"[Montana has ONE]"
I think the fact that NYS has about 21 times the population of Montana might have something to do with the disparity in number of VA Hospitals. But I could be wrong.
"I think the fact that NYS has about 21 times the population of Montana might have something to do with the disparity in number of VA Hospitals. But I could be wrong."
Thank You for obviating the painfully tedious.
What may bring stunned amazement to you is that Montana has one of the HIGHEST per capita enlistment rates in the country and also our Reservists and National Guard have done MORE than their part in Iraq/Afghanistan.
OUR in-state funding keeps dropping and facilities have been closed. WE are largely dependent on VA "clinics". I have to make the 400-mile round trip to Helena, for instance, to have a 20-minute checkup performed on my defibrillator, etc.
[100% Service Connected Disabled, USN 1967-70]
Our facilities are wholly inadequate.
Before anyone starts accusing me of just shooting my mouth off on the web, here's MY letter which was published in the Daily Inter Lake this week...
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Thank you for printing the Washington Post article on Walter Reed Army Hospital. [2/27/07] The same sort of problems can be seen state to state, especially in older facilities. As Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), citing other issues at Walter Reed, said, "You could put all of the wounded soldiers in the Ritz-Carlton and it wouldn't fix the personnel, management and recordkeeping problems that keep them languishing in outpatient limbo out there for months while paperwork from 11 disjointed systems gets shuffled and lost" (Washington Post, 2/22).
Montana is not exempt. The Fort Harrison VA hospital administration has taken it upon themselves to “revamp” the DAV’s all volunteer program which provides a shuttle bus service for disabled veterans from the Flathead to Helena for medical treatment. Over the past few years, the DAV vans have been making at first two and now four trips per month with 8 passengers, lodging them overnight as necessary. The hospital is demanding two “turn around” trips per week and no overnight lodging.
It’s not clear whether these changes are being made on a budgetary basis or upon the whims of a new “safety officer” there. All the drivers involved are volunteers and this “new and improved” system would place undue hardship upon them. In order to comply with the VA’s wishes, the drivers would have to endure 12 to 14 hour days, most of it on the road. Avoiding a few dollars spent on motel rooms does not save anything if it is going to result in a serious accident due to driver fatigue. Furthermore, it’s no suprise that drivers might “un volunteer” if faced with this heavy workload. The new schedule is equally fatiguing for sick passengers.
Please contact Ms Keli McQuiston of Congressman Rehberg’s office with your concerns and suggestions: 406-543-9550 or Keli.Mcquiston@Mail.House.Gov
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I've already MET with Keli and there's another meeting coming up at the Kalispell American Legion Post on Monday I've been invited to.
Pull on your oar or SHUT UP.