I’m madder than John Wayne when the doctor told him he had to quit smoking over the fact that our veterans keep getting the shaft when it comes to healthcare.
Look, you all know the ol’Screecher valiantly served his country during the Korean War — and did not serve in the Canadian Moose Mounties as has been falsely reported elsewhere — and I think all of our veterans — myself included — need to get what is coming to us.
So you can imagine just how shocked I was this week when a fellow resident of the beautiful Harway Terrace who happens to work over at the Veterans’ Administration Hospital handed me a letter sent from some anonymous sources complaining about the fact that come July 1, the hospital is losing 25 beds that would provide care to some of our veterans who need it the most!
Now, I know exactly what you are thinking and the answer is “No, I am not simply trying to reserve a bed for myself.” As you and my doctor know full well, I’ve got the bad cholesterol count of a newborn whose mother only eats Grape Nuts straight from the box, so I’m not going anywhere anytime soon!
But what about the vets that aren’t as blessed as I am? Where are they going to go when they are out of beds in Brooklyn?
I’ll tell you where: That one place we’ve been trying to avoid since the time we moved out of there in the first place: Manhattan!
That’s right! I never looked back when we headed east of Little Italy to the dirt roads of Benshonhurst, and quite frankly, I’ve only returned when I had to, and even then I complained about the traffic!
Here’s a copy of the letter I tried to transcribe on the old Smith-Corona:
“Dear Brooklyn VA Patients and Families,
On July 1, 2015, the Brooklyn VA Medical Center (VAMC) will lose 25 acute medical and surgical ‘in patient beds’ at the Brooklyn VA Medical Center (VAMC.) The doctors and nurses believe this is a misguided decision that will lead to significant negative effects on our ability to provide you with the highest-quality inpatient medical and surgical care.
Closing 12-West will eliminate 33 percent of our inpatient beds and leave the Brooklyn VAMC with only 46 beds to serve all of our veterans who require inpatient medical and surgical care.
The expected immediate consequences of closing 12-West:
• If you need to be hospitalized and no beds are available, you may spend extra time (hours to a day) in our Emergency Department.
• You may be transferred to the Manhattan VAMC. This would affect our ability to provide continuous uninterrupted care for the patients we know best.
• Tests, procedures, and surgeries will be delayed, cancelled, or transferred to other facilities, if inpatient beds are not available to monitor patients.
Our mission has always been to provide our Veterans and Service men and women with the highest-quality primary, specialty, and acute care that they deserve and expect.
The doctors and nurses believe that closing 12-West will affect our ability to continue to care for our sickest patients in a timely manner. Your access to necessary and safe inpatient services may be significantly compromised.
You do not deserve this!
Speak up. Only your voices will lead to a change!
Please call the Brooklyn VAMC administration, your local, state, and federal officials, and veterans service organizations.”
Once again, I know exactly what you are thinking: “Carmine, you could not have said that better yourself!”
Exactly! And maybe if the President stopped taking so many fuel-consuming flights for fun, frolic, and good will, there would be some money left to care for all those vets that honorably served our nation in war and peace.
Don’t forget dear old dad on Father’s Day, especially if he was a veteran. And when are they going to give Yogi that well-deserved honor?
Screech at you next week!
