ARKHICK50 WINS THE vA LOTTO

Posted on September 12, 2012 by asknod

Nothing gives me greater pleasure than getting letters (or in this day and age-emails) from you Vets who have fought long and hard for your benefits. Yesterday morning I sat down to find that Arkansas Hick 50 ( I assume the 50 means 1950), who had been researching his  claims at the old site for quite some time, received his win on August 29th.

Arkhick50 has had a long hard row to hoe over the years with some Imperial Entanglements we need not delve into. Suffice it to say he’s back among us in society and has made the grade. He served with pride in the U.S Army in Vietnam and was dutifully baptized in Cholon with his STD. He came home and was involved in a horrible automobile accident prior to separation. He undoubtedly had a transfusion as he almost managed to sever his leg. He’s researched this to determine if one was inevitable in similar surgeries since it does not specify that one was given in his particular case. This is an odd throwback to early medical times. I do know from research that transfusions were not as well documented as they are now. Any records of mine were captured by the Pathet Lao at the Ban Sam Thong USAID/AirAm Hospital in 1972 (Lima Site 20). vA has a hard time comprehending that field hospitals and their personnel didn’t have acres of  shiny file cabinets and clean sheets. Their job was to keep you alive until a dustoff could get you to Da Nang, CRB, or Bien Hoa- not document that they had done so.  Sometimes your medical records caught up with you and sometimes they didn’t. Arkhick50 is more fortunate than some in this respect.

I often thought it would be entertaining to explain to vA Examiners that we all had a little notation on our dog tags to aid medical personnel in determining our blood type in the event we required a transfusion on short notice. Perhaps they aren’t aware of that as few of them are Veterans these days. Since you can’t even lead a vA examiner to water, let alone make him/her drink, the whole idea fell flat like a poor soufflé on closer examination.

Mr. Arkhick50 tells me he followed the Asknod “Win or Die” game plan to the letter. I will take him at his word. I simply report back to you my observations and experiences. You decide what is the best plan or path in your particular circumstances.  Evidence is beginning to accumulate that this technique is more successful than not. His win brings us to 29-2. I find that incredible but the facts are there to bear me out. I take no credit for this. I am not a law dog. I simply read a lot. Of course, three well-placed bitch slaps from vA over 16 years will get your undivided attention, too.

Enough of my woes. Let’s all join together today to welcome Arkhick50 into the pantheon of successful asknod alumni. He’s living proof that it can be done in one’s lifetime if you start early enough. He has graciously allowed me to share these documents with you in hopes you may be inspired to do likewise. This is no task for the weak of heart as many know. He accomplished this at the RO level without having to go higher. This is what I constantly try to stress in my book. Appeals are like adding 4 miles to the tunnel before you even begin to see any daylight. Getting your evidence and carefully assembling your claim early on is often the ticket to a sixteen month win. Oddly, we both did this in the exact same time span.

Arkhick, as you can see from the records below, is now at 90%. He has C&Ps slated soon for HCV and cirrhosis. He will inevitably be approved for TDIU as he hasn’t worked in 20 or more years. We won’t sleep well until he’s 100% schedular and P&T.  Without further ado, I present our Fall winner of the vA Lotto.

Arkhick50 has promised me he’ll keep us posted on future developments-especially any regarding his HCV and cirrhosis claims. Congratulations on a battle well fought, sir.

Arkansas RO Lotto Headquarters

Posted in ASKNOD BOOK, NEW BOOK, vARO Decisions, Vietnam Disease Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

vA FALLING BEHIND ON REVAMPING PART 4

Posted on September 11, 2012 by asknod

This just in from our Houston Correspondent, WGM:

Part 4 of 38 CFR concerns itself with what is wrong with us, how much its worth and what we need to qualify. It’s reaching its sixty seventh birthday and is looking a little rough around the edges in 2012 inflationary dollars. It also views Vets from the perspective that their training and IQ qualify them for little more than common laborers such as ditch diggers and service station attendants. Therefore adequate remuneration (read compensation) for injuries/diseases should be based on the minimum wage… of Botswana.

We were supposed to see some changes on this. Much was promised aeons ago. I always envision Gene Hackman in Superman saying “Promises were made and gifts were exchanged. What’s the problem?”

Here’s the GAO report that set the forest on fire.

W had this to say about that:

Actually I am surprised that GAO even came out with the report at this time. I think they do it so often on the same subject. Same bat phone, same bat channel! Fingerpointing amongst the NSOs? Where have we seen this before? Who are all of these so-called stakeholders anway?

