VARO–KEEPING YOUR HAND IN

Posted on August 13, 2012 by asknod

One thing you need to know when doing claims, is to keep them on the ropes. Just because your appeals are up at the CAVC, this doesn’t preclude a filing for some error you’ve spotted or a secondary illness that has finally reared its ugly head. As you are filing at the Regional Office level, you will recall that expensive-ass law dog you hired is persona non grata at the old RO for anything the BVA hasn’t touched yet. He has his hands full anyway. Best to let him stick to that while you go on about sweeping up the broken glass from the earlier accidents.

Filing claims at the RO is only permitted to self-represented Veterans or those who choose to use the VSOs’ version of Leaglezoom.com ©. Thus the vA has you at a strategic disadvantage at the most crucial stage of the game.  The initial stages of your claim set the tenor and the pace for what ensues. If you are working it using a VSO, they have their own pace and tempo. It leaves you in a defensive posture versus an offensive one.

Never file harassing, frivolous claims to tie up the system. Each one should be focused to accomplish something. vA has denied me Special Monthly Compensation “S”. It amounts to  $325.00 a month. I am entitled to it by being substantially confined to my home and the immediate environs. It must be attained by either a debilitating illness or one 100% rated disease/injury plus an additional 60% computed in vAmath. I am currently rated 100%+ 40% +10%. vA computes that to 146% or 150% rounded up. I will need an additional 20% to attain my 60% so I am filing for restoration of my other original 10% from scarring which was unceremoniously horse-traded away after the award of my 40%. Yes observant math person. That will only net me  151% which rounds down to 150%. Nevertheless it was awarded lawfully. That means if they removed it unlawfully, it is CUE. Do you remember how hard it is to prove CUE? Now just imagine how the vA can prove that it was awarded  a) fraudulently

b) without enough signatures

c) because I don’t have any scars now that they all vanished.

The same arcane, immutable laws that prevent the majority of us from ever prevailing on a CUE claim are now focused in their full force on the same ones who promulgated the decision. The olde English used to call this being hoist on your own petard (from the French Palan par votre propre piège). vA has made a “finding”. This is a legal holding good for $200 and passing Go! vA now has to defend why they awarded it in the first place. They have to prove it wasn’t outcome-determinative to take it away, that the decision to reduce the rating ( in force for 17 months) “did not manifestly change the outcome” of the eventual rating percentage; that all the laws were obeyed and all the evidence on file at the time indicated that a reduction was called for without discussing the proposed reduction with the claimant prior to reducing said rating. OOOOhhhhh! I like these arguments.

Some of you know this but if vA decides to tamper with your rating, no matter how many chips you have, they have to have a C&P exam that says ” Mr. NOD’s scars have miraculously disappeared on both the dorsal and anterior aspects of his hands and scarring due to mechanical trauma/photosensitivity has similarly undergone Heavenly Expungement. The Pope has been called and he is currently being considered for Canonization. News and film at Eleven”. In fact, the way the LAW is written, vA cannot reduce that rating until sixty days after they first notify you that they have done it. Being a “finding” that I am entitled to this, the only way to effect a reduction by the M-21 would require them to order me to a QTC  Quality Treatment Center posthaste for one of those canned C&Ps mentioned above.

I filed in November of 2008 for Cryoglobulinemia and Fibromyalgia but withdrew those claims upon completion of the PCT for 10%. That was before I even knew about SMC S.  I will be reinstating them soon. I am also contemplating filing CUE on the original denial of my SMC-S denial in June of 2008. That can be sustained because on the rare three days here and there when they discharged me home from the Seattle VAMC , I was lying on my back with a colostomy bag and a 1000ml IV of saline every day in my (by now) permanent PICC line. That’s conducive to watching a lot of Drew Carey and Alex Trebek. The picture looked like this

 

 

vA felt I was faking it and out playing golf in my brand new, vA -issued wheelchair.

 

The camera date is wrong but that’s me in the NASA recliner.

vA looked at all the evidence and the benefit of the doubt came down like this:

 

 

Them vA rater guys. Aren’t they a hoot? Why, you gotta get up purty early in the morning to get the jump on them. They don’t get taken in by some hoodwinking Veteran faking it in a wheelchair. No Sirreee. 85% of us are fakers and malingerers and vA can’t be hornswoggled by the likes of a rank amateur like me. What was I thinking?

