That pretty much says it all. The nation has a far greater responsibility to our veterans and we need to take it seriously. The current crisis is not the failure of the current administration. The current administration has acted to increase services, sought support and employment for the soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and now the backlog of medical cases are finding new solutions.
Associated Press in Washington
theguardian.com
The Obama administration's decision (click here) to allow more veterans to get care at private hospitals, announced on Saturday, could take some pressure off backlogged Veterans Affairs facilities struggling to cope with new patients as well as old soldiers.
Agreeing to recommendations from lawmakers, the White House said it will allow more veterans to obtain treatment at private hospitals and clinics, in an effort to improve care.
On Sunday Representative Jeff Miller, a Florida Republican and chairman of the House veterans affairs committee, welcomed the announcement by the VA secretary, Eric Shinseki, but questioned why it took so long. Reports about the deaths of veterans awaiting treatment at a Phoenix VA hospital surfaced more than a month ago....
Associated Press in Washington
theguardian.com
The Obama administration's decision (click here) to allow more veterans to get care at private hospitals, announced on Saturday, could take some pressure off backlogged Veterans Affairs facilities struggling to cope with new patients as well as old soldiers.
Agreeing to recommendations from lawmakers, the White House said it will allow more veterans to obtain treatment at private hospitals and clinics, in an effort to improve care.
On Sunday Representative Jeff Miller, a Florida Republican and chairman of the House veterans affairs committee, welcomed the announcement by the VA secretary, Eric Shinseki, but questioned why it took so long. Reports about the deaths of veterans awaiting treatment at a Phoenix VA hospital surfaced more than a month ago....
When is enough never enough? When the President taking better care to Veterans is President Obama.
This is going to sound heartless, but, the attention to 'micromanaging' doesn't start with the White House. Initially, there were forty deaths reported. While that is at the very least alarming, it is not the place of the White House or the Secretary of the VA to look for these problems within this scale. Never once did the Secretary state, "Hey guys, if you can't follow the new directive create dual waiting lists."
Should there be more 'Quality Control?" Yes and no. Yes in that it is appropriate to add a layer of accountability. No, in that where is the funding coming from to staff a quality control department.
The veterans administration has had huge problems for a long time. Whenever the veterans are ready they can thank Secretary Shinseki and President Obama for being willing to act on problems as they have manifested. They are not empty suits who simply put political talking points 'out there' to deflect controversy. These men pride themselves on transparency and to that end we are seeing more and more citizen involvement to move 'change' forward. That type of reaction to news about our veterans being neglected has been a driving force and it should be.
The families need to remain engaged in the care of their veterans and continue to bring any hurdle to treatment to the forefront to insure success. But, the continued political mayhem is uncalled for and can only turn other citizens off when there are solutions by the country that appear to be unappreciated and unwelcome.
I am pleased on this Memorial Day Weekend the plight of our veterans is being taken seriously. I am pleased as a country we can afford to improve their care. I am happy there will be more and more veterans seeing better outcomes and longevity.
I am also pleased to see more and more VA hospital administrators coming forward with problems they have experienced in trying to initiate faster responses. The transparency has worked. The transparency has brought the brevity home to all those responsible for enacting the changes this administration has called for. Everyone did a great job of exposing a largely lethargic system unwilling to invoke changes that matter to save lives. That is different today and to that end we all have a victory.
I might add, I want to know what obstructions Republican members of Congress may have sought to institute within the VA system to inhibit the change Secretary Shinseki demanded. I hope none, but, that has not been the track record of the Republicans in this Congress. I hope the subsequent investigation leaves no stones unturned including any obstruction and/or interference from Congress. Lives are not toys to political ambitions. At least they aren't suppose to be and when they are it is more than human rights violations within the borders of the USA; it is a crime.
This is going to sound heartless, but, the attention to 'micromanaging' doesn't start with the White House. Initially, there were forty deaths reported. While that is at the very least alarming, it is not the place of the White House or the Secretary of the VA to look for these problems within this scale. Never once did the Secretary state, "Hey guys, if you can't follow the new directive create dual waiting lists."
Should there be more 'Quality Control?" Yes and no. Yes in that it is appropriate to add a layer of accountability. No, in that where is the funding coming from to staff a quality control department.
The veterans administration has had huge problems for a long time. Whenever the veterans are ready they can thank Secretary Shinseki and President Obama for being willing to act on problems as they have manifested. They are not empty suits who simply put political talking points 'out there' to deflect controversy. These men pride themselves on transparency and to that end we are seeing more and more citizen involvement to move 'change' forward. That type of reaction to news about our veterans being neglected has been a driving force and it should be.
The families need to remain engaged in the care of their veterans and continue to bring any hurdle to treatment to the forefront to insure success. But, the continued political mayhem is uncalled for and can only turn other citizens off when there are solutions by the country that appear to be unappreciated and unwelcome.
I am pleased on this Memorial Day Weekend the plight of our veterans is being taken seriously. I am pleased as a country we can afford to improve their care. I am happy there will be more and more veterans seeing better outcomes and longevity.
I am also pleased to see more and more VA hospital administrators coming forward with problems they have experienced in trying to initiate faster responses. The transparency has worked. The transparency has brought the brevity home to all those responsible for enacting the changes this administration has called for. Everyone did a great job of exposing a largely lethargic system unwilling to invoke changes that matter to save lives. That is different today and to that end we all have a victory.
I might add, I want to know what obstructions Republican members of Congress may have sought to institute within the VA system to inhibit the change Secretary Shinseki demanded. I hope none, but, that has not been the track record of the Republicans in this Congress. I hope the subsequent investigation leaves no stones unturned including any obstruction and/or interference from Congress. Lives are not toys to political ambitions. At least they aren't suppose to be and when they are it is more than human rights violations within the borders of the USA; it is a crime.
