Doctors needed:
Vets vent over poor health care, treatment

Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, left, listens to comment from Vietnam veteran Tom Patterson during a veterans forum in Calvin Hall on the UNM-Gallup campus Saturday. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Cable Hoover

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Gaye Brown de Alvarez
Staff writer

GALLUP — More than 100 veterans packed the UNM-Gallup auditorium Saturday to meet with Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., about veterans issues.

UNM veterans liaison Cassandra Morgan welcomed the crowd and reminded everyone that time was limited and to please keep their comments as short as possible. The microphone was turned over to the attendees to tell their stories.

The most prevalent concern was the Gallup VA Clinic and the lack of a doctor now that Dr. Chander Bhatia was gone.

Vietnam vet Tom Hartsock told Luján and the crowd that not only was Bhatia a good doctor, but “he was very caring.”

“If he did do something wrong, give him an Article 15, like they do in the military,” he said. He also raised some concerns about the desk clerk.

Carolie Watkins, the wife of Vietnam vet Eddy Watkins, said to the crowd that the front desk clerk at the clinic was rude to her. “Some day she’s in a good mood, sometimes she’s not.”

Arnold Collins of Iyanbito said the problem he had was all the waiting he had to do for appointments in Gallup. “We need a bigger hospital (clinic),” he said.

Veteran Martin Eastridge accused Luján of playing party favorites and said he was not getting his benefits because he was a Republican. He talked about pills that were given to him during the Gulf War and his voice started to crack. “I shouldn’t have to fight for my benefits here,” he said.

Luján took the microphone and told the crowd that political parties “have nothing to do with any of this.” He explained to everyone some of the bills passed recently to assist vets. “I take this responsibility seriously.”

Vietnam vet Tom Patterson told the crowd he came to Gallup six years ago and had been in four VA clinics before going to the Gallup facility. “This clinic is below standard,” he said. “I saw stacks of vet files on the floors and desks when I went to see Dr. B. Let’s get him back here. We’re tired of getting the run-around.”

Speaker Beth Miller of Thoreau said she wasn’t a vet but wanted to air some frustrations. She didn’t realize how many walls vets are up against, she said. “We have to help them here. I see the pain they experience.”

Gary Benally, a Gulf War veteran said “treatment here has to be continuous. Not just different doctors and nurses, Bhatia helped me a lot. He did give a damn.”

Franklin Tso of Coyote Canyon talked about his post-traumatic stress disorder and how the Department of Veterans Affairs didn’t have any records of him being in Vietnam, so he didn’t get his Purple Heart. He broke down while talking and said “why are they denying us? Why is everything turned upside down on me.”

Leo Chischilly from the Navajo Nation Department of Veterans Affairs said that Navajo vets on the reservation didn’t know Bhatia was gone until they saw it in the newspaper. He commended Bhatia and said “he was a fine doctor,” and told the crowd that a group is trying to get a “c-box” in Chinle or Crownpoint, but it requires 1,600 or more vets who need health care. He told the group they could fill out a 1010 form to justify the need for an outpatient clinic on the reservation.

Anselm Roanhorse, the executive director for the Navajo Division of Health, said there were about 11,000 Navajo vets registered with the Navajo Nation.

Luján listened for more than two hours and took notes. He made no promises at the end, but thanked the crowd and assured them that veterans issues were very important to him.

Information: Gallup VA Clinic, (505)-722-7234 Luján’s Farmington Office, (505)-324-1005
On the Net: https://forms.house.gov/lujan/contact-form.shtml