VA Sec. Robert Wilkie addresses 100th American Legion Nat’l Convention, Minneapolis, MN, 2018.08.29. Screen cap from American Legion HQ video.
Wilkie said it’s “absolutely essential” to have caregivers who specialize veterans’ special needs.
“This is not an option that the private sector can provide,” he said. “The private sector cannot replicate VA’s expertise in things like spinal-cord injury, traumatic brain injury, rehabilitative services, prosthetics, audiology, services for the blind, suicide prevention” [Steve Karnowski, “Veterans Affairs Secretary Vows Not to Privatize Agency,” AP via Rapid City Journal, 2018.08.29].
It’s good to hear any member of the Trump Administration (a) admit that the private sector can’t do everything and (b) show proper respect for America’s veterans. Veterans make enormous sacrifices to protect us and our Constitution; after they serve, we owe them the best health care we can provide, and for veterans, the best care is public care.
Cory, please explain how a Doctor working for the Government can give better care than one not working for the Government?
John Tsitrian
2018-08-30 08:02
As a service-connected (thank you, Ho Chi Minh and/or LBJ, lol) client of the VA, I’d say that systemically it’s very good, especially with respect to preventive care and attention and particularly with its pharmacy and optometry
services. It might even make for a pretty good model for healthcare services if a medicare-for-all system ever comes into being for the country. I like the standardized medical recording, which is accessible at any VA center in the country. Never having needed emergency care, I can’t comment on that aspect of the system, but overall I’d prefer to keep the status quo for my healthcare than get integrated into the private network, considering issues of cost, care, and convenience.
Eve Fisher
2018-08-30 08:45
Secretary Wilkie: Soon to be fired by tweet for telling the truth.
marvin kammerer
2018-08-30 09:20
i bless anyone who stands up to the bully tactics of trump.let us remember the reason for government is to take care of things beyond the goals of the private sector which is profit.
jerry
2018-08-30 09:35
John T. As an also service connected vet, I could not agree more with you. I did use the emergency room at Rapid City Regional and was hospitalized there after the VA said to take me to the closest hospital that could handle my problem. What has to be done, if you are 65 or over (me), is you must notify billing that this goes to the VA rather than Medicare or you could be stuck with the deductible, thanks Republican congress who mucked that up to spite President Obama. My bride is well versed now on what to do if that happens again. The VA has taken care of me since I got out of the Army in 1971. I have had major surgeries performed by the VA and am quite comfortable with the treatments and follow-ups I have received. It must remain separate from the private sector.
OldSarg
2018-08-30 09:37
As a service-connected vet I think the VA has a place as an administrative body and ensuring the care a veteran receives is quality care but the civilian health care market is vastly superior to the physical care the VA provides. I would prefer the VA provide me with advice, payment of military related disabilities and record keeping but after growing up, served and as a vet who has was born under and used military and VA medical care I was astounded with the quality and timeliness of the civilian health care system. Let the bureaucratic VA do what they do best which is be administers not health care providers.
JonD
2018-08-30 16:37
Three years ago I was involved in a deer-motorcycle accident and went to the local commercial ER for treatment. They gave me a pretty thorough going over including CAT imaging, found a few fractures and sent me on my way. For follow-up care I had them send their findings to Fort Meade VA Hospital and two days later received a call from Ft. Meade asking if anyone at RCRH had mentioned to me that there appeared to be a suspicious “shadow” on the CAT screen and suggested I come in for further examination. A week following that I was back in Ft. Meade having a malignant tumor removed from my bladder. I would be in a very bad way today, or dead, had not the VA been a part of my life. I don’t particularly fault the personnel at RCRH for missing the diagnosis; it is just the reality of the for-profit healthcare system that they are forced by their bean counters to rush treatment and get the next customer into the stall. I support the VA with my speech and my vote. The wellbeing of the veteran is their sole motivation.
John Sweet
2018-08-30 16:38
I have service connected issues that I have had dealt with by both VA hospitals and private sector under the “VA Choice” program because I live further than 40 miles from a VA facility. Both have served me well. I like being able to go down the road about 12 miles for cardiology, audiology, primary care, optomology and physical therapy. Because of my experience with the private sector I am not so against them being involved. Otherwise I drive 75 miles in traffic to get to a VA facility.
Debbo
2018-08-30 21:55
I served at Fort Mead as a chaplain for 6 years and it was a great experience. I loved the “old boys” I got to know in LTC and was really moved by the determination of the staff to help all the patients.
There were some vets who had more serious mental health problems, though they weren’t hospitalized in the psych unit. Some of those guys were homeless, but the staff worked reall hard to get them to come in every couple of weeks or so. They’d make sure the vet got a shower, haircut, clean clothing, check on his meds, draw blood for tests, etc.
It was really extraordinarily kind going above and beyond. That kind of behavior for the vet and his family was not unusual at Fort Mead and Hot Springs. The nurses, docs, janitorial, etc, all loved our vets. I am very grateful that I got to work there and became acquainted with such people.
OldSarg
2018-08-31 07:42
Debbo I would agree on Hot Springs and Ft Meade. They are the very best VA medical centers I have been as well. There are also others that are not very good and those need to be addressed but with the present protections for the poor/incompetent/dangerous employees it continues to prevent the VA over all from improving. Knowing you worked there you also knew not every employee was competent. Trump has tried to change those worker protections and made some good headway yet was blocked by a radical judge just last week.
jerry
2018-08-31 08:16
trump’s VA is a shadow organization that just got called out by the new director. How long he will stay in his position is a matter of tweets for the head Russian.
“Last February, shortly after Peter O’Rourke became chief of staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs, he received an email from Bruce Moskowitz with his input on a new mental health initiative for the VA. “Received,” O’Rourke replied. “I will begin a project plan and develop a timeline for action.”
