V.A. Hospitals Resurrection: Fifty Years Late!

Phillip Leveque has spent his life as a Combat Infantryman, Physician and Toxicologist.

Leveque fought the Germans in Europe during WWII Photo courtesy: library.thinkquest.org

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - While watching the news recently, I learned that Donna Shalala, former head of Health & Human Services and Department and presently Chairman of a committee investigating the current V.A. Hospital meltdown, has finally publicized that the V.A. System is a mess and is ill-serving war wounded vets.

Almost every vet who has been in a V.A. hospital for the past 70 years could have told them the same. It is unbelievable that it has taken so long for a government committee to investigate and conclude what a sorry mess it has been for all these years.

My observations from a hospital stay of four months, and treatment for eight months, is that acceptable care is hit or miss at best and below mediocre most of the time. It was almost like being in a punishment barracks in the army. A patient was there because he hurt himself to get out of army duty, which was despicable, a lot like treason.

I have seen evidence of good, even exceptional, care of V.A. patients, but this was and is the exception and good care is so rare it is publicized.

The bad care, which is now being publicized, is so bad that it is beyond belief. The worst part is PTSD and brain injury patients. Physical injuries can be seen and treated and, by and large, the prosthetics are good to excellent. The hidden injuries, PTSD and brain injuries cannot be seen so they must be imaginary or the patient is trying to get sympathy from a V.A. doctor.

This is far from humorous. It is almost criminal and if these doctors were in private practice they’d either be starving or in jail for malpractice.

I have interviewed hundreds of V.A. patients and rarely do they say they received adequate or proper care. My impression is that V.A. employees can’t be fired and they know it. Even if the present V.A. advisory committee makes recommendations it could take ten years or more to “clean the stable.”

The partial answer is to let veterans go to a doctor of their own choice and you can bet it won’t be a V.A. doctor. This will certainly not be a popular concept to congress. By the way, most of congressmen wouldn’t be seen dead in a V.A. hospital. They know what has been going on for years and still continues.

Let us hope wounded veterans can somehow survive the predicted ten years till the V.A. hospitals get their act together. I am predicting it won’t happen. American service men have always been expendable and wounded veterans even more so. Let’s not hold our breath waiting for positive acceptable changes.

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