Although veterans are entitled to free medical care, most don’t take advantage of it because they have private insurance. On the other hand, many vets have no other choice.. My husband drives 2 hours to the VA only for hearing aids, which aren’t covered by insurance. Unfortunately, the Audiology department has gone from an A Plus to a D Minus duringthe past year, in terms of scheduling. Their new policy dictates that patients can’t make appointments at all. Patients have to walk in and sign onto a waiting list. All patients, no matter how old or handicapped, must endure long waits in crowded hallways at the Indianapolis Veterans Administration Hospital That’s after they’ve circled the parking garage about 10 times before finding a place to park.
Wasn’t patient care supposed to get better under this administration? And the last? And the one before that? It seems like every presidential campaign includes a promise to straighten things out with the Veterans Administration.
I don’t blame the staff in this department for the terrible decision to stop scheduling appointments. All of them are highly competent and caring individuals. They have to know it isn’t working. They see hundreds of elderly and disabled vets sitting on hard folding chairs in the hallways for hours on end. But someone Upstairs must have decided to fix something that wasn’t broken.
Did I mention hard folding chairs? I sat next to a 94 year old veteran who said he’d fought in the battle at Iwo Jima. He hadn’t been able to find a chair at all because there weren’t enough to accommodate everyone. Finally , a younger man offered him his seat. Many old vets stood in the aisles on crutches until someone had the grace to give up their own chair. I left my chair, thinking I could wait in the front lobby. Alas, all couches and chairs were occupied. So, I wandered around for awhile to see how things were going in the other departments. Most only had one or two patients seated comfortably while waiting.
Our doctor explained the situation would improve, once they replaced two staff members who had just quit. If they are short staffed, why not send an automated call to all of their patients, letting them know what’s going on? Better yet, tell them to see a local doctor and the VA will pick up the bill. I guess that just sounds too simple. Anyway, the new policy started several months ago, before these recent vacancies–and it never worked. to begin with.
