Veterans Yelled In Pain As VA Staff Neglected Them

At a VA clinic in North Carolina a woman captured several horrific scenes as veterans writhed in pain and staff did nothing. Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian, the hosts of The Young Turks, break it down. Tell us what you think in the comment section below. www.tytnetwork.com/go
“The Durham VA Medical Center is under fire after a visitor took pictures of veterans in their care who were shown slumped over in chairs, with one man crumpled on the floor with no one attending to him.
The shocking photos were posted to the Facebook account of Hanna McMenamin who has since stated that the VA hospital demanded that she take them down.
Writing on Facebook on Saturday, McMenamin explained: “Yesterday (2/24/17) while at the Durham, NC VA Hospital, my husband Stephen McMenamin and I witnessed some very disturbing events. The man in the wheelchair on the left, were waiting in that waiting room at least 3 hours. The man bent over grabbing the chair, was yelling in pain and was borderline convulsing and almost falling out of his chair he was in so much pain. No one paid him any attention until I approached a nurse to please check on him. This gentleman sat in the waiting room in extreme pain for hours upon hours with very little attention paid to him.”
Read more here: www.rawstory.com/2017/02/veter...
Hosts: Cenk Uygur, Ana Kasparian
Cast: Cenk Uygur, Ana Kasparian
***
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[@AWARHERO]

Fight for a country that won't fight for you! Pitiful....

[@JohannicVisions]

AWARHERO pwlssss sub to meHhh Pwlssss

[@JoeKickass324]

Fight for corporations, the war machines, oil business, in the name of "Freedom"

[@raneemramadan6758]

AWARHERO no they fight for freedom. Pitiful... 🤔

[@JordanJohnson-tz6jx]

People don't understand this, when they say fight for your freedom, it means your ass doesn't get drafted and sometimes but not in modern times except for ww2, its to keep a big threat from doing any harm to the us

[@lcarltbmx6743]

Which is why im not gonna fight Iran/Russia in the coming years.

[@rouge1ful]

so what happened to trump donating his salary to veterans?

[@nariko47]

rouge1ful rubish

[@fireblast8972]

rouge1ful if he had, how would you know, do you keep tabs on the income for these homes? also, money won't change people giving a shit, retirement nurses like this just don't give a shit about the people they are supposed to care for

[@alexiatr]

rouge1ful well, he still has not cash his first check, there could not be any other explanation, or you are trying to say he was lying?😮blasfemy

[@rouge1ful]

Joe Scirrotto well apparently no one knows his income since he hasn't release his tax returns. On top of that Trump is egotistical as hell if he actually did donate his salary like he claimed he wanted to do he would be gloating about it and mentioning it all the time

[@zflo17]

Presidential salary is $400k, that ain't going far for veterans

[@MsPoprouge]

As a 100% disabled veteran, I can attest to this kind of neglect. We are forced to beg, and plead for treatment for severe service-connected conditions. I myself have been fighting just to get a proper referral for a very painful service connected condition, and my primary care doctor placed me on a medication that my previous specialist took me off of because of severe side effects (ie seizures). When I tried to explain this I was ignored. I've contacted my congressmen with no help (he's republican and avid Trump supporter). We need serious help! We are back on waiting lists due to the federal hiring freeze. Please guys contact your senators/congressmen, vets are literally dying on waiting lists, right now. Vets waiting for months for cancer treatment, right NOW!

[@sfurtado3]

MsPopRouge yeah that's Soooooo fucked! Seems like nowadays fighting for this country will get you fucked in the end. Kinda sad money and power could bring down such a great place. It's really not fair cause if we all suffer, those who brought us here will never pay or give a damn. I'm sorry you have to deal with this kinda shit after paying it forward for everyone else

[@cheepcheeps1170]

What medication was it? Tramadol?

[@pondartinc4002]

I snapped a disk in November. I was in a wheelchair(I obtained myself) for two weeks. I called the VA and was told two months for an appointment.

[@PinkkElephantt]

You're 100% disabled..?

[@jason_1jones276]

Cheep Cheeps Tramadal will give u seizures if u take to much of it.

[@PhantomQueenOne]

My Dad was treated like absolute crap by the VA here in Arizona. He literally said to me that if he knew how bad the VA was going to treat him he would have gone to Canada when the Government gave him an offer he couldn't refuse durning Korea. I was shocked as my Dad was a die hard Republican. VA waiting rooms and hospitals are hell holes.

[@eliw-ph2yi]

72 likes and 0 dislikes 10 minutes in! Glad we can agree on something.

[@alexislopez8674]

eliw 6965 there's a start

[@Artaneius]

That's because your caring about people that deserve to be cared about. Those who sacrifice their lives for the glory of the state should be taken care of. If this pictures showed someone different in the same position then we would not care as much.

[@alexislopez8674]

Artaneius everyone deserves to be cared about. Why only save your sympathy for veterans? Why not for your fellow human being? Or fellow American? Did you know that healthcare is the leading cause for bankruptcy? People die because they can't afford their medicine in this country.