I have to add here that I misread stakeholders as steakholders and kept asking W to send me some. (They barbecue a lot down there).

“For example, they noted that it could be difficult to achieve consensus for specific design elements among the diverse set of stakeholders. Also, VA’s capacity to administer these approaches-—which could increase the complexity and/or number of claims—-is questionable.”

Now, because of all the focus on “Git ‘er done” by 2015, any revision of the regulations controlled solely by Uncle Eric is impossible in the near term. 2020 is looking more realistic-at least until 2020 when it will be announced that-for sure, positively, it’s gonna happen- that the launch date will be NLT 2025. You as Vets, of all people, should realize they are like, you know,  suuuuper busy down at Vermont Ave. cooking up all manner of new shindigs for the vA troops in far-flung places like Orlando and Honolulu. Revisions to 38 CFR, while important, are lower priority than what hors d’ oeuvres to serve at the Meet and Greet for the new VLJs next week. Besides, insightful legal opinions cannot be parsed over cheap non-Russian vodka or knockoffs of Tanqueray gin. Asking them to sacrifice in the name of Vets would be uncivilized and be the ruin of the system.

Anything less would be uncivilized. Veterans are so full of themselves it embarrasses me sometimes. Justice is not cheap and should best be accomplished on a full tummy.

Posted in vA news | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

CAVC–HUGHES v. SHINSEKI–WHAT HEP?

Posted on September 11, 2012 by asknod

Here’s another of those Tiger Moms in later life who take up the pro se broom and head to the Court for a clean sweep. Janette has done her homework. In fact, she worked overtime to get all the T’s crossed and the I’s dotted. No stone was left unturned.

Few realize that an appeal to the Court (and above) is not a new “trial” but a survey of what happened, what didn’t, and why it was right or wrong. The judge (or judges) do not look at new evidence. That is prohibited from being introduced for the most part. There are exceptions to every rule, but rarely is “new” evidence allowed in by either party (you or the VASEC).

The judges have several options to choose from. If the decison of the Board was grossly unjust and horribly flawed, they may reverse and rule in your favor. At that stage, all that’s left to do is send it back to the RO for a rating. They may send it back to the Board (remand) for a new trial because the VLJ erred and failed to consider something. This is, of course, the vacate and remand option. Lastly, they can conclude that small errors were made but that the end result was still basically sound and the Vet was not judicially short-sheeted. This is called affirming the decision. The CAVC has a 10% ( ± 3%) habit of reversal-especially if they get pissed. They have a 50% habit of vacate and remand and 40% habit of affirmation. It is not enough to prove they made a mistake. You have to prove the statutes and regulations were violated enough that it resulted in you being denied justice. The Court doesn’t often get down in the weeds and parse the evidence pro and con if all the judicial canons are observed. In fact, the more closely the BVA hews to the law, the less inclined the Court is to disturb the decision.

A lot of this flies out the window when a pro se appellant arrives at the door. Without implying that women have more sympathy for other women, I observe that the judge in this case is none other than Judge Mary Schoelen, the daughter of a Veteran. She is probably the closest thing we have to a kindred spirit up at Indiana Ave. With the addition of Mesdames Bartley and Pietsch, we hope to see more.

Back to Janette. Her husband Carl died of what could be best described as cryptogenic Hepatitis. In my book it’s always cryptogenic. Anything that sneaks up on you and fellow medical sleuths undetected could be considered little else. Anyone who reads the Court Memorandum with a modicum of intelligence concerning Hepatitis C will find themselves nodding their heads in agreement. Three weeks of “flu-like” symptoms? A fellow soldier with yellow jaundice? They burned his possessions to prevent cross-contamination? A long parade of doctors who surmised it was some form of hepatitis? Helloooooooooooooooooooo?

Nevertheless, the BVA dragged her through the mud, dawdled, went out and spent untold sums of money desperately trying  to prove the opposite. Janette filed for this in March 2003. The RO gave her a steady drum roll of denial for several years. The BVA began the same game and started sending out for nexus letters to refute her long list. This culminated in 2011 with a last one categorically sewing it up in vA’s favor. I always find it amusing what you can buy with 30 pieces of silver. However, I find it pathetic that some down on his luck proctologist would be willing to opine on gastroenterological issues. Doing it to a Veteran simply compounds the crime with interest.

