Posted on Sep 1, 2015
Click here to support VA is LYING billboard fund by Ronald Nesler
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How to send a message? Angry billboard brings national VA protest to Haley center
A national group of veterans and their families, upset with the Department of Veterans Affairs, has brought its protest to Tampa — in the form of a message on an electronic billboard on the 1200 block of East Fowler Avenue near the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.
“VA is Lying, Veterans Are Dying,” reads the message, sponsored by a Facebook group called “VA is Lying,” launched by a Vietnam War veteran from Indiana.
“I started the Facebook group about two years ago because I was angry at the VA,” Ron Nesler said.
Nesler said he was upset, in part, about the treatment of his step-daughter, whose biological father is a Marine exposed to Agent Orange when he served in Vietnam. The exposure led to severe birth defects in the child and Nesler said his anger has been stoked by the VA’s poor response to a federal law mandating treatment for children of veterans exposed to the defoliant.
The VA’s actions on the matter have been “unconscionable,” said Rick Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs for the Vietnam Veterans of America, a veteran service organization that has helped Nesler fight for benefits for his stepdaughter.
Nesler’s latest effort on behalf of the group, which he said has nearly 10,000 members nationwide, has been the billboard campaign.
The slogan, he said, is a reflection of how veterans feel they are treated.
“We say VA is Lying and veterans are dying because that is exactly what is happening,” he said. “Look at the VA backlog, VA claims they are fixing the backlog, but veterans know better. VA’s way to fix the back log is to move claims into the black hole of the appeals process, so VA looks a little better on paper, but the same vets are still waiting, just in a different line. And these vets are dying while they wait, and VA is lying.”
VA officials deny a connection between reduction in the backlog and appeals.
“There is not a correlation between the decrease in rating claims pending over 125 days and an increase in the number of appeals,” said Bruce Clisby, a spokesman for the VA St. Petersburg Regional Office. “The association exists between the increased number of claim decisions and the average percentage of claim decisions that are appealed.”
Haley officials say they “respect Mr. Nesler’s opinion which he has a right to express,” said spokeswoman Kateriniea Littles. “It is what our nation’s heroes fight for.”
Nesler said he opted for billboards in hopes people will reach out to their representatives in Congress so that they take action about the VA. He said the outreach campaign started about six weeks ago with a billboard near Evansville, Indiana. Then came one in Marion, Illinois, and three in Florida, including Tampa, which went live last week.
Why Tampa?
“It quickly became apparent to me that one of the biggest places for VA complaints is Haley,” Nesler said. “People aren’t getting healthcare, they have to wait for healthcare, they are treated disrespectfully.”
Nesler said he has first-hand experience.
Sometime in the last 18 months, Nesler said he reached out to Haley to talk to the director on behalf of another veteran. After being put on hold, he said the man who answered the phone told him “it is our policy that the director’s office does not accept phone calls from veterans,” Nesler said.
“That really got me off on Haley,” he said.
About 95 percent of 98,000 patients at Haley were scheduled for a preferred appointment date within 30 days, according to the most recent figures reported by the VA. The busiest veterans hospital in the country, Haley came in about the middle of the pack among seven centers in Florida when it comes to the 30 day wait percentage. Miami, at nearly 97 percent, had the state’s best rate, closely followed by the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center in Seminole, which was at No. 2 by just a tenth of a percentage point. Gainesville, at 93 percent, had the worst.
Littles said Haley works “diligently to create a ... problem-solving environment that is conducive to the needs of our patients.” She added that hospital officials “regret any issues he may have had” with Haley. “We will reach out to Mr. Nester to discuss any concerns he has with our local facility.”
Haley has a team of Patient Advocacy Specialists working as liaisons for the director’s office, Littles said.
“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.”
Littles said that if the concern cannot be resolved by either the service liaisons or patient advocacy specialist, at that point, the Hospital Leadership Team will address the veteran’s concern.
