By: Hermon Negash
Veterans in Arkansas have had mixed experiences at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Fayetteville.
Pending wait times have dropped at the Fayetteville VA hospital since the 2014 scandal regarding the allegations of the falsification of wait time records. Carrie Mize, a University of Arkansas at Fort Smith student veteran, visited the Fayetteville VA hospital in 2009, prior to the uncovering of false records in VA hospitals.
“The VA in Fayetteville did take a long time but it was my first ever appointment at the VA so I would assume that is why,” Mize said.
John Williams, 88, is an Army veteran who received a Bronze Star for his service in the Korean War. Williams has been going to the Fayetteville VA hospital since 1966 and said he has never had a bad experience with his time there or wait times. His son, David Williams, said the VA even schedules appointments to cut his toenails.
“They’re just always good to me,” Williams said. “They get me in and are always kind.”
Jason Collins, Army veteran and owner of Doomsday Coffee & Roasterie across from the Fayetteville VA hospital, moved to Fayetteville two years ago and said he receives most of his healthcare from the VA. Collins said he sees the problem of wait times but attributes it to a number of things like a lack of staffing and an influx of veterans needing help.
“I’m a little torn because I know the amount of patients they have to see so you have to weigh between wait times and proper care,” Collins said. “I think the VA is damned if they do and damned if they don’t. If they start pushing people out, they won’t receive proper treatment, they won’t get diagnosed properly and then people can die. If they take their time with every patient and do things the way they’re supposed to, then they’ll have long wait times.”
Collins is a 10-year Army veteran and recently moved to Fayetteville. He is from Kansas City, Missouri and went to the VA hospital after a hunting accident caused him to break his back in 2008. After surgeons at the Kansas City VA hospital said they couldn’t treat him, he was sent to a level 1 trauma hospital. At the time, Collins had no health insurance and was told to pay over $40,000 worth of medical bills. The VA took care of that bill for Collins.
Collins said he has a lot of veterans that come into his coffee shop that is across the street from the VA hospital. Collins said some veterans come in and vent about their experiences at the VA hospital but also mentioned that some people are not empathetic to the VA situations like the number of other veterans seeking help and the lack of staffing.
“They just know what they’re going through and that’s what’s important to them; what they’re going through,” Collins said.
With all the complaints about VA hospitals, Collins said it is hard for him to complain because of his experiences at VA hospitals across the country. Collins said using perspective and empathy helped in his understanding about what troubles VA hospitals today.
Jason Collins, 40, 1378 N. College Ave. (address of coffee shop), jason@doomsdaycoffeeandroasterie.com, 4795024295
Carrie Mize, 33, cmize00@g.uafs.edu, 6159455716
John Williams, 88, (479)442-5291
Photo of John Williams (seated) and his son David Williams (standing)
Recent Comments