GonzoGate has eclipsed the WRAMC problems in the news. The media only has the attention span that Nielsen Families provide. Fortunately there are still many Veteran Advocacy groups working very hard to make sure the military medical mess can keep the attention it needs in order to create positive change for troopsvets/patients. I have a list of links posted on the sidebar of this blog, but here they are again: [LINKS]
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
27 March 2007
14 March 2007
a bitter taste
If the administration was going to address problems "quickly" they would have done so when the first casualties returned from the war back in 2001. For almost SIX (6) years this problem has been brewing. It's past brewing, it's rotten. Ever forget that the coffee pot was on? After a few hours of baking, the coffee gets bitter, acidic and dry - it doesn't taste so good anymore - but it'll sure deliver a good WAKE-UP!!!! on the taste buds.
It's gonna take a lot of cream and sugar to sweeten that coffee. And the coffee was hot - it burnt a lot of people, all the way to the heart.
In a perfect world the system would really only need some minor correcting. But we live in an invented world - one corrupted by some serious political BS.
My prediction: Few, if any, individuals will be held accountable for their wrong-doings and failures as leaders/humans being; more systematic procedures (read: additional bureaucracy) will be created to ensure better treatment for troops/vets; a few featured troops/vets will be treated wonderfully and be seen on TV; the long-term outcomes will be very slow and painful for the majority of troops and vets.
Why so bitter? Not bitter, I'm an idealist at heart, really, but I've seen how money flows and how policies get muddled by politics. Sad.
More money will be spent on investigating and creating additional "checks" (bureaucracy) for the system than will be spent within the system - where it would benefit the individuals in need.
But I remain hopeful that eventually troops and vets will get the care they need.
It's gonna take a lot of cream and sugar to sweeten that coffee. And the coffee was hot - it burnt a lot of people, all the way to the heart.
In a perfect world the system would really only need some minor correcting. But we live in an invented world - one corrupted by some serious political BS.
My prediction: Few, if any, individuals will be held accountable for their wrong-doings and failures as leaders/humans being; more systematic procedures (read: additional bureaucracy) will be created to ensure better treatment for troops/vets; a few featured troops/vets will be treated wonderfully and be seen on TV; the long-term outcomes will be very slow and painful for the majority of troops and vets.
Why so bitter? Not bitter, I'm an idealist at heart, really, but I've seen how money flows and how policies get muddled by politics. Sad.
More money will be spent on investigating and creating additional "checks" (bureaucracy) for the system than will be spent within the system - where it would benefit the individuals in need.
But I remain hopeful that eventually troops and vets will get the care they need.
07 March 2007
Making the problem worse
Everyone's hoppin' and poppin' in DC now trying to looks busy, trying to look like they care, trying to make it look like they have been doing their jobs all along.
Stop trying to cover your tracks!! You're wasting time generating lies for press releases, just fix the problems.
The major problem that is destroying the medical system right now is the leadership. It just plain sucks. And there is no accountability of that leadership. The President answers to NO ONE - he's made that crystal clear, but with all that authority, where is his responsibility.
And then the head of the VA has obviously had his head up someone's ass, if not his own.
Stop trying to cover your tracks!! You're wasting time generating lies for press releases, just fix the problems.
The major problem that is destroying the medical system right now is the leadership. It just plain sucks. And there is no accountability of that leadership. The President answers to NO ONE - he's made that crystal clear, but with all that authority, where is his responsibility.
And then the head of the VA has obviously had his head up someone's ass, if not his own.
From:After meeting with the president, Nicholson defended the Veterans Administration, but acknowledged there is room for improvement.
"When you're seeing over 1 million patients a week, you have to be very good, and if there is any one patient who doesn't get the care that they deserve, that's unacceptable," Nicholson said
He said his agency is hiring 100 new patient advocates who will help troops returning from war deal with the bureaucracy.
"The American people can feel very good about the health care system that their VA is providing to veterans," Nicholson said, "but if there is a case where a veteran gets lost in the system, or suffers anxiety or their family does as a result of something we're not doing, that is unacceptable."
Bush: No Tolerance for Medical Neglect
By DEB RIECHMANNThe Associated Press
Wednesday, March 7, 2007; 1:46 PM
By saying a patient is not getting the necessary care he is basically admitting that his whole organization is a failure.
And now he's hiring 100 more "advocates." The VA doesn't have advocates. The VA has bureaucrats. If a patient is to have a proper advocate - a person who will actually look out for the Patient's BEST INTEREST - not the interest of the institution, then that advocate cannot come from within the VA PERIOD!
The DAV (Disabled American Veterans) and the VFW help Vets fight the VA bullshit - THEY have advocates and representatives that act on patients' behalves.
And why are we changing the subject to the VA, anyway? Their system is in desperate need of repair, too, but Walter Reed is TOTALLY separate from the VA.
The problems at WRAMC are with ACTIVE DUTY Soldiers - and WRAMC is supposed to help them heal to a STABLE STATE where then the VA can help provide further medical care after the soldier leaves the service.
02 March 2007
WRAMC ain't the first
In September, 2004 I left the 101st Airborne Division and became a MEDDAC soldier in the Medical Hold Company. I was awaiting separation from the Army because of injuries I received while deployed. My wife was also having serious medical problems (BUT THAT'S AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STORY).
When I came over to the Ft. Campbell Hospital, Blanchfield Army Community Hospital (BACH) I was offered a company command. The Troop Commander, a Major, was an energetic and compassionate leader - I had a great deal of respect for her and wanted to accept the job. Especially after she discussed what my duties and responsibilities would entail:
The Medical Hold barracks were horrible. Much like the ones at WRAMC now featured all over the news they were full of mold, mildew, asbestos, and deteriorating construction - holes in walls, broken window frames - these were not suitable for soldiers. There was no handicap access and no elevators - and, like at WRAMC, these soldiers were severely disabled I walked through these barracks and wanted to help get them fixed.
The Troop Commander had been working on getting these fixed since they had taken command but to no avail.
I did not accept the company command - my wife's health had deteriorated too much. If I took command I would either abandon her, or be in a position where I could let soldiers down - I was not willing to accept either of these outcomes. I helped with the company in a limited capacity and took care of my wife.
The soldier's barracks situation improved before my wife was granted access to the care she needed in order to heal.
When we requested work orders on these dilapidated buildings the housing office would explain that because the barracks were so old, and marked for destruction, funding could not be approved to renovate or otherwise fix the problems. New construction on-post had priority over old construction - understandable - but it didn't address the current housing problems.
Eventually, after many false starts, the Troop Commander found ways to correct the problem as much as possible. She found ways to get repair work done. Some soldiers moved to a hotel off-post. The soldiers got moved to a better building almost a year later. But better than what? What is considered acceptable? They just moved to a somewhat better building. It's still old and falling apart and won't get renovated, either.
AND I KNOW SHE BROUGHT THESES PROBLEMS HIGH UP THE CHAIN OF COMMAND.
She did her job but found little support from above.
But Ft. Campbell is getting a new command center - it looks nice, IT's HUGE!! Lot's of money going into that development.
The Army is about people, soldiers, not about machinery or equipment. What good will that equipment be if there are no more soldiers left to use it?
When I came over to the Ft. Campbell Hospital, Blanchfield Army Community Hospital (BACH) I was offered a company command. The Troop Commander, a Major, was an energetic and compassionate leader - I had a great deal of respect for her and wanted to accept the job. Especially after she discussed what my duties and responsibilities would entail:
The Medical Hold barracks were horrible. Much like the ones at WRAMC now featured all over the news they were full of mold, mildew, asbestos, and deteriorating construction - holes in walls, broken window frames - these were not suitable for soldiers. There was no handicap access and no elevators - and, like at WRAMC, these soldiers were severely disabled I walked through these barracks and wanted to help get them fixed.
The Troop Commander had been working on getting these fixed since they had taken command but to no avail.
I did not accept the company command - my wife's health had deteriorated too much. If I took command I would either abandon her, or be in a position where I could let soldiers down - I was not willing to accept either of these outcomes. I helped with the company in a limited capacity and took care of my wife.
The soldier's barracks situation improved before my wife was granted access to the care she needed in order to heal.
When we requested work orders on these dilapidated buildings the housing office would explain that because the barracks were so old, and marked for destruction, funding could not be approved to renovate or otherwise fix the problems. New construction on-post had priority over old construction - understandable - but it didn't address the current housing problems.
Eventually, after many false starts, the Troop Commander found ways to correct the problem as much as possible. She found ways to get repair work done. Some soldiers moved to a hotel off-post. The soldiers got moved to a better building almost a year later. But better than what? What is considered acceptable? They just moved to a somewhat better building. It's still old and falling apart and won't get renovated, either.
AND I KNOW SHE BROUGHT THESES PROBLEMS HIGH UP THE CHAIN OF COMMAND.
She did her job but found little support from above.
But Ft. Campbell is getting a new command center - it looks nice, IT's HUGE!! Lot's of money going into that development.
The Army is about people, soldiers, not about machinery or equipment. What good will that equipment be if there are no more soldiers left to use it?
14 November 2006
VA Budget decrease
I know that the new budget has the VA listed as receiving a 6% increase in the coming fiscal year, but that is really a decrease when sheer numbers are aligned. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11609834)
With the growing rate of combat vets returning with disabilities and increasing costs of medical care I feel fairly certain that the VA's financial burden will increase by more than 6% in the next 365 days, especially when the VA is already underfunded. Budget increase my A$$.
Also, the VA is considering increasing costs of care for Vets with higher Co-pays, WTF, didn't Vets already "pay" for life-long medical care in blood, what is this squeezing the wallet, too.
I guess this is TX math, no wait, I met some smart Texans in the Army, I guess its Connecticut-spoiled-brat-moved-to-Texas math, daddy needs to re-check this homework assignment after housecleaning is done.
- Ragin' Ranger Out
With the growing rate of combat vets returning with disabilities and increasing costs of medical care I feel fairly certain that the VA's financial burden will increase by more than 6% in the next 365 days, especially when the VA is already underfunded. Budget increase my A$$.
Also, the VA is considering increasing costs of care for Vets with higher Co-pays, WTF, didn't Vets already "pay" for life-long medical care in blood, what is this squeezing the wallet, too.
I guess this is TX math, no wait, I met some smart Texans in the Army, I guess its Connecticut-spoiled-brat-moved-to-Texas math, daddy needs to re-check this homework assignment after housecleaning is done.
- Ragin' Ranger Out
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