of its kind in nearly 50 years at VA: the department’s first gambling addiction center – a trailblazing treatment facility that was the first of its kind in the country for addressing compulsive gambling – opened at the Brecksville, Ohio, VA Medical Center in 1972.

Now part of the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, it was the sole inpatient treatment center for gambling addiction, drawing more than 100 veterans annually from around the country for care.
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VA clinic sharing space with funeral home no longer a good idea?

New VA clinic in Niagara Falls won't share space with a funeral home after all

Buffalo News
By Thomas J. Prohaska
December 8, 2019

"It just sends a bad message" Krause said. "We're going to go in the front door and go out the back door?"

A VA clinic will now have the entire space at 1300 Pine Ave. in Niagara Falls, rather than share quarters with a funeral home. (Google image)

When veteran Robert Krause heard that the new Veterans Administration outpatient medical clinic in Niagara Falls would share a building with a funeral home, he and other veterans were unhappy.

"It just sends a bad message" Krause said. "We're going to go in the front door and go out the back door?"

But now it's the funeral home that has gone out the door.

Spallino-Amigone Funeral Home has moved out of its longtime location at 1300 Pine Ave., leaving the entire building to the VA.

Some local veterans were glad to see that, feeling that it was just a bad look for a medical clinic to share space with a funeral home.

"It just didn't seem right, Krause said. "A lot of us were planning to go somewhere else."

Anthony Amigone Jr., president of the Amigone Funeral Home chain, said Spallino-Amigone moved to Military Road in the Town of Niagara about two months ago.

He said the move was requested by the new owner of 1300 Pine, Acquest Development of Williamsville.
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"Happy Memorial Day" VA clinics just become memories?

Who thought closing VA clinics was a good idea?

VA clinic closes as Memorial Day weekend begins 

KVOE News
By Chuck Samples
May 26, 2019

The Veterans Administration's outpatient medical clinic in Emporia has officially closed.

The clinic, which offered primary care like vaccinations, behavioral health and telemedicine, closed Friday -- just before the start of the Memorial Day weekend. The closure was announced in February, shortly after area veterans were told about the move.

The VA has told KVOE News the facility did not have enough patient traffic to keep it open. The clinic averaged less than 10 appointments for the two days it was open per week, and the VA says the combination of appointments, schedules and number of local veterans available for services -- 260 at most -- led to a 49 percent efficiency rate for the clinic, below the VA standard of 70 percent.

Veterans have medical options if they were getting care at the clinic. They can get their health care services at the Topeka VA campus or other appropriate VA medical centers. If they qualify, they can also take advantage of the VA Mission Act of 2018 to receive care through non-VA providers as part of the Community Care program.

Veterans can call 785-350-3111 ext. 54348 with questions.
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BRUNSWICK COUNTY VA CLINIC TO LOSE ONLY IN-HOUSE DOCTOR

By WWAY News - May 23, 2019

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The Brunswick County VA Clinic is about to lose its only in-house doctor without a replacement lined up. One employee says the facility is already overwhelmed with patients.

A VA worker, who requested to remain anonymous, says the veterans affairs clinic in Supply has known this for five months and did nothing.

“I am not here as a VA employee,” the worker said. “I am here as a veteran, wanting to make sure my fellow veterans are fully taken care of, and not forgotten, or dropped off. Some of these veterans have been waiting for over 100 days for an appointment that keeps getting canceled and rescheduled. Some of these veterans, we’ve had veterans in such pain, they’re laying on the floor.”
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Cobb veterans welcome new clinic amid uncertainty over VA plans

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Meris Lutz,
May 16, 2019

The Department of Veterans Affairs celebrated the opening of the first of four new clinics in Cobb County Thursday as the agency prepares to expand and shift services in the county.

The $1.2 million, 9,400-square-foot facility on Roswell Road in east Cobb will offer mainly primary care and is one of several facilities replacing a clinic in Austell, which had been Cobb’s only facility and is now slated to be closed.Veterans who spoke to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution expressed hope the new facility would improve veteran care, even as some raised concerns over the lack of public transit access to the new clinic and ongoing communication problems with the VA.

