Focus Is on Veterans’ Chief as Inquiries on Care Begin

New York Times ^ | March 5, 2007 | LYNETTE CLEMETSON

[gondramB]

WASHINGTON, March 4 — As President Bush ordered an investigation of the military’s care of wounded soldiers and veterans last week, Jim Nicholson, secretary of veterans affairs, darted between events, seeking to put a positive public face on his beleaguered agency. ... On Monday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is to conduct a hearing at Walter Reed on the problems there, and the Senate Armed Services Committee has set a hearing for Tuesday. Mr. Nicholson’s agency is also likely to come under scrutiny at the hearings ... Critics say he has under-emphasized his agency’s budget needs to Congress, has not responded to calls for more mental health workers and brain trauma specialists and has failed to overhaul disability claims procedures. Some leaders of veterans groups say Mr. Nicholson is less communicative than his predecessors.

[gondramB]

I thought this was interesting - Although I was initially skeptical, given the sources, it certainly looks like not only was there a major problem but that the Army went into cover-up mode. I have no idea what that means for Jim Nicholson.

I did note the Redstate.com ran an editorial calling for his resignation but also that President Bush selected him to be the cabinet member that would have run the country had something horrible happened during the state of the union.

Here's the Freep thread on the Redstate editorial.
Time for VA Sec. Jim Nicholson to resign

[KantianBurke]

“I am willing to take responsibility for the mistakes in the system, but at the same time I am entitled to credit for all the good things and advances happening at the V.A.,” Mr. Nicholson said. He said the V.A. system had been cited “as among the best, if not the best” integrated health systems in the country."

Fire this idiot. Not only is he a pompous ass but to claim the VA is in outstanding shape points to his being delusional.

[pepsionice]

Unless you are a vet and had to deal with the entire medical system...you don't know how bad it is. It is free healthcare...that part I won't argue about...although in recent years, they've built fees into the system...so it really isn't free anymore.

The doctors...decent guys...but they aren't making the megabucks like their buddies who finished in the top 100 of med school. The facilities...ok...for 1970s style infrastructure. Paperwork...at every single turn.

All the problems they describe at Walter Reed...are simply the problems you find via the entire veterans healthcare system. Most of us don't complain too much...we learned through those years in the military to accept the good with the bad. The sad part here is that you have hero's of the republic...who deserve alot better treatment...and they aren't getting it.

[gondramB]

>>
Fire this idiot. Not only is he a pompous ass but to claim the VA is in outstanding shape points to his being delusional.<<

I wonder how he defines "integrated" and what he means by "best."

I've been to the Atlanta VA hospital four times - twice taking someone for routine things. The wait was a bit longer than I expected and I heard a bit more complaining by the patients and conversations about the difficulty of getting a wheel chair.

The other two times were with a WW2 veteren who was visiting with us and had chest pains. The place exploded into action - he was in a bed with two doctors attending in less than three minutes with no paperwork. The computers were down at his home hospital in California and the ER doctor made call after call until he got my friend's doctor at home.

I love him dearly but he will always find something wrong and the only complaint he could come up with was that the applesauce didn't taste good.

But I had two days there to wander the halls. My main impression was how much of the hospital appeared to not be in use.

[gondramB]

>>All the problems they describe at Walter Reed...are simply the problems you find via the entire veterans healthcare system. Most of us don't complain too much...we learned through those years in the military to accept the good with the bad.<<

I'm very sorry to hear that - hopefully improvement is coming. Incumbents of both parties seem to "get" that they had better do something or they could be next for blame.

Did you see the quote where Walter Reed said no one had ever filed a complaint?

[Lokibob]

3 or 4 years ago, I tried to call the Medved show on the problems with the VA system, and was promptly told by the screener that i was full of crap. He (meaning Medved) had investigated the VA system and found out they were doing a great job. Then the screener hung up on me.

I wonder today how the screener feels.

A couple of months ago, My sis-in-law was driving , and a guy stepped out between cars, right in front of her. She swerved and missed him, but the car behind her got him. SIL stopped and as the guy was laying on the street, all he would say is "Take me to the VA hospital". I told my SIL that the guy made 2 bad decisions in less than 30 seconds.

....Bob

[carumba]

...the guy made 2 bad decisions in less than 30 seconds.

The VA is a budget black hole. The population of veterans is dying off but the need for more money is going up. Some of this is driven by the cost of technology. Some is driven by the cost of labor. Some is connected to the population of WWII vets reaching a point in their lives when medical needs go up - just before they die. It adds up to smaller staff, more patients, less service, and forget the cost of maintenance.

[ekwd]

The VA was originally intended to serve only vets with service-connected disabilities, not any vet with a problem. Expanding their potential "customer" base to all vets as they did in the 90's without significantly increasing spending has the kind of result you see now. Even in the 80's Walter Reed had a bad reputation. We were unofficially advised to go to Bethesda instead of Walter Reed when I was stationed at Fort Meade.

[Lokibob]

Not exactly true. When a vet reaches 65, the cost of treatment comes out of Medicare, then their insurance if they have insurance, then out of VA funds. The VA is the last of the payers.

[thirst4truth]

The VA is a budget black hole

My son works at a VA hospital as a cook. He is the only conservative he has met in the area where he works. They are all gov. workers knowing they cannot get fired unless they intentionally hurt a patient. Don't show up, that's OK you have 50 sick days, we will work something out. Double time for any holiday, incredible benefits, good pay.

An example of their beauracacy, he has been trying to get them to switch to canola oil, instead of lard, for two years, finally they switched. Then he has been trying to get them to switch to butter instead of margarine for the vets. The dietician says 5 patients out of 100, have high cholesteral, so every body has to eat margarine. He is genuinely worried about their trans fats intake.

It is a government run hospital, with tenure like college universities, the majority of his co workers are on autopilot waiting for their retirement, voting democrat, so they can get more benefits.

[art_rocks]

Thats misleading.

If a soldier complain to the 1SG, I don't believe its recorded as a complaint. Thats using the chain of command.

Walter Reed is probably right in that no one has filed a formal complaint.

[oldenuff2no]

I'm a vet who uses the Va facilities. Most of the time they are very good at what they do. The facilities in my area are in good condition and the system flows in an acceptable rate when I have an appointment.
The only part that I do not like is then they insist that I have to come back for BS things that they could accomplish while I was there. I have to drive at least an hour each way and that is not always possible for me. I have found my share of morons there over the years. The ones who get to me the quickest are the foreign docs who I can't understand. What do you do when you do not know what your doctor is saying? I've received some pretty strange looks when I asked for an interpreter. This is guaranteed to make the doc mad so you need to make sure you get your doctor changed on the way out the door so you don't have to see that one again. That is my biggest complaint. I want to be able to communicate with my doctor. If they can not communicate well in English then they shouldn't work there.

[balch3]

the Drive By Media sets its sites on another Bush Administration official. That's ALL that's going on here.