Never sit and do nothing in these instances. Small, perceived wrongs can be righted while you wait your turn in line at Indiana Ave. NW. The only codicil is that they be brand spanking new claims or CUE motions for revision of vARO decisions. This is not harassment nor is it being anal and vindictive. By fighting for what is legitimately yours, you show vA that you are not to be trifled with. Just make sure you don’t have any skeletons in your closet or fraudulence in the files. Call it “CUE for fun and profit”. I prefer to call it “Not getting mad but rather, getting even” Always remember Shakespeare’s immortal line ” Revenge is a dish best served chilled”. This requires preparation and a refrigerator properly set to 34 degrees Fahrenheit.

38 CFR § 3.105(e)

(e) Reduction in evaluation—compensation. Where the reduction in evaluation of a service-connected disability or employability status is considered warranted and the lower evaluation would result in a reduction or discontinuance of compensation payments currently being made, a rating proposing the reduction or discontinuance will be prepared setting forth all material facts and reasons. The beneficiary will be notified at his or her latest address of record of the contemplated action and furnished detailed reasons therefor, and will be given 60 days for the presentation of additional evidence to show that compensation payments should be continued at their present level. Unless otherwise provided in paragraph (i) of this section, if additional evidence is not received within that period, final rating action will be taken and the award will be reduced or discontinued effective the last day of the month in which a 60-day period from the date of notice to the beneficiary of the final rating action expires.

The obvious answer to this is:

Dept. of Veterans Affairs

Regional Office

Re:

CSS

Moving Party

Dear Sirs,

I write because the Seattle Regional Office has failed to contact me concerning my filing of October 10th, 2011. I contacted the IRIS system (IRIS Inquiry # xxxxxx-xxxxx) and posted the particulars of my filing there and asked for an update. Apparently the documents have been lost or misfiled. Fortunately I do have proof of mailing to help you find them and copies of the correspondence to resurrect the matter.

Very simply, the Veterans Administration has reduced a rating for scarring under Diagnostic Code 7815 from 10% to 0%. Substituting the Diagnostic Code for Phlebotomies under Polycythemia Vera (DC 7704) in lieu of DC 7815 is impermissible as it is not duplicative nor pyramiding under 38 CFR §4.14.

Most importantly, please find a copy of my Certificate of Mailing via US Post Office Form 3817 showing my mailing of the document requesting a Motion for Revision. If you feel this is not sufficient to overcome the Presumption of Regularity as far as the Common Law Mailbox ruling documenting mailing, I can supply a letter from my postmaster/mistress attesting to the mailing in question. Suzanne has known me for 18 years. It’s a small town. Post Office Form 3817, while not generally used, still certifies that the article in question, addressed to the VA, was mailed on the date stamped on the form by the sender (me). It satisfies the requirements of the Rios vs. Mansfield precedent that shows documented proof of mailing. Furthermore, I only sent the Seattle Regional Office one document during the month of October, 2011.

Please begin adjudicating this Motion for Revision as soon as you can. I feel it is long overdue after ten months of waiting. I am actively prosecuting this. I realize the Veterans Administration is experiencing a large number of filings but I feel the inordinate time delay is inexcusable. A simple acknowledgement of the receipt of the correspondence would be appropriate. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Noodledude

1234 Yellow Brick Road

Oz, Kansas 60609

P.S. Suzanne says to say Hi. She wants her fifteen minutes of Warhol fame, too.

Posted in Tips and Tricks, vARO Decisions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

HOMELESS VETS STILL WAITING IN LINE

Posted on August 13, 2012 by asknod

Member Shawn found this and it makes my skin crawl. This is a quote that should give everyone of us pause.

Tragically, every year more than 6,500 Veterans voluntarily surrender their lives … victims of bureaucratic battle fatigue.

Their solace is found in Plato’s prophetic claim more than 2,500 years ago: “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

It is estimated that since the Vietnam War ended, more Vietnam Veterans have committed suicide than the 58,272 who were killed during the War.

