Shortly after moving to Louisville, Patricia Mahaun stopped by the local veterans hospital in October, hoping to find a new doctor, get checked for a possible urinary tract infection and get a flu shot.

The Air Force veteran had been going to a Veterans Affairs clinic in Texas for years, so she expected no problem scheduling an appointment with the Louisville VA. Instead, she waited six frustrating months before she finally saw a doctor.

“Medical care delayed is medical care denied,” said Mahaun, 64. “If I am experiencing this inexcusable delay, how many others in the Louisville area and beyond are also? It’s high time that we start treating veterans like the heroes that the public claims we are.”