Mixed feelings about VA progress in Fayetteville
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- On Friday, the Fayetteville VA hosted another town hall forum. It was the latest in a series of meetings required by the Veteran's Administration since last summer.
Some veterans praised the ongoing effort to improve access and care for Fayetteville VA patients. Others say there's been no major progress in the year since a national scandal involving wait times and ethics gained national attention.
"Nothing's has changed," laughed John Byrnes, an Army and Marine veteran who also heads a sector of the Concerned Veterans of America group. "So it's still a dysfunctional bureaucracy. They're still not putting the veterans first here."
Veterans like Grilley Mitchell got up to the podium to tell stories of what they describe as disrespectful interaction between the facility's staff and veterans. Mitchell said he had a recently-retired warrant officer friend wind up in tears after an exchange with a VA employee, in which she felt humiliated and dismissed.
"I'm asking you, Madam, implement zero tolerance. Period. Across the board," said Mitchell. "Send a message to those individuals that do not respect us, that cannot show us what we deserve when we come here."
FVAMC director Elizabeth Goolsby asked Mitchell to refer his friend directly to her in order to resolve the issue.
Byrnes echoed veterans' ongoing concerns over wait times for primary care appointments. The Fayetteville VA system, serving the largest veteran population in the country, also touts the longest appointment wait times in regularly scheduled federal audits.
"I basically went from January to June until I was seen, another month before I got an MRI and it wasn't until September that I actually got to see a physical therapist for the problem that I presented way back in January," said Byrnes.
Last year, then-interim VA Secretary Sloan Gibson noted staffing and space as two of the biggest challenges facing the Fayetteville VA.
Months later, the center's emergency department closed, citing a contract dispute with physicians. It eventually became an urgent care facility.
In November, a new outpatient hospital on Raeford Road will open its doors. It's expected to alleviate much of the space issues staff members experience in the main Ramsey Street facility and surrounding clinics.
While many veterans noted these ongoing issues, some echoed support for the local staff.
One unidentified veteran challenged veterans in the room to form some sort of consistency and unity in delivering their messages to Goolsby.
"Who is leader of us right now?" he asked, receiving a silent response. "That's the problem ladies and gentleman. We don't have a voice to go to her. She has a lot on her plate. Her staff does too. Together we can make a difference. Individually we'll fail. Collectively we win."
A plain clothed Lou Olivera chimed in with sentiments of praise for the local VA system, noting positive interaction with staff member for his personal care. Olivera, an Army veteran and district court judge overseeing the county's newly-minted Veterans Treatment Court, said the VA has assisted greatly in the rehabilitation of mom-violent offenders he comes in contact with each day.
He also pleaded with veterans to become VTC mentors.
Another Town Hall meeting is scheduled for December.
