V.A. Disgrace Continues Unabated
It’s one thing to make a big mistake and then do everything possible to correct it. There are usually consequences to pay, but at least there is acknowledgment about the error and an effort to make it right.
It’s another thing to make a big mistake and then ignore it – despite all the bad publicity – hoping it will go away. This is unpardonable and results in negative consequences multiplying.
Sadly, such has been the case with the Obama Administration’s Veterans Administration fiasco. No, the problem did not start with his administration, but it certainly got worse under it, even after we all learned how bad it was.
More recently, in December 2016, it was learned that a patient at the Oklahoma V.A. died with maggots in his wound in October. Four employees resigned immediately after this tragedy came to light, but that doesn’t exactly bring back the veteran, does it?
Technically, 73-year-old Owen Reese Peterson died of sepsis, but the lack of attention to his condition brought the disaster known as V.A. patient care to the forefront once again. The very people who should be receiving the best of treatment after serving their country have – over and over again – received some of the worst care.
The corruption and incompetence of the Veterans Administration has been nothing short of despicable. Some American military service members have died on the streets waiting to get in a V.A. hospital, while others now molder in body bags in basements after managing to get into a hospital but then dying there.
Could the problem be budgetary restraints? Nope. The V.A. budget has steadily increased to historic levels and topped $196 billion in fiscal 2015.
Scandal after scandal – utter incompetence in management, outright corruption, theft, embezzlement, fraud – all to the detriment of those Americans to whom we owe the most. Three years after much of this came to light, nothing has been done about the problem.
The V.A. needs a lot more than a facelift. It will be very interesting to see how much attention the Trump Administration pays to this crucial issue.
I live in Florida. My VA is in Cape Coral and is a new
clinic. I have been going there for the past 10 years and have never had any complaints. But I have not had any major work that needed done. The problem is shortage of Dr”s. But the ones that are there do a great job. This place is very clean and organized.
I AM A VIETNAM VET AND THEY WOULD NOT DO SURGERY ON MY HIPS BECAUSE THEY SAID I WAS TOO HEAVY AND THEY WANTED ME TO BE AT A WEIGHT THAT I WAS IN 7TH GRADE. THEY ASKED ME WHEN I WOULD GE MEDICARE AND I TOLD THEM 4 YEARS AND I HAD NO BALL ON MY LEFT HIP AND A PARTIAL BALL ON MY RIGHT HIP AND I HAD TO WAIT FOR 4 YEARS AND A LOT OF PAIN. YET THE VA HAVE DONE OTHER TREATMENTS WELL AND MY DOCTOR IS OVERLOADED AND THAT IS THE FAULT OF THE VA NOT HER.
COY, WERE YOU IN CAMP CROCKET DURING 1968? DO YOU REMEMBER MANGA PUNETA CONO CARAJO OR KIDD LECHUGA?
I am a 30 year US Army veteran!! Of course I can’t comment on ALL veterans hospitals !!!
BUT, I will say –the VETERANS HOSPITAL in San Antonio Texas has always given me the best care I could ask for!!!
Never have trouble with appointments when I need them!!
I have direct communication with my doctor through “My healthe vet”
website!!!
The facility is maintained in impeccable condition!! STAFF Are always very courteous professional & dedicated to see that top quality healthcare is provided to all their patients!!
SO–I always get a little miffed when I see these articles against the VA healthcare system!!
Personally, I think they’re doing an outstanding job!!
Sincerely,
Col. Samuel L BURKETT
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
People who are paid the same whether they are kind and helpful or not kind and helpful serve poorly . Only exception is a self motivated person serving as unto the Lord. Better give a Blue Cross card to the veteran. The attitude of the doctor and nurse is totally different when they need the approval of their patient. Without it, they lose business.
I don’t know where these Vets are going, but I have two veterans within my house, they go to the Seattle VAMC and they get wonderful care, we have nothing but good things to say about the care given to them.