[@Artaneius]

Did the other human being provide a benefit to society as much as the veteran? Did they help pay for my bills? Sympathy is earned not given.

[@KnolltopFarms]

that's not sympathy, that's debt owed...sympathy is freely given, and it's sad you don't know that. remind me how to feel when your house gets blown down in a tornado.

[@thetruthsirmadame3247]

You should never fight for someone or something that will not do the same for you.

[@utterlyviolet]

Have you considered writing a book on that topic?

[@dafttool]

Theugly Sirmadame Old people have been sending their young to fight their battles since time began. You think war is ugly, you should see into the darkened hearts of those that would send others, even loved ones, to fight their own battles. If they didn't have regard for their warriors' lives while the battle is being fought, think how little they value those lives once the battle is over

[@judyleasugar97]

Maybe people are waking up.

[@athomas11000]

I learned this the hard way after fighting for years and years for people who would come to not fight for me.

[@CaptnDeadpool]

Never enough money for treating veterans, ALWAYS enough money to send them to war, which leaves them disabled for life. Everyone says they support the troops, but words are cheap.

[@SpoopySquid]

They're expected to die on the battlefield so that the government doesn't have to waste money treating them

[@sad_vegan507]

El Boto google the the billion dollar contracts we give everyday! It’s public information. Now look at what we spend on healthcare

[@Blackatchaproduction]

support the troops. until they become vets.#MURICA

[@Ana-ty8sl]

So sad, but true :)

[@cjaime5137]

They beg for us to bravely fight for their misguided wars but when we come home and ask for their help they runaway like cowards

[@ARIAVOX107]

Republicans: "We love the veterans!" Yea?! Well, they've been yelling and moaning in pain since Vietnam. You've had MORE than plenty of time to get this right. Milking their service while you dodged or underserved yours, is one of the most vile things that is going on and has been going on in this country, for years and years. Bring them home, keep them home, get them care and keep asking, over and over, what you can do to help them. Then and only then, can you wave the American flag like lunatics and holler about your patriotism.

[@5easy]

i like the ones that dont get sick

[@jeremycheng3998]

Fire those negligent staff!

[@JohannicVisions]

Jeremy Cheng sub to me

[@fireblast8972]

Adan Lopez no, it's negligent staff, almost all retirement nurses give no fucks about the elderly

[@skt8929]

there's a job freeze

[@IncognitoSprax]

Mother worked for VA before. They're understaffed WITHOUT the hiring freeze, it makes no damn sense.

[@krillin876]

It is a negligent staff...has nothing to do with staffing.

[@enigma63071]

3 hrs is nothing in some places .... I had to wait for 8 hrs with 2nd degree burns and they were not even bothered to give me a cream or anything during that ....

[@MariE-bz2eq]

Enigma ___ when my insurance lapsed, I had to wait 5 hours to see a doctor for 5 minutes. Cost me 1200.

[@Ana-ty8sl]

That is really horrible :(

[@djricknice]

Same, I sat in the ER for about 8 hours and saw the Dr. for about 5 min or less

[@sparkyjones560]

from my experience it sounds like the VA has the same level and speed of care as any emergency room I've ever walked into (if you come by ambulance it's quick though, not sure how that is with the VA).

[@MariE-bz2eq]

***** I had a 3rd degree burn on my hand from a steamer and they made me wait 5 hrs for 5 minutes. He just gave me silverdine and a prescription for tynenol 4.

[@BlankBrain]

In 1979 I severely broke my leg skiing. I was in a hospital room with two other guys for five weeks. One of the guys was always calling for the nurses. Finally it got to the point where they wouldn't come to our room. I wound up needing help, so I called the hospital through the outside line and got connected to the nursing station on my floor. I told them what I needed and finally got some help. A neighbor of mine was in a local hospital for abdominal surgery. A bunch of the sutures came out and he was looking at his intestines in the hole. The nurses wouldn't come, so he turned his radio up all the way. That finally got him some help. I had an aunt who had plastic surgery using the old methods. Six weeks grafting skin from her thigh to her arm, then six weeks grafting from her arm to her face. The nurses wouldn't come to keep saline solution on the graft, and it died. My point is that hospitals are terrible places to be. If you go to one, you'd better be proactive and have friends.

[@zflo17]

Healthcare for servicemen should be INCLUDED in the cost of war! I think when we do military intervention we need to raise taxes to pay for it and Healthcare for troops. That way we ONLY go to war when we need to, & we keep our end of the deal

[@SBlackmare]

Code Blue, DO But then how would corporations make billions off the wars we fight unnecessarily? That's the reason for war, you realize? Just profit.

