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A study released this week by USA Today finds wait times at the Indianapolis’ veterans affairs hospital is 13th worst in the nation. The report comes on the heels of Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki stepping down.
Edward Trice served four years in the United States Marine Corps including a stint as a Small Arms Repairman in Vietnam.
He is now the Commander of the Indiana American Legion and suffers from diabetes and problems related to Agent Orange, a chemical sprayed on trees and vegetation during the Vietnam War.
But, even he has had to wait weeks to get an appointment at a VA hospital.
"Up until about three or four years ago I never had any problems and then they started. We didn't have doctors. We all of a sudden had all nurse practitioners. We didn't see doctors anymore," he said. "I made an appointment to get into one and it was 45 days before I could get in to see a doctor."
The Department of Veteran’s Affairs has a goal of connecting new patients with an appointment in two weeks.
The USA Today report found the average wait time at the VA hospital in Indianapolis is six weeks. Trice says that puts veterans’ lives in danger.
"They've been so understaffed for so many years up there, a lot of veterans were hurting. I know they had to be hurting. I'm not dying or anything like that, but I'm concerned about veterans that are in even worse shape than I am," said Trice. "A lot of our older veterans, they are not complainers and if they are told 45 days they wait 45 days. But, they might have a life threatening deal going on and they could die in that time."
Roscoe Butler says that’s simply unacceptable.
"The American Legion was appalled," he said.
Butler is the American Legion Deputy Director for Health Care. He says a lack of specialty and primary care physicians is the main reason for the delays.
"They need to hire more staffing, doctors, nurses, to ensure that they have the appropriate staffing to provide the care and service to veterans," he said.
He also says the VA’s scheduling system needs to be updated. He calls it “antiquated.”
The issues with VA hospitals and allegations of falsifying appointment records led to the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinsheki.
Butler says a change in leadership is a first step in resolving the VA’s problems.
"If you are not providing the care to our nation's veterans and you are not committed to doing so, then you need to find another job," he said. "The American veterans, Congress, the veterans services organizations will not tolerate that."
Congressman Andre Carson of Indianapolis calls the resignation "unfortunate," but believes changes for the VA need to start with the taking a look at its internal controls.
"And see where there are gaps in services with regards to management, with regards to their handling of others, with regards to processing paper work appropriately and timely and making sure folks' benefits kick in when necessary," said Carson.
And Carson says issues like these send the wrong message to the country’s veterans.
"I think Americans do appreciate veterans, I don't think we tell them enough. I don't think we articulate it as well and as clearly and as eloquently as we should, but I think these kinds of things kind of reaffirm the notion that veterans are just uncared for," said Carson. "We've gone back to this since the Korean War, up into the Vietnam War, up into Desert Storm where folks have returned and they felt like they had been mishonored by the way they had been treated by the VA and other folks."
While long term changes are discussed, Butler and Trice both recommend referring patients to doctors outside of the VA to alleviate some of the wait times. But, there are some eligibility requirements to do so.
And until something is done, the waiting game continues for Indiana’s 490,000 veterans.
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