The death toll amongst homeless Vietnam Veterans will continue to climb as more commit suicide, overdose on VA drugs, are murdered, or die of hardship and old age while fighting against the domestic enemy.

How can Congress live with itself? How could anyone recess and go on vacation with this sitting in the in-basket?  It’s a sobering article to me as I am an integral part of that era. I came very close to homelessness within a year of my return from SEA.

Posted in Complaints Department, HOMELESS VETERANS, vA news | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

HEY– YOU VETS ARE EXPENSIVE!

Posted on August 12, 2012 by asknod

Chew on this article. Boot 1.3 million Vets out of VAMCs and save enough money to fight for 12.9 more days in Afland. What are they smoking down in Foggy Bottom? We should be building more VAMCs everywhere because — Newsflash!– we’re getting ready to have a shitpile of damaged Vets on our hands soon. Why is it than when faced with monetary shortcomings, they go through gyrations of “What if we transferred the $ from here to there and short-funded these guys this year? Then when the dust settles, we could commit to this again when we have the dough.” The problem is new priorities arise and the Vet gets the back seat a la Rosa Parks.

I strive not to have any political leanings here and don’t cotton to others doing so. Nevertheless, this is grossly short-sighted regardless who authors it. Priority 7 and 8’s are tomorrow’s priority 3s. Twenty five years hence they’ll be Priority 1s. When America sent us to war, we didn’t say we’d be available most days but weekends were right out. We sure didn’t discuss salary either. I find it distasteful to see either party become an author to this perfidy. What’s the schedule for doing away with Priority 6?

Member Bob who is an introvert and does not post  had this contribution when he sent it to me:

If I recall,  the invention of the categories can be attributed to Principi.

 What happens when you deny these vets access to VA health care?    They are still sick and broke.

 They move over to the federally funded Family Health Center (where they crowd out low income families and children).

 Or, they end up at the emergency room needing $ 5,000.00 in care which could have been avoided by a visit to the VA outpatient nurse a week before.

 This is a false economy and is a version of the old used car salesmen’s trick.  Mark the car up $ 500.00 and then give the first sucker to look at it a $ 200.00 discount so he feels like he won.

 Snake Oil for sale, cheap.

 If this is ever done our homeless vet population in this town (Motor City) will jump.  A lot.   Once denied health care the “walking wounded” will become too sick to keep working and will be on the streets.

 But, what do I know?

I hate to think of the consequences. Vets of all stripes are stretched pretty thin right now. Their tenuous grip on life and medical care is borderline. The repair order to me is obvious. Time to turn out the lights in Kabul. Who wants to be the last one to die for this? They’re sand ranchers and can’t even agree on how to run their own country but want our money to keep the system airborne. We’re losing more troops to green on blue assassinations than to purely combat now. Helloooooooooo? So let’s cut off the guys who defended them. I guess I don’t get it. There’s less here than meets the eye.

Posted in Complaints Department, Medical News, vA news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

THE BIG CHICKEN DINNER–WHAT THEY DON’T TELL YOU

Posted on August 12, 2012 by asknod

GIJoe_OriginalLineupMany’s the Vet- and even more so now -with these insane year-in, year-out deployments to combat zones, who comes home  slightly bent. I know. I did and couldn’t figure out why everyone was not on the same page with me. You cannot go to war and play GI Joe without some of the paint coming off. You never return the same nor should you. If you think it was fun, you need help. But when you do seek help and they can your ass, then you have an intractable problem.

In my day a Bad Conduct discharge, DD Form 258 or its brother the Dishonorable (DD 259) were anathema. I took silver with a General. We called the Bad Conduct discharge the Big Chicken Dinner and bemoaned our friends who, for one reason or another, chose to go AWOL or worse. Men, who in any other circumstances, would never screw up-but did. Add a little death and destruction, salt with IEDs and no sleep and voila- instant temporary Bent Brain. Or permanently Bent after about 3 deploys. For some it was only one. Everyone has a different-sized rubber band in their brain. Some aren’t designed to take this stress. Others can’t live without it-right up until the day they discover they can’t live with it.

