LETTERS: VA hospitals need more military members, less administrators

To the editor:

After reading the editorial on the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA incompetence,” May 26 Review-Journal), I would like to add my two cents. We have had to spend a considerable amount of time at the VA hospital lately. What a change.

Years ago, when we had to go to a VA clinic for illnesses, everyone we encountered was either a current or previous military member — from doctors, nurses and technicians to porters, secretaries and aides. There was such competency, respect and efficiency. Everything a patient needed was done expertly and timely.

Now we are rushed through, getting little or wrong information, and it is difficult to find anyone with current or previous military experience. We mostly see nurse practitioners. I feel they have demilitarized the VA, with government administrators assuming control. And everyone knows how efficient they are, thinking they can run everything.

These administrators are paid outrageous salaries with bonuses. They are generally incompetent and therefore have to hire several assistants to keep things afloat. Everything becomes top-heavy with high-paid people. When costs get higher and complaints pile up, guess what they do? Cut jobs on the lower end, which means the people who keep the wheels churning and the veterans treated end up dong the job of two to three people on one person’s wages.

Wait times then lengthen, and our veterans cannot receive treatment. So those at the top cut more jobs, cut quality and hire experts to come in to train good people to be happy and friendly, take surveys and send out useless mailers.

Please give our VA back to the military and restore the reputation of being an excellent medical facility, with nothing but the best of care for our veterans, who deserve nothing but the best. If we want even more of an improvement, require that all government employees receive care through the VA.

JOANN WYMORE

LAS VEGAS

Lake Mead level

To the editor:

With the declining level of Lake Mead and the increasing development in the Las Vegas Valley, we are starting to look like lemmings. You have to wonder if we’re crazy.

In response to our drought, representatives are looking at two solutions. The first is a pipeline from Northern Nevada that is looking like nothing more than a pipe dream. Northern Nevada is facing the same drought confronting us. The second response is a third straw to the bottom of Lake Mead. Getting the last of the water is not a win, and the third straw could be the final straw, beyond which all is lost.

Numerous letters to the editor argue that it is time to face the truth and get serious. Reality validates those letters. We are running out of water while allowing increased water-using development. A state of emergency should be declared. State and local government agencies and the Clark County Commission need to get serious.

The situation demands that all new permits requiring water should be denied. That would give everyone a chance to take a look at the long term and determine how best to sustain the region.

EVAN BLYTHIN

BLUE DIAMOND

Reasons for failure

To the editor:

The phrase, “Failure is not an option” is commonly used by motivational speakers to inspire an audience. However, failure has indeed become an option for many young adults.

Excuses are made for students who don’t perform well in school, and often the blame is put on teachers. Parents living on unemployment, disability, welfare and food stamps don’t expect much from their children, and not much is achieved. Parents busy with their careers ignore their children and give them money instead of guidance and support. Students who fail to graduate from high school are allowed to take the GED test and get a diploma.

Minimum wage laws allow students with minimal skills to get entry level employment. If they are lucky, they will learn job skills that can provide a better paying job. However, if the current labor trend continues, the minimum wage will be sufficient to raise a family for someone flipping hamburgers. What motivation is there for our youth to excel in school or the workplace when we don’t demand their best performance, and when minimal skills command a sustainable wage?

NATALIE ADAMS

LAS VEGAS

Noncitizen teachers

To the editor:

I strongly object to noncitizens getting a license to teach (“Sandoval signs bill so noncitizens can teach in Nevada,” May 13 Review-Journal online).

Prior to setting foot in a Clark County classroom in 1970, I had to be fingerprinted at the police department and have FBI clearance. How can we know who is teaching our children unless we can check them out prior to that?

A classroom would be better off with 100 students than to have a noncitizen teaching our children. There is no country in the world that would permit a United States citizen teacher to set foot in their country’s classrooms, so why should America stoop this low?

We should increase teacher pay, visit and recruit teachers from other states, and most of all, provide more college scholarships to U.S. citizens, encouraging them to become teachers.

THRESIA PIERCE

LAS VEGAS