Posted on Apr 23, 2020
VA Hospitals Are the U.S. Safety Net. Covid-19 Exposed the Holes
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The Department of Veterans Affairs is supposed to provide a safety net for the U.S. medical system in times of crisis.
Yet its hospitals have treated just 135 civilians afflicted with Covid-19, according to numbers released this week, even as coronavirus infections have pushed tens of thousands of Americans into the nation’s hospitals.
The limited response stems in part from efforts to rein in the VA’s medical services, after a series of political battles over whether to privatize elements of the nation’s largest hospital network. In the early months of his term, President Donald Trump assigned an unconventional group to oversee the VA -- his son-in-law, senior adviser Jared Kushner, and three political advisers who socialized at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Their involvement caused so much bureaucratic distress that the VA ended up with an assortment of vacancies in high-level management positions.
Yet its hospitals have treated just 135 civilians afflicted with Covid-19, according to numbers released this week, even as coronavirus infections have pushed tens of thousands of Americans into the nation’s hospitals.
The limited response stems in part from efforts to rein in the VA’s medical services, after a series of political battles over whether to privatize elements of the nation’s largest hospital network. In the early months of his term, President Donald Trump assigned an unconventional group to oversee the VA -- his son-in-law, senior adviser Jared Kushner, and three political advisers who socialized at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Their involvement caused so much bureaucratic distress that the VA ended up with an assortment of vacancies in high-level management positions.
VA Hospitals Are the U.S. Safety Net. Covid-19 Exposed the Holes
Posted from bloomberg.com
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Healthcare
Coronavirus COVID19
Posted >1 y ago
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SFC Herve Abrams I think We've all Heard the Horror Stories about the VA Medical during the Vietnam Days, It has improved some but not much. Until it is Adequately Funded it will Fail Miserably and I Don't fault those working in the VA Hospitals.
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We have hospitals that prepared for the virus and have blocked off large number of rooms only to treat a small handful of people. We don't necessarily need the VA space.
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