Doing The Right Thing
Via The Sniper:
VA trauma center treats most grievously wounded troops
The centers have become a key element in caring for the wounded as the war in Afghanistan enters its second decade and the injured from Iraq continue to need care. They are the result of important medical insights gleaned from the long wars in the Middle East — that modern battlefield injuries, particularly those from bomb blasts, require a team approach from physicians and therapists.
Sometimes The System works, this appears to be one of those times.
Category: Military issues, Real Soldiers, Support the troops, The Warrior Code, Veteran Health Care, Veterans Issues, Veterans' Affairs Department
I have no doubt that the VA Healthcare systems provides excellent care in some of the major cities. The problem is a large portion of disabled Veterans do not have access to such fine polytrauma facilities such as this one.
I am glad that some Veterans are getting excellent care.
Few systems are perfect. I might suggest that any government bureaucracy will have flaws. In this specific situation perhaps we should simply acknowledge the good being done.
It IS a rarity.
Jerry Pournelle wrote a theory called the Iron Law of Bureaucracy:
Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy states that in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself… The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.
Source: http://www.jerrypournelle.com/archives2/archives2view/view408.html#Iron
Same goes for the VA: the medical arts folks I’ve dealt with are, by and large, dedicated to the vet. The admin folks are a whole other, and not good, story.
Yeah DaveO #3: Know that law full well. Still it doesn’t hurt to give a heads up when someone breaks it.
Agree with DaveO. The VA medical crews I’ve met are wonderful. But there is much to improve upon within the system, as well as providing veterans with proper information on how to use it. I worked with my Mass. hometown’s veterans department off and on since my discharge in 2004. One of the stories that got to me was back in ’05, dealing with a Vietnam War veteran who had severe problems receiving aid following a heart condition which eventually was linked to Agent Orange. It took him years of struggling to obtain the help he needed. He died a year after he received it. A lot more attention has been given service members of these recent wars, thankfully.