Army veteran Sally Mulcare, who lives in Tampa, is one of the members of Nesler’s Facebook group and said she has had ongoing issues with the VA over a shoulder injury she suffered while piloting a landing craft in the mid 1990s. She said she joined the group, and staged a solo protest outside Haley yesterday, because of her dissatisfaction with both VA healthcare, which takes place at the hospital, and her compensation benefits, which are taken care of in Seminole at the VA’s St. Petersburg Regional Office.
Nesler said the Tampa billboard, which has a message that rotates among several, costs about $1,000 a month. Other billboards cost about three times as much.
He said he plans on launching additional billboard campaigns in Augusta, Georgia, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“I’ll keep this going as long as I have the money,” said Nesler, who has raised funds through the Facebook group and via a gofundme site, which has raised a little over $19,000.
More information is at http://www.gofundme.com/vetvsVA.
http://www.tbo.com/list/military-news/angry-billboard-brings-national-va-protest-to-haley-center-20150831/
A national group of veterans and their families, upset with the Department of Veterans Affairs, has brought its protest to Tampa — in the form of a message on an electronic billboard on the 1200 block of East Fowler Avenue near the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.
“VA is Lying, Veterans Are Dying,” reads the message, sponsored by a Facebook group called “VA is Lying,” launched by a Vietnam War veteran from Indiana.
“I started the Facebook group about two years ago because I was angry at the VA,” Ron Nesler said.
Nesler said he was upset, in part, about the treatment of his step-daughter, whose biological father is a Marine exposed to Agent Orange when he served in Vietnam. The exposure led to severe birth defects in the child and Nesler said his anger has been stoked by the VA’s poor response to a federal law mandating treatment for children of veterans exposed to the defoliant.
The VA’s actions on the matter have been “unconscionable,” said Rick Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs for the Vietnam Veterans of America, a veteran service organization that has helped Nesler fight for benefits for his stepdaughter.
Nesler’s latest effort on behalf of the group, which he said has nearly 10,000 members nationwide, has been the billboard campaign.
The slogan, he said, is a reflection of how veterans feel they are treated.
“We say VA is Lying and veterans are dying because that is exactly what is happening,” he said. “Look at the VA backlog, VA claims they are fixing the backlog, but veterans know better. VA’s way to fix the back log is to move claims into the black hole of the appeals process, so VA looks a little better on paper, but the same vets are still waiting, just in a different line. And these vets are dying while they wait, and VA is lying.”
VA officials deny a connection between reduction in the backlog and appeals.
“There is not a correlation between the decrease in rating claims pending over 125 days and an increase in the number of appeals,” said Bruce Clisby, a spokesman for the VA St. Petersburg Regional Office. “The association exists between the increased number of claim decisions and the average percentage of claim decisions that are appealed.”
Haley officials say they “respect Mr. Nesler’s opinion which he has a right to express,” said spokeswoman Kateriniea Littles. “It is what our nation’s heroes fight for.”
Nesler said he opted for billboards in hopes people will reach out to their representatives in Congress so that they take action about the VA. He said the outreach campaign started about six weeks ago with a billboard near Evansville, Indiana. Then came one in Marion, Illinois, and three in Florida, including Tampa, which went live last week.
Why Tampa?
“It quickly became apparent to me that one of the biggest places for VA complaints is Haley,” Nesler said. “People aren’t getting healthcare, they have to wait for healthcare, they are treated disrespectfully.”
Nesler said he has first-hand experience.
Sometime in the last 18 months, Nesler said he reached out to Haley to talk to the director on behalf of another veteran. After being put on hold, he said the man who answered the phone told him “it is our policy that the director’s office does not accept phone calls from veterans,” Nesler said.
“That really got me off on Haley,” he said.
