Our Veterans Still Facing Enemies Who Can Destroy Their Lives

Prior to the recent election, America was made aware of those who unselfishly gave up part of their lives to don the uniform of the American military were facing the broken promises of America just as those who went before them when it comes to receiving much needed healthcare from the VA.

Talking heads, T.V. and radio hosts jumped on the bandwagon, some even saying that they'll, "Give the VA 90 days for the VA to show some improvement" after Congress passed "emergency" funding and a new administrator was appointed and ratified. Where are they now?

Well, just as in the past there has been little improvement.

Some VA hospitals used the funding for big screen T.V.'s in the hospital, while the inpatient veterans were going without properly cleaned blankets.

Roughly 10% of all the Veterans Affairs patients are still waiting a month or more for appointments.

Now, though this may seem to be a minor problem for some, we learn that those who visit the VA are once again facing an enemy. This enemy may not take their physical lives but can take their personal lives.

Two years after a major security breach compromised the personal information of over 4,000 veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to suffer from systemic “security weaknesses,” according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

“While the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has taken actions to mitigate previously identified vulnerabilities, it has not fully addressed these weaknesses. … Until VA fully addresses previously identified security weaknesses, its information is at heightened risk of unauthorized access, modification, and disclosure and its systems at risk of disruption,” the report found.

The VA has experienced multiple high-profile breaches in recent years, and the report cautions that unless it corrects “underlying” security vulnerabilities in its systems, breaches are likely to continue and could result in unauthorized access and disclosure of personal information.

Many of the weaknesses identified in the report are not new, but the inspectors say the agency has failed to sufficiently address some of the “previously identified vulnerabilities.”

The VA Inspector General released a report in February 2013 that identified deficiencies in “management controls intended to ensure that VA’s critical systems have appropriate security baselines and up-to-date vulnerability patches,” and made recommendations to resolve the problems.

The VA said they completed the recommendations and would continue to improve those security controls but the recent inspection found that the VA failed to deliver on that promise.(Haven't "we" heard this before?...OM)

“The department has not yet effectively implemented a program to manage vulnerabilities and apply associated patches,” the report notes. “Until it does so, it will remain at increased risk that known vulnerabilities could be exploited.”

The IG made eight recommendations to correct the problems, but the agency appears to be off to a poor start implementing those.

The VA received a draft of the findings, and responded that six of the recommendations were implemented. However, the report notes that inspectors “are concerned that the actions VA described as completed for at least two of the six recommendations may not comprehensively address the weaknesses we identified.”

The latest report marks the 16th consecutive year the agency has failed a cyber security assessment. The House Veteran Affairs Committee held a hearing on Tuesday to address the ongoing concerns.

Chairman Jeff Miller (R., Fla.) said in his opening remarks that the VA’s Technology Office has “greatly contributed to the problems of data manipulation” by failing to address the persistent weaknesses.

“These failures are not because of a lack of resources, as some VA senior officials want us to believe,” he said. “Within the past decade, Congress has provided over 28 billion dollars to VA’s Office of Information and Technology to ensure its goals and actions are aligned with and driving the strategic goals of the agency. Given the availability of resources, it is apparent that this office’s lack of success and repeated under performance is a leadership failure.”

Let us know what you think.

Semper Fi!

Source: http://freebeacon.com/issues/va-has-not-corrected-security-problems/

More than 600,000 veterans wait a month or more for appointments at VA

More than 600,000 veterans — 10% of all the Veterans Affairs patients — continue to wait a month or more for appointments at VA hospitals and clinics, according to data obtained by USA TODAY.

The VA has made some progress in dealing with the backlog of cases that forced former secretary Eric Shinseki to retire early this year. For instance, the VA substantially cut the overall number of worst-case scenarios for veterans — those who had waited more than four months for an appointment. That figure dropped from 120,000 in May to 23,000 in October. Much of that improvement occurred because patients received care from private providers.

Since May, the VA has been reduced the number of veterans waiting longest for care — its top priority — by 57%, according to James Hutton, a VA spokesman. From June to September, the VA completed 19 million appointments, an increase of 1.2 million compared with the same time last year.

"VA's goal continues to be to provide timely, high-quality healthcare for veterans," Hutton said in a statement. "Veterans and VA employees nationwide understand the need for reform, and VA is committed to putting these reforms into place. And while we have significantly improved capacity and access to care, we have not yet achieved our intended state — systemic and timely access across the board. It will be an ongoing and significant effort to reach our goals."

To recruit more health care providers, VA Secretary Robert McDonald has proposed pay hikes for VA doctors and dentists, Hutton said. McDonald announced a restructuring of the VA on Nov. 10.

The new data show that dozens of hospitals and clinics leave a quarter or more of all their patients waiting 30 days or more for an appointment.

• Some facilities still have extremely long wait times for basic care, including 64 that have average wait times over 60 days for new patients seeking primary care. They include major facilities, such as hospitals in Baltimore; Jacksonville, Fla.; Temple, Texas, and Atlanta. All have at least 30,000 pending appointments.​

In Jacksonville, the average new patient is left waiting 77 days, a fact that previously obscured in the VA's data because it was averaged into the much-better performance of the nearby Gainesville hospital. Jacksonville only sees two-thirds of its patients within 30 days, the worst rate of any major facility in the VA system.

The VA is hiring more staff to deal with those delays, Hutton said.

• Ten facilities reported waits of more than three months for a new patient to see a specialist. At the top of the list: the Westmoreland, Pa., clinic, where patients are waiting 174 days — nearly six months — for a specialty appointment.

