Veterans Affairs Proposes Major Overhaul

[Khephra]

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs announced a plan Monday proposing to close seven VA hospitals, open others and retarget services in a major restructuring of its health care services.

The plan includes major mission changes at 13 facilities, Veterans Affairs spokeswoman Karen Fedele said.

The VA wants to close hospitals in Canandaigua, N.Y.; Pittsburgh (Highland Drive); Lexington, Ky. (Leestown); Brecksville, Ohio; Gulfport, Miss.; Livermore, Calif.; and Waco, Texas.

The proposal also would open new hospitals in Las Vegas and in Orlando, Fla.; add centers for the blind in Biloxi, Miss., and Long Beach, Calif.; and place new spinal cord injury centers in Denver; Minneapolis; Syracuse or Albany, N.Y.; and Little Rock, Ark.

more..............

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-veterans-health,0,6472441.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[symbolman]

Yeah I can see it now

close down facilities that are helping people and then open up new ones and not let anyone in..

I've been through the grinder with VA CLinics, not only have I worked in one, I've also spent nearly a year between appointments in the south (with a spinal condition) and once I sat (on purpose) ALL DAY in a VA waiting to get served (with my file in front of them) and finally had to bitch like crazy once the waiting room had cleared and I was all alone and hadn't been helped..

I have also bought lunch for older vets that were waiting for diabetes tests when the doors closed for lunch and they were forced to wait hours with no food before these critical tests for blood sugar..

I created ARMY OF ONE http://www.takebackthemedia.com/onearmy.html to put them on notice - if they keep fucking with Veterans I am going to expose their POLICIES in a BIG WAY and help the VETS HOUND Bush from Office.. 30 MILLION VOTES there people..

ala Michael Moore if I need to :)

thanks for the link!

[symbolman]

Yeah I can see it now

close down facilities that are helping people and then open up new ones and not let anyone in..

I've been through the grinder with VA CLinics, not only have I worked in one, I've also spent nearly a year between appointments in the south (with a spinal condition) and once I sat (on purpose) ALL DAY in a VA waiting to get served (with my file in front of them) and finally had to bitch like crazy once the waiting room had cleared and I was all alone and hadn't been helped..

I have also bought lunch for older vets that were waiting for diabetes tests when the doors closed for lunch and they were forced to wait hours with no food before these critical tests for blood sugar..

I created ARMY OF ONE http://www.takebackthemedia.com/onearmy.html to put them on notice - if they keep fucking with Veterans I am going to expose their POLICIES in a BIG WAY and help the VETS HOUND Bush from Office.. 30 MILLION VOTES there people..

ala Michael Moore if I need to :)

thanks for the link!

[symbolman]

1. Yeah I can see it now

close down facilities that are helping people and then open up new ones and not let anyone in..

I've been through the grinder with VA CLinics, not only have I worked in one, I've also spent nearly a year between appointments in the south (with a spinal condition) and once I sat (on purpose) ALL DAY in a VA waiting to get served (with my file in front of them) and finally had to bitch like crazy once the waiting room had cleared and I was all alone and hadn't been helped..

I have also bought lunch for older vets that were waiting for diabetes tests when the doors closed for lunch and they were forced to wait hours with no food before these critical tests for blood sugar..

I created ARMY OF ONE http://www.takebackthemedia.com/onearmy.html to put them on notice - if they keep fucking with Veterans I am going to expose their POLICIES in a BIG WAY and help the VETS HOUND Bush from Office.. 30 MILLION VOTES there people..

ala Michael Moore if I need to :)

thanks for the link!

[symbolman]

2. Yeah I can see them

close down facilities that are helping people and then open up new ones and not let anyone in..

I've been through the grinder with VA CLinics, not only have I worked in one, I've also spent nearly a year between appointments in the south (with a spinal condition) and once I sat (on purpose) ALL DAY in a VA waiting to get served (with my file in front of them) and finally had to bitch like crazy once the waiting room had cleared and I was all alone and hadn't been helped..

I have also bought lunch for older vets that were waiting for diabetes tests when the doors closed for lunch and they were forced to wait hours with no food before these critical tests for blood sugar..

I created ARMY OF ONE http://www.takebackthemedia.com/onearmy.html to put them on notice - if they keep fucking with Veterans I am going to expose their POLICIES in a BIG WAY and help the VETS HOUND Bush from Office.. 30 MILLION VOTES there people..

ala Michael Moore if I need to :)

thanks for the link!

[TacticalPeek]

6. Cool link, symbolman.

Worth a look, and sending a link to anyone you know serving.

[symbolman]

3. Help!

Deja Vu!

[Rose Siding]

4. OMG, look at this!

"Everyone is aware of the difficulty VA has meeting demand," Ilem said. "When we have hundreds of thousands of veterans on waiting lists (for medical appointments), we don't want to see facilities closed due to fiscal problems."

Rick Weidman, government relations director for the Vietnam Veterans Association, agreed that strategic planning is important. But he said a General Accounting Office study that helped trigger the facilities overhaul failed to consider that many are vacant because veterans health care is underfunded.
end snip>

One reason that the hospitals are empty, even though there are long waiting lists, is there's not money to treat anyone there!!!!!!!!!!

So the guy with a g-job says "Close 'em"????? (as he lights his cigar with a hundred dollar bill)

Vets are already demonstrating, bless, them.

[htuttle]

5. Why do they say 'overhaul'

What they really mean is "we're stripping it down for parts".

If I had a mechanic 'overhaul' my car the way these guys 'overhaul' agencies, I'd sue them.

[TacticalPeek]

7. "We had to close the hospital

in order to save it.

Anything else we can dishonor for you today?"

Chimp-in-Chief

[DagmarK]

8. There are directives in other states to STUDY closing their VA hospitals

Bush just issued an unexpected DIRECTIVE to the Washington state VA system.....under the CARES program. He wants them to look into feasibility and details on closing one of Washington's hospitals.

I wonder how many states got directives?

So, that list of closures is far from complete.........

[snippy]

9. How very republican.

[teryang]

10. The health care system is broken

So everyone who did military time is flocking to the VA hospitals and clinics to get cheaper prescriptions.