There is something that needs to be pointed out here. As a disabled Veteran myself this story made me sick. This was not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This was an Oklahoma State Department of Veterans Affairs facility. I also write a blog that can be seen on SoonerPolitics.org under the name of the Oklahoma Watchman. I currently have FOIA request in to the Governor’s office, the State Department of Veteran’s Affairs and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation for additional information on this case. This was never supposed to get to the public, but it did and I’m tired of seeing my fellow Veterans treated this way. I’ll be on this story until such time as we get some answers and they are answers we and more importantly his family can live with. Fot general information no charges have been filed against anyone indicated, no licenses have been suspended and in fact one of the individuals that quit has been rehired at another state run facility in Lawton.
My wife and i are disabled veterans…my wife was disgraceful as her VA doctor had entered the info but failed to tell us and passed her on to another doctor after she labeled my wife a difficult patient, all because she asked questions. We learned about the cancer when the podiatrist asked her how the treatment was going…she also found out she was classified as a stroke victim by the same doctor..the doctor would tell my wife that she was going to die and called 3 times late one night taunting her with the same. my wife hung up on her crying. we requested to change doctors but request was denied…she referred her to mental health because in her opinion my wife had a death wish.. the second doctor would not see my wife unless the VA set the appiontment. then she left the VA and there was no replacement for 6 (six) months. the third doctor did not want to hear her concerns and told her if she needed medical attention to call 911 to go to the ER….she did not even exam my wife….as if this was not enough after the cancer was diagnosed by an ER doctor and operated on by another ER doctor the VA did not followup with the diagnosis by the civilian doctor….my wife has suffered unnessarly because of the lack of care and sttention….their ego is something else..the doctor (with a serious face) told us that my wife had been close to death and that “she” had saved her life…she continued to not address my wife’s health questions as to when she was going of deal with the serious infection discovered by the surgeon..as she does not want nor need other cancers….my wife finally got a new doctor after filing complaints with the patient advocate, social worker and therapist. Her new doctor was talking down to her but we hung in there and she finally got the treatment she needed I just hope it was in time…..
Are trying to get approved for healthcare and disability for husband and it’s not easy. On social security now and could sire use some additional income. The 15 years he spent in service to our country should be worth something especially now when ss payment which we both paid into all our working lives is a pittance and barely provides enough to pay the mortgage and gives us a whole 200 $ a month to live on. Who can do that these days. Maybe if he’d worked on a career instead of serving our country he’d have had an easier retirement now. Vets have been screwed forever and I hope our new president will be able to fix that for them (and us) along with realizing that our social security is not a privilege but something we and our employers paid into forever and is our right to collect. Ok – I’m done. Thanks for the forum to express my opinion.
I’m a Disabled Veteran and would like to say your one article seems to want to stir the pot,we’re all human, The Va has improved since I’ve gotten out in 85, Yes things happen ! Drs. Do there best in any hospital,we’ve all heard horror stories from civilian and Va hospitals,me I’ve had my kidney removed in November 2015,everything went well,I feel the negatives in life can happen to anyone. God bless our Veterans and troops,as far as Trump I believe he was handed a pile from the spineless obama administration and hope he will address this situation soon,give the man a chance,I like our new COMMMANDER AND CHIEF !! God Bless America !
23 years in the Army caring for Soldiers, 20 Years in the VA caring for vets. A disabled vet myself. I can speak with a broad knowledge of the VA system.
Fact # 1 – not 2 VAs are the same
Fact # 2 – The VA needs more veterans hired.
Fact # 3 – NO ONE and I mean NO ONE is held accountable for screw-ups Due to UNION rules no employee NO MATTER how incompetent is NEVER fired. No show up for work for 6 months, no problem – you still have a job. You’re a receptionist that is afraid to answer a phone and can’t speak English. – no problem. Key in wrong codes and cancel all patient appointments for 1 years. mailing out tens of thousand letters, cost thousand so f dollars and 6 months of work to fix – no problem. Tell a patient FUCK YOU – to several patients. Repeatedly, no problem. I have seen it all.
In the government, if you screw up, you’ll move up. Leadership is a joke – forget the regional directors… the mid or low-level managers is where the real damage is done. They fired the fools and cover for them.
Now don’t get me wrong 90+ % of the employees and staff are hard working and do a great job, but it’s that small percentage that creates a vast majority of the problems.
Only when the problem makers and the weak managers that cover for them are FIRED, will they system change.