Thirty-three facilities have kept new patients seeking a mental-health appointments waiting for at least two months (I wonder if there is any data on if any of these veterans, committed suicide during those two months?...OM) . Among those are large hospitals in Martinsburg, W.Va., Amarillo, Texas, and Tuskegee, Ala. And 10 clinics and hospitals kept established patients waiting at least three weeks longer than the patients wanted for mental health appointments.

• Some small locations have big waiting times, too. The Wagner, S.D., clinic near the Nebraska state line, has only 155 total appointments of any type pending — and its new patient wait time is 153 days.

The data looks at nearly 6 million appointments until Oct. 1 and scheduled through Veterans Health Administration.

Members of Congress continue to express dissatisfaction (They "express" dissatisfaction, BUT not doing anything about it...OM) with the delays in disciplining VA employees involved in covering up the long wait times.

"The events of the last year have proven that far too many senior VA leaders have lied, manipulated data, or simply failed to do the job for which they were hired," said Rep. Jeff Miller, a Florida Republican and chairman of House Veterans' Affairs Committee, during a hearing Thursday. "It is also clear that VA's attempt to instill accountability for these leaders has been both nearly non-existent and rife with self-inflicted roadblocks to real reform."

What do you think? Please let us know.

Semper Fi!

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/11/16/long-wait-times-persist-at-many-va-hospitals/19033789/

Remembering the Veterans Year Round

                             

The election is finally over, the future course for America may have been changed and the various news organizations and “talking heads” are dissecting, praising or making excuses for the victories or defeats of the various political races.

With all the chatter, it seems strange that there is little to no mention of how these races will affect the forgotten men and women who sacrificed to make these elections possible, THE VETERANS.

Americans are celebrating Veterans Day (Remembrance) with various sales, a day off from work, maybe a parade or two, some small gatherings or just resting.

Most people will not really be thinking about or asking what they can REALLY do to honor and celebrate those fine men and women, who stood up when the American people called to protect the Freedoms that many sheeple have taken for granted.

As a Veteran may I suggest a few ways for people to truly honor the American Veteran.

To me one of the most important ways to honor and remember the Veteran is to remind those in Congress, the talking heads, celebrities (be fore warned some do not like to be called out) and others that just because Congress passed and POTUS signed “The Veterans Access,Choice and Accountability Act of 2014” that now all is “well” with the VA. IT ISN'T! 

So, what can YOU do?

Start by continuing to remind those who “voiced” outrage about the pi$ poor treatment that the Veterans have / have not received, then disappeared from the public eye. They got their publicity or whatever they were seeking but nothing has changed. The plight of the Veteran continues.

To do this, do what every warrior does, use every “weapon” available to you.

“Weapons” like twitter, snail mail, email, telephones whatever YOU can, its up to You.

Another way to honor the Veterans year round, not just on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month and it will mean a little sacrifice on your part. YES, a sacrifice.

This sacrifice will require some time and maybe foregoing that extra cup of custom coffee or that extra donut.

As far as time, search the Net for the phone number of the nearest VA in your area then pick up the phone and call the VA hospital and ask, “What 'health and comfort' items are needed for inpatient Veterans?” For those not familiar with “health and comfort” items, these are the things most Americans take for granted, things like toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, etc.

Remember, a number of veterans admitted to the VA hospitals come in on weekends,completely unprepared and may not have someone to bring them these items,

"Those healthcare professionals who REALLY give a damn, have to hustle in the attempt to find those needed “health and comfort” items elsewhere in the hospital"

You may also ask them what other items might be needed to may help make the Veterans' stay in the hospital a little more pleasant. Items such as books, playing cards, etc.

As you can guess by now, the sacrifice of time and money are linked.

You are now armed with a “list” of needed items from your phone call to the VA and the money you save by foregoing that extra cup of coffee or donut; its time to “attack”.

On your next trip to the local Wally World (just as an example) wander back to the pharmacy section and look. You will find shelves of various travel sized “health and comfort” items, most cost about $0.97 plus tax.

You can also find other inexpensive items throughout the pharmacy area, use your judgment. Spend what you can afford. Remember every little bit helps.

You can figure out whether you want to take these items to the VA on a weekly or a monthly basis. OR if taking a trip to the VA hospital is not convenient, call the VA and ask them about mailing these items. REMEMBER to get the mailing address. 

Another way to help and remember the Veterans and I'm borrowing this from Jason F. Wright and his Christmas jar project. But instead of a Christmas jar, why not a Veteran's jar?

Mr. Wright's original idea was to have a jar, you may already have one, that you throw your change in at the end of the day. Then quietly and anonymously leave the jar on a needy family's doorstep during the Christmas season. Don't worry if there isn't a large sum of money in the jar, when a family is “hurting”, every little bit helps.

Let's just modify this a little bit. Instead waiting till the Christmas season, find a Veteran in your neighborhood that may be struggling and anonymously leave it for him or her on Veterans Day.

If you don't know of a Veteran who is struggling, donate it to one of the many Veteran's organizations.

Or you can use it to buy the needed items for those in the VA hospitals. IF you really care, want to help and honor the Veterans you can figure out what to do with the Veterans Jar.

So, as you leave the house this Veterans' Day to go and shop those Veterans' Day sales ask yourself, “Is this really the way to remember and honor those men and women who sacrificed for my freedom? Is there something more I can do?”

Semper Fi!

Once again, I must thank Igor for his proof reading and editing.