VA employees told to falsify wait times

This all sounds so bad, but that is only if you have not been paying attention all along since we've been down this road so many times you can still see the tire marks when the Congressional bus rolled over veterans.

GAO finding: No accountability for claims processors 2008

Lawsuit message to VA "you can't treat them like crap" after this again 2008 on veterans committing suicide

VA: $94 billion for 2009 and still $3.3 billion short 2008 VA Budget increase

This list could go on all day long but would do little good since reporters lack the ability to remember what they reported on years before. Everything happening today were issues Congress was "taking care" of years ago.

More VA employees told to falsify data
New information also provided to Congress this week
CNN
Author: By Curt Devine, Meredith Turk and Scott Bronstein
CNN Investigations
Published On: Jul 29 2014
CNN)
Roughly half the schedulers at multiple Veterans Affairs hospitals said they received instructions from supervisors to falsify data and hide the true time it took patients to be seen by a doctor after making an appointment, new details from an internal VA audit show.

Schedulers said supervisors directed them to manipulate information so their centers could meet performance goals, which would help top officials get bonuses, according to documents obtained by CNN.

The new information also provided to Congress this week includes updates from specific VA hospitals that were not included in an internal audit released last month by the embattled agency.

The ongoing saga involves multiple investigations into delayed care, potentially with deadly results, alarming management shortcomings and a culture that was said to have compromised the mission of providing prompt and effective medical care to millions of veterans, some of them returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.
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VA Changed Appointment Wait Times in House VA Committee Chairman's Home State

While members Congress wants to blame the head of the VA, no matter who it is or when, they never seem to be able to apologize to veterans for what they failed to do. Veterans contact their elected officials all the time and they do complain. They have been complaining for decades about all of this. No member of congress can claim they didn't know about any of this but what is worse is, they think they can get away with the Sgt. Schultz Excuse of "I know nothing" when it was their jobs to not only know, but fix it! Now there is a report out of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman's home state of Florida.

Some Florida VA health facilities changed appointment requests to improve wait times
Pensacola News Journal
Ledyard King
July 28, 2014

VA executives are so driven in their quest for performance bonuses, promotions and power that they are willing to lie, cheat and put the health of the veterans they were hired to serve at risk,” (Jeff Miller)

Details of an internal VA audit of improper scheduling practices were released Monday were referred last month to the agency’s inspector general for further review.

WASHINGTON – Schedulers at the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic at Eglin Air Force Base were told to improve wait times by changing the date veterans requested a medical appointment so it appeared they got treated within 14 days of their request.

Staff at the VA’s medical center at Bay Pines health center in St. Petersburg were encouraged to align appointment dates requested by veterans with the actual dates they received medical care.

Workers at the Joint Ambulatory Care Center in Pensacola kept a paper list of patients to call back about appointments because they were confused about what to log in the VA’s computerized calendar.

Details of an internal VA audit conducted in May of improper scheduling practices were released Monday, shedding light as to why 112 VA medical facilities — including six in Florida — were referred last month to the agency’s inspector general for further review.
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Homeless veteran with PTSD ticked for "camping" in van?

Watch Cop Ticket Homeless Fellow Veteran, Salute Him With 'Always Faithful' Motto
The Huffington Post
By Eleanor Goldberg
Posted: 07/29/2014

A homeless veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder who was ticketed for sleeping in his van hopes that, at the very least, his ordeal will set a new "precedent."

Aaron Coyler subsists on $849 per month in Social Security disability insurance, not nearly enough to support his living in an apartment in the Bay Area where he hopes to remain in order to be close to his 2-year-old son. So, for nearly a month, Coyler had been sleeping in his vehicle in a park, but was cited on Thursday by Alameda police for illegally camping, according to a video he posted to YouTube.

The homeless vet videotaped his interaction with the two officers, during which time Coyler explained that he has disabilities, little money and that there were no signs in sight indicating that he was doing anything wrong.

One of the officers responded by telling him to get a hotel room and when he learned that Coyler had served in the Marines, he revealed that he's also a veteran, before saying, "Semper Fi," referring to the Corps’ motto, "Semper Fidelis," which means "always faithful."

"Apparently not," Coyler says in the video. "I’m homeless. I have PTSD. I don’t have anywhere else to stay."

Coyler has been raising funds through a GoFundMe campaign, and hopes to eventually turn his van into a mobile outreach organization for the homeless.
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Toward the end he asked the officers, "What am I supposed to do? Die?"

Robert McDonald VA Secretary in 97-0 Senate Vote

Senate confirms Robert McDonald as Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Stars and Stripes
By Travis J. Tritten
Published: July 29, 2014

WASHINGTON – Robert McDonald was unanimously confirmed by the Senate Tuesday as the new Department of Veterans Affairs secretary.

The former Army Ranger and CEO of Procter and Gamble was confirmed in a 97-0 vote by lawmakers who said his boardroom experience could be used to overhaul the nation’s troubled veteran health care system.

His predecessor Gen. Eric Shinseki stepped down in May amid a growing scandal over long patient wait times and manipulation of appointment data by VA staff. Numerous VA inspector general investigations and testimony on Capitol Hill over the past two months have revealed a deeply dysfunctional agency that often ignored or covered up dangerous shortcomings in care.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Tuesday that McDonald headed up one of the country’s leading corporations and has the experience need to deal with a “huge bureaucracy that needs significant improvement in accountability and management.”
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New VA Secretary McDonald faced with firing VA management
Stars and Stripes
By Travis J. Tritten
Published: July 29, 2014

WASHINGTON — Robert McDonald floated through his confirmation as the new Department of Veterans Affairs secretary, but he now faces the hard work of transforming a floundering bureaucracy — and the expectation he will begin by firing managers.