Only VETS take better care of veterans. Ever really looked in someone face when they say “Thank You for your service”? It’s like they are a machine with NO feelings. Are these people really thankful for those who go into harms way and give all they have to keep freedom free? They need to develop an undercover boss program/secret shopper type program to evaluate these facilities. I feel there is a lot of VA employees just there for a pay check and they don’t give a DAMN about anything but the bottom line. That being their money.
Hello I work for my local VA as a CNA I am also a VET and get care there and I know that some VA Medical Centers need work but where I work at we have a great place. We have VETs coming from all over to get care and have other employees wanting to come to my VA. But I do think that the VA will be better off under the Trump Administration.
I am a volunteer with the NASHVILLE Tn. VA also a Vietnam VET. I volunteer to give back and for something to do. The VA is very under staffed and they need younger doctors. I was sent out for knee surgery because of back log. The private doctor messed up and the VA would not fix because I am too old. I also had heart surgery about 20 years ago. another excuse. About 5 years ago I torn a ligament in my left shoulder and the doctor told me I was too old for surgery. So that is open Shortly after that I tore the ligament in the other shoulder. Needless to say that one is still open. They give PAIN PILLS to cure you . Yes I think they need doctors in there that are young enough to help cure you instead of Pills. If I had the time I could tell you many stories that need fixing in the VA
about years ago I pulled aligiment
Greed is what drives our country not honor, loyalty, or justice. The festering VA is just one symptom of big pharma making bucks pedaling “cures”.
I went to the Emergency Room at the VA hospital in Durham, NC last November with migraines headaches that returned due to some of the medication I have been prescribed. I was hoping for some form of relief or short of that an explanation. I was told by the resident and then the attending physician “you don’t have a bullet hole or are dying of a heart attack, why are you here.” I was there because I called the primary care and they told me to go be seen. I presently have blood pressures hovering at 198/98 for months and the headaches come and go daily, and have to wait months to be seen and then the doctor tells me they have not even talked to the specialist and has no idea why I had the headaches. Look up those BPs on the internet and every page says this is an emergency, yet I am told they won’t care for me at the ER and the primary care does not express any real concern, give me a BP med and have a nurse see you in a few weeks, just business as usual. They don’t even try and figure out what the cause is so they can treat it effectively. The cause is Gulf War disease, but don’t mention that because no one in the VA accepts it as reality, in their view it is always symptoms of PTSD, the universal diagnosis. I fear for my life and the survival of my wife and children but have few options, stay with the VA and push for what needs to happen or pay for care I can not afford. The worst part is their attitude that we are like scavengers begging for care, yet in fact they are their to serve us. This is not really about funding, the quality of the doctors or staff, the facilities, or any other factor besides attitude. They need to relearn patient care, the need to support outcome driven processes and in every decision at every level they need to put the patient first.
Try to talk to your Patient Advocate and get them involved. They should have a picture of them on a wall somewhere. We have it buy the elevators. Need to be your own advocate too and the first step is seeing the Patient Advocate.
It does not matter who is in The Presidential seat. This has been going on for years and I mean years. When I was in high school in the 70’s it was an issue and also the issue of mistreatment in Nursing Homes which still exists today, So who ever thinks it is the presidents fault for all this behavior lets take a look at the Representatives, the Congress and the Senate whom can’t get crap done for us.
Seems to me that our veterans and active service people have been mistreated like forever . I read about the boys returning from WWI . Picture this , winter , Row after row of canvas tents with dirt floors with bunks on both sides . Few doctors and few nurses trying to care for hundreds of wounded servicemen . The orderlies were kept busy removing dead bodies . We have come along ways since then in treatment and cleanliness , but it seems that we are still using and discarding servicemen instead of giving them the best that is available . Next time you see a soldier in uniform , go out of your way to thank them for their service .
If he (Trump) hasn’t done anything yet I don’t see him doing anything in the future. Unless there’s some thing in it for him, some kind of political capital to be gained by it. I do not see him doing it for veterans. Its such a boondoggle, I don’t see how any sort of plan he can put into place will work to help veterans.
The VA system desperately needs re-evaluation and corrections. I have personally seen friends of mine die because they were mistreated by the employees at the VA. One friend received radiation treatment an hour more than he was suppose to. He ended up dying due to this excess radiation. When I and his family brought this up we were quickly silenced. The family was paid off and I was ordered not to say anything about the incident. (I was still in the Army.)
