Posted on 06/08/2011 2:11:12 PM PDT by katiedidit1
VFW OUTRAGED BY SEXUAL ASSAULTS AT VA
'It is inexcusable for security equipment and incident reporting procedures to be so broken...'
June 08, 2011
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is outraged by news that America's disabled veterans could become a victim of sexual assault when they visit a Department of Veterans Affairs facility.
According to a report released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office, 284 alleged assaults occurred at the VA between January 2007 and July 2010. Included were 67 rapes, 185 cases of inappropriate touching, and other assaults between patients against patients, patients against staff, and staff against patients.
"It is inexcusable for security equipment and incident reporting procedures to be so broken that patients and staff alike may fear for their personal safety," said VFW National Commander Richard L. Eubank, a retired Marine and Vietnam combat veteran from Eugene, Ore.
"What matters now is for the VA to immediately clean its own house and to hold everyone accountable for their actions," he said. "We have far too many veterans — especially women veterans — who need the VA to be a place of healing and not a threat."
The GAO report was based on visits to only five of VA's 152 medical centers, and interviews with only four of their 21 Veterans Integrated Service Networks, or VISNs. This led House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (D-Fla.) to ask "How widespread is this problem?"
The VFW national commander fully agrees, and now expects Congress to increase its oversight of the matter through more hearings and legislation, such as H.R. 2074, introduced by Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.).
"All veterans and employees need to be treated with the utmost respect in every facility," said Eubank. "This is a zero tolerance issue, and nothing less is acceptable to the VFW."
To read the full GAO report, entitled "VA Health Care: Actions Needed to Prevent Sexual Assaults and Other Safety Incidents," go to http://www.gao.gov/.
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The full report link is at the end of the article
I’m sure there plenty of active servicemen and veterans who would be happy to volunteer for firing squads.
who is watching who?
When morality in the nation falls into the gutter, it brings everything with it, including the military.
Time to turn back to God as a nation.
“I’m sure there plenty of active servicemen and veterans who would be happy to volunteer for firing squads.”
If demonrats are involved, they will be circular firing squads.
I will be honest with you I can't remember ever reading about patients/staff being sexually abused at a non VA hospital. What the heck is it about the facility being part of the VA system that would invite this type of violent criminal behavior?
Sadly, it is true. Story is also on the gao site.
Members of various special interest groups hate soldiers more every year. And BTW, when it’s perpetrated against men, it’s forcible sodomy—not the gender bending “rape” of linguistic activism.
>What the heck is it about the facility being part of the VA system that would invite this type of violent criminal behavior?
Honestly: because they are a government facility.
I’ve noticed, in my less than three decades, that they (government workers) think themselves increasingly above the law.
How else can you explain such things as a state which having “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be denied” in its constitution deigning to declare statutes prohibiting weapons from government buildings as valid? Everything else stems from the disregard given to the high-law, for if a high-law may be so violated can not a lesser? And if such plain wording as ‘shall not be denied’ may be taken for naught, how much more can a rule/directive to implement security [pat-downs] be taken the justification/excuse of such behavior?
VA needs to get a handle on this quickly. This is a disgrace. Grey Eagle
According to Debby Wasserman Schultz, those who serve in the military are not “real victims.” Only gays, Jews, etc. qualify. But she only pretends to care about Jews.
This is nothing new. I won’t name the facility, but the V.A. where I was employed for 6 years in the 90’s had a scandal involving staff at the nursing home charging male patients for the ‘privilege’ to fondle them (never got to local media). Don’t know how many were abused in that manner or how much the nursing staff made off with.
While I was there this same hospital had two shootings, a rape in a very public spot in broad daylight (sat on and covered up by V.A. PR), a habitually drunk physician who I reported to the chief of police (no action taken except to give the drunk a ride home), a beatdown of a female radiology employee by a male employee (no action taken against the beater; he was union). guns drawn on one another by Engineering Department employees (counseling provided), employee death by hydraulic lift, service chief impregnates subordinate on duty and given promotion to another facility (the old ‘screw up and move up’ philosophy used by feds)...I could go on, but you get the picture.
As a partial explanation...VA Hospitals are traditionally located in the heart of “thugville” and a major percentage of “worker bees” come from the immediate surrounding area. Extremely difficult to make silk out of a pigs ear!
Have had much better care in rural VA facilities than “downtown.” Problem is, to be seen by a specialist, one must travel to “downtown” VAH. Not a pleasant experience...
I’m a VA employee - and have been inappropriately touched and verbally assaulted by patients.
The VA will do nothing about it - since they are patients instead of employees it doesn’t fall under sexual harrassment in the workplace laws.
That is my experience as well....great care from caring people at the VA in Bonham, TX....travel to Dallas...not so good although now can take train from Plano down to "Thugville" with minimum exposure to the "elements".....at least you can avoid being "car jacked"...
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