The former Army Ranger and CEO of Procter and Gamble was confirmed Tuesday in a 97-0 vote by lawmakers who believed his boardroom experience could be used to overhaul the nation’s troubled veteran health care system.

Lawmakers, veterans and observers have all said McDonald must begin by holding staff “accountable,” which has become a euphemism for termination.

Numerous VA inspector general investigations and testimony on Capitol Hill over the past two months has revealed a deeply dysfunctional agency that often ignored or covered up dangerous shortcomings in veteran health care. The bureaucracy bedeviled McDonald’s predecessor, former Army Gen. Eric Shinseki, who claimed the problems that led the White House to press for his resignation were systematically hidden from him.
read more here

Do you know how many veterans you have in your state?

These numbers are from the VA Veterans Population numbers from September 2013.

California has the largest population of veterans with 1,795,455.
1,356,978 are "war time" veterans with 589,139 Vietnam veterans.
There are 184,774 female veterans.

Number 2 is Texas with 1,667,740 veterans.
1,291,040 are "war time" veterans with 551,137 Vietnam veterans.
There are 191,757 female veterans.

Number 3 is Florida with 1,520,563 veterans.
1,14,894 are "war time" with 490,589 Vietnam veterans.
There are 166,222 female veterans.

Use the above link and check your state to know how many veteran are your neighbors. It is really odd considering there are more female veterans in Texas than there are in California.

Roommate found guilty of murdering female Iraq veteran

OC Man Found Guilty Of Murdering His Roommate, An Iraq War Veteran
CBS Los Angeles
July 29, 2014

SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — An Orange County man was found guilty Tuesday of killing his roommate in 2013. Kwang Joy, 54, was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of Iraqi war veteran and Cal State Fullerton student Maribel Ramos.

Officials believe Ramos, 36, and Joy got into an argument on May 2, 2013 after the victim told him he needed to move out of her home in Orange.
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From previous report on Maribel Ramos

Ramos, who has served two tours of duty in Iraq, was last seen in her apartment on May 2. She was scheduled to graduate at the end of May with a criminal justice degree from Cal State Fullerton.

Grateful shopper picks up tab for VIetnam veteran's computer

Stranger’s generosity stuns Ohio veteran
Grateful shopper picks up tab for vet's computer
CNHI News Service
July 28, 2014

KINGSVILLE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Vietnam War veteran David A. Tobias was overwhelmed recently when a fellow customer at an OfficeMax store near Ashtabula, Ohio paid for a computer he was purchasing.

The man, who would identify himself only as “Daniel,” insisted on paying for the machine.

“This has never happened to me before,” said Tobias, who fought his emotions as he recalled the incident. “People have come up and said thanks. But this? I was totally shocked.”

Tobias, of Kingsville Township, was at the store’s service counter when a salesman approached and asked him if he was the owner of a vehicle in the lot with Vietnam service stickers. When Tobias said yes, the salesman said he was told by another man to deliver a message: “Buy anything you want in the store.”
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Minnesota jury awards Ventura $1.8M in Chris Kyle defamation case

Minnesota jury awards Ventura $1.8M in Chris Kyle defamation case
KETK News
Michael Wesp
July 29, 2014

MINNEAPOLIS (KETK) — A Minneapolis, Minnesota, jury has ruled in favor of former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura in a defamation suit against the widow of Chris Kyle. The jury awarded the former governor $1.8 million in damages.
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Fort Bragg Captain beaten in home invasion, after fire

FORT BRAGG SOLDIER ATTACKED IN HOME INVASION
ABC 11 News
By Nicole Carr
Monday, July 28, 2014

FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- A Fort Bragg soldier is in good condition following a brutal home invasion attack.

Captain Patrick Knight was beaten by three men on Friday evening. Investigators said Knight and his girlfriend arrived to their home on the 500 block of Vista Drive just after 6:00 p.m. The couple was there to collect personal belongings. The home was in renovation due to a recent fire.

Police said Knight and his girlfriend startled three men who had broken into the house. Those men attacked Knight, beating him in the head.

Witnesses report having seen Alexander James Smith, 26, running from Knight's home in a bloody shirt. A neighbor followed Smith in a car and called a friend. That man ended up tackling Smith about a half a mile away, at the corner of Broadfoot and Branson Streets. Witnesses said Smith was covered in blood.
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Heartless thugs steal from homeless veterans shelter

Copper thieves leave homeless veterans inside a hot building
Video
MyNews3
Copper thieves destroy AC units to veterans building
Reported by: Venise Toussaint

LAS VEGAS (KSNV and MyNews3) -- A thief broke into the air conditioning units at a homeless veteran shelter and left the veterans inside struggling to stay cool in the summer heat. The veterans have been without air conditioning since Saturday.

U.S. Vets is a place where homeless and transitioning veterans come to get help and get back on their feet. They eat here, socialize here, and for the past couple of days they’ve been doing so without air conditioning. A man climbed on top of the roof and destroyed their AC units.
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