VA Hospitals continue to improve
As I stated a while back, I have been very happy with the VA hospitals and the high level of service I have seen since I returned from Afghanistan. This high level of satisfaction continues to stay high. Last week my employer informed me that I needed to travel out of town this week and the following week also. I immediately called the VA contact numbers that I had for the appointments I had scheduled for this week and they worked with me the best they could and did not push me way out in the future just because I needed to change. In fact, one clinic was able to slip me in first thing in the morning just two days after I called and I was able to get in there last week.
During that appointment, the orthopedic doctor was great and really explained to me all details of what he was concerned about. He sent me for some more x-rays and also scheduled me for some MRIs to happen the first work day I would be back from my business trips. It truly appears that in every appointment and/or interaction I have had with anyone from the VA that they are moving as quickly as possible to get treatment to me without delaying it.
When I read something like this, http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,148897,00.html?ESRC=topstories.RSS , that I did yesterday I get really upset. I am not sure where they are getting their data or if what they are seeing is isolated or the results misconstrued, but I do know that the appointments I have had and the appointments that at least two of the guys who were with me have been really quick. I refuse to believe that the VA Hospitals in NY are the best ones in the county and the only ones that are do quick appointments.
The doctor I met with last week is pretty confident after seeing the x-rays that I will need some level of surgery on at least my knee. Of course the MRI will tell more, but if he is thinking that way based on x-rays alone I am sure that an MRI that shows much more detail will confirm his suspicions. I am fine with it, because my knee is pretty messed up so whatever it takes to get rid of the frequent pain and limping will work for me.
So I am not sure what is going on every where else or what is happening with all the other VA hospitals in the country or their patients but I am happy with them. The VA has turned around for whatever reason, and it truly makes me feel like they care.
**NOTE, Troy is a First Sergeant in the New York Army National Guard and writes several blogs on his website at http://www.bouhammer.com**
CJ
September 23rd, 2007 at 6:48 amIt seems that anything veteran related can do not good these days. I’ve heard from friends all over the place that the VA isn’t that bad. In areas greatly congested with veterans, like Florida, the lines are longer than most other places. According to the IG report, they only checked 10 VA hospitals - in the ENTIRE country.
What the military.com piece fails to tell the reader is the IG used “14 of VHA’s 50 high-volume clinics and represented only 1 month of appointments”. Here’s an interesting parallel that may surprise the VA IG office:
I’m moving soon, so my wife and I have been going to some of the better restaurants in the area that we’ve always wanted to go to. Would you believe that the waiting lines at these “high-volume” restaurants was long too!?! When I go to the mall, the high-volume retailers have longer lines as well. The movie theaters with more dense populations have longer lines. When I was in Arizona recently, the ONLY Sonic in town had an almost 45 minute wait - and that’s fast food.
Additionally, the VA only examined 60 appointments!! That’s only 60 from each “high-volume clinic”. They could have just as easily come to the exact opposite conclusion had they found 60 different people. The study shows that of those examined 75% had timely appointment. That’s still not bad, especially if you look at the report on its whole.
The problem with journalists who make a career out of making the military and veteran’s administration look bad is that they expect and hope that the common reader will NOT read the actual report. Thanks for telling your story.
CJ
September 23rd, 2007 at 6:48 amThat’s “do NO good”, not do not good. oops.