Comments for Livermore good sitefor stress-of-war care at http://tracypress.com , comment 1 to 3 out of 3 comments http://tracypress.com Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:33:16 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://tracypress.com/content/view/9473/2241/#comment-8117 This would be a nice first "big" thing for McNerney to get accomplished. My experiences with the VA as a congressional intern were utterly defeating and depressing, so any improvement to the system, especially in the wake of the Walter Reed scandal, is welcome. Hopefully, with Nancy's help (call him a lapdog if you want, but that's how Pombo got it done, hanging with Newt and deLay), he can. - Mark David Ecklestein Wed, 30 May 2007 13:45:40 +0100 http://tracypress.com/content/view/9473/2241/#comment-8113 “ . . . its quarter-century-old hospital/clinic in Livermore.” OK, it’s a small thing but hardly just a quarter-century old. It has a much longer and proud history. The hospital have the credit it deserves especially when the information was so very easy to come by. “The Livermore Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) began operations in 1929 as a tuberculosis hospital.” Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES), www.va.gov/cares/documents/Livermore_2005_05_13_MeetingSummary1.pdf - David Hardesty Wed, 30 May 2007 12:43:12 +0100 http://tracypress.com/content/view/9473/2241/#comment-8099 I have been to the VA hospital in Livermore and it is a nice older style building with alot of history to it also. The area is nice and surrounded by wildlife too. My kids enjoyed seeing the wild turkeys and watching the deer roam the hills. I am not sure about what kind of weight Mr McNerney has on the issue of that VA center staying open. Big deal, so he wrote a letter. What he needs to do is organize a force of vets and make a presentation to Congress. There is strength in numbers. Besides, there is more to the story. There has been talk of closing it (Livermore) for a long time. It is an old building and the cost of repairing and maintenence might not be worth it. I would like to see it stay open though. It was clean, and the staff working there was nice too. One man was a Pearl Harbour Survivor and gave my son a picture of the harbour while it was under attack. Since my son had been to visit the Arizona Memorial before these two had a great time talking, and my son was 5! My point is these older hospitals also are a great place to talk and visit with vets from previous conficts. Many of them have been seeking treatment at these facilities for years and to close them and force the vets to travel longer distances for treatment would be cruel. One nice thing though the VA does have a shuttle van. This is one of many points that should be made to the people who want to close them. As a vet, I say keep it open, it beats other healthcare systems like "Kaiser". - Ubbo Coty Wed, 30 May 2007 10:17:22 +0100