dont know if i stated this antwhere in my medical saga but i got say thank you with all my heart the the VETERANS ADMINISTRATION and its facilities and quality care that was given to me in my time of need. also to any vets that have VA access and arent using it....GET OFF YOUR BUTT, AND DONT WAIT LIKE I DID!!! i shoulda went in many years ago. again thanks to the VA AND ALL STAFF.
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
I can second that Joe. My father was able to get all kinds of services from the VA prior to his death from medication to doctor's visits to counseling and hospitalization. Just wish that he would have given any of it a chance - maybe he'd still be here.
Posted by Dana Blair (Member # 951) on :
OP, seems like we have a lot in common lately. First to find out that we're fellow Western PA guys, now the help of the VA. I am not the one getting the help from the VA (as the patient) but my father is. Remember how as kids we all kept wondering where we would be when it turned 12:00 am January 1, 2000? Well, mine took a strange twist as my father suffered two strokes in the small arteries in the back of his brain. This was not the typical stroke as these affected him mentally, not physically. Due to this, I was in an emergency room at that time. These strokes have caused dementia, alzheimers, level 2 diabetes, and other ailments. Dad has been in assisted living ever since. Although his condition worsened this week and I had to move him the skilled care part of the facility. The VA has been a great help along the way. I have sworn at them many times during this time period due to their idiotic practices and the way they make a vet jump through hoops to get what they were promised. Eventually, I did get his pension processed and it comes every month to aid in his expenses. He has gotten free primary care from their medical staff. He got free rehab for hip replacement surgery last March when his work pension insurance wouldn't cover it. He got discounted prescriptions and now gets free prescriptions due to his assets being depleted. A word of advice to all vets, register with the VA. You may not qualify for many discounts or cheaper services now, but in the long run they can be a big help. I didn't know that dad was eligible for his pension the day he suffered his strokes. I found out three years later and lost those three years of pension for him. Another thing I found out this week, if you think you have your kids covered with life insurance, you may not. I now have to sign dad up for Medicaid in order to afford the skilled care center. Medicaid makes you deplete all cash value assts before they will kick in. This includes life insurance with a cash value. So when Dad thought he was doing the right thing and looking after me with his VA life insurance, he was wrong. No one plans on this happening, but it is another thing to look at when planning long term. As an only child that lived 2-1/2 hours away from his dad, these last few years have been an OVERWHELMING learning experience. Between banks, lawyers, doctors, hospitals, government agencies, care facilities, dad's friends that thought he was ok and I had the problem, and much more on top of that, it has been a real tough five years. I did move dad close to me back in May and it has made part of it easy. But it's never easy when the parent that you spent most of your life with just isn't in there when you look at him. He even had delusions and told me he, "wasn't my real dad but we did pretty good together". Proof exists that he is, but it just knocks you for loop. But back to the original topic......all vets, please, go register withe VA ASAP. You never know when you might need them.
Posted by John Deaton III (Member # 925) on :
The VA has been a godsend to many of our fathers and others, including mine. They really took great care of my dad when he had bypass surgery.
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
I never wanted to have anything to do with the VA. I imagined the VA hospital to be halls lined with begging amputees and medical oficers demanding a salute.
When I found out how much some tests were gonna cost me, I changed my tune. I filled out the forms and went in and found not only prompt folks, but people that are thorough and care. The San Francisco VA has a leading edge HepC clinic and seems way beyond what I was finding at Stanford.
I just returned from their facility yesterday after hernia surgery.
I pay over $500 a month for health insurance for our family and that covers only major stuff with a huge deductible. I'm grateful for the benefits of the VA. They cover the stuff Blue Cross won't touch. If I could afford any hospital, I don't know that I'd find better than the SFVA!
Except for their food......
by the way, OP, I'm sure glad you're OK.
[ January 29, 2005, 01:27 AM: Message edited by: Rick Sacks ]
Posted by faye welsh (Member # 2524) on :
old paint, been out of touch with all you masters of the sign art. sorry you were ailing. you have had a tough time lately, but your sense of humor and your outlook seem intact.the VA is a wonderful organization. they kept my uncle alive for more years than anyone ever could imagine.the halls are lined with amputees and other sad cases, but ,they are the stuff legends are made of. your everyday heroes.men who believe in God, country, and the american way of life. they have wonderful stories to tell, true sagas ,embellished by their courageous adventurous minds. listen to one once. it's magic.good luck old paint.keep on plugging away at life.love ya,fiddles Posted by Rovelle W. Gratz (Member # 4404) on :
Thanks for the VA plug, OP.
I haven't used them at all since I retired in '79 with 26 1/2 years.
I probably should take advantage of what I earned.
Posted by mark zilliox (Member # 3873) on :
Old Paint ! what happened to our STEELERS ! @!#!!%@*@#!!!! I have 22 years plus in the Air Guard, a few years ago i had enough, but the a Chief told me yeah it's a lot of BS & mess's up your work sometimes, but you may need the VA or the few other bene's one day.......hmmmmm. I'm for Philly now ! ( one day only) sir !
