How Long Should You Sit In Your Van With A Broken Leg?

Not Really Where
An Elderly Man With A Broken Leg
Should Sit For 45 Minutes

Last Thursday, a veteran with a broken leg drove himself the Seattle VA Hospital. Since he's wheelchair-mobile, driving with a broken leg was not necessarily as difficult as for other people, but still, getting out of your vehicle with a broken leg is not something you want to do on your own.
When he pulled up to the unloading zone of the hospital, most medical facilities would have instructed him to remain where he was, and sent out a some medical professionals to assess his condition before helping him into a wheelchair or onto a gurney, or to have transported him in some other way.
This didn't happen, according to the veteran. The good news is that that valet service was alert and helpful, and promptly sent one of their number to seek help. The bad news is that help was not forthcoming. The veteran waited forty-five minutes until some non-medical personnel decided to assist him into a wheelchair and then into the facility. Presumably the valets were then able to park his vehicle properly.
There are other problems reported with this incident, but let's stop the story right here. The question must be raised: why was no medical personnel sent to assess the patient? If a patient is at the door and unable to enter under this own power, shouldn't this be a sign that a medical professional's attentions are required? What sort of institution leaves an elderly guy with a broken leg at the door?
Is the problem understaffing? If so, what sort of staffing level is required to see that this sort of thing does not happen again.

I have not given the veteran's name because he's still under the VA's care and I have not cleared this story with him. I have spoken with his wife, who confirmed all the facts above and she gave me many more details.

These questions are not directed in hostility against the facility; these are questions that citizens, taxpayers and veterans themselves might ask so that we can figure out what should be done. If the facility cannot advocate for itself for the ways and means to help an elderly man with a broken leg on its doorstep, then it's up to the rest of us to do the advocating - but first, we need answers as to how this happened.

Should Tuskegee Airmen Spend Twilight In Poverty?

William Booker

UPDATE:
Since this post was originally published, Mr. Booker has been enrolled in the VA system with the help of volunteers from Veterans And Friends of Puget Sound. The staff at the hospital were very welcoming and it looks like he and his family will be getting the help he earned. There will be a fuller post on this soon. But for the record, here's the original post:
------------------------------------------------
William Booker served in combat as one of the Tuskegee Airmen. You might have seen the movie, and you probably enjoyed seeing other Airmen at the 2012 Inauguration but won't thing you won't see is the VA helping him stay alive. The rules don't allow it.
In his late 80s and suffering from multiple illnesses, Booker's problem is that his pension, combined with his wife's, exceeds the $40,000 maximum allowed for those seeking VA assistance.
Mr. Booker's medically necessary direct care costs are around $4,000 a month, due to his illnesses. On topic of that are several hundred dollars  in medication, every month. His caretakers have decided, after careful consideration, that he will require a better bed and a reclining wheelchair due to his condition; this will be many thousands of dollars more.
Over Christmas, he was sent to the hospital; his wife hasn't gotten the bill for that yet, but three days and two nights there are not going to come cheap.
You don't need an advanced degree in math to figure out that this adds up to a lot more than $40,000 a year. In other words, if his wife Dolores spent all of their pensions and social security, that would not cover their medical expenses, and it would leave nothing for her to live on.
Some of these expenses are covered by Medicare, but even when they pay 80% for medicines, that still leave a lot for her to come up with.
Dolores says she went to the VA four times to apply for help. "They say he can't get any VA benefits at all" because of the income limit. "I just want some help paying for medication".
There's not necessarily any bad guys in this story; rules are rules and if the rules say that VA can't help you, it won't.
But are we really supposed to pat ourselves on the back for celebrating The Greatest Generation, and then demand that they impoverish themselves at the end of their lives?

Parking Problems At Seattle VA Hospital

It can be quite a hike from your parking spot to the hospital,
assuming that the lot isn't full

Valet parking is an important service at the Seattle VA Hospital for two reasons.
First, many of the veterans seeking care at the hospital have problems walking, but the parking lot is necessarily large. Usually when I go over there, I drive around the lot about ten minutes, finding no open spaces, and end up parking in the neighborhood. That's ok for me because my legs are just fine and I'm never there for treatment, but for others, that's a problem.
Second, there's money in the budget for this. It was put in there in response to community pressure, and there's no financial reason not to do it. There's supposed to be enough money to cover valet parking until the new parking garage is completed, which will take some years but when it's done, should solve the issue for the long run.
However, a problem has arisen. The first day of 2013, the valet parking disappeared, and there was nothing to tell people when, if ever, it was returning. Veterans called the hospital and, receiving no real answer, our congressmen and senators. Soon the valet returned and it seemed like things were on track. However today (January 11) I stopped by there for another reason, and the valets were gone.
To the Hospital's credit, the signage was a little better; it told us the day on which the valet service ended. But it didn't say why it was gone or when it was coming back.

This is a helpful sign,
But knowing when the service would return
Would be more helpful

I emailed the veteran's affair person on the staff our congressman, Jim McDermott, and he quickly replied that the hospital had contacted him and said they were having problems with the contractor. They sent out a second message late this afternoon saying "Services will begin on Wednesday, January 16, first thing in the morning." and they'd let the community know by updating their message on the facebook page. and its twitter feed. This suggests a number of things:

Seen Jan 11,2013

• Contractor problems do happen; that's not strange. But it would be good to figure out exactly what happened so that it doesn't happen again. Where did the contractor selection process go bad?
• The community didn't have a good way of monitoring what was going on; maybe the community need to occasionally check up on the place's status so problems can be addessed more quickly and, failing that, information can be disseminated more rapidly. 

Welcome to Veterans and Friends of Puget Sound

Cyril Miller, US Army Veteran
Founder of
Veterans And Friends of Puget Sound

Veterans and Friends of Puget Sound helps veterans navigate the often confusing network of Veterans Administration and other agencies, to get the best possible service that they have earned.
We are currently focused on the Puget Sound area but have contacts throughout the nation. Our main website is http://vafpugetsound.org/; we've started this blog to keep you up-to-date with current news, of which there is a lot!

• Are you a volunteer interested in common-sense service to those who served? Whether you're a professional, such as a doctor or a lawyer, or an American proud to provide service to a fellow citizen, your assistance is needed! 
• Are you a veteran in need of help figuring out whether you have a service-connected problem, how to prove it, or what to do with the help offered if you get it? 

America is a nation proud to provide those who offered their bodies and minds in dangerous service. Do your part; join us by contacting Veterans and Friends of Puget Sound today at VAFPugetSound@gmail.com.