VA Hospital Closeup

VA hospitals have been in the news of late, and today my brother and I got to experience first hand both the level of care and the amount of red tape. Here's how it happened.

I popped up and get dressed to go to the gym but upon seeing my brother (who is here recuperating from heart surgery) I changed my plans. Donnie looked terrible. At first glace, I thought he might have had a stroke. He told me that during the night, he had gone outdoors and stumbled on the dog food dish, falling hard on and over a heavy metal bench. The impact had been hard enough to shove the bench several inches on the concrete. A significant blow, and my brother was in some real distress.

So, I gathered his pills and medical record and we headed to the VA hospital in Tampa. Getting to the hospital was a breeze, but finding a convenient way to get Don into the ER was a puzzle. No direct entrance from outside. Not a good thing, but in defense of the VA, they are in the midst of an extensive remodel.

There was a long wait for "pre-triage," and a longer wait to get into the care area where he was gowned and wired for cardiac monitoring, O2 levels and blood pressure. Finally a pretty lady doctor came by and was amazed no one had ordered xrays. I was sent to the waiting room while my brother was wheeled away to xray. More time passes... very slowly..........

Back in his ER bed, Don dozes after his pain meds are finally given. We have been there six hours. I have spent much of them praying for my brother, two men with bad veins who are good naturedly albeit painfully repoked several times for blood samples. I pray also for a man with a bad spider bite and another with chest pains. And on we wait.

There is little privacy here which breeds a sense of camaraderie among these men and women who gave part of themselves and their lives to serve our country in the military. They talk among one another about their ailments, previous ER visits, where and when they did military service.

The medical staff seems to be civilian but well suited to serve these vets. The personal commitment and professional performance of the staff is commendable, but the system is flawed and understaffed. One nurse comments that the new ER will be nice but will not alleviate the problem of the flawed system and the continuing understaffing of the ER and the hospital in general. I've only been their nine hours by that time yet am sure she is unfortunately right.

Finally, the pretty doctor returns. Looks like a fractured rib, but there was a problem in the xray. Either way, she treats the same. Pain meds, lots of rest, etc. We are, at last free to go... almost. We must have paperwork first. That takes 50 minutes. Then we must wait another 20 minutes for the meds.

The VA health care system is slow, overweighted and plodding under the massive burden of too much "old school" and red tape... but it is a system vets can use and we are thankful for the care receives. We also have hope that with prayer and national conscience, the sysrem will improve.

Having been gone over thirteen hours, we finally arrive home and notice once again that indeed, there truly is no place like home. Thank You, Lord for medical care (even when it's slow) and thank You for home.