VETERANS PRESS: Area veterans respond: 'How do you rate your VA care?'

Darrel Maddux interviewed a few veterans who were using VA health care in the Spokane area. The following are some of the results from those interviews.

Mike Bondurant — He started receiving routine medical care in 1992 at the Mann Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane immediately after being discharged from active duty at Fairchild Air Force Base. Soon after starting care, he was being sent to Seattle to the VA Hospital for specialized care. It required additional costs for the VA for travel and lodging and Mike was spending much of his free time in travel and appointment time. In 1998, the VA decided to make him an outpatient at a private clinic in Spokane. He continues his outpatient appointments today but continues to use the VA Hospital for routine medical care for hearing, dental, eye care, annual physicals and the gym. He highly recommends that veterans use their VA benefits at Mann Grandstaff VA and says his care has always been the best. He has a 100% Disability Rating with the VA.

Tim O’Hare — He has been receiving care at Mann Granstaff VA Medical Center since 2016 and receives about 60% of his care as an outpatient. He praises the care he has received and says the staff at Mann Grandstaff have always treated him with dignity and respect. He says he always thanks the caregivers after his appointment ends. He has a 30% Disability Rating with the VA. 

Phillip White — His care at the VA started in 1970 and he has a 100% Disability Rating with the VA. He returned from Vietnam after being wounded and receiving a Purple Heart. He says that the doctors at Mann Grandstaff understand what the veterans have been through in war. He accesses the VA computer system with his cellphone and he prefers using the telephone to have the majority of his interactions with VA staff. Nothing is keeping him from receiving the services he is entitled to. He has a guide dog and he wants to thank all the doctors and staff for the care he is receiving.

Gary Yeager — He has been using the VA for five years and he said “the VA saved my life.” He went to the seventh floor of the Spokane VA Hospital and signed up, got his picture taken and received his badge. A few days later he had a heart attack. The VA has taken care of everything and paid for all his medical expenses. He uses an outpatient clinic as well as the services at Mann Grandstaff. He gets all his prescriptions, eyeglasses and other services at the VA. He said he appreciates the professional care that he receives. He is also a retired federal employee and was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in combat in Vietnam. He has a 100% Disability Rating with the VA.

Don and Barbara Harding — The VA installed a ramp from their garage to the front door of their home, installed a chairlift in their home, installed a walk-in bath tub and gave Don a motorized wheelchair. After Don passed away, Barbara was admitted to an Alzheimer’s Nursing Home. She was recently granted Spousal Benefits from the VA and with those benefits and Social Security — all her care expenses are covered. 

From a female veteran's perspective — The VA offers women’s health services to meet specific needs such as disease screenings, mental health treatment, recovery from military sexual trauma, maternity care and female-specific medical equipment. Common conditions are women’s primary care, mental health, obstetrics and gynecology, pap smear and mammograms.

Deanna Willoughby — She has been receiving care at Mann Grandstaff VA Medical Center since 1992 after being medically retired from the Marines. Her military service lasted 11 years. She receives in-house and outpatient care and appreciates the fact that all her care is within the Spokane community. Her care at the VA is with an all-female team and she says women have become a priority for care at Mann Grandstaff. She has received acupuncture for chronic pain issues. She says maternity care has been available to women veterans for about two years. Her message to other women veterans is “they care for me and they are there for me.”

My personal experience — When I was in the fifth grade my dad was admitted to a community hospital for emergency care. He has unable to walk and could not use his arms. After spending over a month in the hospital, they sent him by ambulance to the VA Hospital in Wichita, Kan. He had been discharged from World War II with a medical discharge so the VA accepted him as a patient. I believe he was receiving a monthly disability check from the VA at that time. He spent almost a year in the hospital and my mother was left at home to try to raise three young boys on her own. I worried, at the age of 11, about us not having enough to eat and if we were going to lose our home. I don’t believe that the VA had the type of services they have today where the family is included in the veteran’s care. The VA Hospital in Wichita gave me back my dad because he walked out of that hospital and lived a near normal life afterward. The VA continued to help him because, after returning home from the VA Hospital, he suffered from some PTSD issues. Because of my dad’s service, I joined the Army at the age of 18 just like he did.

In summary, there will always be issues with things like a computer program or a scheduling mishap but that should not cause a veteran to not use the benefits they are entitled to. Those benefits are for life and they earned them by their sacrifices.