DC: U.S. Army veteran Christopher Wilson showed up to a Utah VA clinic only to receive treatment in a dilapidated room covered in trash and debris, sparking a firestorm on social media and an apology from the clinic.
“The condition of the room was the way it was when he went in, no other room was offered and no attempt to clean it up was made for the duration of his appointment,” Stephen wrote on Twitter. “No apologies offered. He received injections for a service injury during one of his tours in Iraq.” MORE
absolutely disgusting … our Veterans deserve the finest treatment, not this
it’s what happens when government is fully in charge of health care
I wrote the President and told him that if he appointed me VA Secretary and gave me the power to publicly flog miscreants treating our Vets this way; I will have that entity Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion in less than a year.
And I will do the flogging myself, saving even more money.
Those pics would have been declared classified information under Obama, and somebody would be serving jail time. This is why you’re gone, crybaby Shulkin.
Nice, you should see their operating rooms… all VA inspections are smoke and mirrors, no deep dives into anything, just a circle-jerk of self congratulatory back-slapping and hopping Trump is out before anything damages their pensions…
You mean somebody actually survived the wait time and got TREATMENT at a VA clinic?
Will wonders never cease…
My fave VA moment was when the chief of staff congratulated a multi-boarded physician for her efficiency in seeing patients… she sees 4 patients per week, 3 weeks out of the month, with a huge backlog in that specialty clinic… absolutely NO oversight and absolutely NO consequences….
My Vet’s rooms are cleaner than that, and I’m guessing my Dog get’s better service and I know she can get a quick appointment .
WTF ?
But but but one Percocet went missing under Adm Ronny Jackson’s watch!
Someone needs to scope out Montana VA clinics and report back to Tester. Stat.
There’s no doubt our VA has fallen into a disgraceful organization and our vets are the ones who are suffering.
But.
But, how hard would it be for that vet to empty the garbage can, tidy up the sink area while he was waiting instead of whining about it. he knows the VA is a scummy organization. Do something!
But, if a vet is ill, and not getting prompt treatment at VA hospitals than why not go to a private clinic or doctor’s office.
I wish they had the best medical treatment of all of us, they deserve it.
But…. C’mon guys and gals, do something instead of whining. Gather up some vets who are healthy and clean the dang place, make it right for those who can’t help.
While it looks horrible, there’s always context. What went on in the room immediately before and would the condition of the room affect the treatment of subsequent visits before a cleaning rotation?
I only ask, because I was recently in a busy wing of Rush University Medical Center last week. It equally needed some cleaning.
From 15 months experience at VAH Long Beach, Calif. About half of the staff are dedicated, to the rest it is getting away with the least they can do and still be employed.
srdem65 – one big problem with the idea that the vets who are capable could help clean things up…That problem would be the rules and regs and the union.
The regs from both the VA and the Union would put the veto to the idea that ANYONE except VA approved and union hired could be used for this work. If you doubt that then talk to one of the volunteers. These volunteers are angels who have the calling upon their hearts to help our vets without a paycheck, yet they are a testimony of the walls that are built around the fortress called VA. I asked a volunteer one time if they would make a copy of a paper sitting in front of them that I was waiting to get. The VA Union approved administrative professional had wandered off in the middle of our conversation and we had not seen this highly professional VA professional for quite a while. Since this was a very busy VA dental facility within a regional VA hospital they had an over-abundance of critical personnel for that section which included the one very professional Union approved professional and a very helpful volunteer. The volunteer did whatever she could to help the many vets who had been waiting (much longer than I had) but as she explained to me, she was VERY limited in what she was allowed to do. She could answer the phone (that never stopped ringing), but the only thing she was allowed to say was that the ultra professional union approved professional was away from the desk and could they please call back later. And that “No, she did not know when the Ultra professional would return, and quite sadly she was NOT allowed to even take a message for the ultra professional.” So in a normal world, people could help out and our vets are known for being willing to go above and beyond especially to help their Brothers and Sisters in time of need. Yet with the rules and regs and union at fortress VA this is most definitely verboten.
Part of the issue we see with the callous and criminal actions by VA employees is the natural consequence of having “bullet-proof” employees. Time and again we see everything from callous, delinquent and negligent to the other extreme of hate-filled and/or criminal employees who not only can’t be punished, they can not be fired. EVEN IF THEY COMMIT MURDER.
Don’t believe me, srdem65? Go search for the directors and management in Az Va who were discovered to have “cooked the books” on the appointment wait times so that they could collect big monetary rewards. So what if they caused vets to die as long as they got their money, right? If you search you will find that not only have these monsters NOT been criminally prosecuted, but they are still employed by the VA fortress.
After all the venom listed above I must say that there are many doctors and nurses that are fighting hard to give our vets the best care they can. My heart goes out to these great people and I pray for them to be given strength and courage that they might overcome the hurdles that they must leap every day to do the best for our vets, they are better than I because I could not work within such a dysfunctional system. Godspeed to those who are called to do their best, may the fortress be breached and may the good guys (and gals) win.
In my own opinion, we will never win until the political fortress and the union are defeated. As you may be able to tell, I have a rather low opinion of the VA “professionals” and the organized crime syndicate that is jokingly called their union. I have a story about the time one of their “doctors” assaulted me last year. To no ones surprise, that “doctor” is still employed and “helping” our vets even as we speak.
MSG Grumpy
Get rid of the Union and hire Humans.