[@golnectr]

I never understand people who fight so hard for private health care. It's simple economics. The more middle men, the more it costs. Insurance companies need to make money...that money comes from their customers. Eliminating the insurance companies and going single payer allows that would-be corporate profit to either be put back into health care or would lower rates and providing more service. I get why rich people like private health care...it's tax deductible anyhow so what do they care? However, to the other 80% of the populace...wtf?

[@Dan16673]

golnectr huh? VA is government care....

[@whyamimrpink78]

If we do to single payer this will be the norm for a lot of people. The VA is government ran healthcare.

[@golnectr]

And incredibly underfunded. News flash! If you under fund ANYTHING, it will struggle or fail.

[@golnectr]

I was scanning the comments and the trolls or ignorant were claiming the VA should be private care...as if adding a profit cost would somehow make it VA care more effective...hence this comment.

[@golnectr]

That sounds great and all, but there is a common misconception that I constantly drill into my students that NOTHING government spending is "free." It's how we allocate our resources. Our "representatives" vote to not fund the VA making it a shit show. They also vote not to fund research. It doesn't mean we cannot innovate. We just need to support it. I believe competition is great for most general business categories, but health should not be profit motivated in either application or research. We just need to move a tiny percentage of our bloated military budget towards healthcare. Speaking of which, military contracts are frequently posted as a competition were different private firms compete for the contract. That happens in the military all the time...why not in healthcare. It doesn't have to be a dichotomy.

[@alexislopez8674]

the equipment soldiers wear is more money than they get paid a year.

[@wilson2455]

As someone who has experienced both acute & chronic pain for over a decade, the hoops I had to jump through to get relief was disgusting. As Cenk said, "DR's & Nurses often become oblivious to other peoples suffering".

[@TheSlackerElite]

The VA should be a big ticket item in the military budget.

[@courtneydurham8429]

There is a nation wide primary care physician shortage. It's worse than some places than others but as a whole, we don't have enough primary care doctors. Most of them are babyboomers and many are starting to retire. Others are switching to monthly membership concierge care, and the rest are limiting the number of Medicare patients they are taking. The VA is not immune to this problem. What the hell is Congress doing to boost the number of general practitioners in this country? Funding is only a small part of it. Doctor are having to give 3 month notices to leave their old practice before going to the new one. 3 months! Not two weeks notice.

[@SBlackmare]

Courtney Durham You are absolutely right. I swear, I'm glad I'm not young, because I see this problem getting worse by the decade. I live on a road with three doctors (coincidence, really!) and only one is a primary care physician. The other two are specialists because they wanted more money to pay off medical school. In Europe doctors are educated for little or no cost, and it's easier to start a career that way. We need to do something about the problem; I don't know what.

[@cheepcheeps1170]

GP's are kinda useless though. PA's and NP's can easily replace 95% of what they do.

[@courtneydurham8429]

We don't have enough of those either.

[@Primalxbeast]

Let's just hope that Trump doesn't try to restrict immigration from India. Then we'd really be screwed.

[@walkertongdee]

Surprise! its American nonhealthcare!

[@BeckyMatthew32572]

My boyfriend has a major injury to his back form being in the military and now he can't work. The VA has been giving us the ring around, not helping him with his pain or surgery to fix his back, and even making it extremely difficult for him to get disability.

[@Bolgernow]

My blood is BOILING. My father, a Korean War vet is passing away now, he is on hospice And I spend 3 hours twice a week. Due to Work can't be there 24/7. If they did this and I knew, I'd be in DC so quickly my mind would melt. All of us together can get reform now!

[@Summerstreetz]

Please investigate Dayton Ohio va hospital. I was tied to a bed. Tortured and abused. They refused to bring me food and water. I was over two hundred pounds when I entered the hospital. when my family rescued me I was only sixty pounds. My family only showed up because they informed my family I had two weeks to live. The kitchen staff were ordered not to bring food into my room i could hear them arguing with the nurses that I was not being fed. they told my siblings they were not allowed to bring me food. I The nurses doctors and staff were in on my abuse. While I was there at least two people died. I called 911 to let them know I was being abused starved and refused water so I know there is proof because all calls are recorded and stored. When the police arrived at palliative care they convinced them not to check on me. From that point on my phone was turned off. Any calls to my family were monitored. That pic is the real deal. I could hear me and women screaming in agony while I was there. They over medicated me. When I tried to tell my social worker she also ignored me. They are killing veterans in Va hospitals all across America and no one even cares about us. I can’t even get a lawyer to listen to my story.

[@curiositydv7235]

So disturbing -_-

[@igotalife787]

As a veteran... I kinda regret my service

[@coffeebuzzz]

Veterans don't fight for your country, they fight to protect corporate interests. They may not realise it, but that's the truth.