They also pointed out that closing the Austell clinic could pose problems for veterans in the southern part of the county who will now have to travel farther to see a doctor.
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Austin Veteran Affairs Clinic shut down after suicide on Tuesday

update Veteran who killed self at Austin clinic was referred from local VA

McLennan County Veteran’s Service Officer Steve Hernandez said the veteran was a patient who had been enrolled in the Phoenix program at the Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Medical Center in Temple and was discharged, but somehow his case was transferred to the Austin facility.

“When he found out he couldn’t get the help he needed there, he chose to take his own life,” Hernandez said.

Suicide inside Austin Veterans Affairs Clinic shuts down building

KXAN News
Tom Miller
Posted: Apr 09, 2019

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin's Veteran Affairs Clinic shut down Tuesday as detectives investigated a suicide in the first-floor waiting room.

Witnesses reported hundreds of people were inside the room when a man shot and killed himself shortly after noon.

Ken Walker, who's been going to the VA Clinic on Metropolis for more than two years, said he continued with his group therapy class for nearly an hour after the shooting before he learned what happened.

"All of a sudden, over the intercom, they have this statement about everyone must clear the building including staff, so it was a little surprising," Walker said.

Despite signs prohibiting weapons, the VA does not have metal detectors in the building. Instead, VA police do random bag searches.
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They gave up for themselves but when they do something like this, they do it for all the other veterans.

Have we heard enough of them to know we have to change what we are doing? 

To our veterans: #BreakTheSilence with words...not a gun! #TakeBackYourLife and fight to heal...not to leave!

Alabama VA clinics "merging" with only one doctor?

Dothan VA clinic closing, merging

Montgomery Advertiser
Andrew J. Yawn and Melissa Brown
November 30, 2018

A staff member at the newly merged mental health clinic — now named the Dothan VA Clinic — said Thursday the two clinics were consolidated earlier in the week and that there is only one doctor on staff.

Health care for veterans in southeast Alabama is in transition after the Dothan Veterans Affairs Clinic closure was made official Friday.

The primary care services previously provided by the clinic will now be offered at the Dothan VA Mental Health Clinic, although it appears the Wiregrass VA Clinic in Ft. Rucker — more than a 30-minute drive away — will also be heavily relied on to handle the influx of patients from the now-closed clinic.

Despite the more than 4,300 VA patients who are assigned to the Dothan division, according to data provided by the Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHCS), the merged Dothan VA location is currently capable of accommodating 2,000 patients. There are plans to expand for at least 1,000 additional patients, CAVHCS spokesperson Kim Betton said via email.

"Capacity at Ft. Rucker has also increased to care for other of the (sic) Veterans," Betton said. "Additionally, care in the local community will be used to ensure care for the Veteran population currently using the clinic."

More than 3,100 VA patients are currently assigned to the Ft. Rucker Wiregrass clinic.

A request by the Montgomery Advertiser for the number of doctors at each facility went unanswered, and a request for an interview regarding the closure was not fulfilled.

Reid, who lives alone and whose close family lives in Alaska, receives four hours of in-home health aid five days a week to help with quality of life tasks. But within the past two years, paperwork and red tape at the Montgomery VA has caused her home health care to lapse, leaving her without in-home care for several weeks. Reid said her monthly pain medication is frequently delayed as well, a disruptive and painful occurrence. read more here

Kokomo VA Clinic designed to fail?

Sen. Donnelly asks VA to investigate new Kokomo clinic
Kokomo Tribune
By Carson Gerber
June 19, 2018

U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly is asking Veterans Affairs officials to investigate the new outpatient clinic in Kokomo after local veterans expressed concerns about access to care and problems scheduling appointments.

Donnelly recently sent a letter to VA Northern Indiana Health Care System Director Michael Hershman, whose office runs the Kokomo clinic, asking him to “investigate and address these issues, consistent with U.S. law and agency policy.”

The letter comes after the clinic, which is a first-of-its-kind pilot program established by the VA, came under fire from local veterans during last month’s meeting of the Howard County Military Foundation.

Veterans said the clinic isn’t providing enough services and patients are being discouraged from going there when calling to schedule appointments.

Jimmy Shaw, a guide for UAW Local 685, said during the meeting that veterans in his union have reported the nurse practitioners and clinicians there can’t provide the kinds of services they need.

