VA struggling to treat women veterans.
VA struggling to treat women veterans.
Roughly 180,000 women have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) “treated more than 255,000 female veterans. The number is expected to double within five years.” The agency, however, is far from prepared to deal with women’s health care needs:
“They aren’t ready,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said of VA officials. “Absent a proactive, concerted effort and knowing their limited resources, they (VA officials) are struggling with so much this might get lost.” […]
The legislation [introduced by Murray] also would require the VA to start caring for newborn children of female veterans who are receiving maternity care. Currently the VA doesn’t cover newborn costs. In addition, it would require increased training for VA personnel dealing with military sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, in women.
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on Murray’s bill on Wednesday.
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The VA Hospitals need to improve and hire more qualified personnel soon. They knew this day was coming and as usual are completely unprepared. It is a disgrace that these women have to put up with unqualified professionals.
If you are going to ship them out to foreign countries in a war zone, when they get home the least the government could do is have the proper personnel in place.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:13 amThis will be George W. Bush’s legacy.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:16 amThe generations of soldiers, their children, and their families who will be devastated by the wounds, the trauma and the neglect which is the result of his illegal, immoral, and greed driven war for profit.
I’m guessing the military is practicing equal rights.
You know, neither sex receiving fair and appropriate treatment.
But McCan’t thinks benefits are too generous. What did he say, a soldier should be in service for a 100 years before receiving benefits?
May 19th, 2008 at 10:17 amWhat these women need to do is sign up with Blackwater as soon as their enlistments are over. That way they can get benefits they can’t get from their own government.
Obviously, since so much of our money is going to Blackwater instead of taking care of the needs of our own soldiers and veterans, they should go where the money is — right?
/snark off
May 19th, 2008 at 10:21 amThere is more women in the military today than in the Vietnam era, but they are no less deserving in getting the best care that can be given than their male counterparts.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:23 amVA struggling to treat women veterans
- - Maybe the VA should outsource the military females to KBR, since they seem to treat women SO well.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:29 amThere is more women in the military today than in the Vietnam era..
And, don’t forget there are more tough guy Republiscum chickenhawks than ever in our country’s history!
One would think the rightwingnut war cheerleaders would be embarrassed into actually showing up for the wars they pine away for - what with women fighting their wars and what not, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
These manly men of the right don’t even have the courage of our nation’s women. Says it all, doesn’t it?
May 19th, 2008 at 10:29 amVA officials say there’s no double standard when it comes to disability ratings for PTSD.
Then why does the VA keep denying these women? It is going to keep happening until the VA gets a complete overhaul. These women deserve better than this. How can they possibly lead a normal life at home without the proper treatment? We are going to see a rise in the suicide rate for women if this is not corrected.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:31 amMayhaps they coulda thunk of this when they started putting women into harm’s effing way? jeebutz.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:57 amThe solution to this problem is obvious—the US military needs to change its slogans!
“An Army of Your On Your Own”
“Be Whatever’s Left of You Once We’re Done with You”
“Not Just Strung-Out; ARMY Strung-Out”
“The Screwed, the Disavowed, the Stop-Lossed—-The Marines”
“Aim Low”
May 19th, 2008 at 11:02 am“We’re Looking for a Few Good Pieces”
May 19th, 2008 at 11:05 amWhat this gang of lying criminals has done to our Armed Forces: lack of preparation, lack of proper armament, outsourcing of the war: private armies, Haliburton (KKB?) providing meals, maintence, etc. at great cost overruns requires that they ALL be arrested, charged and jailed appropiately. The attack on Iraq was exactly like Hitler’s on Poland Sept. 1939. Everything else that they’re responsible for is also actionable.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:31 amThe VA has never had facilities for women. That they haven’t upgraded is sinful.
