View Full Version : Watchdog finds ‘systemic’ problems at VA, top Republican calls for Shinseki to resign
BMT (RIP)
05-28-2014, 13:14
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/05/28/watchdog-finds-systemic-problems-at-va-top-republican-joins-calls-for-shinseki/
Still waiting on my March 2014 appointment to be scheduled!
BMT
Help this old fart understand something, please...If the problem is 'systemic', then what can the Director do about it? Fire all of them? Can different leadership at just one level change the situation? That might feel good, but I doubt that it will change the culture, the systemic stink that has become 'business as usual' in DC. IMHO, what we're seeing is another club (or slapstick) the politicians are going to use to bludgeon each other with over the airwaves for the next few months. In the meantime the culture will perpetuate the problem. Personally, I think Shinseki is just another vet who's trapped in the culture. There's crap on everyone's boot. Just MHO...
If the problem is "systemic" then not only should the director be fired, he should be fucking jailed.
The director "directs" the "system"
di-rec-tor... maybe he didn't know anything was wrong until he saw it on the news
just like the POTUS
Of course, you're right, sir. (Least your passion is.)
I'm a DAV and I recv'd great care and service from the military hospitals I had contact with (Bethesda, Portsmouth Naval Hosp, and Balboa Naval Hosp). When I was bottom blown for my disability I checked in with the VA as reqrd, but used TRICARE Standard for all follow-on treatments. I can't speak from experience with a VA hospital except what I've heard from other vets. Have heard good reports re: McGuires in Richmond from other DAV members.
The 'system' still stinks to high heaven.
Badger52
05-30-2014, 10:24
If the problem is "systemic" then not only should the director be fired, he should be fucking jailed.
Even though he admitted it's systemic, you only get to the 50yd line.
Resignation accepted because "We don't have time for distractions" (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/05/30/obama-to-meet-with-shinseki-amid-mounting-calls-for-resignation/) says POTUS.
Well, now for the next phase ...
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/index.html
:munchin
Snaquebite
05-30-2014, 10:45
There is an ongoing thread regarding the VA. Is there a reason you didn't post this there?
Threads merged.
Shinseki Resignation
I know I'm petty, but I think this is karma.... I never thought much of Shinseki and am not sad to see him go.
This VA business is a nice topic but like the POTUS says, all this attention being focused on Eric Shinseki is a distraction...
...dont any of you mother fuckers realize that football related concussions are a real threat that we need to focus on?
For fuck sake people - FOCUS.
Kids are getting concussions from playing sports and all you jokers are worried about is the VA.
This VA business is a nice topic but like the POTUS says, all this attention being focused on Eric Shinseki is a distraction...
...dont any of you mother fuckers realize that football related concussions are a real threat that we need to focus on?
For fuck sake people - FOCUS.
Kids are getting concussions from playing sports and all you jokers are worried about is the VA.
Foot ball can be fixed.. except for maybe Dallas.. :D
VA is fuk'd up,,, but firing Shinseki is not the solution..
I have had minor skirmishes with the VA for years. Others have spent their lives asking for help, literately (C links).
http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20140529/NEWS/305290077/Widow-wins-VA-claim-24-years-after-filing?fb_action_ids=772978022737041&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_ref=artsharetop
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/05/29/wwii-vet-and-purple-heart-recipient-claims-va-took-68-years-to-give-him/
The VA has a bureaucratic base that moves at it's own speed. Part is the unions, part is the way our monster of a government operates.
I would look to fix & clean the boots before worrying about the stupid BLACK hat.
Dean Jarvis
05-30-2014, 12:10
This VA business is a nice topic but like the POTUS says, all this attention being focused on Eric Shinseki is a distraction...
...dont any of you mother fuckers realize that football related concussions are a real threat that we need to focus on?
For fuck sake people - FOCUS.
Kids are getting concussions from playing sports and all you jokers are worried about is the VA.
Roger that! And once they get that under control with several new laws on what you can and can't wear as head gear and limit how hard you can hit someone, they can turn their attention back to baseball and steroids use. Did that communist asshole Roger Clemens ever go to the big house for Contempt of Congress:confused: Never mind Eric Holders Contempt of Congress that'll go no where. They need to focus on beating up on the peace of shit citizens.:munchin
A good start would be cut out all the red tape bull shit and make people make decisions they should be able to make ie case mangers etc.
They are making decisions,, based on politics and budget plan. They try to operate the VA like it's a profit center.
Starting over would be good.
I would have a 2 part VA.
One that determined eligibility,, QUICKLY. This is where so many vets get lost in the battle.
and a 2nd entity that provided treatment. If there isn't a viable VA clinic locally, use your VA card at any hospital.
I don't like socialized medicine, nor do I want a single player system. But that is what the VA is and has been for ever..
:munchin
Stealthed
05-30-2014, 13:00
I'll be medically retired here in at the end of July minus PTDY//Terminal Leave, and will be talking to the VA about a major surgery that I would like to get done ASAP due to the amount of PT I'm going to have to do since the Army/WTB decided to not let me extend to get it done and just boot me off to the VA. Hopefully I won't have to wait a year so I can get Voc Rehab started....
I agree that Shinseki isn't sole to blame for this disgusting situation, but as Billy pointed out, he is the Director. It's just really sad that veterans had to die in order for the government to actually start giving a fuck. Also, wasn't Shinseki the general who took the black berets away from Ranger Reigment and gave them to Big Army?
There is an ongoing thread regarding the VA. Is there a reason you didn't post this there?
Threads merged.
No.
BMT (RIP)
05-30-2014, 16:57
http://www.openthebooks.com/search/?PensionCode=840&F_fiscalyear=2013&F_Station=Phoenix&F_Name=&perpage=100
BMT
Stealthed
05-30-2014, 17:55
The VA has been killing people for years now. Shinseki was the one caught without a chair. I have no sympathy for him however. The VA being FUBAR was not new news or unknown well before the GWOT he should have unscrewed when he came into office it but instead same old same old.
Don't kid yourself, the govt still doesn't give a fuck, they are just reacting to a news report and doing CYA. They will fire a couple of key people, send out memos about improvement, pound their chests and make a show then tell the world what a great job they did. In the mean time same old same old.
I do want to say I have seen some good hard working folks at the VA. My dads last days were there from cancer. It is the process and not the people that are the problem and it is up to the commander to fix the process.
Every generation of veterans has been disgruntled by the state of the VA. I don't have any sympathy for Shinseki either. I definitely think him resigning is a good thing for the very reason most articles state as not to make him the focus and basically just get him out of the way so the attention shifts focus from him since we already know he screwed up 100% and try and address other issues.
I misspoke about the government giving a fuck. More like its really in the limelight compared to recent times and the government can't make an empty promise at first glance to fix it eventually. Everyone has known the VA hasn't been efficient for a very long time if ever but it's always been on the back burner. I'd like to be optimistic but reality tells me not a whole lot is going to change no matter how much Obama and all the other crooks on both sides preach otherwise. All I know is, the VA is getting slammed and is going to continue to get slammed in the next few years with the wars winding down and the military making huge force cuts.
I definitely agree there's some good people at the VA. Although I'm on trans leave right now I've talked to a lot people in the VA and a decent amount are veterans and your average VA worker is just working day-to-day to help veterans. The bulk of the fault lies with the head honchos of the VA and the bureaucrats. Surprise.
GEN (R) Shinseki has resigned. Anybody want that job now?
Richard
GEN (R) Shinseki has resigned. Anybody want that job now?
Richard
"All things prepare the event. Watch." (TS Eliot..."Murder in the Cathedral")
Snaquebite
05-31-2014, 10:31
Some interesting charts
28225
28226
GEN (R) Shinseki has resigned. Anybody want that job now?
Richard
I would drag every QP on this site and put them at every VA facility with a broom, big stick, and a ruck full of pink slips. Then I would replace every admin person with veterans. From what I've seen/heard the actual medical staff are good, but they must be watched too.
I'll take the job...
...my first change will be to give all of the VA workers a beret to wear in order to make them feel like part of a team. That way they will work better.
The Reaper
05-31-2014, 12:12
I would drag every QP on this site and put them at every VA facility with a broom, big stick, and a ruck full of pink slips. Then I would replace every admin person with veterans. From what I've seen/heard the actual medical staff are good, but they must be watched too.
That would be a great way to do it, but the politicians and bureaucrats would never allow it.
There are clinics that are great, and others that are terrible. It all comes down to leadership, attitude, and how the employee sees the vets. The Durham VA audiology clinic is great and runs like a top. The Lab is a wait all day for piss poor service zone.
How about this. The vet patient gets a red card to drop in a box with the name of anyone working there who is rude or uncooperative. We track stats, and after a month, we dump the 10% with the highest number of red cards. Then reevaluate the remainder. The program is permanent, and anyone receiving an extreme number of cards gets one counselling, and then fired. The replacement hiring program would actively seek to employ vets. The same standards would apply to them as well.
TR
"There are clinics that are great, and others that are terrible. It all comes down to leadership, attitude, and how the employee sees the vets. (TR)"
This is an on target observation. Unfortunately, all of us know it can also be said about hospitals and clinics regardless of their affiliation (military, public, private, etc). I've seen one of the premier hospitals in the world staffed with some people who were exemplary and others that should be bottom blown.
As TR said, "It comes down to leadership, attitude, and how the employee sees the vets (the patient)."
The SF community is the finest collection of leaders in the world, but how many of you found the acquisition of those skills to be easy, or easily taught? This isn't to suggest the VA cannot be improved or benefit from the rigorous application of strong leadership and quite a lot of firing the worthless. It has to begin at the top, but it has to be driven all the way down to the janitor that cleans the head. A good leadership culture takes time to grow and constant care to sustain. The QP community knows that better than any other. IMHO, sirs...
Utah Bob
05-31-2014, 16:42
I'll take the job...
...my first change will be to give all of the VA workers a beret to wear in order to make them feel like part of a team. That way they will work better.
Brilliant! :D
Snaquebite
06-06-2014, 17:25
Amazing :eek:
over 40 folks with salaries over $240K with the highest over $350K
http://www.openthebooks.com/search/?PensionCode=840&F_fiscalyear=2013&F_Station=Phoenix&F_Name&perpage=100&pg=1
The Reaper
06-06-2014, 19:05
Amazing :eek:
over 40 folks with salaries over $240K with the highest over $350K
http://www.openthebooks.com/search/?PensionCode=840&F_fiscalyear=2013&F_Station=Phoenix&F_Name&perpage=100&pg=1
If you are paying less than that for your Chief Specialty Surgeons, you are not hiring quality. Even that seems a bit low, depending on the market.
TR
Snaquebite
06-07-2014, 08:28
If you are paying less than that for your Chief Specialty Surgeons, you are not hiring quality. Even that seems a bit low, depending on the market.
TR
TR, you are correct. I should have done a little name checking. I was told that all of these listed were administrative positions. A little research shows they are physicians.
Put that money into the military medical system and let the vets use that. Luckily a military clinic sees me as my primary care provider and if I need a off base consultation they make the appoint for me. The AD clinics' docs, for the most part, are the best.