“We’ve got a lot of irate veterans,” he said. “I’m hearing that the clinic can’t do anything for them once they get in there.”
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VA PTSD therapist yanked, veterans feel far from thanked

VA therapist yanked from clinic in Conway
Left adrift, say vets haunted by war
Arkansas Online
By Debra Hale-Shelton
June 17, 2018

"Had all things been normal, we would have anticipated that someone was leaving a position and we would have transitioned and have had someone in line to take that spot," she said in the interview later. "Because of the volatility and our concerns for safety, the decision had to be made to do this abruptly."

Larry Hay's Army tour in Vietnam was a half century ago, long before he married Margaret, his wife of 34 years.

The war has long ended; the trauma lingers.

"When he goes to bed at night, he goes back to hell. He goes back to Vietnam every night, and so do I," Margaret said. "We neither one get a good night sleep. ... I try to catch his nightmares."

Larry Hay enlisted in the Army in 1969. Three times, his helicopter was shot down in the jungles of Vietnam.

"At one point, he was on the flight lines where they were working on the helicopters, and one of his friends didn't get low enough," and Hay saw his friend decapitated, Margaret said.

Guard duty created more nightmares: "The Vietnamese would booby-trap the kids and tell them Americans have candy," Margaret said. "They [Americans] didn't have any choice. They had to shoot them. That really weighs on him. He absolutely loves children."

Margaret accompanies Larry to weekly support-group meetings and speaks for him when he isn't up to talking about the war.

"He has terrible nightmares ... to the point that he jerks so hard that he literally flops out of bed," Margaret said. "He's injured himself several times doing that."

Along with other Vietnam veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, Hay began getting help after the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System's outpatient clinic in Conway started two therapy support groups in 2013. The Vietnam veterans nicknamed theirs the Jungle Group; the Middle East veterans called theirs the Desert Group.
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Vietnam veteran shares help for PTSD at VA

Vietnam Veteran: 'The VA has helped me through it and saved my sanity'
Fox Illinois
by Rachel Droze
Thursday, June 14th 2018

DECATUR, Ill. (WRSP) — About 200 people came out for a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday to celebrate the Decatur Community Based Outpatient Clinic, which moved from the east side of the city to the west side.

Decorated war hero James Hurd, who risked his life serving in the jungles of Vietnam, made the ceremonial cut.

"I went through several bad times over there,” Hurd said.

Hurd's introduction triggered his PTSD.

"Any reminder of [Vietnam] brings tears to my eyes 50 years later,” Hurd said.

In addition to helping with Hurd’s physical ailments, the VA clinics in Decatur and Danville also help with his mental health.

“I suffer from Post Traumatic Syndrome as a lot of Vietnam infantry veterans do,” Hurd said. "After 50 years I can deal with it, but the VA has helped me through it and saved my sanity.”
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Brooklyn veterans fighting to keep VA clinic open?

What kind of a message does this send? Increase funds for private care but close down VA Clinics that treat disabled veterans? 

Veterans and supporters mobilize in opposition to closure of ENT clinic at Brooklyn VA Hospital
Brooklyn Reporter
By Jaime DeJesus
June 1, 2018

Fearing that the Brooklyn VA Hospital could ultimately be in jeopardy, supporters of the facility — which treats veterans from across the borough as well as Staten Island — are staking their position in support of the hospital, which recently decided to shutter its ENT clinic.

ebrooklyn media/Photos by Jaime DeJesus 

Danny Friedman addressing the group.

On Friday, June 1, veterans, Congressmember Dan Donovan and the New York City Veterans Alliance joined together at a conference at the Knights of Columbus, 1305 86th Street, to protest the closure and express their concern that the hospital so many former members of the military rely upon will eventually downsize to an outpatient only clinic or transform into condos.

“It’s already hard for some of our local veterans to get to the Brooklyn facility and now many will have to travel to the Manhattan facility or one in the Bronx,” said Donovan. “This could be particularly devastating to those who are elderly or disabled, who may forgo visits instead of facing long and difficult commutes to get to their appointments. The decision needs to be reversed.”

“We’ve been seeing a gradual decline in services,” said Danny Friedman, president of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 72. One of the worries is that the facility will be the victim of a gradual diminution of services, effectively death by a thousand cuts. In 2015, the U.S. Veterans Administration decided to close a 25-bed inpatient medical surgery unit at the hospital, another move that was vocally protested by veterans and their supporters.
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VA Clinics not always what you think they are

First question should be, is this a VA run clinic or is it a contractor run clinic? You know, like maybe something like this...

