Claims issues, women’s health, and pharmacy wait times were among the topics discussed during a System Worth Saving town hall outside New Orleans.
Claims issues, women’s health, and pharmacy wait times were among the topics discussed during an American Legion System Worth Saving (SWS) town hall in Harahan, outside New Orleans, on June 9. More than 30 veterans, VA officials and others attended the town hall, held at American Legion Post 397.
Post 397 Commander Mark Duran uses the New Orleans VA, where he has received hearing aids, prescription glasses and other health-care needs. While Duran raved about his health care, he acknowledges that fellow veterans have voiced concerns such as getting timely appointments, having calls returned and other issues.
“We can always find ways to make the VA health system better to help veterans,” said Duran, a retired Navy veteran. “As a commander and a user of VA myself, I hear people say, ‘This is great,’ or ‘This is bad.’ This is a place where people can come in and talk openly so that The American Legion can help make improvements.”
A theme of the evening was for veterans to work with an expert on accessing their health-care benefits. This free service is useful for receiving expert advice, the ability to track down potential errors in claims and more. The American Legion has a network of accredited service officers who provide free benefits assistance to any veteran. Find a service officer near you.
“Veterans should come talk to our service officers,” Duran advised. “The service officer at my post is fantastic. If he doesn’t know an answer, he’ll find you the answer. That’s the biggest thing for veterans who need help. That’s what The American Legion is here for. Anything we can do to get veterans the care they need.”
The SWS visits bring together American Legion staff and volunteers with local VA staff to forge solutions to ensure that area veterans are receiving the best health care possible. In the days following the town hall, American Legion teammates and VA staff met to work on solutions to making improvements in veterans health care.
Newly elected Department of Louisiana Commander Oliver Moore, who uses the New Orleans VA, also attended the town hall.
“I thought it was a great event,” said Moore, a retired Army veteran and member of Post 502 in Baton Rouge. “Most of the questions were answered, and the ones that were not answered, VA staff is going to go back and get the answers.”
Looking ahead, Duran hopes that the SWS visit will lead to improvements.
“I hope they (VA staff members) take all the information with them back to their superiors and say, ‘This is what we need to do to help our veterans,’ because if that is what we do, things will be better for them,” he said.
- System Worth Saving