Weird News

I've had four bladder surgeries and a colon surgery in the last five year (I no longer have a colon, I have a semi-colon) and my experiance has been nothing but good every step of the way.

When I got out of the Navy in '73 I went to work at the VA and day one I told my wife whatever happened she was not to let me end up in a VA Hospital. As a child I knew that a VA hospital was where a vet with no hope went to die. I remember at 12 or so my dad driving Turk Turkovich to Wade Park VA Hospital in Cleveland in our pickup truck. It was a long quiet ride from Akron and Turk had a grocery sack with whatever he needed and Turk did not come out of that place, dying a few months later.

So I am a tough customer.

Six years ago my wife talked me into going back. After years of Cadillac plans and turning 55 and finding that my income was going to be from benefit free contracts and then turning 60 and finding contracts starting to thin out, I went.

What a difference.

Don't take my word for it.

https://www.dav.org/learn-more/news/2014/va-care-as-good-as-or-better-than-private-sector-hospitals/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2014/04/17/va-hospitals-on-par-with-private-sector-for-patient-satisfaction/?utm_term=.2735a0c72ba8

http://consumerhealthratings.com/index.php?action=showSubCats&cat_id=276

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/04/17/va-hospitals-earn-high-patient-satisfaction-scores.html

Is it perfect. No, but it is pretty darn good, especially when one factors in what special group with special problems we vets are.

Here in Texas the VA in Temple is partnered up with Scott and White a very highly rated health care system. S&W uses VA to give their Doctors more experience and S&W uses VA to learn from VA how to keep records of their patients up to date and available at remote locations. They're learning from VA not teaching VA.

I have nothing but praise for VA and if Congress would fund and quit playing political football with VA and well meaning but wrong non-military supporters of vets had a realistic view of VA even the troublesome hospitals like Phoenix and the Louis Stokes Memorial VA Center (the former Wade Park VA) would be improved.

Sorry for taking so much space but I feel strongly about one system in the Fed that actually does a pretty good job.