WTF re: VA

I normally have nothing but good things to say about the care givers at this fine institution. Today, this isn't about the caregivers, it's about the jerks that populate the bureaucracy.

I snagged my side on a sharp counter top while getting up to go to the bathroom during the night. After a couple of days it began to show signs of infection. So I called my clinic in Sandpoint, only to be told my PA had quit to go back to private practice and they weren't accepting appointments at this time.

So, since I had some errands in Coeur d'Alene, I dropped into the VA clinic on Emma, only to be told that since I was a patient of Sandpoint, they were not interested in helping me.

Now, the only option given to me was a three hour round trip to the ER in Spokane. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. Suddenly I am without a primary provider, but no policy is in place to provide walk in care for a patient that wasn't theirs.(CDA)

Bottom line, I have other injuries and at my age, (80) I cannot handle a three hour round trip to and back from Spokane.

That the bureaucracy in Spokane cannot or will not provide backup with a huge clinic in Coeur d'Alene suggests a very large disconnect on the management side. My congressman, once again will hear from me. This is Bullshit.