[@SpoopySquid]

While I agree, we should still treat them like actual human beings instead of forcing them to suffer like this. This is just disgusting >:(

[@mandiherrin3805]

coffeebuzzz very true

[@zeroworries3076]

I'm a veteran and one day I went to the VA hospital for an appointment. I was in the lobby, and this 70 year old lady was sitting in a wheel chair, for hours, waiting for someone to help her with her medical appointment. She was an 0-6 in the Navy and I just felt so much disgust. The VA healthcare system has always been understaffed and and filled with people who don't care about veterans. Most of the VA workers there never even served. It's sad. If you're a young person looking for a career, stay out of the military. If you get injured, and have to go to the VA, you won't get the help that you need from them.

[@MondosBongos]

... a few weeks back I had to take my Mother to an Emergency Room .... there was a guy there doing the same thing, crying in pain, hunched over, holding his gut and screaming how much it hurts ... I couldn't believe that the nurses and staff on duty totally ignored him ... after speaking to the Doctor, I found out that in reality, he was a "drug-seeker" and shows up all the time looking for narcotics ... not that is the case here, but I wonder if that guy crying in pain was doing the same thing, could be why they ignored that one guy anyway.

[@CRaetybf]

This is horrible and all too common! I may be completely wrong, but I feel like VA & Native hospitals are grossly mismanaged purposefully. I say this because they're both constantly used by our government (like Ted Cruz) to scare everyone wanting single payer for all. Hence, keep them barely functioning then say, "look at how terrible these single payer health providers and how awful they are?! That's what it'll be like if we decide on single payer! Do you see how horrible these places are? Then we have to keep paying in order to guarantee quality!" It's total bullshit!

[@mandiherrin3805]

Cristi Richardville ....and it works because a lot of people are scared of ever having a single payer system!

[@NewPurpleRobyn]

But people said Kaepernick was disrespectful to the veterans😒😒😒

[@FoxFanable]

I'm a disabled vet who has been to the Durham VA many times.....IT SUCKS THERE....I refuse to go again.....I told my wife if I'm in an accident in front of the Durham VA do not let them take me there.....and guess what, Durham VA is directly across the street from Duke! Yes, Duke medical staff work at VA....the issue with the VA IMHO is not funding.....it's discipline and personnel.....there is no discipline.....there doesn't seem to be any accountability with personnel when it comes to how you are treated by VA employees...complain, see what happens. Everyone watch a movie called, Article 99......it's not that bad (well, not at the VA's I've been) but there is some crap going on at those places.....the employees just don't seem to care, IMHO, and when a new one starts work there....watch them change over a short period of time.....The VA system needs overall, not money......it needs organization put in place to summarily discharge employees, medical staff or otherwise, if need be. Get rid of the dead weight.....the VA system is just a reflection of our government...not an R or D thing...it's a human thing.....we don't need new legislation....we need people, who care, who will fight for their patients....look around....the VA is coming....to a neighborhood near you....the bureaucratize....some of you want socialism.....well, it's coming....the VA system has worked it's way into private medicine.....soon, you'll see non-vets in hallways screaming for help....it's all coming....bottom line, don't pay attention to talking heads and pundits who scream it's this party or that party for better VAs....they all have had 70+ years to make them better.....it's an American thing..........

[@vicvega861]

Yes, every single VA Hospital I have been treated at, has been piss poor care, at best it was bad. This is a large problem that needs fixed and fixed right.

[@nancymesek]

I think I'm the only person that ever saw great service from the VA. Prior to 2008, I often took my elderly father to his appointments. He never waited more than a few minutes, everyone knew him by name and they were kind and respectful. I'm thankful he never experienced such a horrific experience.

[@Steviemarie502]

I work for a dentist in an office building with a lot of different doctors, dentists, PT, and VA.. The VA in our building is an absolute joke.. The employees there complain to everyone about everything.. There's no one to help elderly or disabled veterans get up stairs (where the main part of the VA is located). They're constantly posting signs saying things like, "Due to meetings today, the VA will be closed." Ummm it's a Tuesday, at 10am, with no holiday.. Why are you closed all day for a "meeting"?? And they're obviously scheduling people and then not telling them not to come in because they all show up and walk around to other offices asking why no one is there.. It's sad.. It's disgusting.. And this is not even the tip of the iceberg..

[@minarose3193]

My dad is RN at intensive care and you should see how many cases of neglect by family members come in. Elderly seniors who are bed ridden covered in sores and rashes from being left in their own urin and feces by their own ADULT CHILDREN who are supposed to be taking care of them. Elderly abuse and neglect by family members who are sitting there on the couch collecting government funds is more common than neglect at the hands of nurses and doctors.

[@lamarmcneil5655]

I just so happen to live in Durham, North Carolina, and *this* is how we make the national news? WTF...?

[@A48L16S091366]

This photo is a fair representation of a typical VAH waiting area. The Prez and Congress have their own health care systems, so they never see how the system for military veterans mistreats these people.

[@Lorinwv]

I was a victim of the indifference of the VA hospitals as well. They had me wait so long to get treatment that cancer and endometriosis had completely destroyed my reproductive system, resulting in a full abdominal hysterectomy at 35 years old. Politicians campaign on the backs of soldiers and veterans then turn around and put billions in to private contracts rather than taking care of the troops.

