Is the VA medical center really taking care of their veterans?

Veterans who become ill from being in the service or veterans who become injured or
wounded, are struggling to get the benefits and treatment they need from the VA medical center.
The VA medical center main purpose is to eliminate veteran homelessness, enabling homes for
the veterans, automating GI bill benefits, improving veterans mental health and performing
research to enhance their long term health for the welfare of the veterans. Duke Medeiros who
works for the Veterans of Foreign Wars department of California, and who is also affiliated with
Long Beach VA medical center assists veterans, surviving spouses and children on compensation
and pension claims, VA medical, education, vocational rehabilitation and burial benefits. The
VA medical Center is supposed to provide assistance to veterans in a timely manner typically
within 14-30 days but in some cases its more than 30 days.
Each facility in the VA medical center has a wait list for benefits or treatments due to the
staff and number of veterans. There is a wait list for the specialty clinic for Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and audiology. There is a shorter wait list for
general care, primary care physicians and nurse practitioners. Mr. Medeiros said, If I were in
charge of the VA medical center, I would shut down the VA and reconfigure staffing and
functions. I would mandate that any discharged veteran take his DD-214 and go to the nearest
medical facility of choice to get treated. That facility would then bill the Federal Government for
whatever services were necessary to treat the veterans.
There are many stories of veterans and retired military civilians who could not get the
help they wanted from the VA medical center, such as, Patricia Fisher who is a retired Senior
Master Sergeant who now works for the United States Air Force as a civilian. Mrs. Fisher has
filed her disability claim in 2012 and has yet to receive her VA benefits. Because of my urgency

of my condition I filed a fully developed claim (FDC) which should have allowed me to be
processed within 90 days, said Mrs. Fisher. Her DAV has filed the wrong form which defaulted
her form into regular processing. Since her case is considered complicated her case has remained
in the Gathering of Evidence Stage for almost two years. As of today the VA is estimating that
my claim will be processed between December 2015 and May 2016, said Mrs. Fisher. Since
Mrs. Fisher claim was not processed in a timely manner she did not have a documented disability
on file. The VA medical center contracted out her medical evaluations and sent her appointments
via email and by telephone. I went to several different doctors for each of the conditions Im
claiming. In one case, the doctor accused me of looking up conditions on the internet and making
up my symptoms, said Mrs. Fisher.
This has affected her greatly with not getting the treatment that she needs through the VA
medical center. Her physical condition and mobility was severely limited and aggravated by
fatigue and stress. Mrs. Fisher is very fortunate for having her own healthcare and not relying on
the VA medical center for the benefits she needed.
A Vietnam veteran named Danny Querk who served in the army also had a hard time
with the VA Los Angeles medical center with getting the right treatment for his illness. At the
time he did not know he was diagnosed with Agent Orange but he was also suffering from
PTSD. When he went to the VA medical center Mr. Querk said, They didnt diagnose it but
they knew the areas that were affected by it, which trigged pancreas cancer and diabetes. They
gave me medication for the PTSD but not for Agent Orange. He was then diagnosed with
peripheral neuropathy which killed off the nerve endings making him numb which then
progressed into vasculitis. When asking for treatment at the VA medical center Querk said, My
nurse practitioner named Gamboa side stepped the fact that I needed the treatment and almost

came to a near death experience. I began getting big purple blotches all over my body from the
peripheral neuropathy and the nurse from the VA medical center said the purple blotches were
from the cold weather from Lancaster California. The VA medical center is once again no help
to another veteran in need, in the LA medical center he had to wait for a room that was available
and a doctor to take his case in order to get his right treatment. Mr. Querk said, They gave me a
4 hour IV treatment and gave me a low dose of chemo and I responded very well to it, and two
weeks later came back for another 4 hour treatment. I was not cured but I was not in pain
anymore. He still has numbness in his hands and feet and had a problem with walking but of
May of 2011 his doctor Milkelini who was able to take his case in the VA medical center Mr.
Querk was able to walk again in May of 2013.
Mary Bandini who works as a service officer for a non-profit liaison, advocate and Power
of Attorney for veterans, at the LA Regional Office and also affiliates with the VA medical
center said, based on the access audit provided during the IG review of VAs, Los Angeles
medical center currently has a daily rate of 409 veterans waiting more than 90 days for an
appointment. Long beach medical center has 877 veterans waiting over 90 days. Los Angeles
medical center has an average wait-time of 47 days to obtain an appointment for the first time.
Long beach medical center has 44 days. Los Angles medical center has an average wait-time of
37 days to obtain mental health appointments, Long beach medical center has 38 days. The wait
time for both Los Angeles medical center and Long Beach medical has an effect on the veterans
and their families. We lose an average of 22 veterans every day to suicide. 37 days waiting for a
mental health appointment could potentially mean 814 needless deaths. Thats not even to delve
into the stress, frustration, anger, resentment, or other emotions that can cause other health issues
like high blood pressure.