VA officials say the possible expiration of a contract with a medical clinic in Ely would not cause a hardship for veterans there, but two members of Nevada’s congressional delegation want to be sure.

U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Rep. Ruben Kihuen, D-Nev., both expressed concerns last week that the possible decision by the Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System not to renew the contract with the William Bee Ririe Hospital and Rural Health Clinic in Ely could adversely impact the 230 veterans who receive care there.

VA hospital launches inquiry after tweets from veteran's dad about 'unsanitary' room
Deseret News
Ben Lockhart
Published: April 28, 2018

Christopher Wilson said he was in the room for an appointment on April 5 to get 18 injections in his ankle and surrounding area, and worried about the appearance of the room, which he said "felt unsanitary." The ankle was being treated in relation to a service injury he suffered while serving in Iraq, according to his father.

Pictured is a patient room at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City that Army veteran Christopher Wilson says he encountered during a visit on April 5, 2018.

SALT LAKE CITY — After the father of a U.S. Army veteran tweeted photos of an unkempt patient room at a Veterans Affairs clinic in Salt Lake, igniting angry reactions on social media, a top administrator there said the facility is investigating why the space was in poor condition.

The tweeted photos showed some medical supplies strewn out on a counter, a bowl containing water and a plaster-like substance sitting mostly full in a sink, and an overflowing garbage can.

"I figured they would say, 'Oh, this room's not clean' and take me somewhere else, but they just kind of blew past it, didn't acknowledge it," said Christopher Wilson, who spent six years in the Army and was deployed to Iraq twice. "They're doctors, right? So I figure one of them was going to say 'Let's go somewhere else' or 'Give us a minute to clean it,' but nothing."
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Texas Veterans Have Resources During Harvey Recovery

Here's How Harvey Is Impacting Military, Veteran Benefits

Military.com

Amy Bushatz and Jim Absher

August 29, 2017

With America's fourth-largest city under water, up to 13 million people impacted across Texas and Louisiana and at least 15 deaths, Hurricane Harvey is wreaking havoc across the southern U.S.

Texas National Guardsmen aid citizens in heavily flooded areas of Houston after Hurricane Harvey. Lt. Zachary West/Army

While the Texas National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard have joined local, state and federal agencies in responding to what could be the worst natural disaster to ever strike Texas, the Veterans Affairs Department has also issued notices for a handful of benefits.

If you're a military family member, retiree or veteran in the impacted areas, several military and VA benefits have been temporarily changed in response to the ongoing crisis.

VA Hospitals, Clinics

Across impacted areas in Texas, some community health and outpatient Department of Veterans Affairs clinics are closed as a result of the storm. The Houston VA Medical Center, however, is open and fully operational, officials posted on that facility's website.

A series of mobile vet centers to provide counseling services were being deployed to impacted areas, such as Corpus Christi, or have been placed on standby, according to VA officials. Within the area impacted by Harvey are over 510,000 veterans and 115 VA clinics, they said.

The VA has also put in place their Pharmacy Disaster Relief Plan. Eligible veterans with a VA ID Card who need an emergency supply of medications can go to any CVS or HEB pharmacy with a written prescription or active VA prescription bottle to receive a 14-day supply. Veterans who need assistance can also call the Heritage Health Solutions Veterans Help line at 1-866 265-0124 to speak to a representative, officials said.

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Veteran Committed Suicide During Appointment at VA Clinic

Apparent suicide by veteran inside Warren VA clinic ‘tragic situation,’ VA says
Vindy News
By Ed Runyan
July 25, 2017

WARREN
The U.S. Veterans Affairs Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center says the apparent self-inflicted shooting death of a Vienna man inside the Warren Outpatient Clinic on Friday is a “tragic situation.”

“There was a sad, isolated incident Friday afternoon at our Warren VA Outpatient Clinic,” a spokeswoman said Monday after being contacted by The Vindicator.

“Due to privacy regulations, we cannot provide additional information on the incident or individuals involved, but our condolences and thoughts are with the family of our nation’s hero,” said Kristen Parker, chief of external affairs at the Cleveland center.

The Warren Police Department confirmed Monday that a Vienna man shot himself to death in the chest while attending an appointment inside the VA offices on Tod Avenue at 3:54 p.m. Friday.
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And this one,

Veteran found dead of suspected suicide at Ann Arbor VA hospital

ANN ARBOR, MI - A veteran was found dead of suspected suicide at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System campus, an official says.