[@Ravinar]

this reminds me of the time i burned my foot when i was a child. it was a large second degree burn on the top of my foot. anyway my mom takes me to the hospital and we sat there for about three hours waiting to be seen. three hours i sat there in pain with an open wound that was starting to fester. all the while i watch people going in and out constantly and some of them had come in long after we did. finally after yelling and cussing out the staff my mom takes me home and treats the burn herself with what she could get at the pharmacy. As horrible as this story is i can't say I'm surprised. hospitals in the US are full of some of the most soulless human beings you'll ever meet. i guess when you work in a place where human life is only worth as much as their insurance coverage you lose the ability to feel empathy pretty quickly.

[@RaydivatheWriter]

Daughter of a Vet and use to work for a Veteran's Choice call center. This whole system is messed up. There are some VAMCs that are great and actually care but then you have those who are either lining their pockets, enjoying the power they have over the Vets, or just don't give a damn. When a VAMC is actually decent, they will right away refer a Vet to Veteran's Choice and a doctor/provider outside of VA if they are not able to help due wait time or just don't offer that service. Then you got those VAMCs that will use the system to make sure that the Vet can not go anywhere else no matter how long they have to wait or if that VAMC even offers the required aid. They would rather force a suffering Vet to travel to another VAMC in a different state rather than let him go to a local doctor. This means the Vet has to choose to pay to see local doctors or have VA bus them to another VAMC. (VAMC = VA Medical Center)

[@QIKWIA]

I can't even look OR listen at this video but for a few seconds....absolutely DISGUSTING!!!!

[@derekperry1745]

My family has served in every war from World war 1 to Desert Storm (First Iraq war, the legal one.) Anyway, this absolutely sickens me. My Dad's VA was actually passable, but needs improvement. My Dad had what was termed "Gulf War Syndrome" and he was in pain every single day of his life until he passed away in 2014 and yes, it exists I do not care what anyone says-- Anyway, our veterans need much more support not only in the VA hospitals, but with housing and mental health as well. If they can spend billions to trillions sending our families to fight, die and be maimed in these pointless costly wars they can at least show all veterans the decency and respect they truly deserve. I may be against our foreign policy wholeheartedly, but I'm for the troops-- I can be for one and not the other! Sorry Republicans, but you can! Fund the VA now! The veterans are suffering and they are doing so needlessly. Our politicians both democrats and republicans are immoral and pathetic. It's insane-- this is why we need to become more involved in every level of politics and be informed so we can get the polices we all deserve. We let these immoral, corrupt politicians do this because we aren't informed nor involved in politics. We must stand up, America.

[@amosjsoma]

The VA is one swamp that is in serious need of draining. I have a niece who works at a VA hospital and she says the bureaucracy and red tape is just unbelievable. It's extremely difficult to get anything done. I think it's time to abolish the VA and put qualified vets on medicare and give the VA budget to medicare to cover the cost. Any vet who is 100% disabled would pay nothing for his care. A vet who is 90% disabled would pay a little, a vet who is 80% would pay a little more, etc. Get the bureaucrats out of their care.

[@Tychoxi]

"They are war heroes because they are in pain. I like people who don't yell in pain. Believe me."

[@munky342]

it always pains me to see my brother's in pain or neglected. I may be British but military is military. we're all together in everything.

[@nickah1]

Even though I'm American, I want to thank you for your service to your country and standing with your US brothers in arms :).

[@cheers2life]

I have regularly visited several VA Medical Centers in Phoenix, New York City and the Hudson Valley for a back injury incurred after falling from a military cargo jet. I have difficulty walking sometimes and am stuck in bed for several days multiple times a year and have been in 24-hour pain since 1999. They still deny service connection and I have had to seek treatment on my own dime over the years. I continually try to get evaluations but it is continually denied and I have accepted that it is likely not going to change in my lifetime. Though I have seen drastic improvement in the facilities and attitudes of many care professionals, I have also seen unpleasant to absolutely horrifying treatment and situations in all the centers I have visited. Phoenix frequently had undressed elderly, sometimes untied gowns, confused and stuck on the elevator crying and trying to escape the hospital, asking painfully to "help me out of here." I have witnessed cussing and shouting at patients that asked simple questions. Appointments are difficult to make, are months out for availability and frequently cancelled requiring an entire process to be restarted. Many times I will get a "Thank you for your service" and it is nice to hear but it also happens so frequently following a severe injustice and by the same person serving that injustice that it has become a slap in the face. As if that is all that needs to be done to show your country that you too are a patriot and care about veterans. If someone gets hurt on the job at home depot, they get medical care. If a cop twists their ankle or worse running after someone they get medical care with other benefits and the community cries out in support and wishes death on the runner. If a veteran forgoes his youth and development years and gets injured while in service of all these people, they are treated like scum and forced out of existence. Looking at the current trend undoing the gains of this country, my heart screams in pain for all the lives that were lost and the suffering endured to get as far as we did. We have to do better to protect the country domestically as civilians and we have to do better to facilitate the growth, education and improvement of health when our military comes back to the community they were supporting.

