By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan may have been held up in Washington, D.C. due to the current immigration bill but that didn’t stop the local veterans from turning out for the town hall-style meeting he set up in Bucyrus City Hall.
Luckily, Jordan’s chief of staff Ray Yonkura was able to fill in to answer any questions. Attending the town hall meeting alongside Yonkura were additional members of Jordan’s staff: Lee Martin, Military and Veteran Affairs, and Barbara Taylor, Deputy District Director.
The three representatives fielded questions and complaints from local veterans concerning everything from the veterans reform bill passed on Wednesday to the distinction on which veterans get treated first to the satisfaction of the Veterans Affair healthcare system.
The bill approved by the House on Wednesday, a vote of 420-5, included $5 billion that would go towards hiring additional medical personnel and another $10 billion that would assist those who can’t get immediate appointments with VA doctors in getting outside care.
“That is what the bill is intended to do, to just to say to everybody who is waiting – in particular those who have to travel a good distance to get to their appointments – we’re going to give the VA this pot of money to pay your medical bills to pay your doctor,” Yonkura explained.
Yonkura warned, however, that the money from this bill would not be ongoing. Once the money ran out, it was out.
One of the issues the VA currently faces is the lack of doctors.
“Bringing more people into the healthcare system will require more doctors,” Yonkura said. “Current doctors will tell you know that they don’t see enough new doctors coming in through the pipeline, especially family practice and general practice doctors. They don’t see enough to fill the need that is there now, the need that is going to be there.”
Despite the concerning lack of doctors, the veterans in attendance at the town hall meeting all seemed to agree that the veterans hospitals in Ohio were all very good institutions.
Taylor explained that three years ago the American Legion corporate group had a group institute surprise inspections at the VA hospitals beginning at Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory Care Center in Columbus and the Dayton VA Medical Center.
“It primarily started at Dayton because of the issues they had. Chalmers Wylie scored a 98 percent as they did everything from nursing care to doctor care to were the employees happy and all of that,” Taylor explained. “Ohio has scored very high compared to the other states.”
Taylor added an excellent job has been done in training the administrators of the Ohio hospitals.
“The American Legion gave them a great rating,” Taylor said. “Ohio is not doing so bad.”
“Dayton is the only hospital that really had any concerns,” stated Don Scheerer a Vietnam veteran and a committee member of the Crawford County Veterans Hall of Fame. “Dayton was the only one that really had any significant problems with the problems that are going on right now with the rest of them. The one down in Columbus, if you’re not familiar with it, is a great facility.
“It is getting better. I honestly believe it is getting better,” Scheerer said.
Alan Young, a Vietnam veteran who has been dealing with the effects of Agent Orange as well as hearing loss, has been concerned with compensation. He has had seven heart surgeries that have dealt with Agent Orange and had run into multiple problems trying to find a doctor that will do the surgeries.
“When you got compensation that you deserve, it’s almost like you have to fight them tooth and nail to get it,” Young said. “It’s kind of bad and it takes forever.”
Despite the opportunity to turn the VA around with billions of dollars, Yonkura said it won’t be as easy as that.
“A bill from Congress is not going to clean it up,” stated Yonkura. “It can just provide the tools. The managers have to get in and change what’s going on in there. It won’t happen overnight.”
Yonkura stressed that if any veterans were experiencing any issues with the VA, they should call Jordan’s office for help. Jordan can be reached at 202-225-2676 (Washington, D.C. office), 419-999-6455 (Lima office), or 419-663-1426 (Norwalk office).
Yonkura also briefly touched upon the immigration reform bill that Jordan is currently wading his way through.
“It is supposed to give the border patrol and immigration service the tools they need to try to alleviate what is the crisis down there right now. That’s the intent of the bill,” Yonkura said.
He believed Jordan may support the bill.