My son has a friend he went through K-12,  soccer  and the whole panoply of youth with.  We all use these social constructs as an introduction to life when we get older. Josh is a Ranger. He’s on his third vacation in Afland. He just got married for all the wrong reasons. He just got a Bronze Star and a few other I was there ribbons. He’s into it. He engages in reckless drinking, etc. I recognize him.  I’ve been there. Excitement is like heroin when you’re in the field. The in-between becomes boring. Action must be constant to perceive life properly. Losing a buddy becomes the focal point of a grudge match. There aren’t enough sand ranchers to even the score when that happens.  Or, in my war at some point, you feel it was ordained that you arrange beer summits between Pathet Lao and God-the more the merrier.

Then you come home. Ho-humville doesn’t cut it. Dreams start to crop up with nightmares interspersed. It’s like a Country and Western song.  Soon there are no dreams, no house, no kids and no wife. The Army takes a dim view of you failing to punch in Monday mornings. Alcohol and drugs can fix this for a while and then suddenly none of it can help. The only one that can help is one who has been there. Someone you can share your fears and regrets with. There are damn few of them around on a military base willing or able to do this. They’re busy listening to their own Country and Western songs, too.

Before long you end up with  that Big Chicken Dinner and don’t care. When you finally come to your senses and need psychiatric help to find your way out of this maze, its too late. To add insult to injury, your provendor, that Big Brother (Veterans Administration) assigned to look over you, now shuns you. All those years of faithful service for naught. It sucks but that is the current system. A Vet doesn’t have time to matriculate through the system waiting for a decision on this bent brain syndrome. He needs help now. At the most important, crucial juncture when he or she finally reaches out and cries Uncle, they are met with the “We’ll have to study it and get back to you”.

Sen. Patty “Sneakers” Murray and her cohorts up at the Big house feel the status quo is workable and needs no fine-tuning. I wish I could introduce her to some of these fine upstanding people who defended America when She asked for their help. Unfortunately, they’re disappearing at the rate of about 30 a day.

welcome home from Vietnam

Nodster

Posted in Complaints Department, Gulf War Issues, PTSD, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

DISGRUNTLED VET

Posted on August 12, 2012 by asknod

I received this today and was initially at a loss for words. I read it moments before the Stardust Radio show began and it festered in my mind until it bubbled over in the broadcast. I do not believe in conspiracies or censorship so I will not tamper with it. I will add my answer to it below as it was sent. I rarely receive negative input such as this. Not that I don’t deserve it certainly, but I try to build positive things here rather than complain about things I cannot change. Everyone’s claims (and hence their circumstances) are different and unique. There is no vA claims box that fits all of you. If there was , you wouldn’t come here asking why and how to.

Dear Sir…

Okay….I am a Viet Nam veteran, I don’t turn my back on the war as so many did in the 60’s, I put my life on the line, come back a drug addict, alcoholic, and can’t maintain a relationship due to ED caused by Agent Orange…..and now you have the balls…(must be big ones) to try and sale me a book to benefit no one but you!

I have known some selfish people and will have to put YOU amongst them as well!

Gee Thanks for all your support!

Walter L. Reynolds/ U.S.Army 1970-72/Da Nang, Viet Nam

Ask Nod
5:35 PM (2 hours ago)
to walt

Dear Mr. Reynolds,

 You seem to think I set out to write a book to make money. Well, as  they say in the Hertz commercial-Not exactly. I set out to help Vets win their claims after losing for 23 years. I served just west of you in Laos in 1970 as a FAC interpreter. I got a GSW and a rotten transfusion. I’m dying of the disease now and have a few years left. I also have PCT from Agent Orange.

 You think I’m getting rich? I put all my own money into this for Vets. $5.500 + and I don’t care if I ever get it back. I do hope you can get a copy of it and beat the VA at their own game. That’s what I want, Mr. Reynolds. No fame. No glory. Just pay it forward to Mr. and Mrs Vet so they don’t have to go through what I did for 23 years. I’ve been called a liar. I’ve been told I was never in Vietnam-let alone Laos. I didn’t get my Purple Heart because Air America doesn’t award them.

