[Marxism] Welcome home, soldier. We'll take care of you.

[<lshan@xxxxxxx>]

ALBANY -- As he lay dying in Stratton VA Medical Center, Hal Silverstein
scribbled a note to his wife, saying he'd lost trust in his caretakers and
was scared.
. . .

"They looked me straight in the face and said, 'There's nothing wrong with
the gallbladder, but we took it anyway,"' Silverstein said of the operation
she believes killed her husband of 10 years.

Silverstein's death came at a time when public confidence in Stratton has
been slipping. The facility was rocked last year by the indictment of a
former cancer researcher on federal charges, including homicide and
manslaughter. That criminal case, spearheaded by the VA's Office of
Inspector General, is ongoing and involves the alleged falsification of
medical records in order to enroll veterans in experimental drug studies.

Recently, under pressure from Congress and the Justice Department, the FBI
opened a new investigation of alleged corruption at Stratton dating almost
10 years. Areas of interest include misuse of research funds, patient abuse,
patient deaths and falsification of patient records, according to a law
enforcement official familiar with the case.

The investigations are woven into the backdrop of a veterans hospital
struggling to maintain its standing and trust with thousands of veterans it
serves.

Silverstein's death in particular resonated through the local veterans
community. He was active and well-known for his artistic talents and work as
a former U.S. Navy photographer. He won accolades for his photos chronicling
the efforts of Navy SEALs in Vietnam, accompanying them on covert missions
in the Mekong Delta, where the toll of war was seared into the minds of
young sailors like Silverstein.
. . .

"I remember going down there that night. Hal was in the intensive care
unit," said McGrath, an attorney. "As I recall, Dr. Smith was his name. ...
He just had this expression on his face like: 'I can't believe they did
this.' He said the remedy for this would've been to drain it."
. . .

George Swiers, a Vietnam War and Marine Corps veteran from Saratoga Springs,
helped found the group Vietnam Veterans of America but said he finally gave
up on his activism several years ago.

"It was too agonizing. The problems never went away; there was never that
light at the end of the tunnel," Swiers said. "I have never heard a horror
story about the VA that I didn't believe. ... I wish I could be optimistic
but my position has never changed: The biggest enemy to veterans in this
country is the Veterans Affairs hospital system. It is a medical slum."
. . .

In Green's view, part of the problem may be that many of the veterans from
what has become known as the Greatest Generation are not an outspoken group
and have been willing to accept the government's free health care, no matter
what its condition.

"They're very stoic people, those who served in World War II and the Korean
War," Green said. "That's how they were raised. They're not complainers but
they deserve what they were promised and they were promised that they would
be taken care of and we're going back on our word."
. . .

Still, many veterans and their families said their experiences at Stratton
over the years have been good.
. . .

"You hear about it, but I don't understand," Walter Brewer said. His wife
added: "We've always been treated halfway decent. Some people complain about
every little thing but we are very pleased with it."
. . .

Last July, while he was national commander of the American Legion, veteran
Ronald F. Conley of Pennsylvania went before a Senate Veterans Affairs
committee to deliver a presentation on problems at the VA's 137 hospitals. .
. . "First of all, the VA is always in a total state of denial," Conley said
in a recent telephone interview. "If you run across a problem, they'll say
'tell me what that problem is and we'll get it straightened out.' But they
don't look at the big picture or that the problem is probably occurring
throughout the system."

Conley offered several anecdotes from his tour that he said underscore the
VA's problems. In Pittsburgh, a VA medical director allegedly spent more
than $100,000 from a medical budget for improvements to a private residence.
The director was later promoted, Conley said.

A woman in Nashville, he said, is suing the VA because she was scarred
during a kidney operation after the hospital allegedly used unsterilized
equipment because its sterilizers were all broken.

At the end of his speech to the Senate Veterans Affairs committee last
summer, Conley urged the Senate to undo years of budget cuts that he says
have gouged the VA system and left it in a state of crisis.

"If America can find the money to bail out failed savings and loans
institutions, commit troops to peacekeeping missions, rebuild foreign
governments, provide health care for Third World countries and forgive loans
to foreign countries, then, surely, America can find the money to provide
the needed care for America's veterans," Conley told the panel.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=216880&category=REGIO
NOTHER&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=2/8/2004


_______________________________________________
Marxism mailing list
Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism