Viet Nam Vet denied treatment at VA

[PHO127]

Sunday night a 55 year old VN viet was refused to be treated at the Atlanta (Decatur) VA hospital emergency room. Brought there by his WW2 friend, for severe back pain, he was in the emergency room for 8 hours without being seen by a doctor. At 2:30 AM on Monday morning he called his friend on his cell phone from an unknown bus stop where the VA had deposited him. The VA hospital had no comment but were looking into it. The interview with the vet was just on the morning news here in Atlanta, He was treated and admitted to a "different facility". IT will be full PSYCO VETS battle dress today.

[DMZ-LT]

Not the first time bro. Remember a few years ago when I got the call from Jimmy to please come and get him cause the VA had told him to leave and he couldn't even walk.

[Packo]

to believe! Our great VA health care, oxymoron, system denies a vet treatment??????? Beyond my realm of comprehension. Next you'll tell me they screwed up an operation on Gimpy and me.

Packo

[BLUEHAWK]

Pho -

On what grounds does VA justify this kind of conduct toward a vet? Is this a case that happens from time to time, or is it something VA does constantly?

I have not had to go to VA yet, though I own no insurance or benefits of that kind either, and ain't gettin' any younger... so I just don't have any experience with this kind of thing.... but it is very upsetting.

[PHO127]

Today is one of my group therapy days, Tuesday and Friday, I am sure this will be a hot topic. The shrink is about our age and a PH VN Viet himself so he will probably have some answers. The consensus VA line on the news this morning was they thought he was homeless and trying to get pain killer drugs. I am sure Group will be lively today.

[catman]

Sid...get in there and kick some ass for me. I am sure this kind of thing happens up here also but we never here it on the news.

Trav

[SuperScout]

Did the vet in question have proper ID for admission? Some of the admissions people I've talked to are paranoid beyond belief, and unless you can verify every detail in your medical records, they treat you like our friend in Atlanta was. Obviously, that doesn't make it right. I'm almost convinced that for vets to receive the treatment, care, and Rx's they deserve, a privatized system would be much more helpful, responsive, and probably cheaper to operate than the white elephants that pose as VA facilities now.

[frisco-kid]

This is DISCUSTING! I've been lucky to have had good health benefits for many years, although they've been whittling at them for a couple of years now. Because of this, in part, I've never sought their "services". Another BIG reason has been the HORROR stories, like this, that I've heard from other vets for years.

"Homeless and trying to get pain killer drugs." It's been hard enough trying to shake this stereotypical image of us for years, without the damned VA perpetuating it by making such a statement to the media and buying into it! JAYSUS! Makes me so mad, I could SPIT.

[phuloi]

...That there`s got to be more here than what meets the eye.I mean,don`t ALL public medical facilities have to treat people at their door? I just can`t IMAGINE any hospital turning someone away who`s got a legit illness.Let alone dropping the guy off at a busstop?!Sid,can you post a link to the local paper that`s covering this atrocity?

[Arrow]

I would like to hear the follow up on this story also. I am here as living witness to some strange goings on in regard to VA treatment. Augusta GA 1968. The kids daddy was already Dx with AO related cancer. He was medically retired from the Army was 100% with the VA. He was a very sick man. A man living with a lot of pain. Every time he went to the VA to get his pain medicine they would tell him they didn't have it. This went on for some time. He ateaspirinbut of course that wouldn't even touch the pain he was having. And then one day he went and was able to get his pain meds again. A year after his death Imade friends with a young lady (we were all just kids in our twenties) that invited me to her home out in the country for dinner. She had another guest that evening. He was a co-worker of her husband. I was sharing the problem we had about being able to get the pain meds from the VA and they looked at each other and then back to me and proceeded to tell me the reason we could not get the pain meds was because the VApharmacy was selling them out the back door. If my memory serves me right these guys were federal drug enforcement agents but I can't say they were DEA I'm not even sure if DEA was formed at that time.I don't believe that meeting wasasan accident. Iam not exactly a social butterfly.What wouldthe odds be of me running into a woman that was married to a drug enforcement agent that just happened to have the answerto why we could not get pain meds for a terminally ill man. We don't always get the answers to our questions but I sure appreciated getting the answer to that one. It turned my mind around in regard to asking the question why when confronted with stonewalling bureaucrats.

Peace out....