I made it my mission to look into the personnel that were employed at the VA. The doctors are what I call the D and F students in the medical profession. They are over worked and under paid. If they could work in private practice they would, but, they can’t.
The nurses are few and far between the wards. They depend on the technicians and orderlies to help cover their work load. The technicians and orderlies come from a back ground of limited medical training. Like any used and abused employee there are those that want to do the best they possibly can and there are those that are jaded. Those that are jaded just don’t give a tinker’s damn what kind of service they provide to the service member. It is all the same to them, if they can do less work for the same pay or more pay then they will first in line.
I have seen the hospital staff steal from the service member, be it candy, personal items, or the small amount of cash that the service member may have had in their drawer. I have seen where the attendant will deliver the afternoon meal or dinner, set the tray in front of the service member and walk away. The service member unable to feed himself will leave the tray untouch. Then the attendant will come in the room and remove the tray knowing damn well that the service member didn’t touch his food. Do you think for one moment that he would take the time to feed the service member or report it to the nurse? Hell no! The service member will just starve to death if allowed.
I had placed a small remote camera in the corner of the room of several service members to provide evidence that I have just described. Did I take it to the VA officials? No! I took my story to the local news media. There was an outcry. The VA was placed in the public eye and placed on noticed. After 33 days after a lot of promises and big talk of reform and re training of personnel; nothing had changed. The VA went back to business as usually with the exception that only authorized personnel may treat the service members and no cameras allowed in the rooms at any time and all service members can not have their personal effect on them or in their drawers.
Talking about covering your butt.
My personal take with the VA is this, if they are too busy to see the service member in a timely manner then send them to a private hospital or doctor for medical treatment. Let the VA pick up the bill. They can make special arrangements to defer their costs. This will get the service member the medical treatment they deserve and in a timely manner. If the VA wants to stop the depletion of their funds then they need to step up their game and do the job they were entrusted with in a timely manner.
Unbelievably despicable, disdain and utter incompetence… no, beyond incompetence, malpractice and contempt, against those whom have given so much to our nation! Volunteers and Draftees alike, to be treated so disrespectfully by our government and its representatives in the Veterans Administration and the organisations responsible for policing the VA, not to mention Congress, the Executive branch, and the Armed Forces which are all responsible for ensuring that proper, adequate funding is available to finance the promises made to those personnel, that their healthcare would be top notch… These men and women were actually drafted, conscripted into wartime situations, through no choice of their own, and to be then injured by actions beyond they’re control and subsequently be mistreated, and become victims of ignorance, and even malevolent malpractice? Seems to me, inconceivable…
In my judgement, this must be rectified immediately, and the responsible persons for these crimes be dealt with harshly…
This must be fixed correctly, immediately, and made right! No Excuses, No Hesitation! Lawsuits to follow… This is some of the dirtiest, low life scandalous BS that our country has ever allowed to happen! I am shocked and embarrassed…
Have to agree with you, Matthew. Hopefully Trump will come up with a plan to fulfill his campaign promise of ending this disgrace.
I’m waiting for our congressmen and senators to start doing their jobs. First they have to vote FOR benefits and increased aid for our veterans And they need to STOP blocking any more health and welfare benefits that are put up for votes. If you want increased and and help for out veterans we all need to speak to our representatives in Congress than we need to keep working to make sure Congress passes bills that HELP OUR VETERANS. Please read and find out who you need to contact in your area and then contact them and hold them to the work they should be doing. It is a crime what we are doing to our veterans right now.
So true! my husband is a 100% P&T Veteran who gets all his health care through the VA. We have seen incredible improvements in some VA departments like dental, vision and mental health. But ortho and primary care still have a long way to go.
