VA Medical Care

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Rich Lucibella

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I know this is probably gonna be challenged but I owe it to the people at the VA Medical Centers to post it. Those who fight for this nation deserve the very best of care and I'd always assumed the VA was just a huge, lumbering, incompetent bureaucracy. Boy was I wrong!

My Dad's a DAV, going on 91. Over the course of the past 5 years, I've had occasion to interact with Regional VA Centers in West Palm and New Haven and one Outpatient Clinic in Ft Pierce.

I have yet to find a single employee who was less than outstanding in their willingness to deal with a multitude of medical problems. It's really something to see. I have encountered no Red Tape in any department; quite the opposite, all I see is a willingness to think outside the box in getting this man whatever he needs. I have yet to see a "Not My Job" type of response.

Efficiency is outstanding. Nobody rushes the patient. Everybody actually listens. My background is in health care. I know the expertise of some of the VA specialists may not be up to Mayo Clinic standards, but they sure as hell make up for that with the effort and care they put forth.

So, to all of you who work for or know someone who works for the VA Medical System, you have a great deal to be proud of.
Rich
 
Rich, I am a patient at VAMC American Lake. I have been seeing them for outpatient care for the last 11 years.

To say the least, these people are A+ in my book. There are doctors, nurses and other medical personnel there working their brains out. And, if no one else realizes, a LOT of the civilians you encounter there are volunteers--with no compensation!

They do a fantastic job--and one of my pick-me-ups is to stop in the Canteen on the way out to get a good military haircut and to jaw a bit with the other veterans.
 
I'm not a fan of public anything, but if anyone deserves top-notch medical care on taxpayer dime, it's the men and women who have put it all on the line for the rest of us.
 
I work in healthcare administration at a very large multi-specialty medical clinic. Over the past couple of years, the VA has received national recognition for the quality of their care. They are doing some very cutting-edge things with electronic medical records, improved access to doctors, reducing wait times and the like. Absolutely amazing to compare the VA of today with the VA of even just ten years ago.
 
Thanks

I am proud to serve American Veterans in one of the largest VA Cardiac centers in the SE US. It always brings a smile to hear that our Veterans are pleased with their care and that VA employees are helping to eradicate the 'good enough for government work' mentality that has been the scourge of the VA system.

I hope that your father does well and that he and all our Veterans will continue to receive the ever improving care they have earned with their blood, sweat and tears.

Tell your father thank you for his service to our country from one proud to serve those who have served.
 
Good post. I'm DAV and haven't been near a veterans facility since about 1974. Back then, the care - IMHO - was pretty bad, which is why I stopped going. It'd take me all day to get even minor issues addressed.
Maybe I'll give them a go again. I'm pretty sure it's free, they gave me a card that supposedly gets me access.
Tell your Dad thanks for his service to his country.
 
Rick, I know a few people in Boise. I was proud to witness the marriage of two of them in the VA Chapel a couple of years ago. They both have received excellent care there. Both are vets. Both are getting on in years. But because of the quality of care they have received, they are both better off today than they were several years ago.

Adding to this, there is not a better DAV unit in the US, than that which operates here in Idaho... But then, perhaps I'm a bit biased?
 
I'm retired now, but put 28 years in at medical facilities. Moreover, when I was in high school, I did volunteer work at the Brecksville, OH, VA Hospital, primarily working with men coming back from Viet Nam with traumatic stress disorders.

I understand that facility will be closing soon. The city wants the property to sell it off and collect more tax money. That makes me cry. Those men went through hell for all of the rest of us.

[/end of rant]
 
My recently deceased father was retired military and had Tri-Care, or whatever they are calling CHAMPUS these days
He still insisted on going to the VA clinic
I could never understand why he would want the substandard care offered by the VA over the excellent private care we have in Florida

I had to take him in a couple of years ago when he got into a fight with a guy half his age and broke his hand

I can't speak of the professionalism or level of care, because I have no expertise in those matters, but the staff obviously cared about their patients
The patients even seemed to enjoy their time there
It was a dayroom atmosphere of old friends and comrades that shared a common bond.

I was so impressed I wanted to sign up myself.
But given the present circumstances there were others I figured that needed the care more than I

Instead I have decided, after 25 years in pest control, to go to X-Ray tech school and seek a job at the new VA hospital that I hear they are opening here soon.
 
I have been recieving care from the local VA clinic since 2004. The folks there are great. They work a full schedule all day long. The taxpayers are getting thier money's worth out of the workers at My VA Clinic. The only thing that would make it better would be more staff in the mental health and other departments and some more room for the mental health folks. The folks in every department I have been to have been giving 110%.

With more folks being injured in the war on terrorism more funding would be in order. They could use some more help. I had blood drawn on the 12th for some tests and the poor lady pulling the blood was by herself. She was a trooper, but she needed a helper. They were also out of butterfly needles :eek: my veins usually require one of those but she got it done pdq with the regular needle.
 
I'm gonna close this one, even though I started it.
It seemed like a good idea at the time but it's only tangentially related to Legal and Political and I don't want to invite claims of double standard.

Regards-
Rich
 
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