KTVU - Vets bring concerns to town hall meetings

Two town hall meetings on Monday drew veterans of all ages and branches of the service, with common concerns about how the Veterans Administration is failing them.

"I have a mortgage to pay, and a life to live," Navy veteran Eyvette Johnson told her Congressman, democrat Mike Thompson, of Napa. Johnson bemoaned the fact that she's been waiting more than a year on a medical claim. "It's wrong on every level, it's wrong," she said.

Many in the audience of 100 people nodded in agreement with Johnson. They had come to the cafeteria at American Canyon High School to share their experiences and seek answers from a panel of service providers.

Veterans noted, the VA seems inclined to deny benefits whenever possible. "I feel they call us liars when we put in our paperwork," Navy veteran Gary Smith observed, "they come back saying you weren't there, that ship didn't go there, you didn't do that, and they want proof that no one can produce."

The continuous complaints filled two hours, and at the conclusion, Rep. Thompson, himself a Vietnam veteran, said reforms will take time and money. "Clearly they need to be funded," he told KTVU, noting the need for more doctors, nurses, and claims personnel.

"It's frustrating and it makes you mad, but you just have to keep working at it," he added, recalling his own obstacles years ago, after discharge from the Army. "It's not new; back then I had a medical card I was supposed to be able to use for all health care, but no one accepted it, and it couldn't actually buy me anything."

Fraud and cover-ups have sent some VA hospitals into turmoil, and even prompted FBI investigations. Northern California facilities are not implicated, but long delays for service still persist.

A watchdog group on Monday detailed retaliation against VA employees who have come forward with wrongdoing or incompetence, despite assurances their whistleblowing will be protected.

One such employee is a pharmacy supervisor at the VA hospital in Palo Alto, who was suspended after he pointed out medication errors and delays affecting patients.

At another town hall meeting hosted by Congresswoman Jackie Speier in San Francisco, X-ray technician Gina Giacometti listened and wondered at the pace of change.

Would she feel safe coming forward with criticism?

"I don't know, I don't know how to answer that," Giacometti responded to KTVU, "I think there are employees that are unhappy with the way things are, and want change. It's just really tough."

Giacometti had spent most of her thirty year career in private hospitals, before coming to work for the VA.

"It's completely different," she said, "Everything is slower, and it seems there's lots of road blocks along the way, or the ball gets dropped a lot."

Still, "I hope things do change because our veterans need our help, they need us to take care of them."

Inside the hospital auditorium, Rep. Speier assured veteran after veteran, their care would get the attention it deserved.

"No buck passing at this point," she declared, "we'll work on it, we'll fix it, okay?" While no one expects a quick fix, at least people came away feeling that they had been heard.