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OLDER VETERANS GETTING LEFT BEHIND -- As more
soldiers return
from overseas with injuries, it's pushing
staffing levels at VA
hospitals beyond their breaking point. Now
older veterans
are getting kicked to the back of the line.
Although this story is from North
Carolina, this is happening all over the VA system.
Old or young...NO veteran should be left
behind.
The VA needs MANDATORY funding NOW!
Story here...
http://rdu.news14.com/content/
your_news/triangle/default.asp?ArID=94440
Story below:
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Older veterans getting left behind
As more soldiers return from overseas with
injuries, it's pushing staffing levels at VA hospitals beyond their
breaking point. Now older veterans are getting kicked to the back of the
line.
Older veterans say it sometimes takes as long
as six months to see a doctor at the VA hospital.
By: Gretchen Bartelt
RALEIGH -- According to the Division of
Veterans Affairs, there are more than 770,000 Veterans in North
Carolina. That number continues to grow as soldiers return from Iraq and
Afghanistan, and many of those returning troops have sustained injuries.
It takes Army veteran Marshall Ashworth 6 months to get in and see a
doctor at the VA Hospital. That's a long wait time that's just going to
get longer as more veterans return home.
“There's a significant number coming back with injuries. I would say one
in four which is a high percentage,” said Charles Smith, with the N.C.
Division of Veterans Affairs.
Those soldiers get priority, and that pushes older veterans likes
Ashworth to the back of the line.
“I am very much concerned that we will have more returning than the VA
will be able to handle,” said Ashworth.
That's why the Division of Veterans Affairs is pushing local
representatives for more federal funding. Smith says the problem isn't
the need for more space – it’s the need for more staff.
“It's getting done, but it's getting done slower and there's more
waiting periods between treatments,” said Smith, and those treatments
aren't necessarily just for physical injuries.
An increasing number of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan
need mental health counseling as well.
“I think after Vietnam, we didn't do as well with recognizing the number
of mental health issues or the amount of mental health issues that were
coming back with veterans, but we have done much better with this war
trying to recognize that early on and being more prepared for their
return,” explained Bruce Triplett, the director of the Fayetteville VA
Medical Center.
For instance in Fayetteville, a $500,000 VA mental health facility is
being built. It’s a big boost for the state's ability to provide mental
health care, but the desperate need for staffing in other VA hospitals
remains a dire challenge.
U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge says he is working on securing mandatory federal
funding for VA hospitals but doesn't believe it will come until next
year.
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Larry Scott
