STEVE PIECZENIK TALKS

VA CHIEF,  Eric Shinseki Should Resign!

  A recent article in the WSJ, “VA Chief Says He Won’t Resign”, May 7, 2014, written by Ben Kesling (posted earlier)  highlights an issue with which I have been having big problems.  I have for years,  requested of my friends in the national security areas to release former Army General Eric Shinseki from his duties as the VA Chief.  In more blunt terms,  I have learned over the past several years that Shinseki has been much less than an effective manager of the dysfunctional VA system.

I can’t tell you for how long and how many times my medical colleagues complain about how dysfunctional the VA has become.   I had learned from my many conversations that poor management was placed into individual VA hospitals in lieu of providing more effective medical care.  Doctors, nurses, and health care providers were replaced by arcane,  complicated rules and regulations that had very little to do with patient outcome.

  It was the equivalent of “Nurse Ratched” or Bureaucrat Ratched who had become the new nemesis of efficient,  effective medical care of the wounded warriors.  As most of you know by now,  the suicide rate of the recent Wounded Warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan [gifts from Presidents Bush Jr and Obama] have approached the frightening rate of 40% of those who served more than one tour of duty.  Unfortunately,  the US military shuffled off this problem to the VA and the VA shoved this problem into the bin of ‘MIA—Missing In Action’-not the soldiers but the VA employees.

The consequence of a poorly run VA:  increased levels of suicides,  murder, and mental illness.

  From the very beginning of Shinseki’s appointment to the VA,  I could quickly surmise that he was not really qualified to understand,  let alone run a major medical facility that treated 90% of our honorable veterans since WWII.  The fact that Shinseki had been wounded in Vietnam and was treated in the VA somehow appeared to President Obama and others who have never been in the medical field or even worked in a mental hospital,  sufficient to make Shinseki the VA Director.

Unfortunately,  a patient in a hospital is not a sufficient requirement for the position of Director of the VA.  It may be interesting that Shinseki  had been wounded in Vietnam, but it certainly does not provide SUFFICIENT AND NECESSARY SKILLS TO MAKE HIM AN EFFECTIVE MANAGER!!! [my emphasis]. 

If you don’t believe me,  let’s see what the American Legion which represents 2.4million Veterans said:
“..CALLED FOR MR. SHINSEKI and two top VA EXECUTIVES TO STEP DOWN AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF MISMANAGEMENT that contributed to PATIENT DEATHS AT SEVERAL VA FACILITIES.”   If the US Military can’t take care of our brave warriors and then they are shuffled off to the dysfunctional VA,  then it’s time to fire our top military generals and Mr SHINSEKI!
  In war and in taking care of our WOUNDED WARRIORS THERE IS NO ROOM FOR ERRORS or MISMANAGEMENT!!   Certainly,  not after I and others have asked for Shinseki’s RESIGNATION YEARS AGO!  How many WOUNDED WARRIORS lives could have been saved if not for Shinseki’s PRIDE and INEFFECTIVENESS?

Veterans,  their families and friends must go to social media,  go to blog sites- comment and share,   write to their congressman and DEMAND resignation of Shinseki!  This is an American Tragedy and we are allowing it to continue while more veterans waste away in poorly equipped and poorly run VA hospitals!

How many times do our patriotic servicemen/women have to suffer and die until we right this wrong? 

Yours truly,  Veteran;  Dr Steve;  Navy Capt.(Ret.);  Eight plus- overseas “combat tours” –CLASSIFIED!!