As some of you know many of we advocates have been brainstorming on this site to come up with answers for the on going VA backlogs but there is just so much more to this problem than the fact the US has had too many wars and created too many veterans. It just goes beyond the pale of indifference to cruelty.
Besides the nightmare of hundreds of thousands approaching a million caught up in a system that is more than sluggish, there is serious and dangerous reports and findings THIS administration walked into. Something has to be done to clean and disinfect and I mean literally the red tape. The findings of what transpired under the Bush Inspector General with little consequences it appears, is horrendous.
While the Bush Administration was waging an illegal war, they sure were not doing anything for the veterans. I was doing my usual scoping with other like minded advocates today and stumbled on to some info that sickened me. I sincerely believe some of those who want to downsize an overburdened government program will just call it an Obama problem without any scrutiny of the Bush Administration. Sen. Burr of North Carolina is calling for downsizing ( AGAIN) the VISN groups ( Veteran Integrated Service Network) and have massive cuts and layoffs under the name of re organization. This cannot happen.
The Obama VA has done more to try and get a handle on some serious problems. They will be demonized because that is how republican legislation is born. Stall, do nothing, criticize, blame and never comare improvements in many areas and play up the bad.. ( Ones sided DIRTY LAUNDY PROVIDED BY FOX AND their cults)
There will be some real bad stuff in here and I shall call it out. Yes..Shredding has been discovered and slaps on wrists should not be the norm. The Other things I will post here may blow your minds and need to be broadcast as , where is the prosecution and outrage? IfI have major complaints, it is with Holder. What is that attorney general doing to hold people accountable? WHAT ????
And now VA investigators are trying to figure out if this one-time survey points to the likelihood that documents have been improperly destroyed for months or even years.
"Whatever this problem is, it didn't just start in the last two weeks," said Dave Autry, a spokesman for Disabled American Veterans. "It'd be unreasonable to assume that. Who knows what's been destroyed."
The documents, which didn't have duplicates at the VA, would have been critical in deciding veteran pension and disability claims. As a result, many veterans are asking whether their delayed or denied claims were affected by lost paperwork.
Tampa Times Link
Below the squiggly shows some of the problems
There was so much wrong being done and it has just rolled on into this administration.
This is precisely what happens with too much war, too man veterans and not enough funding but tell that to a flag waving, let's go to war chickenhawk.
http://www.va.gov/...
Gainesville Report to VISN 8 of nurse mistreatment of VA patients at the Gainesville VA Medical Facility. The investigation stated that the Intensive Care RN Nurse falsified documents, did not follow orders and gave the wrong pain meds. The report substantianted all but the claim the RN was practicing medicine without a license.
There was also claims of insulin problems.
The investigation too place July 2012. Congratulate yourselves Kossacks, you all complained of nurse problems for several months to the IG. We do make a little difference here and there. The problem is soooooooooooo big ! It is bigger than
General Shinseki. That Secretary of the VA walked into a shambled beauracratic
and shameful mess in the biggest economic freefall since the Great Depression. Thank you George Bush and your administration !!!
The link I am about to add is so disgraceful and scary, and from 2005 that one has to wonder where all the outrage was on deficit reduction while we waged an unfunded war while mistreating our wounded from wars past.
The Bush years and Bay Pines....Suppose it got a lot better?
http://www.slideshare.net/...
Back in 2005 an IG from the Bush Administration found a huge coverup. Meds being relabeled....non sterile items...extremely poor conditions and care at that hospital.
It is listed in the Adobe reader report above. Keep in mind this was just one facility.
I looked at just how bad the situation was with underfunding and just inspections with suggestions of how to clean up the facilities. The Same thing happens today but there is usually more inspections in three months. We heard nothing about the bad treatment from the warhawks during the time except a lone voice from Rep. Jim McDermott who, I got the chance to hold a conversation with on CSPAN call in one morning. He held the floor talking about the shame in cutting VA budgets while waging war, including cutting budgets the day we invaded Iraq. He did that every chance he got. Thank you Rep. McDermott. He was very upfront about the shame and called it out. There was very little media coverage of the outrage.
Below is just a few things listed in that report in 2005
3. Healthcare Inspection, Quality of Care Issues in the Dialysis Unit, Bay Pines VAMC, Bay Pines, FL DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Office of Inspector General Washington, DC 20420 TO: Director, Veteran Integrated Service Network (10N8) SUBJECT: Healthcare Inspection – Quality of Care Issues in the Dialysis Unit, Bay Pines VA Medical Center, Bay Pines, Florida - Project Number: 2005- 02589-HI-0257 1. Purpose The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Healthcare Inspections (OHI), reviewed allegations that the Bay Pines VA Medical Center (BPVAMC) Dialysis Unit provided substandard care, had lapses in environment of care, improperly documented dialysis treatments, and did not handle patient complaints effectively. The purpose of this review was to determine the validity of these allegations. 2. Background The BPVAMC Dialysis Unit has a professional staff of 17, including 3 physicians, 9 nurses, 3 technicians, a dietitian, and a social worker. The Dialysis Unit had 88 patients in Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 and 135 patients in FY 2005 through August 11. The program has a caseload of 40 patients weekly with 12 dialysis chairs. From October 2004 through June 2005, BPVAMC performed 5261 dialysis treatments. An anonymous complainant alleged to the OIG Hotline Section that the BPVAMC Dialysis Unit provided poor quality of care because its staff are not properly trained and did not follow generally accepted policies and procedures; patient safety and infection control violations frequently occurred; patient dialysis treatments were falsely documented; there were environment of care issues such as improper storage of bio- hazardous materials and old dilapidated equipment/furniture; and patients’ complaints were not handled properly. Specifically, the complainant alleged that: Quality of Care Issues • Nurses were not adequately trained to perform dialysis procedures. • Nurses did not follow proper dialysis procedures. • Nurses did not monitor dialysis treatments as required. VA Office of Inspector General 2
4. Healthcare Inspection, Quality of Care Issues in the Dialysis Unit, Bay Pines VAMC, Bay Pines, FL Patient Safety/Infection Control Issues • Nurses did not comply with infection control requirements when preparing patient medications and injections. • Nurses did not follow proper procedures when a blood leak occurs during hemodialysis. • Gloves were placed in nurses’ pockets prior to use, contrary to expected standards of hygiene and sterility. • Nurses handled potassium jugs in an unsanitary manner. Documentation Issues • Nurses falsified dialysis documentation to cover up mistakes, including intentionally entering incorrect information in patient records. • Medication labels were switched to cover up medication errors such as administration of prescribed medication to the wrong patient. Environment of Care Issues • Bio-hazardous containers for hemodialysis tubing, artificial kidneys1, and body waste were stored at the patients’ chairs. • Dialysis chairs and machines were very old and inadequate for current use. Patient Relations Issues • The nurse manager was “anti-veteran” and on one occasion called the VA police after accusing a patient of improperly taking pictures of patient care activities in the Dialysis Unit.
