Memorial Day 2023: Democrats Letting VA Hospitals Decay Again

If you want to see what’s really going on in America, go to a major Veterans Administration hospital. Since Covid, you can’t go inside unless you have business there. But walk around outside and go by the entrance. Mostly, you’ll see middle-aged guys, and some gals, going for a checkup or test. They look much like other Americans from the Vietnam War and post-Cold War era. Some from the recent wars.

But you’ll also see some vets with no legs, rolling wheelchairs. Maybe you’ll see one on a stretcher who’s a paraplegic – no legs or arms.

In addition to those who lost their lives, whom we commemorate this Memorial Day, the walking – or rolling – wounded are the cost of the foolish wars our politicians got us into.

I’m a vet myself and get some of my care at the VA. I saw the system go downhill under Obama, who didn’t care about the vets even though he sent thousands home wounded – or in coffins – from Iraq and Afghanistan.

What’s now called the Veterans Health Administration Controversy of 2014 occurred under Obama. Also under then-Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Bernie Sanders, Socialist of Vermont. That’s right. He was in charge of care for 19 million patients – one of the largest socialized medicine systems in the world – and messed it up. Yet he wants to socialize the entire U.S. system.

In 2016, Trump campaigned on cleaning up the system. I can report it got much better under him. You can see the construction still going on by just driving by the VA hospital on 7^th Street in Long Beach. Subjectively, the care also got better.

Again subjectively, it seems to be getting worse. A call to make an appointment, instead of getting through in under five minutes, recently took an hour for them to answer.

Objectively, VA Inspector General Michael Missal just issued his semiannual report, in which he wrote:

OIG staff have identified significant deficiencies…. Our oversight efforts spotlighted in this report help illustrate how weaknesses in any of these areas of accountability can negatively affect veterans and can waste or misuse taxpayer dollars….

Veterans are still being required to attend unwarranted medical re-examinations for disability benefits. Unwarranted reexaminations are a waste of appropriated funds, could cause undue hardships for veterans, and reduce the efficiency and timeliness of claims processing. The OIG found VBA did not require staff to cite objective evidence for why reexaminations were needed per policy….

Persistent police staffing shortages and growing concerns about risks to VA staff, patient and visitor safety at healthcare facilities led to an OIG review of observed security and incident preparedness conditions.

Surely, VA care in President Biden’s home state of Delaware would be stellar? He certainly shoveled enough pork dollars there. The IG found:

An anonymous complainant alleged that a VA community living center (CLC) (nursing home) patient in Delaware experienced complications from improper care and subsequently died. Hotline staff requested the CLC leaders and staff review the matter and provide a response for OIG review. The CLC’s independent review found the patient was initially on a special diet (minced and moist food) and was observed during all meals to avoid choking or aspiration. When the patient returned to the CLC following hospitalization (where a different diet was employed), the patient’s special diet was not reinstated. The patient’s roommate found the patient choking and alerted nursing staff, who responded and suctioned food from the patient’s throat. Later the same day, the patient developed signs and symptoms of respiratory distress. The patient expired after developing aspiration pneumonia (a lung infection caused by inhaling food, liquid, and other matter) and oxygen deficiency.

And no doubt Washington, D.C., where the VA itself is located, would provide the best care. Right? The IG disclosed:

OIG hotline staff received a complaint alleging that a veteran attempted suicide in the emergency department of the Washington DC VA Medical Center after presenting with suicidal ideation. After the allegation was referred to the facility for review, it was revealed the one-to-one sitter responsible for providing constant observation of the suicidal patient did not follow appropriate procedures, instead leaving the patient alone with their belongings in a triage room. Additionally, because no beds were immediately available in the main emergency department, the patient was not asked to wear a hospital gown nor have their belongings secured. This resulted in the patient taking an overdose of their prescribed amitriptyline. Following the suicide attempt, the veteran was transferred to the medical intensive care unit for stabilization and observation.

Top people in government don’t care about the vets, because they don’t have to. Here’s their military experience:

·      Biden: 0 days;

·      VP Harris: 0 days;

·      SecState Blinken: 0 days;

·      Ukraine War kingpin Nuland: 0 days;

·      Senate Majority Leader Schumer: 0 days;

·      Senate Minority Leader McConnell: 37 days in the Army Reserve, discharged for medical reasons.

So far there have been no U.S. casualties, at least that we know of, in the horrific Ukraine War. But there will be future wars, just as pointless as those in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine. We have two protective oceans, friendly neighbors and nuclear missiles to prevent any invasion. And a Constitution designed to make it hard to get involved in the squabbling wars in Europe the Founding Fathers wanted to make sure we avoided. The Cold War long is over.

Why oh why do we continue to get involved in these foreign interventions, producing nothing but national bankruptcy — and more coffins and paraplegics?