Posted on 03/05/2007 12:36:05 PM PST by neverdem
Ray Oliva went into the spare bedroom in his home in Kelseyville, Calif., to wrestle with his feelings. He didn't know a single soldier at Walter Reed, but he felt he knew them all. He worried about the wounded who were entering the world of military health care, which he knew all too well. His own VA hospital in Livermore was a mess. The gown he wore was torn. The wheelchairs were old and broken.
"It is just not Walter Reed," Oliva slowly tapped out on his keyboard at 4:23 in the afternoon on Friday. "The VA hospitals are not good either except for the staff who work so hard. It brings tears to my eyes when I see my brothers and sisters having to deal with these conditions. I am 70 years old, some say older than dirt but when I am with my brothers and sisters we become one and are made whole again."
Oliva is but one quaking voice in a vast outpouring of accounts filled with emotion and anger about the mistreatment of wounded outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Stories of neglect and substandard care have flooded in from soldiers, their family members, veterans, doctors and nurses working inside the system. They describe depressing living conditions for outpatients at other military bases around the country, from Fort Lewis in Washington state to Fort Dix in New Jersey. They tell stories -- their own versions, not verified -- of callous responses to combat stress and a system ill equipped to handle another generation of psychologically scarred vets.
The official reaction to the revelations at Walter Reed has been swift, and it has exposed the potential political costs of ignoring Oliva's 24.3 million comrades -- America's veterans -- many of whom are among the last standing...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
In general, I wouldn't doubt that. Welcome to universal health care, aka socialized medicine. Lefty WaPo, keep doing your muckraking!
the VA being cesspools is hardly news??????????
I had neurosurgery in a military hospital and have not suffered further. That said, I WILL NOT step foot in a VA hospital if I can avoid it.
If the muck is there, shouldn't someone rake it?
The VA cannot fire a bad employee without an act of congress. It is the bottom level that collects the very worst employees.
In a less public forum, I could tell you horror stories.
Who wants Government run health care again?
Not anyone in the military, The Air Force hospitals are not called the "Medical Hobby Shop" for nothing.
Hardly news, I agree. But, what about the timing of this "revelation?"
Comgresscritters have been receiving complaints for decades, why the sudden interest when they have ignored it for so long?
It's not just the facilities. Tricare is a frigging nightmare.
Pffft. I could have told the Washington Post that if they'd asked me.
Socialized medicine, while free, absolutely sucks.
Three years ago, I had to drive an hour and a half each way, pregnant, just for regular OB/GYN checkups because none of the local doctors (thanks, Monterey, California) would see military dependents.
I ended up paying out of pocket just to save myself the stress.
AND, it's just NOT in the medical field. It seems to be pervavise in all areas. My sister's husband is in the Navy, and he was assigned to a small island near Italy, La Madellena. The family went with him, his wife and 4 kids. Well, when my sister got there, he was sent out on a mission, and SHE had to find housing. They managed to find a tiny apt. but they could only stay there a few months. After that, they had to find a new place - which they had to do anyway, as they had a teenage son and dtr, and 2 minor children, 1- 4 yr. old and 1- 6yr old. She sought help with the Navy housing on base, and received NO help. None. Nada! She was totally on her own- in a strange country where she did not speak the language. I think she told me that everything was to be taken care of when she got there with the kids, wellllll..... I guess this is typical. She DID manage to find a small duplex, with the help of a native who spoke English. I think this is appalling - as WE send our military and their families to other coutries. The least we could do is get them settled when they arrive. This area needs a LOT of work, as well.
Because it conveniently fits into the cause of
A. Making the military look bad
while at the same time
B. Making those who choose to be in the military as a bunch of hapless victims
Not that I don't think the military of this country doesn't deserve better healthcare options, because I most certainly do. However, these things never come up unless it works for the MSN agenda at the time.
A. Making the military look bad
while at the same time
B. Making those who choose to be in the military as a bunch of hapless victims
Exactly.
Every bit of medical attention I recieved while on active duty was top notch.
This is one of the things that makes my blood boil. Our vets should be treated and get the best treatment anyone could. I'm furious that this is what our government provides.
Where was Wapo when Congress was cutting VA funding prior to our involvement in Iraq/Afghanistan? I'm in no way downplaying the existing problems... but these skunks in the DBM only have one agenda... and the vets aren't it.
Maybe the soldiers would have fared better if the VA was conveted to HillaryCare.
I could give military hospital horror stories also on a less public forum. I had 2 major surgeries at an Air Force hospital ,after one of the surgeries my mom was shocked about conditions at the military hospital and care. But this has been going on for a long time, it was a running jock we had in the military about the hospitals. It just seems very ironic that the problems are now coming to light. This is why universal health coverage would be a very bad idea.
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