VA Hospital Help!

[bthesing]

Who knows the procedure for getting husband in VA? I'm not sure whether I'm getting the run around or not. I called Paul Smith at Long Beach VAb and he said to get your husband transferred from St. Judes to VA Long Beach. His Dr. at St. Judes must talk to Dr. Paul Guitierrez the admitting Dr. for Spinal Cord Rehab at the VA. My case worker at the hospital, Gary, says there is mountain of paper work to fill out to get him into the VA. Should I go to the VA with his DD 214 and get things ready? I was there in April and they hardly would talk to me, because I didn't have the DD 214. I had to send to St. Louis for it and finally got it last week. Anybody have experience with this, please reply? Where can I go to push this thru fast??

[z eater]

I got a hold of the va when i first got injured and it took 6 months for them to process my paperwork. I dont know of any fast way to get it done. I will tell you this much. The va got right on things to help me once i was in the system. The va here in Michigan has bent over backwards trying to help me and it wasnt even a service related injury. My advice to you is fill out all the paperwork and get in the system. They will help you out sooner or later. Goodluck with your efforts. Its a long road ahead.

[bill1938]

I had a similar experience.My DD214 was lost and I had to apply to St. Louis for a replacement.That took a few months.I mailed it to the VA and it took many
months before I heard from them.You have to stay on top of them by calling and following up on everything.In New York we have the (EPVA) Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Assoc, a part of the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA).Call the PVA
maybe they can advise you.
Bill M.

[marmalady]

Hmmmm - Posted a reply earlier, I guess the computer ate it! All good advice from Bill and Z-eater. You have to be persistent, and yes, it does seem like reams of paperwork, no matter what the insurance is! Get the paperwork rolling, but remember you only have to look at one piece of paper at a time! Remember the VA is a beauracracy like any other, and the wheels do turn slowly - BUT - 'it's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease!'

Here's a link that may be of some help: http://www.spinalinjury.net/html/_va_centers.html

Good luck, and keep in touch!

_____________
Tough times don't last - tough people do.

[SCI-Nurse]

There is no excuse for this type of delay. VA regulations are very clear that SCI new injury patients are to be processed with no delay and given priority for admission over other SCI admissions (except for active duty).

At our VA SCI center we can verify eligibility within 24 hours if we have the DD214, and 48 hours if not. Now days virtually all DD214s can be verified by computer within the VA system and hard copy is not necessarily needed. If the veteran is medically stable and we have a bed we can usually have them on our SCI unit within a week of the referral.

The PVA is invaluable in helping with this process. The PVA National Service Officer can help you with the application (2 pages ONLY, not "mountains"), push through the application for eligiblity for you, and also advocate for your with the VA for admission.

The current NSO for the Long Beach VA is Bo Rollins. He is in San Diego, but covers that area. You can reach him at 619 400-5320.

(KLD)

[bthesing]

Thanks for your help and comments on getting hubbie in VA. His insurance is ready to skate him out of St. Judes any day now, July 4th is their target date, they tell me. Our case worker is going to try for another week.

I was down to VA yesterday in Long Beach and he is in their system DD214 and all and they tell me it's just his Dr. at St. Judes to fax all his papers to the admitting Dr. at the VA. Dr. Paul Guiterrez. Gary, my case worker says he faxed the papers Tuesday. What's next??? I was under the impression that each case goes before a board and they decide if they will take you. Is that right? Paul Smith is the PVA person I have been talking to at Long Beach. I will call this Bo Rollins in SAn Diego tomorrow. Hubbie still cannot transfer without a lot of help from wheelchair to bed and so on. I told them if they dismiss him, I will need a lift.

[whiterabbit11]

Boy I must be lucky. I just called acaseworker in Ft. Meade, in Sturgis S.Dakota and had a plane ticket to Milwaukee in a couple days. They say once "You're in the System" all lights are green. I started in "the system right out of the ditch in '67, maybe that's why.WR