At about 6:45 a.m. Friday, July 14, a VA employee found the body of a veteran near the East Parking Structure, said Brian Hayes, public affairs officer.

The VA is investigating the incident and is waiting on the coroner's report to confirm the means of the death, he said.

Veteran Commits Suicide at Thomas E. Creek VA Medical Center

Amarillo Police and Thomas E. Creek VA Medical Center have confirmed a suicide occurred just after 7 a.m. on the VA's property.

The veteran died from a self inflicted gunshot wound.

In order to protect the Veteran’s privacy, the VA will not share any additional details.

PTSD on Trial: Florida Ret. Air Force Major

Retired Air Force major guilty of trying to kill 2 family members
WSVN 7 News Miami
February 10, 2017

Maffei shot Katherine and Robert multiple times as his 4-year-old son begged him to stop.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A retired Air Force Major is facing 25 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty, Thursday night, of trying to kill his wife and father-in-law.

Thomas Maffei claimed prescription medications sent him into a rage on Nov. 2, 2012, when he opened fire on his then-wife, Katherine Ranta, and her father, Robert, at her Coral Springs apartment. Both victims survived their gunshot wounds.

Katherine and Robert tearfully sat in the courtroom as a jury foreman read the guilty verdict. The jury took just six hours to find Maffei guilty on two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
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Thomas Maffei’s defense attorneys claim post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety caused him to go to the Veterans Affairs clinic on Nov. 2, 2012, where he received prescription pills and a tranquilizer. Hours later, he went to his then-wife’s Coral Springs apartment and shot her and her father.

PTSD on Trial: VA and Air Force Veteran Needing Help

And we should wonder which contractor staffed this clinic for a lot of money instead of VA employees doing it because they love veterans...and usually are veterans.

Trial starting for ex-Air Force major accused of trying to kill his wife and her dad in Broward
Sun Sentinel
Paula McMahon
February 4, 2017

"He goes to the VA that day, looking for help and they just loaded him up with more pills," Haddad said. "This is a guy who was a major in the Air Force, he has a master's degree. This is a stand-up guy, a highly regarded, trusted retired member of the military who served his country."

Thomas Maffei Sun Sentinel / Broward Sheriff's Office Handout
Thomas Maffei, 49, a retired Air Force major from Parkland, is charged with attempted first-degree murder in the November 2012 shootings of his estranged wife and her father in Coral Springs. Both victims survived.

Hours before retired U.S. Air Force Major Thomas Maffei shot and seriously injured his estranged wife and her father in Coral Springs, he went to a Veterans Administration crisis clinic in Palm Beach County and told staff he was under extreme stress.

When Maffei goes on trial Monday in Broward Circuit Court on attempted murder and other charges, he won't dispute that he fired three shots through his then-wife's apartment door as she and her father leaned against it, trying to keep him out.
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After Suicide South Jersey VA Clinics to be Overseen by VA?

Veteran's suicide prompts South Jersey VA changes
Press of Atlantic
NICHOLAS HUBA, Staff Writer
May 6, 2016

NORTHFIELD — South Jersey’s veterans clinics will no longer be overseen by the Wilmington Veterans Affairs Medical Center, as part of reforms designed to address long waiting times and staffing issues at area facilities.

Craig Matthews/Staff Photographer U.S. Senator Robert Menendez addressing recent concerns surrounding the level of care and compassion awarded to South Jersey veterans at a Friday press conference with VA officials May 6, 2016 (Craig Matthews/Staff Photographer

All South Jersey community-based outpatient clinics will now be overseen by the Department of Veterans Affairs under the direct supervision of the Veterans Integrated Service Network 4. There are three VA clinics in South Jersey: Cape May, Northfield and Vineland.

U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and representatives of U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, along with Janet Murphy, Veterans Affairs deputy undersecretary for health for operations and management, announced the reforms Friday morning at the Stillwater Building on South Shore Road.
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Veteran Died After Setting Himself on Fire at VA Clinic

Distraught veteran sets himself on fire with gasoline outside VA facility after losing wife and job
RAW Story
Sarah K. Burris SARAH K. BURRIS
14 APR 2016

Dashcam footage has just been released from the suicide of Navy veteran Charles Ingram III who, on March 19, doused himself with gallons of gasoline and set himself on fire outside of the Veterans Affairs clinic in Northfield, New Jersey.