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
GO EAGLES!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Jeff Ogden (Member # 3184) on :
I have been under the VA care for the past 7 years, and have been hospitalized on 5 different occasions spread out over those years, and I have nothing but praise for the care I have recieved.
The Gainesville VA covers all of North Florida and South Georgia, and I have seen them change things around to constantly try to improve on the waiting times in the various clinics. They are always trying to get better. I have heard people complain about having to wait sometimes, but you're going to get that in any doctor's office. It's no big deal.
Any vets out there, I would urge you to check them out. All you need is your DD=214, your SS#, and a little patience.. You don't have to be a career serviceman, nor do you have to have a service-connected injury. They will do anything from a hangnail to open heart surgery. I co-pay my meds, but it is far less than through a regular pharmacy. If you qualify financially, they will give them to you for free.
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
The VA facilities that I visist seem far more punctual than my privat doctors and our local community hospital. I also find that they treat me in a more loving way since they're not running it as a business that shows a profit.
What can we learn from that about our relationships to sign customers?
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
comparing the VA facilities to a civilian hospital is totally different.iam a vet with active service record from 65-69 72-73. in those days the VA had a really bad reputation amoungs those who came back from nam all screwed up, physically and mentally. so alot more negitive stuff was heard then about the care and treatment of people who used the VA. then when i hit my my 40's and shoulda(key word here)got into the system, all i heard(3rd stool rumors, service guys know what that is)was it was hard to accepted, had a waith list of 6 mos to 18 months before you even got your 1st appointment that i backed away even more. ive had a bad back sicne my 20's probably some of its related to the job i had in the service and ive delt with it all these years and kept sayin i was goin to to the VA "someday"!! well that someday came.....when i least expected it. only it wasnt my back that pushed me to do something. after apr 2004 when i went to a civilian doctor and he said he could do nothing and i needed a urologist for bladder cancer, i decided to get an application into the VA. pick one up some time in june/july and was told i needed a copy of DD214 which i didnt have they burnt in 1980 house fire in pa. so they sent me to a guy in the building and thats all he does...and got me a copy on its way. got the DD214 copies NOV 22 and told my self i would go in after thanksgiving. well NOV 24 i went to E.R. baptist hospital and 3 doctors later and 2 E.R. visits iam $5000 poorer, and still not well. in the E.R. and nov29 uroligist office visit, i talked to 3 different doctors and the total time they spent with me was maybe 30 min!!!! so each one had 10 minutes with me. my 1st intake VA CLINIC doctor visit was 45 MINUTES!!!! and every incounter ive had since then with VA DOCTORS.....all have been 1/2 to an HOUR of talk with each doctor. now thats care. my 1st urology consult was dec 15. i never had been to biloxi in my life. drove over there was seated in the waiting room for 10-20 mins befor i got see the doc. now you also got to remember i was there on a one day notice from the day before at the pensacola clinic. i spent an hour with the doc he explained all of what could/would/happen to me. asked to have more tests run dec 20 and to return dec 22. went back that day same thing 10-20 min in office waiting room and AN ALMOST 2 HOURS OF HIS TIME setting up a surgury date and getting the pre admit done that day since we lived in pensacola. i shouldnt have had the surgury done he said probalbly till sometime in march. they were that far backed up with patients. he checked shedules for surgury and found a cancellation for jan 18th and asked if i wanted it i took it. so i was taken care of a lot faster then normal. the civilian uroligist couldnt get me on his schedule till after jan 20!!!!!!!! so you see the timetables are a little different but it worked out for me. as they say the rest is history, and i have a standing 3 months appointment every 3 months. but iam well pleased and very gratful that i have something this good.
Posted by Randy Campbell (Member # 2675) on :
My father-in-law is going in the VA hospital to remove a blood claught from his leg.Lives in Fort Pierce Florida.The VA has helped him through 3 heart attacks and other numerous things.
[ January 31, 2005, 02:10 PM: Message edited by: Randy Campbell ]
Posted by Paul Bierce (Member # 5412) on :
It's a small world.
My girlfriend is Social Work section chief at the Northport VA Medical center here on Long Island.
I had the privilidge to meet a First World War veteran there. He made it to 105 years old but regretfully passed away recently.
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
I live a four hour drive from the hospital. If I want to get a ride down and back, there are vets that donate their time to drive the van down and wait. Sometimes it means spending the night and sometimes it means coming back in a couple days. Whatever it takes, they do it. No charge. Whenever I go down they have a room for me if I want to spend the night. Another service. And they feed me while I'm there. I've been told they'll give me some gas money also depending on the miles travelled. I've not taken them up on that and am looking into getting on the list of folks that drive the van. It's a way of giving back.
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