 If that means I’m on your shit list, then I am happy to be there. I hope I’m near the top, too. If that’s what it takes to help Vets then I will sleep well knowing it. I arrived over there in May of 1970 and DEROSed May 1972. I paid my dues for two years. I don’t wave a flag much-I’m too sick. I was kicked out of the USAF with PTSD- excuse me-Anti-social personality w/ passive aggressive tendencies-with a General Discharge when I got back. I won at something they said couldn’t be done. Should I run and hide the secret of how to win? If there ever is a “profit” from this, I’ll be dead and unable to spend it.

Thank you for your service to America, too. I mean that sincerely from one Veteran to another. We all got the shitty end of the stick in that war. I just aim to even the playing field for us a little bit. I’m sorry you don’t see it that way.

 Sincerely–Buckwheat (ASKNod)

I wish to put a fork in the myth that this is for money. If it was, I’d hire a ghostwriter and a good PR staff with national connections and go on tour. One thing I certainly would not do is assume a pseudonym as I was cautioned against many times by the publisher. Going on book signing tours requires a name-preferably your real one. Profit on this, if there is any (ever) would devolve to Cupcake because I severely doubt I’ll be vertical when and if it happens. So to the Walter L. Reynolds of the world-calm down. If I get a windfall, I have your email address and will send you a free copy. Any others so inclined push send now and I’ll add you to the list. My mission in what’s left of my life is to teach Vets how to legally fish so they can provide for themselves judicially. Money is such a small part of life that it doesn’t enter here. As a human being, I’m shocked that any would ascribe that motive to my endeavour. As a Veteran, I’m insulted.

Even if you knew my circumstances in life, Mr. Reynolds, I find it odd that you would inveigh on my book with no knowledge of its reason or beginnings. However, you must be prescient in one respect. I did have the largest testicles west of the Rockies for several days in April 2009 when the sepsis nearly killed me. I was unavailing in my attempts to get either my son or Cupcake to take a picture of them for you though. For that, I sincerely apologize. It might have set your mind at rest to see you’re right about something. And yes, it would make an interesting conversation-starter if placed on the mantle above the fireplace.

Posted in ASKNOD BOOK, Complaints Department, NEW BOOK | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

VA’S DUTY TO ASSIST IN A C&P

Posted on August 12, 2012 by asknod

New Member WYN-WYN poses an interesting question. She had the unfortunate luck to be discharged in 1979 due to injuries sustained in the service. Her Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) assigned her a 10% rating for both knees and diagnosed other debilities. The only problem was no one paid her. Thirty years later she discovered the discrepancy. VA in its on inimitable way, promptly owned up and cut her a check. What they didn’t do is run out and get a C&P to determine her present level of disability. When they finally got around to giving her one, they entered into the records that she had not reported for same. They also opted to consider the injury static as in the same amount of disability in 1979 with no allowance for an increase in disability. Failing to perform in this regard is a major violation of their own regulations and they know this. The M21 computer voice automatically kicks in when these things pop up and says “Warning! Warning! Engage Fenderson staged rating immediately. Proceeding further will cause CUE!” The list of their intransigence is much longer but those were the worst.

VA has the WARMS computer system which virtually completes the claim after the parameters have been inserted. This also explains the 60% error rate we read about. If the operator inserts incorrect or incomplete information, the M-21 function doesn’t always complain and spit it out for repair. Add in a hectic, one-claim-per-hour production line and you see the magnitude of the problem. WGM’s CUE is another classic example. Leroy Macklem’s was the jewel in the crown.

For Veteran’s edification, I will quote from the Great Veterans Benefits Manual on the subject of the Duty to Assist in these instances. I won’t bloat the post with all of it (footnotes etc.) but would be happy to sent it to interested parties. I understand that not everyone is well-heeled enough to run out and buy the complete $250 Lexis Nexis. I don’t think they’ll put me in jail for printing some here.

