By Heidi Marshall Booth, MSS Santa Monica
It was nice to read acknowledgments of the veterans in the column by Marty Conatser (“A grateful nation should remember”) and the cartoon “The Other Coast” on Monday, Nov. 12. It is just unfortunate that (veterans’) access to health care is not as easy as one would have you believe. Yes, the VA, in general, does a great job. When research dollars get involved, the emphasis too often stops being on care and starts being on data and dollars. I saw this firsthand as I watched as VA resources were utilized on veterans and non-veterans alike with supervisors who instructed that the investigators were to be the priority; not the care of patients.
Having a brother-in-law who is a veteran who has yet to heal, the investigators were never in my mind, the veterans were. Veterans should always come first within the VA systems. This nation should not turn a blind eye to the unethical activities and security breaches within this institution. Walk the campus in Brentwood or Sepulveda; any of the men or women have a story that makes it clear. Please discourage the use of the VA as a source of medical treatment for non-vets and non-US citizens. Our veterans need these resources.
Anyone who works within the VA system should know this — on Veterans Day and every day. If they do not, they should not be there.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 15, 2007. Read the original PDF.