Topic: Veteran Commits Suicide,VA Parkinglot
Conrad_73's photo
Tue 05/12/15 02:24 PM
http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/veteran-commits-suicide-right-in-the-parking-lot-of-the-phoenix-va/

Pretty damn sad!


no photo
Tue 05/12/15 03:08 PM
Yes, sad when those here illegal get better treatment than vets.grumble

Conrad_73's photo
Tue 05/12/15 03:18 PM

Yes, sad when those here illegal get better treatment than vets.grumble

yes,it sure is!

Datwasntme's photo
Tue 05/12/15 03:27 PM
i agree with both of u 2 ..... very sad

no photo
Tue 05/12/15 03:43 PM

Yes, sad when those here illegal get better treatment than vets.grumble

illegals are criminals, veterans are heroes. just goes to show how f'ed up the priorities are in this country.

no photo
Tue 05/12/15 04:03 PM
Seems like he was bullied into it by VA.

According to Brandon Coleman, a veteran of the Marine Corps, Murphy’s sacrifice is the ultimate symbolic gesture. Coleman was an addiction therapist with the Phoenix VA before he was charged with misconduct and placed on leave after filing a whistleblower complaint in December. What was wrong at the VA? Coleman testified that the hospital mishandled numerous suicidal veterans.

no photo
Sat 05/16/15 12:46 PM
Forcing things onto someone, may cause them to end their life. Who can blame him? Not everyone is going to take sacrifice well. Even when people who work in authority, are warned that such a decision may go awfully wrong, those authoritarians aren't going to listen, because they want what THEMSELVES want, and so it's a huge risk, when not allowing an individual to make their own decisions. And I still can't believe I pay tax to the council, after the heartbreak they put me through.

SitkaRains's photo
Sat 05/16/15 12:56 PM
This so disgust and saddens me...
Up here in Ak we have a program I am so proud to be a part of
called Healing Hearts.. It is part of the wounded warriors amazing thing for these people...

I believe more states should get involved and do something like this.

Sometimes it takes more than one to get things moving.


msharmony's photo
Sat 05/16/15 01:09 PM
its tragic whenever someone kills themselves, the pain it leaves behind for their loved ones


prayers to the family of the deceased

no photo
Sat 05/16/15 08:52 PM
My son was injured, pretty bad while in the Marine Corp. He was sent to Camp Lejeune after the surgeries to recoup in the wounded warriors group.

While the Marine Corp, itself took good care of him, ( his immediate report was constantly on the phone with the VA on his men's behalf), they too were frustrated.

the VA was a total mess. Everything was a problem. getting doctors appointments, paperwork done, physical therapy.. everything. Nothing was easy. confusion and delays everywhere.

All he wanted, all we wanted, all the Marine corp wanted was for him (and all others like him) to be well.

And that should not be a lot to ask.

Until that point I never really understood just how screwed up that department is... it is VERY screwed up


no photo
Sat 05/16/15 09:29 PM
my grandfather served in air force and navy, i dont really know specifics but he was always saying he was having trouble with the VA. it really is sad that veterans are suffering because of lousy management and policies from the VA.


VA Refuses to Help Injured Vet ’10-Feet’ From Hospital Entrance
“I know it sounds counterintuitive because someone is just 10 feet away, but it is our policy to do that"


A U.S. military veteran was denied help by a Veterans Administration hospital in Seattle despite being only 10-feet from their emergency room entrance.

According to the Seattle Times, the incident began when 64-year-old Army veteran Donald Siefkin stepped down and heard a snap in his foot on Feb. 27 while taking his wife across Washington state to Seattle’s international airport.

As his foot began painfully swelling to the “size of a football,” Siefkin, being 230-miles from home, rushed to the nearest veterans hospital after dropping off his wife.

At 3:30 a.m Siefkin pulled into the emergency room entrance of Seattle’s veterans hospital and, unable to walk, called the front desk for assistance.

Instead of immediately sending help, Siefkin says the employee began asking why he was attempting to visit a hospital so far from home. After a brief argument, the employee refused to provide help and demanded Siefkin call 911 before abruptly hanging up the phone.

In audio of the 911 call, which was made at around 3:40 a.m., Siefkin can be heard attempting to elicit help from emergency services.

“They won’t come out and get me, do you believe that?” Siefken says. “They told me to call 911 and hung up on me.”

After a short wait, Siefkin was met by first responders and wheeled into the emergency room, where hospital workers refused to let him stay the night after placing a boot on his foot and prescribing him painkillers.

Unwilling to drive under the influence, Siefkin was forced to take the four hour drive back home where he was finally able to take his pain medication before falling asleep.

Responding to the Seattle Times, Chad Hutson, spokesman for the Veteran Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, defended the action, alleging that the employee followed proper protocol.

“I know it sounds counterintuitive because someone is just 10 feet away, but it is our policy to do that,” Hutson said . “Our policy is no different than Harborview or Swedish or other hospitals in Washington.”

The hospital quickly changed its stance on the incident shortly after the Times requested a copy of Siefkin’s medical files.

“After a complete review regarding this Veteran’s visit to the VA Puget Sound Seattle campus emergency room, we have determined we did not do the right thing to ensure the Veteran had assistance into the emergency room,” the statement said.

The VA has since met with Siefkin and apologized, promising that the mistake would not be duplicated on a fellow veteran.

“They said they’re sorry and they’re going to change things so this doesn’t happen again,” Siefken said. “That’s all I really wanted.”