Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 12/17/2001

Dear Sgt. Shaft:
The Veterans Administration hospitals are the only hospitals in America that are non-accredited. Why do we have politicians such as Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) telling everyone that we get the best medical care? And why doesn’t Congress have the VA medical system accredited so that everyone knows what kind of care we are getting?

Leo W.
Baltimore, MD

Dear Leo:
The VA medical centers are accredited. An accreditation program ensures that accepted standards of healthcare operation are met. Accreditation scores provide an important comparison with non-VA healthcare organizations regarding performance in meeting a wide range of standards. All Veterans Healthcare Administration facilities are currently accredited. The average hospital score in 2000 for the 32 VHA facilities surveyed was 90.3 as compared to the national average of 90.8.

We can fault Sen. Mikulski for many things but not on the remark you attributed to her. I am very disappointed in her lack of concern and help for the VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C. In a most recent letter, Sen. Max Cleland (D-GA) wrote to her as chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies:

“I am writing to ask you for your support for the expansion and renovation of the outpatient clinic at the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center. The Center presently has over 400,000 annual outpatient visits in a crowded, older design clinic space. Veterans organizations have contacted me as the ranking member of the Personnel Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a fellow veteran to raise awareness of the congested and inadequate physical conditions of the current outpatient environment.

I support your current plans for community outreach clinics and expanded outpatient services. However, the expansion and renovation of the Washington, D.C., outpatient clinical structure would provide a necessary comprehensive base of care to enhance these planned outreach community efforts.

The healthcare shift from inpatient care to outpatient care necessitates the redesign of many of our older VA structures. The Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center was originally built in 1965 for inpatient veterans’ care and with our assistance can be an ambulatory care model for the new millennium.”

H.R. 811, the Veterans’ Hospitals Emergency Repairs Act., must be a part of the economic stimulus package. H.R. 811 would empower the VA Secretary to choose individual VA projects based on the recommendations of an internal capital investments board. The measure would authorize $250 million in fiscal year 2002 and $300 million in fiscal year 2003. No individual project would exceed $25. million. Tom Davies, director of architecture of the Paralyzed Veterans of American, noted that an independent consultant had advised the VA that it needed to spend between $700 million and $1.4 billion annually to maintain its 4,700 buildings valued at $35 billion. The American Legion, AMVETS, and the Disabled American Veterans praised the House VA Committee on Veterans Affairs for the bill designed to expedite the provision of the repair funds totaling $550 million over the next two years. “There are hundreds of VA buildings currently in use that are long overdue for major renovation,” said VA Committee Chair Chris Smith (R-NJ). “This bill is a start, and we will continue to look at the situation.”

Shaft Kudos
The following moving poem was written by a Marine in Okinawa. His only request was that people read it.

‘Twas the night before Christmas,
he lived all alone,
in a one bedroom house made of
plaster and stone.

I had come down the chimney
with presents to give,
and to see just who
in this home did live.

I looked all about,
a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents,
not even a tree.

No stocking by mantle,
just boots filled with sand;
on the wall hung pictures
of far distant lands.

With medals and badges,
awards of all kinds,
a sober thought
came through my mind.

For this house was different,
it was dark and dreary,
I found the home of a soldier,
once I could see clearly.

The soldier lay sleeping,
silent, alone,
curled up on the floor
in this one bedroom home.

The face was so gentle,
the room in such disorder,
not how I pictured
a United States soldier.

Was this the hero
of whom I'd just read?
Curled up on a poncho,
the floor for a bed?

I realized the families
that I saw this night,
owed their lives to these soldiers
who were willing to fight.

Soon round the world
the children would play
and grownups would celebrate
a bright Christmas day.

They all enjoyed freedom
each month of the year,
because of the soldiers,
like the one lying here.

I couldn't help wonder
how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas eve
in a land far from home.

The very thought
brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees
and started to cry

The soldier awakened
and I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don't cry,
this life is my choice.
I fight for freedom,
I don't ask for more,
my life is: my God,
my country, my corps."

The soldier rolled over
and drifted to sleep.
I couldn't control it;
I continued to weep.

I kept watch for hours,
so silent and still
and we both shivered
from the cold night's chill.

I didn't want to leave
on that cold, dark, night,
this guardian of honor
so willing to fight.

Then the soldier rolled over,
with a voice soft and pure,
whispered, "Carry on Santa,
it's Christmas day, all is secure."

One look at my watch,
and I knew he was right.
"Merry Christmas my friend,
and to all a good night."

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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