The footage shows police in a frantic rush to put the fire out but it was to no avail. Ingram was burned on 100 percent of his body and rushed to Temple University Hospital burn unit. He died nine hours later, according to My9NJ.com.
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I am not posting the picture because I do not see the point of doing it when the story itself is so heartbreaking.


UPDATE
Services announced for man who set himself on fire in Northfield
Press of Atlantic City
March 26, 2016

Funeral services have been announced for the Egg Harbor Township man who set himself on fire last weekend outside a Northfield VA clinic.

Charles R. Ingram III, 51, died last Saturday after he poured gasoline on himself and set himself ablaze at the Department of Veterans Affairs facility on New Road. He was taken by helicopter from the scene to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, where he passed.

Ingram served in the Navy from 1985 to 1992, according to his obituary. His public death renewed attention to problems in the VA health care system, local veterans advocates said.
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Man who set himself on fire at Northfield veterans' clinic has died 
Press of Atlantic City 
MICHELLE BRUNETTI POST, Staff Writer March 23, 2016

Ingram used gasoline as an accelerant and set himself on fire at the clinic at 1901 New Road. He was evacuated by helicopter from the Northfield Community School to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia just before 2 p.m., police said.

Michael Ein / Staff Photographer A woman who identified herself as the mother-in-law of Egg Harbor Township Veteran Charles R. Ingram III, 51, lays flowers at the memorial adjacent to the Veterans Affairs Clinic in Northfield, Wednesday March 23, 2016. Ingram died Saturday after setting himself on fire outside the clinic.

An Egg Harbor Township veteran who died after setting himself on fire Saturday outside a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Northfield has drawn attention to problems in the VA system. Charles R. Ingram III, 51, was airlifted to the Temple Burn Center in Philadelphia on Saturday, where he died later that night, Northfield police said. No note of explanation was left at the scene or at Ingram’s home, said Northfield acting Police Chief Paul Newman.

In July 2014, Navy veteran Kevin Keller, 52, shot himself in front of a closed VA clinic in Wytheville, Virgnia. He left a note blaming the VA for leaving him in terrible pain after weaning him off prescription painkillers, according to a Sept. 7, 2014, story in the Roanoke Times. read more here

'They've let all of our veterans down'

NOTE TO CONGRESS: Here's a clue for you. Stop complaining about the VA and fix it! Stop trying to destroy it. You've had since 1946 to get it right but apparently you forgot you have jurisdiction over it!

Vets unhappy with local clinic: 'They've let all of our veterans down'
KOMO News
By Tracy Vedder
Published: Aug 20, 2015

SEATTLE -- Three veterans with three different, serious, medical problems. All were turned away or ignored by a local Veteran's Administration clinic.

The KOMO 4 Investigators explored why, after national outrage and promises of change, the VA is still letting down local vets. The three veterans: Bob Griffin is 100 percent disabled, following his service in Vietnam.

"When I left Vietnam, I left without a memory," he said.

Olivia Labance's 80 percent disability is connected to her six years in the Army.

"It just started with some numbness and tingling down my left leg," she said.

Marine Corps vet Kyle Davis hadn't seen any doctor since he left Afghanistan over five years ago. Then a strange bug bite left him limping, nauseous and light-headed.

"It would start oozing fluid and it was, it got pretty disgusting, pretty quick," Davis said.

All three received the new Veteran's Choice cards issued by the Veteran's Administration, which promised more timely, efficient medical care. But when each went to the Mount Vernon VA clinic, care was either delayed or they were turned away.

"I never thought I'd be treated like this," Davis said.

When Davis called the number on his Choice Card explaining his emergency and asking where he should go, the program sent him to the Mount Vernon clinic in Skagit County, 37 miles north of his home in Snohomish County.

But when he arrived, clinic staff told him they aren't accepting new patients.
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VA Pahrump Nevada Clinic Finally Going Foward

VA awards $12M contract for Pahrump clinic
Las Vegas Review-Journal
By Steve Tetreault and Keith Rogers
August 5, 2015

"The fight doesn't end here," said Carl Jones, commander of the Disabled American Veterans Pahrump Chapter 15. "Now we need the VA to build it quickly and find the right staffing to make it operational."