[@edwardmorley1802]

Not just there my dads a vet and works as a janitor in a va hospital. Tells me horror stories all the time that's why I'm going to get a cna certificate to try and bring some empathy to the hospital.

[@edwardmorley1802]

But trumps hiring ban might stop me from getting hired but I'm definitely going to try.

[@blondzruleall5443]

We are also overlooking PTSD of veterans and they are not getting proper therapeutic/mental health care. I have treated many veterans that spent years in VA receiving improper help many times just given addictive drugs instead of real help. My dad died too young because VA supported his addiction, and never got him the help he truly needed.

[@danquarterman]

Expect more and more of this.

[@djvapid]

As a veteran, I am intimately familiar with the lack of quality healthcare through the VA. For us, this isn't "news", it's our day to day lives.

[@kornskydiver]

Sadly this happens in a lot of VA hospitals

[@rozeerustic5477]

My husband and my ex husband have both used the VA hospital in Loma Linda CA and occasionally there is a Ling wait to get in to see their primary. I have never witnessed anyone in pain waiting for hours to get in. Not to say that it doesn't happen, but on our experience we've not seen it. Both the hubby and the ex have had surgery there as well. ON THE OTHER HAND..... I'VE had many trips to two different ERS, one being San Antonio hospital. in Upland CA, and Desert Regional, in Palm Springs, where I have been in EXCRUCIATING pain, and have had to wait hours to be seen. The last time we were nearly kicked out because my husband demanded they LISTEN what I was telling them, and they were rude and condescending. My 31 year old son was in extreme pain with a head ache, and was throwing up outside, and he had to wait for over 3 hours to be scene. San Antonio, while waiting forever to be scene, I finally got hustled into the back where teenagers who had been in a car accident and where laughing about it, while I suffered with gall stones. I tore out all the hair in one side of my head. So, these things happen. I'm not trying to be a bitch about these men being in pain, because I DO feel for them. I just wanted to illustrate that the VA isn't the only place where things of this nature happen.

[@SandraNelson063]

I have a nasty recurring health issue that occasionally sends me staggering to an emergency center. I don't come in an ambulance, so am often forced to sit for hours in bad pain. Why? Because anyone brought in on an ambulance gets seen first. Everyone in the waiting room gets bumped back every time an ambulance comes in. After waiting for over six hours on one occasion, I had emergency staff profusely apologizing to me once they saw how bad my condition was. It s not their fault, policy says that the drunken idiot that the cops brought in on an ambulance to dry out in emergency gets tended to first. And believe me there are a lot of drunken idiots ferried into emergency units just to dry out. The doctors and nurses are fighting a constant battle to try and fit in genuinely hurt people in between the drunken louts.

[@ericsousa6876]

As a disabled veteran that uses the VA. Nothing new here. Phones are changing everything. This stuff must keep coming out on the Internet.

[@pitster1105]

Dont go to war if you cant take care of your vets

[@TheColin63]

Macain should be locked in a ward with these vetrans for thirty minutes....

[@alejandrobetancourt4902]

How can anyone be alright with this. How is there anyone who dislikes this video?

[@bryna7]

so disturbing

[@MrNadirzenith]

It's not just the VA. Ive witnessed harrasment and neglect towards patients in an active duty military hospital.

[@TheIsh1988]

In pain, I like people who aren't in pain....

[@seanarmstrong1156]

This is nothing...you should see the Canadian system. Recently in British Columbia, a woman had to wait 36 hours in the Emergency. THIRTY-SIX hours. That's universal healthcare for ya!

[@TrenchTownNoble]

You ever work in an ER? Talk to someone who works in an ER it will shed some light on a situation like this.

[@jackieraylacy9625]

Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center - Houston, Texas, When you go to V. A emergency room they have no pillow for patients. There is no chair to sit with loved one in hospital emergency room. You can stay 5 minutes per hour. You must leave to sit in lobby. I have never seen no pillow for patient.

[@chloweful]

This is literally the definition of Canadian healthcare systems. Except 8 hours of pain. Give pain meds in the waiting room like actually. I witnessed a woman with a broken leg waiting in pain and her mother I saw give her some of her prescription pain killers. And I don't blame her. Same with ambulance visits you're STILL forced to wait. Regardless of how much pain you're in. I think it's also a war on drugs and pain patients, I don't go to the emergency anymore when I'm in pain. And I'm forced to buy street pills because doctors don't take my pain seriously.

[@chloweful]

w0g Well with the taxes we pay we bloody well should!

[@chloweful]

w0g And I'm sorry if we have resources for all the refugees including the fake ones? We should have enough for healthcare.

