Veterans complain of VA problems

Stephen Curran

Friday, Aug. 2, 2002 | 9:27 a.m.

A crowd of aging veterans told Rep. Shelley Berkley on Thursday that there were more problems with the Department of Veterans Affairs than there are cracks at the A.D. Guy Ambulatory Care Clinic.

Because of the VA's failure to respond to his health problems, Las Vegan Frank Ulloa, who fought in the Beirut conflict in 1984, said his life has been in a tailspin -- which now includes the recent foreclosure of his house.

"Because of people dragging their feet, I'm out of a place to live," Ulloa said at a town hall meeting Berkley held with Veterans Affairs officials at the Guy clinic.

Calling them "my vets," Berkley, D-Nev., addressed a standing-room crowd of veterans from conflicts ranging from World War II to the Persian Gulf at the clinic, a facility whose future is threatened by the discovery of partial structural damage earlier this year.

She promised tough decisions and delivered tough talk.

"Whoever designed and built this ought to be in jail," Berkley said.

What will happen to the clinic, which was built in 1997, is still uncertain, but officials from the VA are exploring the possibility of leasing additional space should the facility be forced to close, said Dr. Robert Roswell, undersecretary for health of the VA.

If the facility is forced to close or relocate, the VA will absorb the cost of buses and other transportation, Roswell said.

An 18-month study has been commissioned on the possibility of closing and consolidating VA facilities in other communities to accommodate Nevada's veterans population, the fastest growing in the nation, Berkley said.

"I don't need a study to tell me what the needs are in Southern Nevada," she said.

These tough decisions include examining other communities with VA facilities but smaller veterans populations and closing them, keeping the focus on communities with growing populations, she said.

The solution, Berkley said, does not lie in getting more money, but in re-assessing the VA's physical and capital assets.

Currently, the VA has a $23 billion annual budget.

But any improvements in service might come too late for Marine Corps vet Ulloa and his, wife Laura.

Ulloa, a Las Vegas air conditioning technician, knew something was wrong when he started coughing blood about five years ago. He had surgery in 1998, and was told he could return to work shortly thereafter.

But when he did, his health began failing again. Now unable to work, Ulloa, his wife and two small children are awaiting a response from the VA.

Ulloa, a once healthy and active man, finds himself unable to perform the most basic tasks.

"I have a hard time even picking up my toddler," he said.