Taking care of veterans can be complicated. They span wars and decades, from Vietnam and Korea to Iraq and Afghanistan. And Alaska’s 77,000 veterans are spread throughout a massive, mostly roadless state. They make up 13 percent of our population.
An audit on how long veterans wait for medical services was announced in April. The results came out June 9; 99 percent of Alaska veterans get a medical appointment under 30 days. The Alaska VA has managed those results by sharing care with community health clinics. We’ll learn how that happened and how it is working. And we’ll talk about challenges that still go unanswered in Alaska veteran care, and why.
If you are a veteran, we would love to hear about your experience with the VA. If you serve veterans, share your insights on needs and challenges that still exist.
HOST: Kathleen McCoy
GUESTS:
- Kimberly Cohen, Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center
- Greg Puckett, Alaska VA Alaska Healthcare System, associate director
- Cynthia Joe MD, AK VA, Chief of Staff
- Linda Boyle, AK VA, Patient and Nursing Services
LINKS:
- VA punished critics on staff -includes Alaska allegations (The New York Times, June 16, 2014)
- VA audit and wait times fact sheet (PDF)
- VA audit of veteran health care wait times finds Anchorage satisfactory (ADN, June 9, 2014)
- Alaska VA partners with city health clinic for veterans’ care (ADN, March 31, 2014)
- Vietnam veteran grateful to VA (ADN letter, June 2, 2014)
- Fixing the veteran’s health care system (Forbes, June 4, 2014)
- With more vets needing health care, what will the cost be? (NPR June 10, 2014)
- My HealtheVet website
- Alaska Veteran Healthcare System
- Wounded Warrior Project
- Alaska State Elks and Wounded Warriors
- Alaska’s Healing Hearts
- Guide to veterans coverage, The New York Times
PARTICIPATE:
- Call 550-8433 (Anchorage) or 1-888-353-5752 (statewide) during the live broadcast (2:00 – 3:00pm)
- Send email to hometown@alaskapublic.org before, during or after the live broadcast (e-mails may be read on air)
- Post your comment or question below (comments may be read on air)
LIVE BROADCAST: Wednesday, June 18, 2014. 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. (Alaska time)
REPEAT BROADCAST: Wednesday, June 18, 2014. 9:00 – 10:00 p.m. (Alaska time)
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