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DON'T LET HOLLYWOOD FORM YOUR VIEWS ABOUT VA
HEALTHCARE -- Opinion from Bradley S. Barton,
DAV National Commander.
Story here...
http://www.rctimes.com/apps/
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ION01/703220398/1007/MTCN0305
Story below:
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Don't let Hollywood form opinions of care
By BRADLEY S. BARTON
For many Americans, the words "VA hospital" may evoke the image of a
hospital in decrepit condition and neglected patients in wheelchairs
sitting aimlessly in the hallway.
However, what some people know, and even fewer believe, is through
systematic changes VA medical centers today are a far cry from those
depicted in the films, Born on the 4th of July and Article 99.
Business Week magazine, U.S. News and World Report, Fortune magazine,
Time and The New York Times, as well as NBC, ABC and CBS nightly
newscasts all have applauded VA's state-of-the-art medical care. In
addition, a national customer satisfaction survey, the American Customer
Satisfaction Index, has reported VA scoring higher than private-sector
health care for seven years in a row. If you subscribe to the adage of
not believing everything you read, why not ask the more than 76,000
medical residents, fellows and students who receive some or all of their
clinical training each year in VA facilities. In fact, academic
affiliation happens to be one of those systematic changes made by VA in
the 1990s to make it arguably the best care anywhere.
Millions are being helped
Currently, the VA health-care system's 155 hospitals, 875 outpatient
clinics, 135 nursing homes, 45 residential rehabilitation treatment
programs and over 90 comprehensive home-care programs provide medical
care to over 5.8 million veterans nationwide, nearly the same number of
people living in Tennessee. The four VA medical centers in Memphis,
Mountain Home, Murfreesboro and Nashville, along with eight
community-based outpatient clinics, serve the over one-half million
veterans in Tennessee. In addition to caring for our nation's sick and
disabled veterans, one of VA's missions is to serve as back-up to the
Department of Defense health system in war or other emergencies.
More than 2,300 active duty service members and veterans of the war on
terror have sought VA health care in Tennessee. At the Memphis VA
Medical Center, doctors have treated more than 717 returning veterans;
511 in Mountain Home, and more than 1,100 at the Tennessee Valley
Healthcare System at its Murfreesboro and Nashville campuses. The
Tennessee Valley Healthcare System and Fort Campbell in Kentucky are
working together to provide mental health professionals to assist with
the health screening and treatment of 101st Airborne returnees from the
Iraq war.
The deplorable conditions and the inhumane treatment of our veterans at
the hands of uncaring, incompetent and often cruel drones conjured up by
Hollywood could, however, become a reality if VA health care is funded
on the cheap.
Funding for veterans health care deserves to be a top priority for
Congress and the administration as a continuing cost of our national
defense. A promise of caring for sick and disabled veterans alone is not
good enough. As a nation, we must be willing to bear the costs of health
care for the brave men and women whose service and sacrifice have kept
us free and safe.
National Commander Bradley S. Barton is the
elected leader of the 1.3 million-member Disabled American Veterans, a
national nonprofit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the
U.S. Congress in 1932.
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Larry Scott --