12.5.4.4  In Disability Compensation Claims, VA Duty to Assist in Obtaining Medical Examinations or Medical Opinions

The VA is required to provide a medical examination or opinion when such an examination or opinion is necessary to make a decision on the claim. The law further provides that a medical examination or opinion shall be considered necessary to make a decision on a claim if the evidence of record, taking into consideration all information and lay or medical evidence (including the claimant’s statements): (1) contains competent evidence that the claimant has a current disability, or persistent or recurrent symptoms of disability; and (2) indicates that the disability or symptoms may be associated with the claimant’s active service; but (3) does not contain sufficient medical evidence for the VA to make a decision on the claim. 

In McLendon v. Nicholson,202 the CAVC described four elements that govern when a medical examination or opinion is necessary. The Court stated that an examination or opinion is necessary when there is (1) competent evidence of a current disability or persistent or recurrent symptoms of a disability, and (2) evidence establishing that an event, injury, or disease occurred in service or establishing certain diseases manifesting during an applicable presumptive period for which the claimant qualifies, and (3) an indication that the disability or persistent or recurrent symptoms of a disability may be associated with the veteran’s service or with another service-connected disability, but (4) insufficient competent medical evidence on file for the Secretary to make a decision on the claim.

With respect to the third element, the Court stated that it was only necessary that the evidence indicates that there may be an association between the current disability (or persistent or recurrent symptoms of a disability) and active service (or another service-connected disability). The Court stated that this was a low threshold, and the type of evidence that could satisfy this threshold could include, but are not limited to, medical evidence that suggests a nexus but is too equivocal or lacking in specificity to support a decision on the merits, or credible evidence of continuity of symptomatology such as pain or other symptoms capable of lay observation.

Turning to the quality of the medical examination, the duty to assist includes conducting a thorough and contemporaneous medical examination when the medical evidence in the record is inadequate. An adequate medical examination is based upon consideration of the veterans prior medical history and examinations and also describes the disability in sufficient detail so that the Board’s evaluation of the claimed disability will be a fully informed one. Furthermore, once the VA provides an examination, even if not required to do so, the examination must be adequate. At the very least, the claimant must be notified why an adequate exam will not or cannot be provided. However, the fact that a VA examiner stated that an opinion cannot be rendered without resort to mere speculation does not per se render the opinion inadequate under the duty to assist.

The VA has the authority to gather additional evidence, including negative evidence obtained through a VA medical examination that could result in the denial of a claim. While the VA cannot be arbitrary and capricious, and the VA must procure evidence in an impartial, unbiased, and neutral manner, the decision in Douglas (Raymond) v. Shinseki holds that the Secretary has the authority to gather all information and evidence relevant and material to the claim. This means that the VA can develop evidence that could turn out to be positive or negative. However, the VA cannot develop a claim merely to obtain negative evidence.

Regarding the ability of the VA to seek clarification of VA or private examinations, the CAVC held in Savage v. Shinseki, that nothing in VA’s statutes or regulations, or in this Court’s caselaw, limits VA’s authority or duty to return inadequate medical examination reports to only those reports prepared by VA medical examiners. The CAVC found that when VA concludes that a private medical examination is unclear or insufficient, and it reasonably appears that a request for clarification, both as limited elsewhere in this opinion, could provide relevant information that is otherwise not in the record and cannot be obtained in some other way, the Board must either seek clarification from the private examiner or the claimant or clearly and adequately explain why such clarification is unreasonable. 

In addition, the duty to assist requires the VA to:

>   Obtain a specialized medical examination when one is recommended by one of its own doctors; and

>   Obtain an independent medical expert opinion when there is diverse and conflicting medical opinions about an appellant’s condition.

What we have here is a contretemps of much interest. vA has been remiss for decades. When tasked with the job of rendering an impartial rating commensurate with her circumstances, they send her out for the Dog and Pony show exam. They lose it. Therefore, they rate on what they have, knowing full well it’s inaccurate. What a huge waste of time and resources. Hasn’t anyone down there heard of Alexander Graham Bell’s wondrous invention? A simple phone call asking if Wyn Wyn had neglected to attend this exam would have gone a long way towards reducing global warming and the production of more pulp for paper. vA doesn’t think like this. They need to take some remedial courses on non-linear problem-solving if they hope to improve their backlog issues.