About 95 percent of 98,000 patients at Haley were scheduled for a preferred appointment date within 30 days, according to the most recent figures reported by the VA. The busiest veterans hospital in the country, Haley came in about the middle of the pack among seven centers in Florida when it comes to the 30 day wait percentage. Miami, at nearly 97 percent, had the state’s best rate, closely followed by the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center in Seminole, which was at No. 2 by just a tenth of a percentage point. Gainesville, at 93 percent, had the worst.
Littles said Haley works “diligently to create a ... problem-solving environment that is conducive to the needs of our patients.” She added that hospital officials “regret any issues he may have had” with Haley. “We will reach out to Mr. Nester to discuss any concerns he has with our local facility.”
Haley has a team of Patient Advocacy Specialists working as liaisons for the director’s office, Littles said.
“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.”
Littles said that if the concern cannot be resolved by either the service liaisons or patient advocacy specialist, at that point, the Hospital Leadership Team will address the veteran’s concern.
Army veteran Sally Mulcare, who lives in Tampa, is one of the members of Nesler’s Facebook group and said she has had ongoing issues with the VA over a shoulder injury she suffered while piloting a landing craft in the mid 1990s. She said she joined the group, and staged a solo protest outside Haley yesterday, because of her dissatisfaction with both VA healthcare, which takes place at the hospital, and her compensation benefits, which are taken care of in Seminole at the VA’s St. Petersburg Regional Office.
Nesler said the Tampa billboard, which has a message that rotates among several, costs about $1,000 a month. Other billboards cost about three times as much.
He said he plans on launching additional billboard campaigns in Augusta, Georgia, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“I’ll keep this going as long as I have the money,” said Nesler, who has raised funds through the Facebook group and via a gofundme site, which has raised a little over $19,000.
More information is at http://www.gofundme.com/vetvsVA.
http://www.tbo.com/list/military-news/angry-billboard-brings-national-va-protest-to-haley-center-20150831/
Posted in these groups: 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 12
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If you want someone to actually change their ways... Public Shaming is an effective method.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. Sometimes the oldest methods are the best methods.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. Doing away with the "idea" of those was the mistake. People should be dragged out to the Public square for sure. People being "abused" in the Public square, not so much. The mob is not a reliable form of punishment, but a great way to shame.
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Suspended Profile
"There is not a correlation between the decrease in rating claims pending over 125 days and an increase in the number of appeals,” said Bruce Clisby
This is actually not correct. When VA started doing expedited and provisional claims to clear the backlog, error rates went up, and so did appeals.
Bottom line, though, is that it is CONgress who is to blame for the mess in the VA. They have never fully funded the VA VBA with adequate staffing for the claims process or VHA for adequate staffing in healthcare services.
Until CONgress fully funds all of DOD and VA personnel needs, problems like this will keep recurring...
This is actually not correct. When VA started doing expedited and provisional claims to clear the backlog, error rates went up, and so did appeals.
Bottom line, though, is that it is CONgress who is to blame for the mess in the VA. They have never fully funded the VA VBA with adequate staffing for the claims process or VHA for adequate staffing in healthcare services.
Until CONgress fully funds all of DOD and VA personnel needs, problems like this will keep recurring...
Sgt Spencer Sikder
When the discussion about fully funds the VA I see a problem from this perspective, VA doesn't have good staffing models and VA budget requests have been filled to what they request and then some. Look to the service organizations who have prepared their own estimated budget for VA. VA is always woefully lower than what the service organizations say VA needs.
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Suspended Profile
True that, and the VA was "surprised" with the patient load this year...
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MSG Brad Sand
PFC Donnie Harold Harris
Not saying they are doing a terrible job in many places BUT they are not doing so much that they are lying to cover anything up? It is not like a sloth is covering its trail...not moving fast enough to make one.
Not saying they are doing a terrible job in many places BUT they are not doing so much that they are lying to cover anything up? It is not like a sloth is covering its trail...not moving fast enough to make one.
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PFC Donnie Harold Harris
The VA doctor does not care for the Disabled Service connected disability condition. VA doctor Hate the way they are treated by the VA itself. So we get the back draft.
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