A series of Nevada lawmakers have pressured the VA to move forward on a new Pahrump clinic dating back to January 2012 when it was first proposed.


WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs awarded a $12.1 million contract Wednesday to build a long-awaited new health care clinic for veterans in Pahrump.

The contract to W and J Development LLC — announced on the heels of VA Secretary Robert McDonald's visit Tuesday to Southern Nevada — comes three years after the VA solicited bids and as the Nye County community watched other modern veterans health outposts open 60 miles away in Las Vegas.

A date for groundbreaking has not been set. VA spokesman Richard Beam said the agency has committed the 9,948-square-foot clinic at Basin Avenue and Lola Lane near Desert View Hospital will be completed within 18 months, "and that clock starts today."

A full service medical center in North Las Vegas and four associated community clinics opened in the Las Vegas Valley in 2012. A community outpatient clinic in Laughlin opened last year.

"The nearly 6,000 veterans in Pahrump have earned the right to have access to the same VA healthcare as veterans living in Las Vegas do," said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The Pahrump facility will double the size of the current VA clinic housed in a 16-year-old modular building on East Calvada Boulevard that VA officials conceded was showing wear. About 2,500 veterans are enrolled for services at the site.

The new clinic will continue to provide primary care, mental health care, tele-medicine, social work services, radiology and lab services, according to VA spokesman Richard Beam. Reid in a fact sheet said some of the services will be expanded, as well as space added for pharmacy services.

"The benefit of the additional space will give us flexibility," Beam said. "You can't necessarily anticipate what needs the demographic will have but the space will allow us to meet needs quicker as they change."

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who sits on the Senate's veterans committee, said the new clinic "brings much-needed health care access to local veterans."
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Manager of VA Clinic Made Fun of Veterans Committing Suicide Hanging an Elf?

I am sitting here gagging. The impulse to hurl is overwhelming. How is it possible for a VA clinic manager to hold veterans in such contempt she sent a repulsive email and still has her job? How is it especially when you read this part that everyone of them were not fired?

Julie Webb, a Roudebush spokeswoman, said administrators were made aware of the email “a couple of months ago.”

VA manager’s email mocks veteran suicides
Indy Star
Tony Cook
March 9, 2015

Here is one of the captioned photos contained in an email sent by the manager of a transitional clinic at Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis. The email appears to mock the mental health problems of returning veterans.
(Photo: From an email obtained by The Indianapolis Star)

A manager at the Roudebush Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis appears to mock the mental health problems of returning combat veterans in an email to her employees.

The email obtained by The Indianapolis Star contains photographs of a toy Christmas elf posing as a patient in what appears to be the hospital’s transitional clinic for returning veterans. In one photograph, the elf pleads for Xanax. In another, he hangs himself with an electrical cord.

The woman who sent the email is Robin Paul, a licensed social worker who manages the hospital’s Seamless Transition Integrated Care Clinic. The clinic provides returning veterans with transition assistance, including mental health and readjustment services.

When initially asked about the email, Paul responded, “Oh my goodness.” She then referred a reporter to the hospital’s public affairs department, which emailed The Star a statement on her behalf.

“I would like to sincerely apologize for the email message and I take full responsibility for this poor judgment,” Paul said. “I have put my heart and soul into my work with Veterans for many years. I hold all Veterans and military personnel in the highest regard and am deeply remorseful for any hurt this may have caused.”

Julie Webb, a Roudebush spokeswoman, said administrators were made aware of the email “a couple of months ago.”

Paul remains employed at the hospital and continues to manage the clinic, earning an annual salary of $79,916. She received a $2,000 performance bonus in 2013, records show. More recent bonus information was not immediately available.
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She is still getting paid for "taking care" of veterans? WTF?

Bullet Fired Through Wall of VA Clinic

Bullet fired at Wyoming VA clinic building 
NBC 8 News
By 24 Hour News 8 web staff
Published: February 6, 2015

WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) – Police are investigating after someone fired a bullet at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Center in Wyoming.

Veterans Administration spokesman Damian McGee confirmed one shot was fired through the back wall of the facility, which is located at 5838 Metro Way near Metro Health Hospital.

The building was put on lockdown for about 45 minutes while police made sure no one was hurt and the threat was over, McGee said.
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