Vets sound off about care at forum

For the most part, health care provided by Veterans Affairs facilities in Southern Nevada meets or exceeds expectations of veterans who receive it and has saved lives in some cases.

But getting access to it in a timely fashion needs improvement, as does the system for processing disability claims and communicating with branches of the military about veterans’ medical records.

That was the message from some of the 20 speakers who expressed concerns to a panel of VA officials Thursday night.

Cal Price, 88, a World War II Army Air Corps veteran from Mesquite, said he has “nothing but compliments” about his VA health care.

“I love the VA,” he said. “If you can get by the front office, everything is wonderful.”

More than 150 veterans attended the town hall at the North Las Vegas VA Medical Center, the second in a series of forums the VA began in September. VA Secretary Robert McDonald required VA facilities nationwide to field veterans’ concerns at town hall meetings to restore trust in the agency in the wake of scandals that surfaced this year about long waits for health care and scheduling improprieties at VA facilities nationwide.

While the first forum on Sept. 25 was heated at times, with many veterans making emotional accusations directed at the staff of the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, the second forum Thursday was more subdued.

But it carried the same theme of complaints: delays caused by a shortage of medical professionals and rude treatment by some staff members.

One Marine veteran said he was brushed aside and misled.

“I’m very disappointed in the VA system,” said retired Marine Capt. James E. Brown Sr., 85. He said he suffered health problems from having chemical-laced water at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

He said he sent a certified letter to VA Medical Center Director Isabel Duff, who never responded.

Said Duff: “I’m going to follow up on that. I did receive it. … I’m going to follow up with you one on one, sir.”

Brown said as a result of drinking the tainted water, he has had skin problems and other health issues.

“I lost all hearing; I had vertigo. I couldn’t walk for two years. I had to learn how to walk,” he said, adding that his nervous system has also been affected.

“You folks wouldn’t take me in. You kept turning me down,” Brown said.

He asked why he wasn’t receiving care even though he was in a Navy database that authorized it. He said when the VA plugged his name and last four digits of his Social Security number into its database “all of a sudden the computer went blank. They told me to wait outside. I waited over an hour. … What’s going on?” he asked.

“They told me the Navy Department shut the computer down. I called the Navy Department. It took me four days. The Navy didn’t shut it down. You folks lied in front of me. … That’s not right,” Brown said.