This week in Washington, D.C., a new memorial honoring disabled veterans opened to the public. According to the Sun Sentinel, the memorial was funded by Florida heiress Lois Pope, who raised “$80 million, including some of her National Enquirer fortune.” The donations included $3 million from former presidential candidate Ross Perot and $270,000 from the Florida Disabled American Veterans.
Pope’s visits to hospitals treating wounded soldiers inspired her efforts to create the new memorial.
“I’m not going to stop fighting for their rights,” Pope said. “I believe this memorial is a call to action to give them the best medical care they need and deserve.”
There are more than four million wounded veterans in the U.S., and more than 100,000 of them live in Florida.
During the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, car decals reading “Support Our Troops” were a popular sight. Unfortunately, those words of support ring hollow today, as our country has failed miserably to attend to the needs of veterans returning from those wars.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is riddled with inefficiencies and incompetence, both at the national level and in Florida.
Here in Gainesville, the disastrous scandals at the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center serve as a potent reminder of America’s shortcomings in veteran health care.
In June, three mental health care administrators were suspended after the discovery of a secret list containing more than 200 patients waiting for treatment. The Gainesville Sun reported that wait times at Randall are among the worst in the nation at an average of 50.8 days for new patients.
The abysmal state of health care for Florida veterans was revealed in the wake of a national VA scandal that began after at least 35 veterans died while waiting for health care treatment in Phoenix, Arizona. The scandal, which ultimately led to resignation of Veterans Affairs secretary Gen. Eric Shinseki, led to an examination of VA systems around the country.
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” brought attention to the failings of the VA with a segment focusing on its outdated technology. Many of the VA’s computer systems have not been updated since the 1980s, leading to miscommunications, lost records and lengthy waiting lists.
Perhaps someday, our country will eventually stop sending our young men and women off to be injured, disabled and killed in foreign wars. Until that day comes, we have an obligation to ensure that our veterans are treated properly and with respect.
Rather than continuing to pour billions of dollars into the coffers of private defense contractors, Congress should redirect that money toward ensuring that our disabled veterans receive the best health care we can provide.
Rather than simply repeating the worn out trope of “Support Our Troops,” it is time for America to back up those words with action by providing our veterans with a high-quality, fully-functional health care system.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 10/14/2014]
