Delaware veteran leader calls VA delays “ridiculous”

With an investigation into delays at Veterans Affairs facilities underway, the leader of Delaware’s chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America says the situation is unacceptable.
 

As the nation commemorates Memorial Day, significant attention is being paid to the treatment of America’s veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Within the past week, President Obama sent Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors to a VA hospital in Phoenix, where there are allegations that 40 people died while waiting for treatment.
 
“It’s totally ridiculous what’s going on,” said Paul Davis, president of the Delaware chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America. “Now I understand that they have an excessive workload, but I think it’s time this country and this government put some pressure on the VA and said, ‘Look, let’s get this thing worked out.'”   
 
Beyond the allegations that treatment delays led to deaths in Phoenix, the delays at VA facilities elsewhere could contribute to worsening mental anguish for some veterans.
 
“The Veterans Administration must do a better job making certain that the names of those suffering physical and mental pain aren’t added to next year’s Memorial Day remembrance,” said David Skocik, president of the Delaware Veterans Coalition. “They too have paid part of their tomorrows for our today. Let’s take care of our current veterans – family, friends, and neighbors – before they too are lost.”
 
According to the Delaware Veterans Coalition, there are nearly 80,000 veterans living in Delaware, which is almost nine percent of the state’s population.