We are disabled Veterans who have been subjected to the initial deployment of the superlative Veteran killing Oracle Cerner EHR software that is the result of a backroom no-bid $10 Billion contract. Since it’s October 26, 2020 deployment that was curiously scheduled 1 week before the Presidential Election to ensure the media’s attention was elsewhere. Since it’s deployment, VA has admitted the software had caused the deaths of 4 Veterans and caused serious harm to hundreds more. A very big question arises from the proven fact that VA falsifies their numbers as to what the true numbers of dead and wounded from this latest example of Veteran Abuse by the sole Agency responsible for helping Veterans, not killing them. The CMO of the Spokane VA MC, Robert Fischer MD submitted a formal report certifying the software as being safe for patients despite having caused the death of 1 Veteran at his medical center and causing serious harm to 158 Veterans. It matters not that he willfully submitted falsified government documentation violating both Federal Laws and Medical Ethics. No action was taken by the government or the AMA despite complaints by members of Congress.
In Spring of 2023 Congress called a halt to any additional deployment until the software had been corrected so as to not harm patients. A rather novel idea considering VA’s long record of Veteran Abuse. However, somehow without the knowledge of Congress as a whole, VA and DoD conspired to circumvent the will and knowledge of Congress and deploy the software to additional sites. Who exactly is in charged with the responsibility to enforce actual legislation and allocation of funds? Nobody appears to have any desire to comply with laws and Constitutional mandates. How did VA get the authority to treat illegal aliens while denying medical treatment to the only people they are required to treat?
Veterans have risked their lives for the people of this Country, and the people claim to support Veterans, but how many have done so much as call their legislators to voice their disapproval of how the Federal Government is failing their obligations and their claims of helping Veterans. Less than 1/3 of Veterans will go near a VA facility any given year and most will laugh at you if suggest going anywhere near one. The people who are entitled to use and have ever tried to use what the Government has promised them, are unwilling to be subjected to treatment worse than criminals are treated in our penal systems. Thank you so very much, America.
I Am a Veteran
Author Unknown
To understand a Military Veteran you must know:*
We left home as teenagers or in our early twenties for an unknown adventure.
We loved our country enough to defend it and protect it with our own lives.
We said goodbye to friends and family and everything we knew.
We learned the basics and then we scattered in the wind to the far corners of the Earth.
We found new friends and new family.
We became brothers and sisters regardless of colour, race or creed.
We had plenty of good times, and plenty of bad times.
We didn’t get enough sleep.
We smoked and drank too much.
We picked up both good and bad habits.
We worked hard and played harder.
We didn’t earn a great wage.
We experienced the happiness of mail call and the sadness of missing important events.
We didn’t know when, or even if, we were ever going to see home again.We grew up fast, and yet somehow, we never grew up at all.
We fought for our freedom, as well as the freedom of others.
Some of us saw actual combat, and some of us didn’t.
Some of us saw the world, and some of us didn’t.
Some of us dealt with physical warfare, most of us dealt with psychological warfare.
We have seen and experienced and dealt with things that we can’t fully describe or explain, as not all of our sacrifices were physical.
We participated in time honored ceremonies and rituals with each other, strengthening our bonds and camaraderie.
We counted on each other to get our job done and sometimes to survive it at all.
We have dealt with victory and tragedy.* We have celebrated and mourned.
We lost a few along the way.
When our adventure was over, some of us went back home, some of us started somewhere new and some of us never came home at all.
We have told amazing and hilarious stories of our exploits and adventures.
We share an unspoken bond with each other, that most people don’t experience, and few will understand.
We speak highly of our own branch of service, and poke fun at the other branches.
We know however, that, if needed, we will be there for our brothers and sisters and stand together as one, in a heartbeat.
Being a Veteran is something that had to be earned, and it can never be taken away.
It has no monetary value, but at the same time it is a priceless gift.