Access, outreach issues confront Hawaii veterans
Access to care took on a new meaning Sept. 8 during an American Legion town hall meeting designed for area veterans to discuss their experiences with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
A packed room at the Oahu Veterans Center in Honolulu was the setting as veterans were able to offer their criticism and praise for the VA health-care system and its staff. The biggest in the Hawaiian Islands, said one veteran with experience dealing with VA, is geography.
“The problem that I see in Hawaii is that we have islands,” said Robert B. Kent Sr., a former American Legion service officer. “Many of our veterans live on different islands. They don’t live here on Oahu, and the main part of the VA is right here on Oahu. (VA staff) gets to go to the outer islands, but not all the time.
“So many of our veterans do not have transportation. They cannot get to the (community-based outpatient clinic) or to the VA.”
Kent said the price of a plane ticket from one island to another can be as much as $200, which can provide financial hardship. He also said VA doesn’t reach out enough through media or advertising to let veterans know about their benefits. “So many of the people I talk to didn’t even know they were eligible to get VA benefits,” he said.
Other veterans spoke of similar concerns with outreach efforts, including those to younger or women veterans. Wayne Pfeffer, director of the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System, was at the meeting and said that VA is planning a series of monthly town hall meetings on a different island.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason Scott, who is stationed in Hawaii, wanted to know what is being done to make sure VA’s mistakes aren’t repeated. “What are we doing about the guys coming out (of the military now)?” Scott said. “What are we doing so that this doesn’t continue to be a cyclical, never-ending process?”
Another veteran said he applied to get a primary care physician in August 2013 and still didn’t have one. He said after the VA scandal broke in Phoenix, he started receiving phone calls and letters from VA urging him not to miss his next appointment, but he still doesn’t have a doctor assigned to him. Verna Jones, director of the Legion’s Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Division, asked VA officials in attendance to get with him.
Jones said the purpose of the Legion’s town hall meetings and veterans crisis centers is to “mend” the problems that took place at VA. “There was a crisis, and we’re going to get past that crisis and get to the fix,” she said. “That’s why The American Legion is here."
The town hall kicked off a week of Legion outreach efforts in Honolulu. The Oahu Veterans Center, 1298 Kukila St., will be the site of another American Legion Veterans Crisis Command Center. Members of the Legion’s national staff – along with local Legionnaires, staff from VA facilities and volunteers from other organizations – will be on hand to assist veterans and their families. Services provided will include assistance with scheduling VA medical appointments, filing benefits claims, grief counseling, and help with enrollment into VA health care.
The center is open until 5 p.m. today, from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m.-noon Friday.
“We can’t help you if you don’t come in,” Jones told veterans at the town hall meeting. “And we can’t promise we can solve everything. But if you come in, I can promise that we’ll do our best for you.”