Wyn Wyn has graciously agreed to allow us to view her sanitized records here soon to help others avoid some of the stupidity she has encountered. I have pointed this out many times in my book as well. One of two things is afoot. Either they are well aware of the information (or lack thereof) and choose not to correct their records or the obverse is the case. That being that they can’t be bothered to fix it or they are totally oblivious to the problem. Judging by the pictures of the bloated C-files stacked haphazardly down  at the cigarette RO in North Carolina, I suspect the oblivious answer is correct.

When I had my BVA hearing in April of 2011, they wheeled in my 23-year record of paperwork on a cart. I suspect the three volume C-file weighed in excess of 35 lbs. and dwarfed most of the ones  seen in the pictures. Attempting to assimilate a file of that magnitude and make coherent conclusions in the helter-skelter environment the vA employees inhabit is unreasonable and is counterproductive. The VLJ never even touched it and I brought my own copies of pertinent documents. Had I been forced to sort through it, I would have spent hours searching as they do.  A compendium of salient facts is all that is necessary for an informed conclusion.  That could be done with 15- 25% of the paperwork I see coming out of the place. They’re drowning in dead trees.

Of note: Wyn Wyn has been suffering at the hands of well-meaning VSOs but has finally determined that this will require some DIY, hands-on, tender love and care in order to reach fruition. Waiting for a service representative to grab the bull by the horns may not have the desired results in this lifetime. We’ll keep you posted on her continuing saga.

Posted in CUE, vARO Decisions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

THEE PEECTURES, MASTAH, THEE PEECTURES

Posted on August 11, 2012 by asknod

I’ll always remember Herve Villasanchez and his role as Tattoo with Ricardo Montalban. Keidove goosed me into printing just the picture for those of you so jaded as to not venture further than the second or third page of the OIG report. Had you persevered until page 5 you would have been rewarded with  these. Every picture tells a story. These are so over the top:

And that little bugaboo about too much live load on the floor. When we build residential, we build to 40 lbs./ft.² dead load (weight of structural components) plus a factor of 2 for actual (live) load of furniture and people (80 lbs./ft²). Commercial would be greater but I’m not familiar with it. 160 lbs/ft.² is a shitton. It’ll deflect the floor:

Notice the lean on the ones on the right? Not good. And last but not least, the piece de resistance…

Busted. Not ADA compliant. Disabled, wheelchair-bound Vet employees couldn’t negotiate these aisles nor could they climb ladders to get on top of the cabinets to access the rearmost claims piles files. As usual, more more clarity, simply hold the cursor on the picture and click twice for a birds-eye view. Magnification will show all.

I feel for the employees who have to negotiate this maze. One of my workers was recently in a ditch cave-in and it broke three ribs-one of which  pierced his liver. He was in the hospital for two weeks and after 4 months is just now returning to duty. What, pray tell, was the VSC manager thinking?  More filing cabs. Gotta get more cabs. Stack ’em on top of the other ones. Two high, good to go. It’s only temporary ’til 2015.

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

Pass the household bleach?

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Laura

Imagine a lady chopping onions with a sharp knife when she accidentally slices her finger open.  It’s a deep cut.  Her blood has dripped on the cutting board, counter top, and kitchen floor.  After dressing the wound, she calls her DH to help clean up the blood.  But these  blood spills are special because the cook has an active HCV-infection.  (She didn’t respond to treatment.)  So far the rest of the family is HCV-free and they intend to keep it that way.  They’re very careful.

They know how to handle this problem because they’ve read the CDC’s HCV fact sheet.

How should blood spills be cleaned from surfaces to make sure that Hepatitis C virus is gone?

Any blood spills — including dried blood, which can still be infectious — should be cleaned using a dilution of one part household bleach to 10 parts water. Gloves should be worn when cleaning up blood spills.

The CDC does not provide any other instructions here.

Hubby is ready.  He mixes 1 part household  bleach, to 10 parts water.   Dons gloves.  Scrubs blood up with rags.  HCV vamoose!

He throws the dirty rags and gloves in the garbage and ties it up. He also throws out the porous wooden chopping block.  So, is everything fine and dandy?  Have the blood-contaminated surfaces been disinfected with the bleach/water solution?  Has the HCV been killed? Is it truly “gone?”