It is truly sad how the Veterans Administration has Failed our American Veterans time and time again. This is compounded by the Fr those who commit the Atrocities. I use the Phoenix and the Oklahoma City VA units and have since 1990’s. While the Phoenix unit was primarily for renewal of my Rx’s while traveling, my Primary Unit is OKC, OK VA Hospital. My care received at OKC VA has always been very good up until VA discontinued my Hydrocodone RX. I visited 4 VA, causing my injury and provided X-rays from a Noted, Published Neurosurgeon Emily Friedman of Baptist Medical Center in OKC, along with other Oklahoma Certified Medical Doctors to assist with the VA determination for my RX’s, along with 4 OKC VA Doctors, they still cut off my Loritab Hydrocodone and Cyclobenzaphrine (Flexril) RX’s, without even weaning my system off these Drugs. They just said “No More and cut them Off!” My wife Fears every time I use VA system and begs me to find a civilian Doctor to use. I have had my last Colonoscopy done at the OKC VA with “No Problem other then they did not keep Trish (Wife) informed of my care, they failed to advise her of my progress during the test. Trish had to demand information as to where I was during the Process and wait over an Hour for information. Not Good Patient care after all the News of POOR Results at East Coast VA Hospitals “FAILED to properly Clean the Equipment used between patients. Then come the Phoenix Hospital Scheduling Incident with resulting Deaths, compounded by a Patient dying in OKC with Maggots in his wounds.. Not a Good Record for the VA System here! I now have to have a Personal Non-VA Doctor for my Pain Meds and to verify any Care VA recommends to calm my wife enough for me to use the Veterans System.
I only use VA when it is necessary and being retired now, to save money.
It is Very Disheartening when you get a New Doctor assigned to your Care and the very FIRST thing out his Mouth was , ” I do Not use Narcotics to Treat Pain!” I mean all the work we done to get a Plan in Place to deal with a Pain I’m hung with for the rest of my Life and He does not want to follow the Plan. What the Hell kinda CARE is this?
He ask if they could do Surgery to “POSSIBLY” fix the Problem, would I consent? NO! Hell NO!
The Neurosurgeons said it could Possibly Paralyze me for the rest of my Life and Could Not assure us it would do ANY good! Hell NO!
The VA System just MOVES an Employee when a Veteran Dies, or lets them RESIGN or Quit after a Veterans DEATH! They should have been TRIED for Murder, and Prohibited from EVER Practicing Medicine in the Medical System again. Does NOT happen. The Administrator in the Phoenix System was moved and still Practices in the VA System.
This type of Action is NOT reassuring to a Person who has Risked Life and Limb to serve our Country and then be Treated like they Know Nothing about their Own Care!
President Elect Donald Trump has assured me that this will be Dealt with under his Administration and many Veterans who seek VA Care are waiting for Months for Primary Care. Some are Dying versus using VA and unable to Afford the Care Needed elsewhere.
Veterans are a Humble lot and will NOT BEG for Promised Care.
FIX THE SYSTEM or give us the RIGHT to Seek and Receive Care Outside a Very Broken System!!
Thank You for Listening!
All government , President, cabinet, all congress , past and present and their immediate families can only receive medical care at V A facilities.
IT’S FIXED! why not?
I have VA healthcare in St. Louis, Mo. I have both legs amputated above the knee. An entitlement attitude is alive and well there. It is a dark place.
I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for TRAMP to do anything that he couldn’t get a kick-back from!!
After all, from the looks of his “Advisors”/Cabinet, if you aren’t a fellow BIGLY BILLIONAIRE, you might just be invisible!!
I have been using the VA now for 17 years. Early and serious heart condition. Sometimes it gets busy but I have never had a problem with the Portland Oregon VA. Funny thing is that I was a Corpsmen stationed at Bethesda for a couple years during the 80’s. Spent a year on a General Surgery Ward There where times when we were under staffed but never to the point of maggots. Then working the appointment desk for a very busy clinic at Bethesda I realized one thing very quickly. There are a lot more Vets and Dependents in need then we had Doctors. Over all I think the VA has gotten Better, much of it thanks to our Vietnam Vets who sacrificed and got the ball rolling and awareness going on that was needed. I have noticed a big effort to show respect to all of Vets and that feels really good. I know the wait period for enrollment is to long but once in the system at least here in the Nortwest you will be taken care off. Sometimes we only hear about the negative and things are never perfect but I see a big effort to improve going on. The people that work there want to help us over all. I just had to defend my VA a little they have kept me alive and I am thankful for them. OK Off my soap box. lol
My brother died because of improper care from the va in Dallas. They never diagnosed his cancer until he got so sick his kids took him to a real hospital and in 3 hours we had the diagnosis and he died a few days later as to late to help him. Doc said could have been treated if brought to him sooner.