VA Hospitals in the US

In the United States, the Department of Veterans Affairs is responsible for overseeing government programs which benefit and aid American veterans and their families. An important aspect of this is the management of centers which medically assist veterans across the country. The Veterans Health Administration, a branch of the DVA, is in charge of the management of hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. The VHA is the largest component of the DVA, employing more personnel than any other branch of branch of the department.

VA hospitals treat veteran patients both for physical and psychological damage they have sustained in combat. These treatments are often long-term and include veterans from America's current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and from previous wars including World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Because of the War on Terror, the DVA is one of the military-related departments of the executive branch that has received an increase in its budget. This years fiscal budget includes an increase of funding for the department of 25 million dollars for the next five years. This new funding allows the department to invest  more in training new employes, diagnosing PTSD in patients, and developing new prosthetic limbs for disabled veterans.

Despite the praise that VA department has received for its treatment, it has also become embroiled in scandals concerning the conditions of these hospitals. In 2007, the Washington Post released a series of articles which revealed dilapidated conditions that veterans were coping with at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC. The reports prompted Congressional investigations into the conditions of Walter Reed, and as more sickening details became public, the commander of Walter Reed resigned.  In the aftermath of the scandal, the VA announced that it was conducting its investigations into the state of VA hospitals across the country. These investigations are still underway and some of the news has not boded well. In 2008, a VA hospital in West Virginia was cited for health and safety violations after a discovery of mold was disclosed by a patient. It is not known if cases such as West Virginia are just one bad cases or not, but it is clear we will not know for sure until official investigations are concluded.

Sources include:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fy2010_department_veterans/
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258347,00.html
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=183186&format=html