[@a619ko]

I work as a healthcare provider...and this shit happens so much more often in low income areas (Skilled nursing facilities, post acute, etc)...guess why? The patients are there on the tax payers dime, there isn't enough money to hire more staff. You can have one CNA/caregiver for 12 patients...if you don't want to end up there. Make sure you have the funds for your retirement.

[@whyamimrpink78]

It isn't that there isn't enough money to hire more staff. It is that the staff does not exist. We lack doctor, nurses and facilities. If we had universal healthcare this will be the norm.

[@whyamimrpink78]

SBlackmare, nothing indicates that other countries have better healthcare systems when compared to the US. Republicans don't fight against taking away federal healthcare because people are now dependent on it.

[@SBlackmare]

whyamimrpink78 As an assignment I researched numerous data sources covering costs, outcomes and recipient sentiment regarding health care in various countries. This was about five years ago, but I doubt there has been a groundswell of change. The United States fared poorly in every metric. I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything right now; I'm busy with other matters and sick to death of the whole "debate." I did learn a lot, however, and I wish facts mattered as much as lobbying and propaganda. No system is perfect, but the US could learn a lot if the lobbyists would allow it. Interestingly, the most satisfied Americans were either very well covered by plans provided by employers that spent a lot on their workers OR Medicare recipients with Medicaid secondary ("duals"). Medicare + medigap also did pretty well.

[@whyamimrpink78]

SBlackmare, if you could link that assignment that would be helpful. www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/-the-business-of-health_110115929760.pdf There is a book written on the issue by two professors. They list their sources and methods. To me when you break down the numbers you see that the US is not inferior to other countries and in some ways is arguably better than them. The reality is that the differences are minute. So with that in mind we should improve using the system we have. Switching to single payer means 1. replacing one system with problems with another system with just as many problems 2. destroying jobs and perturbing the economy creating an economic decline 3. having to change how millions of people think and act The US system, as a whole, is not bad. It just needs some adjusting. To me the main problem lies with government, particularly the payroll tax. To highlight that I ask 1. why do so many employers pay with healthcare insurance as opposed to a higher wage 2. why does healthcare insurance equal healthcare in the US

[@SBlackmare]

whyamimrpink78 Thanks for the link. While AEI is usually right wing, there are also some issues that are handled on a factual basis, and I'll take a look. My paper is on a hard drive of a laptop that cannot be accessed without taking it apart. I keep saying I'm going to take it to Geek Squad and have them extract everything (lots of photos too - typical contents of a modern person's life over several years), but that list keeps gaining other to-do priorities. *sigh* I suppose my old professor might have it archived as he did use a section.... As for the two questions - workplace insurance was the result of failed attempts at truly universal health care and postwar economic growth (luring better employees while writing off the cost). And yes, it's peculiar that insurance is equated with actual care. It's something Europeans think is really strange. Personally, I like getting house calls from rural doctors or just walking into a clinic without being required to fill in paperwork and provide proof of insurance first, but I don't anticipate that being the norm any time soon in the US.

[@Murderface666]

Being a vet myself, I've seen my fair share at the VA hospital in San Diego. The problem with VA employees (especially among the females) is that they think having a federal job is a license to look down on everyone. Especially the young female ER doctors making unwarranted smart remarks that they think are clever. And culture is if you complain, it goes nowhere, because they are federal. Far and few in between actually do give a damn. And then you have plenty of those geriatric volunteers who act like assholes when you ask them a simple question and talk down to younger vets.

[@rudymor]

This makes me sad personally as a vet!

[@cosmictickle5168]

The VA bans any photos or videos, I hope she doesn't get in trouble .

[@alexiatr]

the hire freeze won't help much neither. I bet their definition of non essential personal is not going to be done from a logical point of view. Keep this in mind for the next elections.

[@smsmagic89]

Hard to hire someone when you have no money. Congress has to approve a budget before they can hire. But in the mean time they could send a memo to allow veterans to go to a doctor of their choice.

[@alexiatr]

Paul Allen​ there is money if they are increasing military spending, they are just are not spending on the soldiers and veterans.

[@DandyDon1]

This also goes on in convalescent homes, and it has been going on for DECADES!

[@mikehathaway2842]

That picture, New Chairs, New Carpet, New waiting room while being denied access to new medical equipment. Same old staff that doesn't give a shit.

[@ESSBrew]

I sat for hours in waiting room in terrible pain, couldnt help but make noise. Im no veteran though, was at a normal hospital ER.

[@powarless]

I commented above addressing this. They burn the VA like it's the only place having fundamental problems providing healthcare. All of healthcare is struggling.

[@MrGnidlih]

Ana is amazing, her arguments are always razor sharp.

[@omegapointil5741]

It should be over funded. They should get treated the way millionaires are in hospitals. Whats it worth to risk you Life for anybody. It amounts to them being taken for suckers by politicians ...mouths full of much obliged.