The crux of the Board error is simple. They bought a bogus medical opinion and forgot to a) include it in the Record; and b) didn’t give Janette a copy and sixty days to rebut it. But is it that simple?  April 20th was a Wednesday. June 29th was a Wednesday. Memorial Day was Monday May 2nd. vA is going to have us believe they accomplished this in 48 working days? At the BVA? In 2011? Using their AMC?  Really? Why the backlog then? It’s hard enough to win if they don’t cheat. Veterans are accorded(on paper) some measure of respect in that their lay testimony is considered above reproach and believed-right up until a critical assessment that denigrates it. So, too, was Carl’s and Janette’s. Everything carefully accumulated was thrown out as being hearsay, second-hand, or beyond the capability of a person untrained in the medical arts to opine on. This is the last fig leaf many have in their defense before the vA. That it is regularly laughed at as being inconsequential and biased in hopes of scamming the bucks, lay testimony is a joke for benefit of the doubt arguments. Its one of the first casualties in the adjudication. Get used to it. Janette got the same treatment:

The Board has made a number of errors in its analysis of the veteran’s lay statements. First, the veteran reported that he suffered from flu-like symptoms in service, and then later received multiple diagnoses of cirrhosis secondary to hepatitis. R. at 1972. The appellant essentially argues that the veteran’s in-service complaints constitute a description of symptoms later supported by multiple diagnoses of cirrhosis related to hepatitis. Appellant’s Br. at 4. The Board found that, as a lay person, the veteran is “not competent to offer an opinion on a matter clearly requiring medical expertise, such as establishing an in-service diagnosis based on a service treatment record showing that the [v]eteran was treated for flu-like symptoms.” R. at 21. The Board, however, failed to address the appellant’s argument. It should have discussed whether the veteran’s statement constitutes a description of symptoms supporting a later diagnosis. See Jandreau, supra.

 Next, the veteran stated that when he was in service, “a man in our group was diagnosed as having [h]epatitis.” R. at 1972. The Board found that the veteran was not identifying a contemporaneous medical diagnosis. R. at 22. That appears to be exactly what the veteran is doing.  The Board also found that it is “unclear whether the [v]eteran even heard this diagnosis from the fellow soldier or if such a diagnosis was the subject of rumor or speculation.” Id. The Board’s statement is not a reason to reject the veteran’s lay statements based on competency. The veteran is competent to repeat a medical diagnosis. Jandreau, supra. The Board’s statement is instead a challenge to the probative value of the veteran’s statement, and should have been considered
accordingly. Hughes v. Shinseki 2011

Janette made another big boo-boo. She attempted to introduce new evidence into the Court’s file when she arrived. As I mentioned above, this is a Bozo No-No. Everything in the case must be put on the table before the fat lady sings. Fortunately, because vA stepped on their necktie, she’ll be able to reintroduce this on remand. I doubt we’ll see her up at the Big House on this again. The evidence for completely outweighs that against. Add to that the Board’s die-hard habit of trying to play Dr. Kildare and they now have a lot of egg on their face. I’m sure many Vets deserve to lose. Not all, but some. When the process sweeps up those rightfully entitled to some kind of benefit of the doubt along with the riff raff, the independent observer can only come to one jaded conclusion. Yep. Justice delayed and Justice denied- business as usual.

The Secretary concedes that remand is warranted in this case because the Board failed to comply with 38 C.F.R. § 20.903(a). Secretary’s Br. at 8-9. Pursuant to § 20.903(a) (2012), when the Board receives a medical opinion that it has requested,  it will furnish a copy of the opinion to the appellant . . . . A period of 60 days from  the date the Board furnishes a copy of the opinion will be allowed for response, which may include the submission of relevant evidence or argument. The Secretary notes that the appellant asserted in her Notice of Appeal that she was never provided a copy of the examiner’s report and never given an opportunity to respond. Secretary’s Br. at 2. The Secretary asserts that there is no evidence that the Board ever contacted the appellant as required by § 20.903(a). Id. at 7-9.
The Board stated that the April 2011 medical opinion is “associated with the claims file.” R. at 5. It is not in the record, however, and the Secretary asserts that he reviewed the claims file and that the medical opinion is not included. Secretary’s Br. at 7 n.1. The Board does not discuss § 20.903(a), and it is not clear whether the Board acted in accordance with the regulation. The Court, therefore, agrees with the Secretary that remand is warranted for the Board to address its obligations under § 20.903(a) and to ensure that a copy of the April 2011 medical opinion is inserted into the claims file. Hughes supra

vA would probably have us believe this error was not a due process violation. Maybe a minor oversight with no appreciable consequences but one that would not undermine the integrity of the decision. And then there’s that Dr. Kildare wannabe problem they haven’t managed to shake since they started doing it back in 1961…