There are so many problems with the treatment of veterans that IMO it was neglected too long .
This is an excerpt from Vets for Justice. This was written when the President took office.
I have been familiar with the Founder, Billy Kidwell , Vets for Justice for years and he is a true advocate. This is his link..
http://www.vetsforjustice.com/
an open letter to the President.
Dear President Obama,
For at least 8 years the Department of Veterans Affairs has been a cesspool of corruption, completely under the control of crooks, and thieves, while America's Veterans, and returning wounded from the Afghan, and Iraq Wars, have been raped by a Corrupt Nation.
1. VA Secretary Anthony Principi was the Executive Chairman of the QTC Management Corporation, a strongly Republican Corporation.
2. VA Secretary James Peake was on the Board of Directors for QTC, the strongly Republican Corporation, when he was picked to be the VA's Top Dog.
3. VA Secretary Jim Nicholson, was the former Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Simply put, under former President Bush the QTC Corporation, and Republican Party, indirectly, completely controlled the Department of Veterans Affairs.
QTC Management, Inc. is noted for "overcharging" the VA (it's called STEALING), and when caught stealing six million dollars, was asked to only give back three million, because of its ties to the Republican Party.
QTC is also known by America's Disabled Veterans for being extremely dishonest (what QTC calls "Conservative") in disability ratings, while being very liberal in it's bonuses to its management.
Former VA Secretary Jim Nicholson, who is also the former Chairman of the Republican National Committee, was forced to resign due to the worst record in history of neglecting, and screwing over, Veterans.
Under Nicholson VA Health Care Staffing, Nursing Home Care, Staffing to Process VA Claims were all reduced resulting in massive claim backlogs, and Disabled Veterans being denied medical care.
Under Nicholson's leadership Veterans suffered the largest loss of their personal DATA in U.S. History.
Nicholson rejected four separate bills to reduce the 600.000 backlog of Veterans Claims.
While Nicholson could not stand to see a Disabled American Veteran receive a penny in disability payments, or receive medical care for their war injuries, Secretary Nicholson did believe the rich should be well cared for, and he gave upper-level management in the VA OVER $3,800,000.00 in bonuses.
DESPITE HIS CLAIMS THAT THE VA COULD NOT AFFORD TO CARE FOR REAL VETERANS!
So for at least eight years America's Veterans have had their claim files illegally shredded at VA Regional Offices, or been sent in endless circles, and cheated out of the benefits they have EARNED with their blood.
America's Veterans DESERVE an honest system!
Grass Roots Veteran Leaders that speak out against the VA,
Speaking of Bay Pines...do these numbers look anything to you like something that is
workable? They don't to me. 1.6 millions vets and 28,000 employees. What is that?
About a .07 ratio difference?
Their bragging on how organized they are in their newsletter states this..
>
The VA Sunshine Healthcare Network (VISN 8) is the nation's largest system of hospitals and clinics serving a population of more than 1.6 million Veterans in a vast 61,101 square mile area spread across 79 counties in Florida, South Georgia, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
>
> VISN 8's seven healthcare systems include eight Joint Commission-accreditehttp://www.visn8.va.gov/...
>
>
>
> VA medical centers and more than 50 outpatient clinics. About 23,800 full-time VISN employees work at these facilities, providing a full range of high quality, cost-effective medical, psychiatric and extended care services in an inpatient, outpatient, nursing home, and home care settings. In 2011, over 534,000 Veterans received their healthcare at VISN 8 facilities-more patients than any other VA network in the country.
>
> The VISN office is located in the Franklin Templeton Office complex, Bldg. 100, Suite 600, St Petersburg, Florida.
There are no answers in my opinion for this nightmare. The answer the Republicans have is private contracting. Well, I personally have info how bad that idea is. This is what these people working with Bush and DOD wanted the VA to look like IMO. This is just one more major screw up of the Bush years and yes..This president and this administration is not only trying to clean up the mess but for every glass of milk cleaned, 5 more gallons spill. The warhawks and the big business have destroyed this country but I am not going to point the finger directly on this administration. We knew things would be bad, but now that same bunch has a scapegoat.
God Bless America because in my humble opinion only God can help us now !