Posted on May 25, 2016
Republicans in Congress are now calling for VA Secretary Robert McDonald to resign. Should he?
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VA Secretary Robert McDonald somewhat apologized Tuesday afternoon for his remarks the day before. He had suggested that just as Disney doesn't measure success based on wait times for rides, so the VA shouldn't judge its success based on how long veterans have to wait for doctors' appointments. Republicans in Congress are now calling on him to resign. Should he?
Republicans
Congress
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 34
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SP5 Mark Kuzinski He has accomplished nothing as Secretary and his latest comments, comparing waits at Disney World with waits at the VA, is so totally insensitive and off-base that he has lost credibility with veterans, the very people he is supposed to be helping and representing. I think he needs to go..
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Yes & I would recommend Retired General Raymond T. Odierno as his replacement.
General Raymond Thomas "Ray" Odierno is a retired United States Army general who served as the 38th Chief of Staff of the Army. Prior to his service as Chief of Staff, Odierno commanded United States Joint Forces Command from October 2010 until its disestablishment in August 2011. He served as Commanding General, United States Army
General Raymond Thomas "Ray" Odierno is a retired United States Army general who served as the 38th Chief of Staff of the Army. Prior to his service as Chief of Staff, Odierno commanded United States Joint Forces Command from October 2010 until its disestablishment in August 2011. He served as Commanding General, United States Army
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I've actually been actively avoiding this current VA controversy... however....
When it really boils down to it, he spoke poorly, but Sec MacDonald was CORRECT.
WAIT TIME or LINE LENGTH is a POOR METRIC for measuring Success. It is. He phrased it badly in a Public Venue and is getting hammered for "phrasing" when he was 100% correct that we should not be using that specific metric to determine how well we are doing.
If you do not believe me, I could have the VA wait time to 0 days tomorrow (given the authority). The simple way is just to Deny all claims and Cancel all appointments. We would be instantly "Successful" if that was the yardstick of measurement.
One of the major issues of corruption that he has brought to light (in his term) was the "shady practices" of Administration used to Fudge the Numbers or Pencil Whip the Statistics to create a "False Impression of Success."
When he makes these "Phrasing" issues before Congress which become Media Soundbites... which piss us off.... it's because they're #%^^& true, and people don't like seeing having their BS pulled into the light.
Please keep in mind I RANT about the VA. I think it is one of the most poorly ran organizations on the planet. But... We should not try to measure success by wait times or line length either.... and on that Sec MacDonald is correct.
When it really boils down to it, he spoke poorly, but Sec MacDonald was CORRECT.
WAIT TIME or LINE LENGTH is a POOR METRIC for measuring Success. It is. He phrased it badly in a Public Venue and is getting hammered for "phrasing" when he was 100% correct that we should not be using that specific metric to determine how well we are doing.
If you do not believe me, I could have the VA wait time to 0 days tomorrow (given the authority). The simple way is just to Deny all claims and Cancel all appointments. We would be instantly "Successful" if that was the yardstick of measurement.
One of the major issues of corruption that he has brought to light (in his term) was the "shady practices" of Administration used to Fudge the Numbers or Pencil Whip the Statistics to create a "False Impression of Success."
When he makes these "Phrasing" issues before Congress which become Media Soundbites... which piss us off.... it's because they're #%^^& true, and people don't like seeing having their BS pulled into the light.
Please keep in mind I RANT about the VA. I think it is one of the most poorly ran organizations on the planet. But... We should not try to measure success by wait times or line length either.... and on that Sec MacDonald is correct.
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Capt (Join to see)
I fully respect you Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS and usually agree with you 100%.
However, to an aging vet with medical problems and no resources but the VA "wait time" has a very rel meaning and impact - up to and including death.
However, to an aging vet with medical problems and no resources but the VA "wait time" has a very rel meaning and impact - up to and including death.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
Capt (Join to see) - I agree that wait time has a meaning. I disagree that it should be used as a "metric for success." That's where I think SecVA is correct.
We're focused on the wrong "metric." It's not about "Average Wait Time" or even "Individual Wait Time" which are irrelevant IF we are getting Veterans appropriate care in a Timely Manner.
Some care CAN wait. Some care CANNOT wait. The VA "Administration" needs to be able to determine the difference between the two, and "triage" accordingly. They also need to develop a plan so that routine matters don't get stupid (like anything over 7/15/30/60/90 days gets auto routed to a civilian care provider depending on what it is).
We're focused on the wrong "metric." It's not about "Average Wait Time" or even "Individual Wait Time" which are irrelevant IF we are getting Veterans appropriate care in a Timely Manner.
Some care CAN wait. Some care CANNOT wait. The VA "Administration" needs to be able to determine the difference between the two, and "triage" accordingly. They also need to develop a plan so that routine matters don't get stupid (like anything over 7/15/30/60/90 days gets auto routed to a civilian care provider depending on what it is).
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SP5 Mark Kuzinski
Thanks for all the comments but at the end of the day the job of taking care of our vets is not getting done in a timely manner. This needs to be corrected ASAP as we are loosing to many vets do to poor management!!
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MSG (Join to see)
this is just not about treatment, it goes deeper, vets waiting 10 months for disabillity comp, comp boards being judged by so called experts outside the relm of millitary, never served a day dont knowing what its like to hump an extra 100 pounds of equipement on patrol, my case for hearing loss denied because i was a nurse/medic, served 2+ yrs 8 inch arty, 31 years total with having to shoot evey year, deployment to iraq which they did conceed, had 2 knee surgeries after coming home from iraq yes i know i'm freaking old but that doesnt make an excuss
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