Reports of long wait times and false record-keeping at veterans facilities have rocked the country, leading to the resignations at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and a system-wide audit to get to the root of the problems. We’ll talk with New Hampshire veterans and a top VA official here about how well this state cares for its veterans.
GUESTS:
- Howie Howe - a Veterans Service Officer who liaises between the Manchester VA and the State Veterans Advisory Committee, which advises lawmakers on Veterans issues. He also coordinates New Hampshire’s Help on the Homefront, a veterans advocacy group.
- Tammy Kreuger - director of the Manchester VA Medical Center
- Col. Paul Loiselle - colonel, and deputy chief of the Joint Staff at the New Hampshire National Guard. He oversees the Deployment Support Cycle Program (DSCP), which provides services to military members and their families before, during and after deployments.
CALLOUT:
LINKS:
- National audit details for N.H veterans: Veterans seeking an appointment at the VA Medical Center in Manchester were able to see a doctor in 30 days or less 98 percent of the time, according to a nationwide audit released today by Department of Veterans Affairs.
- New options for veterans after VA audit: "... in the wake of an audit by the Department of Veterans Affairs that identified more than 57,000 American veterans who have been waiting more than 90 days to see a doctor, the choice of non-VA treatment is being expanded."
- Pick for new Veterans Affairs chief: President Obama on Monday intends to nominate Robert A. McDonald, a former chief executive of Procter & Gamble, to be the next secretary of Veterans Affairs, a White House official said Sunday, betting that a global corporate officer can turn around a government health system that has been rocked by allegations of mismanagement and cover-ups of long patient waiting times.