I emailed Clorox (the consumer branch) for answers.  I buy Clorox regular bleach because  generic bleach from dollar stores are diluted.  I asked: “What viruses does its household regular Clorox bleach kill”?

Here’s the list the company emailed to me, copied and pasted as I received it:

Viruses Clorox Bleach – Regular Scent Kills:

Rhinovirus (Type 17)
Influenza A2 (Flu virus)
Hepatitis A
Rotavirus
Respiratory Syncytial virus
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1)
Herpes simplex virus 2
Rubella virus
Adenovirus Type 2
Cytomegalovirus
Varicella zoster virus
MRSA

Impressive but not good enough for the illustration above because  HCV is not on the list!    Their professional bleaches can kill HCV and are registered with the EPA.  Their efficacy has been tested against HCV.  This is what hospitals and food service companies use to disinfect contaminated surfaces.  But even with the strong stuff, contact time is 5- minutes.

CDC 24/7:  Saving Lives.  Protecting People. (TM)?

Not with this “fact” sheet.  More like, CDC 24/7:  Save Yourself Hicks.

 

Posted in Guest authors, HCV Health, Medical News | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

WINSTON-SALEM OVERLOAD

Posted on August 10, 2012 by asknod

We can’t make this stuff up. It’s priceless. Problem? What Problem? Oh, you mean the 37,000 C-files stacked up on the file cabinets? Yeah, Bummer, huh? Relax. They’re in alphabetic order-sort of. Or they were last year. Things are a little hectic around here so the OIG should chill for a while until we get this new system in place in 2015. Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know. Our building has smoke detectors and sprinklers so its not going to be like the NPRC in ’73. As for structural integrity, we’ve had twice this many laying around during the AO thingie. They do get a little mixed up when they fall over, but what the hey? We’re talking Veterans here. Who cares?

Gentle Readers-take your protein pill and put your helmet on. You are going to see and read something phenomenal. We always suspected things were this haywire. Here’s my favorite from the “memorandum”:

We are concerned about the number of claims folders stored at this VARO, located in the Hiram H. Ward Federal Building at 251 North Main Street, Winston-Salem, NC. The volume of folders and inadequate storage seems to indicate the VARO has exceeded the capacity to store files. This over-storage creates an unsafe environment for the employees, overexposes many claims folders to risk of fire/water damage, inadvertent loss and possible misplacement, as well as impedes VARO productivity by reducing access to many folders in a timely manner. We observed files stored approximately two feet high and two rows deep on top of file cabinets. File cabinets were placed so closely together that file drawers could not be opened completely. We estimated that approximately 37,000 claims folders were stored on top of file cabinets. We also observed files stored on the floor and stacked, as space permitted, in boxes along walls. The attached photos provide illustrations of the excessive and unsafe file storage at this VARO.

The pictures at the end of the report are worth their weight in gold. vA has for years said we embellished our stories of finding other Vet’s records mixed up in our files. This puts paid to that fabrication. How many of them accidentally find their way to the shredder  room when they spill out on the floor?

Now for the kicker. How many other VAROs look like this? You think this is unique to one Regional Office alone? Do you know where your C-file is tonight? The cat is getting out of the bag here. Expect more of the same in the future. And thanks for the heads up, Bob.

Email this to your Veteran friends in North Carolina and give them Heartburn. Backlog? Hell, this is light years past backlog. Notice the Veterans Service Center manager’s solution? More file cabinets. What happened to the new paperless file system that is just around the corner? Not.

Posted in All about Veterans, vA news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

STARDUSTRADIO.COM– FIREBASE ADRIAN

Posted on August 10, 2012 by asknod

Patricia has graciously wrangled me a spot on Stardust Radio‘s Sunday night  1900-2000 hrs EDT edition of Firebase Adrian hosted by Rick Townsend.  I reckon that I’ll be talking about my new book. I think the credit lies in Patricia’s court for providing the original AskNod format. My wife is certainly a big part of it too. Women. Can’t live with them or without, I’m afraid. Seems to me, being single would be like fishing without any lures. Of course, being married means you’ll never catch anything but Hell but its a nice kind of Hell all the same.

Posted in ASKNOD BOOK, NEW BOOK | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment