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Napa Valley Register - Military veterans decry service shortcomings at American Canyon forum

July 23, 2014
News Articles

By Peter Jensen

Wilfred Alexander, a Vallejo resident and Vietnam War veteran, said the Agent Orange herbicide he handled at war led to prostate cancer later in life, but he had to wait months for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to process his treatment claim. Another veteran said he has to drive an hour and a half for a dentist, doctor or hospital appointment.

From the struggles North Bay combat veterans are having getting disability and medical claims processed to the food served at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, a town hall meeting Monday night offered veterans a chance to air their issues to key federal administrators.

The forum, hosted at American Canyon High School by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, featured a panel of top officials in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs representing the Bay Area and Northern California. But the 10 panelists kept silent for most of the forum, listening as veteran after veteran got up to speak about the good and bad aspects of the care they receive.

Some veterans did speak positively of the V.A. — Vallejo resident and disabled veteran J.T. Miller praised the health care, saying he preferred it over Kaiser Permanente and Blue Shield. "I've had nothing but the best of care," Miller said.

For many others, it was an opportunity to speak out about problems they were experiencing with the V.A. Sindy Biederman, founder of American Canyon Troop Support and mother of a veteran, said the agency doesn't do enough to reach out to veterans who are no longer serving, but may be badly in need of services.

Another problem, she said, is that the process can be too daunting to navigate for veterans. The military has plenty of recruitment officers but not enough veterans service officers, she said. Some veterans who spoke Monday said they waited years, sometimes decades, to have disability claims approved. Others said they simply gave up after they being rejected.

"Where's the outreach?" Biederman asked. "Veterans have to fight, but in my mind they've already fought. We could do some preventative stuff."

Thompson responded that Sonoma County has weekly meetings that offer to connect veterans to housing, banking, medical and other vital services, and even a way to find cheap furniture. But Napa County lacks this, and until earlier this year had just one person to handle the thousands of veterans with V.A. claims to make, or provide help for their readjustment to civilian life. "There's a big hole here in Napa," Biederman said.

Thompson said federal funding is lacking to hire more people in these positions, plus more nurses, doctors and administrators to clear out the extensive backlog of V.A. claims nationwide.

Delays and long wait times for veterans needing medical care prompted a major national scandal earlier this year, after it was revealed that a medical center in Arizona had falsified documents to mask how long veterans waited for treatment. Thompson called that "unacceptable," but a symptom of a system in need of money.

"It does cost money for this," Thompson said. "There's a huge, huge shortage. It needs to be a priority for every member of Congress."

In the interim, Thompson encouraged veterans to contact his staff to help with their claims, including assembling the necessary evidence and documents to support it, and to connect with key members in the V.A. administration.

"Don't wait until next year to tell me there's something wrong," Thompson said.

Julianna Boor, the director of the Regional Benefit Office in Oakland, reiterated Thompson's comments and said officials were doing the best they could with limited resources.

"It's not perfect by any means," Boor said. "This is not a ‘job' for me. This is a life passion. We are not where we want to be. We are making a lot of progress."

Vallejo resident Steve Garcia said some veterans are simply giving up, disgusted by V.A. staff questioning or rejecting their claims.

"Why would we make it up?" Garcia said. "I am concerned what's going to happen now. Are we going to move forward? The veterans have lost the faith in the V.A. It looks good, but what's really going to happen?"

David Stockwell, director of the V.A. health care system in Northern California, said the challenge his region is facing is being understaffed in the face of overwhelming demand for services from veterans, but the medical centers, regional offices and clinics are ready to take on the problem — and new hires couldn't hurt.

"There's a lot of demand for services," Stockwell said. "Sometimes a big challenge is also an opportunity. The line keeps coming to the front door. It is a shame what has happened. We're ready when the resources come."

Issues:Veterans