Without uttering a sound, the message on a Fowler Avenue billboard in
Tampa is loud and clear. “VA is LYING, VETERANS ARE DYING,” the sign
reads. It sits not too far from the James A. Haley Veterans hospital.
VA is Lying, a FaceBook group, paid for the space.
“Sadly the situation between veterans and the V.A. is adversarial, it
shouldn’t be,” group founder Ron Nesler stated. “I want these
billboards to bring public attention on what the V.A. is doing to
veterans.” Nesler is upset with what he calls the V.A.’s opposition to a
law providing comprehensive health care for children of veterans
exposed to Agent Orange.
“After the law was passed they (the V.A.) told us, that they had
found loopholes, where they didn’t have to do it and if we didn’t like
it we could sue them,” Nesler said.
Christine Travis, who’s father was exposed to Agent Orange while
stationed at Da Nang airbase in South Vietnam, is fighting the same
battle. “My health issues are a drop in the bucket compared to some
second generation sufferers. We’ve got second generation that have
appendages missing, they were born without some fingers, legs,”
Christine said.
Her father, Robert Yeske loaded the toxic defoliant onto planes
during the war. She points out the V.A. did not recognize Robert’s
Agent Orange related illnesses until just a few months before his death
in 2011. As a result, her father lived a good portion of his life after
Vietnam, unable to work and in poverty. Now Christine contends, she
and her children suffer the from effects of Agent Orange. “We bleed
orange, Agent Orange. It’s in our DNA, it’s in our blood, it’s not
going away,” she added. She believes the government and the V.A. have
an obligation to care for the generations affected by the chemical.
The V.A. recognizes only Spina Bifida as a birth defect caused in the
children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange. It recognizes no health
issues in their grandchildren. Christine points out that testing has
shown Agent Orange can affect 7 generations. She urges more
studies. “Me and my children will become casualties of the Vietnam war.
I’m still alive, but I was killed in Vietnam. I just haven’t died yet,”
she said.
There is a reason the billboard went up around the corner from
Haley. The hospital, Ron Nesler says, is a hotbed of complaints.
Nesler remembers trying to contact Haley’s medical director on behalf of
a sick veteran. He said, he was put on hold for 20 minutes, before
someone picked up. “They said that it is the policy of our medical
center that the director’s office not take phone calls from veterans.
That got James A. Haley a sign,” he said.
Haley responded with an email from communications chief Karen
Collins. “We respect this and any other organization’s or individual’s
right to express their opinion. It is what our nation’s heroes fight
for. We regret any issues he may have had with the JAHVH and are
reaching out to Mr. Nesler to discuss any concerns he has with our local
facility. Our wait-times are published every two weeks, the same as
other VA facilities, at <http://www.va.gov/health/access-audit.asp>.
Overall our access is good, but there remain certain high demand
specialties services that we are continuing to focus on to improve
access. JAHVH has been audited by both the OIG and the Joint Commission
and no access data manipulation has been found,” the email stated.
“We work diligently to create a collaborative, problem solving
environment that is conducive to the needs of our patients. We encourage
anyone with a specific concern to contact the hospital’s team of
Patient Advocacy Specialists that work as liaisons for the Director’s
Office. Additionally, we have Service Liaisons, who field incoming calls
from Veterans and either answer their questions or route the
individuals to the appropriate office to handle their concerns,” it
added.
Ron Nesler’s VA is Lying FaceBook group is nearly 10,000 members
strong. He vows to put up more billboards around the country. He plans
to make veterans’ care an issue in the 2016 presidential election.
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