I am confident that Bush is busy recruiting some OB-GYNs to “practice their love” through the VA for these women.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:40 am5th Estate Says:
“The Screwed, the Disavowed, the Stop-Lossed—-The Marines”
May 19th, 2008 at 11:02 am Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
The problem is the only ones who vowed “Semper Fidelis” were the marines, not the DoD or the GOP. For this GOP, the usual motto is “Semper Screwis”.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:48 amAnother national embarassment! Women need a woman president.
May 19th, 2008 at 12:52 pmGiven the disasterous side-effects of DU exposure to vets of Bush I’s First Gulf War, we can now expect an exponential increase, as now women of childbearing age are exposed to radiation.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:40 pmI just checked back in a was stunned there were only 16 posting’s on this thread..Sad realy, guess women still don’t warrent much attention…Except for a few here we get less attention than male vet’s, less forthought on medicaal and little or no out rage when raped and no legal help after the fact..It seem’s to me this administration has completed what they wanted, rob our treasury, kill our military and march all our right’s backward’s over 100 year’s……Blessings
May 19th, 2008 at 3:12 pmWitchy woman; check my post @10:23 on this thread. I stated that female vets deserve the best care possible, just like male vets should.
May 19th, 2008 at 3:26 pmWitch1, this is a terribly important story but it’s also no surprise.
We’re paying companies that often rape female employees and do not prosecute, it figures that women serving for the “usual” forces fail to receive proper medical care.
It shows where the priorities are. This war, strife, and suffering is meant to be ongoing and interminable, the new century. We must fight Eurasia…
May 19th, 2008 at 4:11 pmThat does not excuse us from response, but many here would, following service, not rely on veterans’ care anyway given the lack of credibility.
It does need total overhaul.
May 19th, 2008 at 4:13 pmUncle Ho, I wasen’t refering to the few that posted here already, was pointing out all the other poster’s that fill up thread;s daily and had not responded to this one at all…Our country and her people are doomed if we can’t change all of this mess quick…..Every one born on this planet was carried by a woman….Love Ya Uncle Ho…Blessings
May 19th, 2008 at 7:09 pmThe VA might not be ready for a lot of the changes and improvements, just as most women are never quite ready for a newborn. The VA has had a few of us female Veterans to practice on for a few decades now, and supervised little children always brighten up things. Since our government is paying the delivery room and maternity ward charges for illegal immigrants; I believe they owe women veterans more. Just please don’t allow any women veterans issues’ to be exploited for political gain.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:13 pmJust want to share my letter to the editor with you here:
Reader does not support amnesty for illegal immigrants
I watched Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., hard at work recently on C-Span, showing on his charts how seven million U.S. citizens are presently unemployed. He also showed how presently there are only four million jobs available in the United States.
How can Democrats push for the amnesty of 20 million illegal immigrants, while providing us with the best evidence against it?
Illegal immigrants are the biggest contributors to unemployment in the United States, and they are forcing many U.S. citizens into early retirement. Two illegal immigrants are working for the price of one American and with no employee benefits. They help the employer in the present and future.
My school taxes have doubled because of the illegal immigrants’ many, many children in our public schools.
While our troops are bravely fighting for freedom in the Middle East, at home it appears freedom is free for illegal immigrants as they invade our nation.
The Democrats advocating for amnesty are saying that citizenship for illegal immigrants will cost them each a $5,000 fee. In reality, what these politicians are saying is that the lives of the brave heroes we lost in this war on terror are each only worth $5,000.
In Pennsylvania we have veterans living underneath bridges and employed illegal immigrants living in the rental properties.
How can our government propose to give amnesty to 20 million low-wage-earning illegal immigrants, all of whom will then be eligible for free government welfare programs, when it cannot help just a few hundred thousand veterans, many of whom just need proper medical care or are truly homeless or unemployed?
Pat Smith Duryea
http://www.timesleader.com/ opinion/ letters/ 20080518_Smith_letter_ART.html
p.s. After 50 years I am still a Roman Catholic, but one of many who will no longer pay church dues to help support these illegals.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:17 pm