Next, in its statement of reasons or bases explaining its decision to assign reduced probative value to Dr. Moore’s statement, the Board stated that the veteran’s “service treatment records do not reflect complaints or findings that are consistent with hepatitis.” R. at 20. Throughout its decision, the Board acknowledges, but does not thoroughly address, the appellant’s argument that the flu-like symptoms recorded in the veteran’s service treatment records may be related to hepatitis. Here, the Board essentially makes the medical determination that the veteran’s flu-like symptoms are not consistent with hepatitis without citing to any proper medical authority.  When the Board reaches a medical determination, it must base its conclusion on “independent medical evidence” rather than “provide [its] own medical judgment in the guise of a Board opinion.” Colvin v. Derwinski, 1 Vet.App. 171, 172 (1991); see also Kahana v. Shinseki, 24 Vet.App. 428, 434 (2011).  Hughes supra

1961 was the year the vA instituted the Board concept of three members. One of these judges wore two hats- one as a Judge and another of an M.D. They were legally allowed to opine on all matters medical. This continued until the VJRA was passed by Congress in 1988. Sadly, the Board is stuck on stupid and continues to make this error twenty three years later. Not just occasionally but again and again- so much so that the Court is getting laryngitis reminding them as here.

Janette will live to argue anew at the Board. She will be allowed to introduce N&M evidence that may support her contentions. The Board has some fancy explaining to do if they hope to sustain this denial up at the Court again. My guess is the Quid Pro Quo game will ensue. Janette will be given some form of recompense within the power of the VASEC. She will go quietly into the night with her DIC and her dignity intact. Will Gunn and the OGC gang  have been weighed and their brand of justice found wanting. Unfortunately life will go on for us and we will be condemned to the same injustices tomorrow, next month, and next year.

It’s always Groundhog Day at the BVA. Colvin violations will be springing up tomorrow morning like dandelions in your front lawn. Everyone can see them. It’s certainly not a secret.  Things rarely change when the appellants give up and go home. The BVA knows this and depends on it. By denying justice unfairly, they test your mettle. When called on it, they relent, apologize as if it were some unique flaw they were unaware of, and would be happy to repair. Welcome to the nonadversarial  vA form of justice.

WE CELEBRATE

GROUNDHOG DAY

EVERY DAY

To view this decision, Go to . 11-2502

 

Click  on the blue download in the upper left to view normally.

Posted in CAvC HCV Ruling, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

MAKE IT SO, NUMBER ONE

Posted on September 10, 2012 by asknod

Would that it were so easy to fix the mental health problems of the vA. Ordering the tide not to come in was just as futile for King Canute. We’ll see how this executive order plays out. I hope for the best but have come to expect much less after this long.

Of course, being the Devil’s advocate, what took him so long to issue the order? An election year ploy to get Veterans votes? We would hope it wasn’t something as crass and selfishly employed as that for PR purposes but that is what this smacks of.

A day late and a dollar short. How many died before it became an executive “do it”?

Posted in Gulf War Issues, PTSD, vA news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

PTSD AT MADIGAN CLINIC

Posted on September 10, 2012 by asknod

Obviously, when I come into possession of information about Vets, or even soon-to-be-Vets on the cusp of separation, I feel obligated to regurgitate it here. Sometimes what I get is from what need be considered a classified source. This is one of those occasions.

Remember the Col. Dallas Homas Memorial Bent Brain Clinic at The Madigan Home for Wayward Malingerers? Yep. Back in the news again. As some may remember, it appeared there was a Detroit-like assembly line production crew down there cranking out 30 minute, while-you-wait personality disorder diagnoses at a rate of 20 or so a day. This might not be remarkable if it was a joint endeavour by twenty or thirty counselors doing the intake. Try five on good day if nobody had the flu or a new perm scheduled.

After a careful observation conducted by a flyover at 20,000 feet, the assessment was made that no error existed, but… in order to be sure there would be a complete review all the way back to … 2010. Then 2009. Then it went back to 2007. Errors were being discovered and bulldozers for immediate backfill were needed. Col. Homas was temporarily relieved of his duties to prevent any more coercion of counselors. One up and quit anyway.

This was where matters stood until recently. With little fanfare, it was announced that there was no conspiracy to disenfranchise military personnel and give them the “slightly distorted (but not bent) brain syndrome which warrants NOT SERVICE CONNECTED. Troops don’t get it other than in the wallet. And wonder of wonders. A recently chastised and newly reoriented Col. Homas made a surprising reappearance at his old section.

A personality disorder is something you snuck into the service with. Whether its an uninhibited habit of picking your nose in public and digesting the mined product, washing your hands every five minutes, or the really disgusting habit of diving under things whenever a car backfires, the medical etiology always seems to be that it is something that always afflicted you. This means the Presumption of Regularity we all get at our induction physical is malleable. In medical records, it is abbreviated as EPTS (existed prior to service).

The escape hatch, if any of you wondered how that occurred, is located in the last part of 38 CFR §3.303(c)-to wit:

 In the field of mental disorders, personality disorders which are characterized by developmental defects or pathological trends in the personality structure manifested by a lifelong pattern of action or behavior, chronic psychoneurosis of long duration or other psychiatric symptomatology shown to have existed prior to service with the same manifestations during service, which were the basis of the service diagnosis, will be accepted as showing preservice origin. Congenital or developmental defects, refractive error of the eye, personality disorders and mental deficiency as such are not diseases or injuries within the meaning of applicable legislation.

Shrinks, and those minions who work for them in the enlisted ranks, are allowed to type up all manner of personality disorders on short notice and help the soldier get out. This would be fine if it resulted in remuneration down the road at the RO. It doesn’t, they don’t and therein lies the problem. And for the record, 38 CFR §3.303(c) has been around in its present iteration since before WW2.

What we heard from our troops inside the wire is simple. In order to do a proper intake on these poor souls, it’s necessary to sit down and do some serious talking to get inside their heads. You don’t have them fill out a questionnaire that says things like:

1) Where were you when the stressor happened? We’ll need the exact day/date and time. Location in GPS coordinate format is also required.

2) Did you feel any emotions of fear? Revulsion? Sadness?

3) Did you cry? Puke? Clap for joy? Pose for pictures with dead enemy combatants?

4) Did you pick your nose, steal anything, or wash your hands a lot?

5) Have you ever been arrested for theft or shoplifting? If yes, when?

6) Do you have any medical training that would allow you to diagnose yourself with a mental disorder?

7) Who told you you were in a war zone or is that just your subjective interpretation of where you were?

The only way this is accomplished is by one-on-one, down in the bunker examinations noting eye, hand and  vocal distress. You do not accomplish this with eleven subjects a day including two fifteen minute smoke breaks and an hour for lunch. In your dreams, you’d like to see no more than three of these ladies or gentlemen a day. This would give you time to ascertain what they really suffer and a chance to read up on it and write it up properly.

What we’re hearing is that Col. Homas is trying to ramp this up again and turn it into the former “in-by-ten, out-by-1015 with a write up by 1030 hrs. Next?”. Our whisperblower complains of a new attempted workload schedule of eleven soldiers a day being ramrodded through to include writeups of confirmed diagnoses and Triage instructions.  For most, this is their first visit to a mental health counselor who is even remotely capable of diagnosing the person. So much for that comprehensive retro-review back to 2007. If they are still losing twenty or more a month just in the Army, something’s amiss.

Think about that. This is worse than a MASH hospital. Do the math. Eleven brand new subjects divided (at best) by seven hours pencils out to a lot of DSM-IV errors. I envision spin-the-wheel Carnival GAF scores.

” Here we go, Sgt. Fuentes. Ohhhhh, Bummer. 70! Too bad. Some AWOL and petty theft. Shoplifting at the Commissary. Mood and sleeping disorders. Check. Suicidal ideation? I don’t see it. You feel okay, right?  Controlled by medication… hmmm. Looks like we have a little bit of PD here, trooper. How’s about a nice long, General Discharge-type vacation and a free two year pass at the American Lake VAMC for mental health counseling? If it gets worse, vA’ll  reevaluate you.”

This is what we are passing off as meaningful PTSD screening and solid investigative principles. Were this a civilian shrink, they’d demand five sessions @ 45 minutes to even consider a diagnosis and etiology. One for each Axis diagnosis and one for a comprehensive discussion with the soldier to confirm the long-term path to normalcy (if it can even be attained). By saddling counselors with an unmanageable, unrealistic workload,  the Colonel and his merry band in effect have insured no meaningful good can ensue. Mercurial diagnostics, like MRIs, are not available in the mental health field yet. Pretending they are is a disservice to everyone but most of all the patient.

