What's Right About VA Healthcare

Last night I saw yet another story about a problem with VA medical care on CNN . In reading the article, however, all I could see was what VA did right.

Earlier in the week, a staff member reported that a Wisconsin VA dentist broke the rules by improperly re-using his own equipment instead of the required sterilized disposable tools. He was immediately relieved of his dentistry duties, and on Monday, he must meet a review board to determine his fate.

This situation presented a risk to veteran patients of exposure to HIV and hepatitis B and C. The VA has offered free testing and follow-up care if any problems are discovered. The risk of infection is low, and out of an abundance of caution, all of the nearly 600 patients this dentist has treated have been notified of the situation and offered care.

Granted, its awful, and I wouldnt want to be one of those patients. But the way VA is handling this incident appears quite professional. And its not like equivalent malpractices, or much worse, dont occur every day in civilian medical treatment centers.

Why is it then that U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said, "How can our veterans be treated so carelessly and where is the accountability?" "The individual in question has not even been fired -- a truly stunning show of bureaucratic impunity. This demonstrates once and for all that the VA needs a complete overhaul, so that our veterans finally get the care -- and the respect -- they deserve."

How does a problem like this handled as well as it was demonstrate once and for all that the VA needs a complete overhaul? I'm not aware of any hospital that would fire a provider before conducting a review, and meanwhile, this provider is not being allowed to treat patients so he is no longer a risk.

Surgeries on the wrong limb or patient have plagued community hospitals for years. While tremendous effort has gone into solving those egregious problems, theyre not labeled as a stunning show of bureaucratic impunity or calling for a complete overhaul of their systems. Stuff happens everywhere!

Over the decades, VA healthcare has done nothing but improve. I know because Ive personally witnessed it since my U.S. Marine Corps brother returned from Vietnam in 1968. Granted, it used to be the place to go to die, but it has changed. As a veteran myself who has had all manner of medical care in the U.S. and abroad, Ive been a VA patient for the last 15 years and wouldnt go anywhere else.

Sure, there are problems that must be fixed, and most people have heard some kind of horror story about them. What I see, however, is how those problems are being addressed every day by devoted staff. Frankly, Ive grown weary of politicians telling me how bad things are when despite often understaffed and overworked conditions, my VA providers are clearly knocking themselves out to give me outstanding medical care.

Our politicians need to become better informed about standard medical practices before they berate VA staff for doing a good job of addressing potentially serious problems. And they need to start noticing what VA is doing right. Except when specialty care is not available, most veterans I know prefer to get their medical care at VAs around the country.

There are good reasons why privatization proposals have met resistance from more than two dozen veterans service organizations, including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Disabled Veterans of America. Providers who understand the unique needs of veterans can often offer more effective patient care. And the cost of out-sourcing veterans medical care is multi-fold compared to what it costs the Government, representing a significant potential burden on American taxpayers.

This extreme response by Speaker Ryan left me wondering if his motivation was more about helping big businesses who might benefit from the privatization of VA healthcare rather than doing whats best for veterans. Why arent journalists investigating that angle of his comments?

I appreciate the healthcare I receive at the VA. I dont appreciate politicians criticizing VA hospitals and dedicated staff when what we need is more support for the best practices they often represent.

Congressman Ryan may believe his VA-bashing is helping veterans when it could actually be undermining the important work VA does for those veterans as well as employee morale. Perhaps hes forgotten that veterans are voters too.