If there aren’t enough facilities, and if a private facility can provide easier access to service of equal quality for vets like Dr. Sweet, I don’t mind the VA saying, “Go see that closer doctor, we’ll pay for it.” The main point, though, is that the federal government has an obligation to ensure that every veteran gets care paid for by the government, as promised when they signed on for duty, and the private sector will not provide that care for this segment of the population with its unique and greater needs any more than the private sector provides affordable care for retired Americans.
LOL.
Cory, please explain how a Doctor working for the Government can give better care than one not working for the Government?
As a service-connected (thank you, Ho Chi Minh and/or LBJ, lol) client of the VA, I’d say that systemically it’s very good, especially with respect to preventive care and attention and particularly with its pharmacy and optometry
services. It might even make for a pretty good model for healthcare services if a medicare-for-all system ever comes into being for the country. I like the standardized medical recording, which is accessible at any VA center in the country. Never having needed emergency care, I can’t comment on that aspect of the system, but overall I’d prefer to keep the status quo for my healthcare than get integrated into the private network, considering issues of cost, care, and convenience.
Secretary Wilkie: Soon to be fired by tweet for telling the truth.
i bless anyone who stands up to the bully tactics of trump.let us remember the reason for government is to take care of things beyond the goals of the private sector which is profit.
John T. As an also service connected vet, I could not agree more with you. I did use the emergency room at Rapid City Regional and was hospitalized there after the VA said to take me to the closest hospital that could handle my problem. What has to be done, if you are 65 or over (me), is you must notify billing that this goes to the VA rather than Medicare or you could be stuck with the deductible, thanks Republican congress who mucked that up to spite President Obama. My bride is well versed now on what to do if that happens again. The VA has taken care of me since I got out of the Army in 1971. I have had major surgeries performed by the VA and am quite comfortable with the treatments and follow-ups I have received. It must remain separate from the private sector.
As a service-connected vet I think the VA has a place as an administrative body and ensuring the care a veteran receives is quality care but the civilian health care market is vastly superior to the physical care the VA provides. I would prefer the VA provide me with advice, payment of military related disabilities and record keeping but after growing up, served and as a vet who has was born under and used military and VA medical care I was astounded with the quality and timeliness of the civilian health care system. Let the bureaucratic VA do what they do best which is be administers not health care providers.
Three years ago I was involved in a deer-motorcycle accident and went to the local commercial ER for treatment. They gave me a pretty thorough going over including CAT imaging, found a few fractures and sent me on my way. For follow-up care I had them send their findings to Fort Meade VA Hospital and two days later received a call from Ft. Meade asking if anyone at RCRH had mentioned to me that there appeared to be a suspicious “shadow” on the CAT screen and suggested I come in for further examination. A week following that I was back in Ft. Meade having a malignant tumor removed from my bladder. I would be in a very bad way today, or dead, had not the VA been a part of my life. I don’t particularly fault the personnel at RCRH for missing the diagnosis; it is just the reality of the for-profit healthcare system that they are forced by their bean counters to rush treatment and get the next customer into the stall. I support the VA with my speech and my vote. The wellbeing of the veteran is their sole motivation.
I have service connected issues that I have had dealt with by both VA hospitals and private sector under the “VA Choice” program because I live further than 40 miles from a VA facility. Both have served me well. I like being able to go down the road about 12 miles for cardiology, audiology, primary care, optomology and physical therapy. Because of my experience with the private sector I am not so against them being involved. Otherwise I drive 75 miles in traffic to get to a VA facility.
I served at Fort Mead as a chaplain for 6 years and it was a great experience. I loved the “old boys” I got to know in LTC and was really moved by the determination of the staff to help all the patients.
There were some vets who had more serious mental health problems, though they weren’t hospitalized in the psych unit. Some of those guys were homeless, but the staff worked reall hard to get them to come in every couple of weeks or so. They’d make sure the vet got a shower, haircut, clean clothing, check on his meds, draw blood for tests, etc.
It was really extraordinarily kind going above and beyond. That kind of behavior for the vet and his family was not unusual at Fort Mead and Hot Springs. The nurses, docs, janitorial, etc, all loved our vets. I am very grateful that I got to work there and became acquainted with such people.
Debbo I would agree on Hot Springs and Ft Meade. They are the very best VA medical centers I have been as well. There are also others that are not very good and those need to be addressed but with the present protections for the poor/incompetent/dangerous employees it continues to prevent the VA over all from improving. Knowing you worked there you also knew not every employee was competent. Trump has tried to change those worker protections and made some good headway yet was blocked by a radical judge just last week.
trump’s VA is a shadow organization that just got called out by the new director. How long he will stay in his position is a matter of tweets for the head Russian.
“Last February, shortly after Peter O’Rourke became chief of staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs, he received an email from Bruce Moskowitz with his input on a new mental health initiative for the VA. “Received,” O’Rourke replied. “I will begin a project plan and develop a timeline for action.”
O’Rourke treated the email as an order, but Moskowitz is not his boss. In fact, he is not even a government official. Moskowitz is a Palm Beach doctor who helps wealthy people obtain high-service “concierge” medical care.” https://www.propublica.org/article/ike-perlmutter-bruce-moskowitz-marc-sherman-shadow-rulers-of-the-va
If there aren’t enough facilities, and if a private facility can provide easier access to service of equal quality for vets like Dr. Sweet, I don’t mind the VA saying, “Go see that closer doctor, we’ll pay for it.” The main point, though, is that the federal government has an obligation to ensure that every veteran gets care paid for by the government, as promised when they signed on for duty, and the private sector will not provide that care for this segment of the population with its unique and greater needs any more than the private sector provides affordable care for retired Americans.