Here’s an example of what they looked like during the Vietnam Boundary Dispute. Same old shit, different day.

I never met any Majors about this. I was stationed in the desert at Edwards AFB. Women were rarer than sidewinder rattlesnakes. Lt. Meyer asked me if maybe it was time to “move on”. He explained that two years in SEA changes your outlook on life. Maybe that military gig wasn’t my cup of tea. What the Hell? I’d punched the clock for three years and six months. Uncle Sam was willing to let bygones be bygones and I’d get a honorable-type discharge. He’d just cook up some innocuous-sounding excuse and I could be on my way. I declined to sign the first one that admitted I was a homosexual. Somehow this sounded better.

Remember, there was no such thing as PTSD until 1982. Now it’s up and disappeared again. Amazing. Now you see it, now you don’t. I hear that happens a lot in war.

BE ALL YOU CAN BE

(MENTALLY)

IF YOU COME UP SHORT

YOU’RE OUTTA HERE

Posted in Gulf War Issues, Medical News, MST, PTSD | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Baltimore VA Vietnam veteran infected

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Laura

The multi-state David Kwiatkowski  drug diversion/HCV case is complicated.  The Baltimore VA has not released information on the test results of the 168 patients they’ve contacted but we know that one veteran has joined a lawsuit.

What’s alarming is that Kwiatkowski was present at two different procedures on this vet, two years before he worked in Exeter, NH. The VA is taking full responsibility for this veteran’s treatment according to an article in seacoastonline.com.

The veteran is the father of five.  He has been working with sick and elderly people, clueless that he was infected until a few weeks ago.  Will continue to bring updates on this  case as it develops.

Posted in Guest authors, HCV Health, Medical News, vA news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

FOOTLOCKER– SURVIVAL VEST

Posted on September 8, 2012 by asknod

Part of the neatsy-keen survival vests they gave us in Laos was a knife pictured below. These were manufactured by the Camillus Cutlery Co. and were indestructible. We also had flourescent orange locator beacons with a strobe light on them which was as dumb as tracers. I recall a signal mirror to attract the attention of pilots and some other useless stuff. A silk map with translations of “I’m your BFF”. I kept my knife and pistol on my belt where it would travel with me. I hung my vest over my seat out of the way. The battery in the locator  was almost always dead anyway so that was a farce. I don’t recall any FACs being saved by one.

 

Due to large amounts of spare time, we used the small whetstones included to turn these things into razor blades. I found a case of these leftovers from WW2 at the Air Operations Center at Wattay Airport (L-08) in Vientiane one day waiting for a klong flight up to 20 Alternate. I bagged about a half dozen and gave them to friends.

 

Compass, non-liquid. Model L-1, AF Procurement No. 459601. Don’t leave base and take off without it.

Posted in From the footlocker | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

MENTAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS NOWHERE ON THE HORIZON

Posted on September 8, 2012 by asknod

Five long months ago we were assured that the mental health dilemma was all but over. Sixteen hundred new mental health workers were in the hiring pipeline and would be coming online after suitable training. Not.

Today I find in Tom Philpott’s column that not only are the fabled sixteen hundred not imminently to be employed, but that there is a dearth consisting of fifteen hundred existing  positions currently languishing for lack of experienced, trained personnel. These are jobs. Real jobs with paychecks attached to them. With a national unemployment rate averaging over 8%, I find it unconscionable that vA could allow this to continue.

As with any agency of government, they guard their turf jealously. Relinquishing any power would result in a loss of funding and this is anathema to the vA hierarchy. It’s simply not an option. To add insult to injury, one of our presidential candidates has advocated utilizing TRICARE’s available assets of  5,200 mental health workers to alleviate the backlog. While I consider it an admirable suggestion, it leapfrogs over the common sense question of what is ongoing at the vA. Simply shuffling Vets sideways into the TRICARE system puts a lot of stress on their program and does absolutely nothing long-term to solve the endemic problems and attendant suicide numbers.

I don’t need to tell you how that went over. When apprised of the idea, the general consensus among the grand poohbahs was panic followed by instructions to the PR flacks to put out the fire. With more than 20 Veterans and/or active duty personnel punching out prematurely every day, the obvious repair order is a more nuanced PR effort? Only in America and only at the vA.

