This is a long message about the quality of the medical services the Veterans Administration provides. I just received an email from a former student and a longtime friend whose Vietnam veteran husband is awaiting a liver transplant. He was exposed to Agent Orange --- thats why hes sick. They are wonderful people. If you have a few minutes to read what she wrote, you may change your views of the V.A. Don, Around 3:00 a.m. last night, my husband suddenly became very ill. I was already in bed when I heard him getting out of the shower (he stays up late and watches TV) and when I asked if he was all right, he said he was really, really cold. It was obvious he was in great distress, but he refused to let me take him to the West Los Angeles VA. Instead, he got into bed and piled on the down comforter, trying to get warm, but it didn’t help. I kept telling him I wanted to take him to the VA, but he said, “Sometimes you just have to ride it out.” So after an hour of this, I got out of bed, got dressed, and told him I’m taking him to the VA. By this time, he was in worse shape but I did manage to get him dressed and helped him out to the car, intending to drive him over to West L.A. However, when he tried to get in the car, he could no longer stand up and he’s just too heavy for me to lift him. I called 911, and they came right over and transported him to the Kaiser hospital nearby. When he was working as a machinist, he had coverage with Kaiser, and twice he was hospitalized there. He hates Kaiser. In 2009, when he was working for a different employer, who provided no health insurance, he was injured on the job and so I drove him to the West Los Angeles VA. This was my first time at the VA, and I was suspecting the worst. Was I ever surprised. And to this day, I think the VA is the best. And whenever we’re there, I always try to tell the people there, “You’re the best.” Whenever I tell them this, they can’t believe they’re hearing somebody say that to them. So I followed the paramedics over to Kaiser, and as soon as I entered the emergency room, I knew we weren’t in the VA. That was obvious from the start. Everything was different. Night and day difference. The VA, to me, is the gold standard. The staff isn’t as responsive as they are at the VA, you know, in showing the concern. It all seemed so business like. And sooner than you could say “financial,” someone from the financial office was right there to take the information. I kept insisting he be transferred to the West Los Angeles VA. I wanted them to feel a sense of urgency about it, as in “let’s get this woman off our backs.” I wasn’t ranting and raving or loud, just continually insistent. Making myself known. Well, I just called Kaiser a few minutes ago at 7:30, and my husband is being transferred to the VA. I know they had to stabilize him, but when I saw them coming in with an x-ray machine, I made some remark about that can be done at the VA, and padding the bill to give to the government, and that these tests can be done at the VA. I was just worried Kaiser, like all private hospitals, might try to wring all the $$$$ out of the situation as they could and in the meantime my husband isn’t getting the level of treatment he’s accustomed to at the VA. Anyway, as soon as the transport arrives at the Kaiser hospital, he will be on his way to West L.A. Every so often, I hear veterans (usually older ones, not the recent returning veterans) complaining about the VA. Well, I can’t imagine anyone at Kaiser coming up and saying, “Is everything all right?” When we were up at the Portland VA last year, they kept asking us if everything was all right. Is there anything we needed that they could help us with? et cetera, et cetera. I always tell them, “We’re fine. The VA takes good care of us,” and their faces light up. Thank you for listening to my little story, but I believe this is something only another veteran would understand. (a follow-up message) Also, how many vets know or take advantage of all the other enriching activities the VA offers? For example, the yoga classes at the VET Centers, both at the Sepulveda VA and the one on Devonshire Blvd. in Chatsworth. The Sepulveda VA offers all kinds of classes such as art therapy, which my husband is taking, and ceramics classes, horticulture, et cetera. The VA doesn’t just hire someone with a certificate, or something like that, to teach these classes. These instructors have masters and doctorate degrees. End of my friends message. If only we could get universal healthcare for everyone of every age. The V.A. proves its possible. And unlike Medicaid, the V.A. is allowed to negotiate prescription prices so that they can keep the costs down.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 17:52:05 +0000
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