This item really hits close to home because it is an icon when traveling down Interstate 91. To pass by and think of it empty when so little money (comparatively speaking), readers.
Yeah, support the troops. That phrase never sounded so hollow.
"Veterans decry closing of clinic; Can no longer seek outpatient care at Holyoke Soldiers’ Home" by Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff | December 26, 2009
HOLYOKE - Paul Maywald, a Cold War veteran who served on the Czech border in the 1950s, has bum knees, bad hearing, and an enlarged prostate. Now, he has a new worry: Maywald and 2,200 other veterans can no longer visit the outpatient clinic at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.
Governor Deval Patrick’s decision to close the clinic, which provides medical care with no out-of-pocket costs, has outraged the staff, thrown state officials on the defensive, and upset veterans who must find an alternative to a place they cherish for its comfort and camaraderie.
That isn't going to win him any votes.
Related (second and third stories down): How to End the Wars
“This is our home, the Soldiers’ Home,’’ said Maywald, 72, of Granby, as he waited to see a doctor at the clinic. “Now, I’ll have to look around and find someone to take me on with all my problems.’’
State officials say the closing makes unfortunate economic sense at a time when budget efficiencies must be found everywhere.
Related: State Shuts Down For Year
See where you could EASILY find dollars?
And WHERE is that TAX LOOT going?
But nurses and veterans at the clinic, perched on a hill with a spectacular view of the
Oh, an ABSOLUTE SLAP in the face so BIOTECHS, GREEN ENERGY, BANKS, and HOLLYWOOD (to name a few) can RECEIVE a TAXPAYER CHECK addressed to them!
“I think somehow the state has misunderstood what this clinic is about,’’ said Elaine Peetz, the supervisor. “I don’t know where you get this care somewhere else.’’
Under the state’s plan, veterans who use the outpatient clinic for routine medical visits and specialty care will be steered toward US Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals in Springfield and Northampton, both of which are near Holyoke. As an alternative, veterans who carry insurance can opt to use private physicians, and the uninsured will receive help to enroll in MassHealth, a state-run insurance plan for the needy.
WHY SHOULD THEY HAVE TO DO ANY of THIS?!!!
I mean, GIVE US SINGLE-PAYER THEN!!
Or don't, if this is what it is like in Amerika!!
Didn't the GOVERNMENT MAKE a PROMISE to these men?
Yeah, SUPPORT the TROOPS means SUPPORT the OCCUPATIONS and AGGRESSIONS!!!
And it means INCONVENIENCING the MOST FRAIL and NEEDY of our HEROES!!! Yeah, AmeriKa is damn right!!!!
“It’s unfortunate that during tight fiscal times, the administration and the governor have to make choices that are not always the easiest choices to make,’’ said Coleman Nee, undersecretary of the state Department of Veterans’ Services. However, Nee added, “we really can’t be paying for care for people who are carrying private insurance’’ or are eligible for VA health benefits....
No, but they can fund all the well-connected special interests and pad their pension pockets!
To the clinic staff and many of their patients, the closing is seen as a callous jolt to veterans who have grown accustomed, some of them for decades, to the quick, individual attention they receive at the Soldiers’ Home. “There’s a difference in the care here. They talk to you,’’ said Tony Vecchio, 76, an Army veteran from Wilbraham who has been coming to the clinic for 11 years.
Yup. We ALL KNOW HOW MUCH OLD FOLK like their ROUTINES ruined!!!
Yeah, that goes over real well.
Heck, YOUNGER FOLK don't take to it that well, either!!!
That kind of comfort is one reason that the veterans, who visited the clinic 7,000 times last year, believe a VA hospital will not be the same. At the outpatient clinic, Peetz said, a veteran can make an appointment and be seen usually within 24 hours. At the VA, top priority is given to veterans with service-connected disabilities; others are treated later.... In addition to longer waits, visiting the VA or seeing a private doctor might come with a price tag.
How about some of the BILLIONS in OVERCHARGED WAR LOOT from the WAR PROFITEERS, 'eh?
Unlike the clinic, many veterans who use those options will be required to make copayments and other charges that insurance does not cover.... But for retired veterans who face copayments, such bills could pose a challenging, new burden. “I’m on a fixed income, and every little bit helps,’’ said Stanley Maciorowski, 85, of Hatfield, who served in naval aviation during World War II.
This is an OUTRAGE!!!!!!
State Senator Stephen Brewer, a Democrat from Barre who has been active in veterans issues, said he is suspending criticism while the state, in response to public outcry about the closing, tries to woo a private company to reopen the clinic on site. “You can privatize all you want, but it’s got to be first, last, and always about the veteran,’’ Brewer said. “They’re going to have to prove it to these veterans.’’
Nee said new private management, through negotiations with the state, possibly could operate without copayments or other charges. However, Nee added, “I don’t want to over-promise.’’
No, that is only for the electoral rabble that dines at the trough, if you know what I mean.
Peetz, the clinic supervisor, said she did not know the clinic would be closed until she read the news in the media....
That means ON-LINE, doesn't it? Otherwise they would SAY NEWSPAPER!
In the reception area, the veterans move slowly, settling quietly in chairs while they stoically await their doctor visits. Maciorowski, the Navy veteran, said he is resigned to a closing he does not understand. “I’m not really angry; what sense does that make? But I am disappointed,’’ Maciorowski said. “I’ll look for an outside doctor.’’
I don't know; I can't help myself seeing so many lies and injustices day-in and day-out.
And to Dr. Marc Vanderleeden, an internist at the clinic whose patients have included veterans of D-day and Vietnam river patrols, the closing is “a big mistake.’’ “For the ones that I see, the majority will now see me at my private office. Some will go to the VA,’’ Vanderleeden said. “But part of the thing for them has been coming to a designated place for veterans, and I think that’s important to them. I think that’s been overlooked.’’
Yup, the VET is OVERLOOKED when he is OF NO MORE USE on the battlefield!!!
--more--"
And at a COST of a mere $550,000 dollars!!!
How many TRILLIONS did the BANKS and WARS GET? How many TRILLIONS MORE will they receive?