The contretemps begins with the VSO/vA consortium. They are often the vA’s biggest fans and support much of the vA agenda for fear of alienating themselves from the process and losing their free office space at ROs everywhere. Can you imagine the head of the DAV pissing on vA’s parade? He and his organization would be persona non grata overnight and thousands of DAV representatives would find themselves on the sidewalk the next day. With 50 plus VSOs  chartered by Congress, office space outside the begging door at ROs is in high demand.  Therefore, looking to VSOs for succor in this mental health epidemic is futile.

Looking to Congress for solutions  seems  just as fruitless. With the deadlock between houses (and parties), virtually nothing can be passed without rancor and bridges to nowhere being attached to it.

The VHA (and our government)has one model to deal with these situations. It’s based on a long term plan. Simply put, gear up the hiring mechanism. Begin advertising and interviewing, Collect resumes and begin investigative processes. Finally, weed out the good from the marginal and reinterview these individuals. When the winnowing process is complete some time in 2013, the prospective candidates are AWOL. They’ve departed to other, guaranteed jobs available now-not some nebulous date in the unknown future. There is no flexibility built in to accommodate temporary phenomena. Hiring aggressively in a short term mode to plug gaps in certain identified problem localities is not in their lexicon. Look no further than the dichotomy of having three vacancies at the CAVC for years and years. No one even bothered to nominate any candidates. When they did get around to it, the Senate dawdled so long that those nominated moved on to other opportunities. Qualified, trained personnel cannot sit around waiting on Congress’ whim in interviewing and affirming them. Imagine leaving a seat or two (or three) vacant at the Supreme Court for several years. It’s inconceivable.

Similarly on the VBA side of the aisle, there is no plan for dealing with the backlog that continues to spiral out of control. New programs with catchy acronyms are all well and fine for their PR program but failing to actually employ them promptly eviscerates their usefulness. Or, after implementation, when it is discovered they are unavailing, excuses and recriminations ensue solving nothing and simply invoking Filner/Hickey confrontations.  The vBA still hasn’t absorbed that one yet. I suspect they have a whole new panoply of  prestigious programs in the wings waiting to be rolled out when the latest batch fail to bear fruit.

QUESTAR–Questioning Under Extreme Senate Torture And Responses

This is a new program that seeks to provide handy excuses tabulated in an alphabetical context as well as cross-referencing by concept. Fifty new brochures which cover virtually all potential conflicts. Test subjects resembling Senator Sneakers responded well to this pablum-based product.

AVATAR–Advanced Veteran Accounting Targeted to Alleviate Retribution

This was a shareholder contribution from an amalgam of VSOs . A former program, similar in all respects, was entitled CYA but has fallen into disfavor due to overuse and acronym pollution. AVATAR was rolled out just before Undersecretary for vA Excuses Allison Hickey was subjected to Representative Robert Filner’s vitriol. Unfortunately she was too busy in Orlando brushing up on bonus technique and was unable to attend that seminar.

VALUE–Veterans Access to Legal Underutilized Entities

This is simply a reaffirmation of the VSO model of legal help that continues to  promulgate Veterans’ access to meaningless, flawed representation. By characterizing this as a free tool to Veterans in their fight for service connection, shareholder VSOs continue the deception that Veterans are being served ably and that introducing lawyers will cause unfair, massive financial ruin to them (Veterans). Left unsaid is the spectre of  rampant unemployment in their ranks should said lawdogs be allowed an equal footing like SSA claims. Also overlooked is the financial ruin currently being visited on Veterans by the interminable delay in adjudications.

PROMO–Promise Remedial Organizational Make Over

This is slated for introduction as soon as the STAR, OIG and “125 day/98% in 2015” programs do a faceplant. vA believes this will be the winning ticket. They will petition for more funding to send it out to subcontractors for initial preparation. Meanwhile the ROs will continue to sit on claims and bog the process down yielding nothing new under the sun. This plan incorporates new bonus programs and training venues in warm places like Hawaii because workload will be absorbed by lower-paid outsourcing in India. Blame can, and will, finally be affixed to those guilty-the subcontractors. This is a win-win for vA and is recognized as such. Coffee mugs and ballpoint pens have already been ordered and are being stored on the sixth floor of the Winston Salem RO in anticipation of a 2016 rollout. Engineers have already calculated the live load on the floor and found it to be safe. vA employees have been briefed in how to safely navigate around the new boxes.

