El Coqui on July 15, 2009 at 4:10 PM

I used to work at Walter Reed as well. Not only is the hospital clean, it gives great care to it’s patients. I hate people who talk smack but have never been there (like most of the reporters who trashed it in the press). That “SCANDAL” about WRAMC was 90% political posturing and faux outrage. Noone questioned congresses part in holding up the renovation funds. Was Walter Reed overwhelmed… Yes. But why were they overwhelmed? The decision was made to keep wounded veterans longer (sometimes more than a year) to give them better rehab and a chance to stay in service. in the past these amputees, etc would have been immediately found unfit for continued service and discharged to the VA. The uptick in violence and resulting spike in transiet (ie not permanent) servicemembers living there was more than they could handle. So I can forgive the problems in that context (ie they were ‘trying’ to do the right thing and bit off more than they could chew) instead of the opposite (ie apathy… hint,hint VA hint,hint).
The real loser in this was the commander Gen Weightman who had his career sacrificed on the political alter… any military member who has been to WRAMC knows that place has a mind of it’s own and cannot be changed overnight.

The idea that the military should provide pap smears and mammograms is still somewhat new

In 36 years of the all-volunteer military, the geniuses at the VA didn’t think about basic gynecology until just recently?

1st off VA is not he military health care system (one of the ones you missed on your list) and we do plenty of pap smears and mammograms.

the VA used to cover mostly service-related medical conditions and disabled veterans. That was changed by Bush and now it is basically medicare for veterans. they take you based on your income and service. (in addition to all service-connected injuries/conditions)

This changed recently (ie w/in the last 5-6yrs), so it’s not 30yrs of dropping the ball… more like 5′ish because Pap smears and mammograms are preventative screening exams ONLY. The biggest question should be why did Bush expand the VA coverage as much as he did? (“Hey this system sucks…lets make it bigger!”)

You know, that’s true. If men were as vocal about their…um…”thang”…prostate cancer might have gone the way of the dinosaur.

tree hugging sister on July 15, 2009 at 3:52 PM

LOL..you’re probably right. The reason I like my doctor, who I only see once a year to get a new prescription, is that he NEVER asks any qyestions or bothers me with any tests. It’s just , Hi Doc,I need a new prescription, and I’m gone. This doc is great.

And Walter Reed may not be the only VA facility needing a mop, some brushes, and a boatload of ammonia. One woman testified about the facility where she unsuccessfully sought treatment for combat-related PTSD. Sound familiar?

Ed:

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center had never been part of the VA hospital system. As a registered nurse working there for the last 30 years, I strongly object to your comments related to our care and cleanliness. You obviously had never been to our main hospital building nor understand that the WaPo article referred to a facility that was not even physically in our campus and was not a direct patient care area either.

The care provided by my colleagues, both civilian and military, to our active and retired warriors and their families is world class and we don’t take a second place to anyone.

When my mom had a colonoscopy (private) that revealed cancer (small, early and completely removed with surgery Praise God) I called the VA to have a colonscopy done.

Mom’s surgery was about a month after her colonoscopy. My colonoscopy was a week before her surgery. I haven’t seen anything resembling the horror stories I’ve been hearing about.

It’s not spiteful to point out that too much of the public policy discussion about where the research money for “cures” goes is based on the “popularity” of the disease.

highhopes

You know, that’s true. If men were as vocal about their…um…”thang”…prostate cancer might have gone the way of the dinosaur.

“[Then] any order coming out of the presidency or his chain of command is illegal. Should I deploy, I would essentially be following an illegal [order]. If I happened to be captured by the enemy in a foreign land, I would not be privy to the Geneva Convention protections,” he said.

What a weasel. That war was STARTED by a duly elected president, there jackass, and it’s this duly elected president’s duty to support them. Tens of thousands of your brave brothers and sisters in arms have and are serving there, and, if you’re ordered there, that’s YOUR duty, loser.

And no worries about capture ~ the Taliban and al_Qaeda aren’t big on conventions, Geneva or otherwise.

I guess it needs its own ribbon.

It’s not spiteful to point out that too much of the public policy discussion about where the research money for “cures” goes is based on the “popularity” of the disease.

highhopes on July 15, 2009 at 3:23 PM

I myself enjoy watching and donating during the “Prickly Heat” Telethon.

I’m not trying to be sarcastic, but I guess women’s health has a better marketing program. I swear every other weekend is another breast cancer run or something. I guess prostrate cancer isn’t a glamorous disease.

Jeff from WI on July 15, 2009 at 3:13 PM

I guess it needs its own ribbon.

It’s not spiteful to point out that too much of the public policy discussion about where the research money for “cures” goes is based on the “popularity” of the disease.

P.S. The VA can do better but it will take a reformer and a mandate. The VA has neither in the current director.

highhopes on July 15, 2009 at 3:07 PM

I’m not trying to be sarcastic, but I guess women’s health has a better marketing program. I swear every other weekend is another breast cancer run or something. I guess prostrate cancer isn’t a glamorous disease.

