Dear Editorial Board,
I read, with great interest, your “Opinion
Page”
Editorial from July 7, 2016: “Heal
the V.A. (But First, Do No Harm)”. I was directed to your
Article through the Vietnam Veterans of America’s newsletter (via email). As a
consumer of the Veterans Health Administration’s (V.H.A.) product, I found it
refreshing that someone in the mainstream Press is finally starting to get to the root problems in the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
For the past six years, I have been attempting to come up with
a solution to these problems in order to keep the V.A. alive and well. The
purpose this Agency serves for Veterans is one to be thoroughly understood
before a “fix” can ever be concocted and implemented. It may be difficult for a
non-Veteran to fully understand why the V.A. needs to exist. The answer to this
question comes best from a Veteran, and not from a bureaucrat or bean counter.
The V.A., especially the V.H.A., is sacred ground when it
comes to the Medical and Mental Health needs of Veterans. There is a pervasive
feeling that, once having served in the Military, there is little in the way of
understanding between Veterans, civilians, and the private medical/mental
health sector. Veterans feel more at ease in a setting filled with other
Veterans (people who “get” them).
From my perspective, a bottom up look at fixing the V.A. is
the only appropriate avenue of approach. Top management problems in this
bureaucracy are only symptoms. The root causes lie in the very structure of
this behemoth. Secretary Bob McDonald and his Staff are working with a
structure from the 1930’s and trying to utilize 21st Century protocols and
regimens. It’s a little like trying to mix oil and water. To truly change the
V.A. toward the best interests of our Veterans, one needs to change the
antiquated structure that leads to a culture of arrogance, indifference, abuse,
inefficiency, and chaos.
Unfortunately, Congress does not have twenty years to
attempt a transformation of this system. Best practices would dictate the immediate
assembly of qualified Hospital Administrators to reconfigure the parts that
currently exist and add, or subtract, parts where necessary. It may also help
to include a working Veterans Advisory group that mirrors the common U.S.
Military Veteran. In his testimony to the Congressional Commission on Care,
Secretary Johnson admitted; “We know we can’t complete the job without help
from our partners. For that reason, I look forward to continuing to work with
Congress, Veteran advocates, and Veterans themselves to identify further ways
to improve the VA.”[1] Why not get started right now?
No comments:
Post a Comment