[@sherriemoon703]

Wow TYT as a disabled vet my self I must say you are correct about The funding, that being said the photo is inflammatory at best. All it shows is 3 people were in the ER waiting room. Have the integrity to own up to what you don't know and can only speculate based off 3rd party info.

[@TheSuperPsychoKiller]

We need videos. Who the hell takes photos?

[@jaynoxjay]

It's sad because many of our upcoming elderly vets are going to be suffering for wars we shouldn't have been involved in. Imagine what it feels like to be Vietnam vet suffering in pain every day because of a war we had no business being involved in. SAD!

[@omegapointil5741]

... makes your head spin at the absurdity of it.

[@MilkmanAssassin]

Those brave soldiers took those wounds to protect our country and this is how we repay them? This video put me in tears.

[@MrKAHutch]

What were the patients complaints when they met with the triage nurse to be admitted? We need to know this before we pass judgement. They are waiting in an emergency room waiting area, though it looks bad, this is normal.If you go to an ER and pain is your primary complaint, you will wait. Now,if they said they were having problems breathing or something life threatening, they would be seen more urgently. I'm an OIF 1 and 3 combat vet with VA healthcare and this is not my experience (thankfully). The bigger story is, how the Phoenix VA cooked the books and costs vets their lives waiting for care and to my knowledge no one was fired or criminally prosecuted. That is the shame!

[@zachcrawford5]

It sucks that the staff there are somewhat callous when it comes to people retching in pain but they would have mental breakdowns if they didn't and that would suck even more. They are probably doing what they can with what they have. The hospital should want this photo to go viral, as long as it is carried with the right message.

[@brutechieftain9321]

I thought America loved it's veterans... 🤔

[@SpoopySquid]

Only when that love doesn't involve actually doing anything beyond offering useless lip service.

[@dolphinofthedeep4292]

We (as a country) spend around half of our annual income on the military but instead of helping the veterans we're building tanks that go straight from factories to overstocked storage yards in the middle of a desert, as well as developing jets that will never go into mass production. I can only imagine how much better off all of them would be if we sold 60% of our tank surplus and redirected half of our tank production budget to VA

[@imchim]

Whoever is in charge of the VA Senate oversight committee needs to get off their ass, stop denying there's a problem.

[@wheelmangames5366]

Doesn't surprise me one bit. After my experience with the VA and being treated as a drug addict, I won't ever step foot in a VA Facility ever again....

[@aureliaansah1462]

"O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' " Tommy, go away " ; But it's " Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play".... - Rudyard Kipling

[@mikedaflexta]

I served my country. just knowing that veterans suffer is a direct reflection on the state of our country. my son wants to follow in my footsteps. years ago I would be for it. Now I'd rather he not put his life on the line to protect the agenda of the rich and greedy.

[@laram8255]

This is beyond disheartening

[@RiJMC17]

Sounds just like another day in Canada.. Waiting 12 hours for medical attention is regular.

[@morrius0757]

You should have to list from 1 to 10 for how much pain you're in so that those above say 7-10 can be seen first. If the person lies about the amount of pain they're in to get in faster and the doctor notices they should be forced to go back out and list their pain again accurately and wait longer.

[@lnbartstudio2713]

Every increase in military spending should,by law, be accompanied by a percent increase in veteran's care. Warmongers can't get one without the other. Should also target the ptsd suffering violent predators with a compassionate but no compromise care program.

[@mendingwall3823]

This is ridiculous. You government should be catering to you every need after you risk your life to fight for your country

[@marktwain09]

I'm a republican who hates the idea of healthcare from the govt.... but any veteran who proudly served his country deserves the best of the best healthcare

[@shieh.4743]

Is this what many Americans think universal healthcare looks like? Brits, Europeans, Canadians don't treat anyone like this in the hospital, let alone our vets. This is despicable, but now I understand why Americans think government healthcare is terrible - in America, it seems it may be.

[@Sweetearth1958]

This also occurs in any Kaiser Permanente Hospital Emergency room. And ANY county hospital.

[@kellypawspa]

This is frigging terrible, Inhumane and unacceptable! Our vetrens deserve the utmost care and regard! Why..... do we pay taxes when this is how the government treats our bravest citizens??? You'd never see a firefighter or cop in this situation! We never get the option to pay the people in charge to receive a pay cut so maybe we shouldn't be paying them. They live much more lavishly then most people in this country..... and allow this to happen.... Perhaps we should leave the v. a. open for our politicians to use and give premium national health care policies to our vets to be able to attend any hospital they choose? That would be for once, more then fair.

[@Rebelian189]

First time ive seen them with no dislikes within the first minute! Will this no get shit on as hard as other videos?

[@PsychoticusRex]

One would think this calls for military intervention.

[@TheRealAb216]

that's the ER and they are understaffed. its just like any er. hell I waited in the er of a local hospital with a broken arm for 4 hours before I was able to see anyone.

[@bongofrenzy303]

there's only so much pain killer can be used before it kills the patient. fact of life.