Jeff from WI on July 15, 2009 at 2:59 PM

You mean there isn’t a director of Men’s Health looking out after the guys?

Seriously, you bring up a valid point. The VA healthcare has had “issues” for decades. Frankly, I think it less about funding than about management and organization. It’s like asking the DMV to offer medical services.

The VA website lists 23.4M vets in 2008, 1.8M of them female. Why is this one hearing so much worse than so many other lapses of a system? How many unavailable non-gender related procedures are out there being ignored?

P.S. The VA can do better but it will take a reformer and a mandate. The VA has neither in the current director.

You did allude to rationing and Obamacare, but the objection that there wasn’t a high number of women needing VA services goes to the heart of the objection to gubmint care. If you have a common illness injury/disease, it’ll hopefully get taken care of pretty quickly. If you’re an unfortunate outlier, under Obamacare in 2-5 years- good luck. The current services for unusual but crucial cases will be much harder to find- too expensive to keep up.

There is a legal question on the table about Obama’s legitamacy re his dual- NOT NATURAL BORN citizenship AT BIRTH. See my previous post for links.

NightmareOnKStreet on July 15, 2009 at 1:29 PM

But that isn’t the legal question on the table. The legal question is if an officer can refuse to deploy based on an unproven allegation. Until the filthy liar in the White House is deemed unqualified for office (by the Constitutional use of the word), that officer can’t refuse orders from his chain-of-command.

Geez..give it a rest

I don’t use the VA yet, because as an AD spouse, I still am eligible for Tricare. I’ve had issues concerning timeliness in getting pap (and other, for that matter) appointments (3+ months in some cases) – well, I’ve had a billion issues with Tricare since I enrolled after boot camp.

I realize my mom and I (and those like us) are very fortunate to have access to this healthcare – but for all we’ve done and sacrificed, I feel we deserve a tad better treatment from gov’t facilities. But I have a personal hatred burning here, and I’ll admit, it clouds my judgment.

as a tricare provider and patient, it is, for the most part, superb. At least until you have something–ie an injury or disease that is out of the norm. And, tricare routinely purchases healthcare in the civilian sector for conditions and services that it cannot provide.

My first experience with Tricare in 2002 was finding out that they had a policy of not doing something that was standard of care. (ultrasound at 16-20 weeks of pregnancy)

Since my response to “no” was “but that’s standard of care” the doctor found some excuse to say I needed an ultrasound.

Then I got to wait for a referral, spend a bunch of time on the phone to find out that no DC military facility could see me, then got started on the process of going to an off-base private facility.

Now, at our small base here in Texas, there is one pediatrician. If he is not working or out sick, there often is no one available to see your child.

While I haven’t had any terrible experiences, these aren’t the kind of thing that happen in the private sector. Any there are plenty of people who have had terrible experiences with Tricare.

Instead of rationing them, can’t we just send the leeches back to Mexico?

Laura in Maryland on July 15, 2009 at 1:42 PM

ROFLMAO!

VA failed to provide adequate care to female veterans
…

Chainsaw56 on July 15, 2009 at 1:36 PM

Instead of rationing them, can’t we just send the leeches back to Mexico?

I can’t seem to find a doctor to perform a good blood letting with leeches anymore.
Jeff from WI on July 15, 2009 at 1:22 PM

Just wait, that’ll be standard treatment for pretty much everything under O’crap-care.

- with a 6 month waiting period of course, and the number of leeches will be strictly rationed.

A military hospital’s negligence and poor care killed my sister and nearly killed my mother a few years later. But I’m sure Obama can do better, especially if we get the entire US population on the same system.

Do you know how the Government solved this problem?

THEY REMOVED THE CLOCKS FROM ALL THE POST OFFICES.

This is who we want in charge of our health?

He has very little legal ground to stand upon, if any.
This fella hasn’t won a thing. The other shoe will drop–mark my words.

ted c on July 15, 2009 at 1:12 PM
Exactly. Let’s remember the part about protecting and defending the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. Even with a valid birth certificate, I would consider the filthy liar in the White House a domestic enemy. That Major can’t refuse to deploy on the basis that the POTUS isn’t a valid leader without wondering why he didn’t do something to defend the US from an illegitimate leader.

highhopes on July 15, 2009 at 1:17 PM

.
While I agree more with highhopes, my main point is that regardless of the projected outcome- this SHOULD BE front page news – at least Drudge linked it yesterday, before the military revoked his orders to deploy and again today. HotAir should give it its own THREAD (not an obscure headline that will be lost after 3 hours) WHY NOT AIR THE STORY & LET OTHERS DECIDE HOW THEY FEEL?.
.
There is a legal question on the table about Obama’s legitamacy re his dual- NOT NATURAL BORN citizenship AT BIRTH. See my previous post for links.

This is probably the most potent argument for everything that is going on. I’ve made this case a ton of times to leftists. Shuts em up, right away.

lorien1973 on July 15, 2009 at 11:46 AM

I’m surprised – I’d expect most leftists to say the same thing they currently are about Porkulus: It wasn’t big ENOUGH!!!!!eleventy!!1one11!1!!1!