The VA clinic may be understaffed, but much of the issue comes from seasonal residents.
1. Many book future appointments, then leave for the summer. Taking up the appointments block the yearly residents from care.
2. Workload is always much lower from late spring through late October. If they claim they are “too busy” now, it doesn’t make sense—because when the workload doubles during peak season, they still manage to get it done.
3. The Villages VA was originally set up as a simple clinic, but the need has grown significantly in the decade since. If you drive by at exactly 4:30 p.m., the parking lot is already empty.
4. Community Care is a mixed bag. Dental coverage works fairly well, but outside providers know the VA doesn’t pay in a timely manner. Trying to get local pulmonary or dermatology care is worse—Community Care often pushes patients to nurse practitioners instead of physicians, even for procedures like cancer screenings.
There’s more I could say, but one example is parking: why do disabled VA employees use the front disabled spaces all day, instead of the side lot designed for them? Appointment patients need those spots.
Maybe veterans who are in priority groups 7 and 8 (those not service connected and with a higher income) should have more limited access so those service connected can get care more timely. IMHO, if you are not service connected, and you have a high income, you should not be using VA, but that is a personal opinion, nothing more.
I’m grateful we have VA healthcare at all. But let’s be clear: the responsibility for understaffing lies squarely with Gainesville VA leadership. If the work truly wasn’t being completed to standard, changes would have already been made. They report to Congress, and frankly, you have to wonder—are the numbers being “smoothed out” so management looks better than reality?
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