Humor aside, the system is broken. Were it just a matter of claims adjudication in a timely manner, we’d all be much more understanding. However, we’re talking human lives here. Veterans, in desperation, are taking their own lives because the intransigence and intractability of an agency unable or unwilling to change. Look no further than their insane love affair with paper files years after everyone  else in DC went to E files. That, on its face, is indefensible but no one ever called vA on it. So, in “splendid isolation”, as Senator Alan Cranston phrased it during the VJRA legislative hearings in 1988, vA has continued to drag their feet for another twenty four years and refuse to enter the twenty first century.

The chickens have come home to roost. Vets are taking their own lives at alarming rates. vA continues to prevaricate and insist all is well as the bow of the Titanic slips below the waves. Their proposed repair order? More bilge pumps to stay afloat. At what point will they don their scuba gear, go below and patch the hole permanently and properly? It appears  from the arguments that scuba gear is frightfully expensive, in short supply and a dearth of trained scuba folks are the holdup.

IF IT’S BROKE

 WHY FIX IT?

I find it intriguing that vA hasn’t swept up the PTSD broken glass of America’s prior military endeavors in Vietnam. When will our citizens become enraged and demand an accounting of that and the current idiocy? Who wants to be the last casualty or victim of bent brain syndrome to exit and discover they face a two month delay in mental health care because an agency of our government is selfish and wants to husband its power and assets?

My wife had me install one of these at the side door I use exclusively to remind me how I fit in to the scheme of things. You will also find one of these outside the VSO begging door entrances at all 58 ROs . I include the AMC in that number.

 

Posted in Gulf War Issues, Medical News, PTSD, vA news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Internet junk in claims

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Laura

HCVets.com contains so many terrific resources!  They give the following warning for people planning to print and use information from their site to include in their claims:

“All data printed from this website is under scrutiny by Veterans Affairs Claims Process. It is called internet junk…. So it’s important a copy is obtained from your local library and stamped as such to verify it’s origin. References are provided for each source to obtain the copy.”

When the BVA website was online, I read cases in which judges refer to medical research, on government or academic peer-reviewed sites, included with claims, as Internet papers, i.e. junk.  I wonder how scientists feel about that pejorative allusion for their work?  (Maybe it is “ junk science,” but not merely because the report was posted online.  And the judges aren’t qualified to determine what constitutes good science anyway.)

HCVets.com recommends asking your librarian to obtain the desired research document and having them stamp it to avoid this dismissive behavior.

Perhaps judges are less likely to call librarian-sourced and obtained resources “library junk” out of respect for the profession.  Never mind that the research being sought is probably borrowed from another libraries’ online database to which it has a paid subscription fees. The key is to get the document authenticated by an impartial person.

I add that the higher the status of the library the better it might be received.  That’s how the world works.

Therefore, if you have access to an impressive library nearby, their library stamp might impress a judge more than that of a library stamp of a tiny town that’s only open twice a week.  Go for the highest status library ILL services you can get in your locality.  Specialized libraries at Harvard Medical School,  and other fancy schools like Stanford Medical require an affiliation.  Who do you know with privileges?  Most fancy public libraries do have residency requirements.  Library of Congress, New York Public Library are impressive.   Wherever you are, go to a library a veterans’ judge would think twice before daring to call your research “library junk!”  

In any case, HCVets advice is smart.  It’s worth the wait to get an ILL-obtained authenticated copy, of the desired documents.  Most librarians will be happy to assist you.

For info. on PUBMED articles and open-access, this 13-minute talk is very good.

Posted in Guest authors, HCV Health, Medical News, Nexus Information, Tips and Tricks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

BVA–HOW QUICKLY WE FORGET

Posted on September 7, 2012 by asknod

I was leisurely strolling (trolling?) through VA.gov when I typed in BVA Decisions into the search bar. Here’s what I found out about it (vA’s BVA adjudications arm, that is) .

Four New Judges Will Speed Veterans’ Appeals

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced the addition of four new Veterans Law Judges to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA), which will enable the board to increase the number of cases being decided.

“Veterans have earned the right to prompt, exhaustive and professional review of their claims for benefits,” Secretary Shinseki said. “This expansion of BVA will enable Veterans to receive more expeditious decisions on their appeals.”

Above it was the date… 

 

 

October 21, 2009.

I’m crushed. Four new judges three years ago and the BVA backlog is at 50 K?  I’m at a loss for words. I was lied to. Things are worse for Vets of all walks of life, be they homeless, female, or broke (or all three). All in the name of trying to prevent fraudulent claims. Does the pejorative “control freak” come to mind? Intoxicated with power? When does someone step forward and inform the Emperor that he is naked?

Posted in VA BACKLOG, vA news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments