New Mexico Veteran Died Waiting For An Ambulance At VA Hospital

veteran died waiting for an ambulance

Albuquerque, NM – VA medical staff at the VA hospital in Albuquerque stood by as a New Mexico veteran died waiting for an ambulance 15 minutes to wheel him 500 yards to the emergency room on the other side of the VA building.

Common sense was clearly not present that day when Jim Garcia died waiting for life saving care. In a tragic story of ineptitude and bad policy, VA employees followed policy but let Garcia die instead of taking action and coming to his location to provide care.  Or, in the alternative, they could have wheeled him themselves to the VA emergency room on the same property.

Across the country, bad VA policies are being unearthed by similar tragedies. Meanwhile, VA and its employees hide behind sovereign immunity to avoid liability as veterans die. It’s time to fight back against VA ignorance and tomfoolery. Vote wisely this November and hound your local officials into taking action to protect the interests of their electorate.

[Watch News Footage On Garcia Death Here]

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14 Comments

  1. The VA is obsessed with liability more than anything. Every phone number you dial at my VA says immediately: “If this is an emergency, please hang up and dial 911”. Yep, they are there to help you.

    1. YES INDEED!
      And ” IF You Feel like you are going to hurt yourself or others Hang up and Call The V.A. Crises Line So & So Number. I must say I`m starting to feel, Like Hurting “Others” The Damn V.A. Employees,That are`nt Doing the Job they get paid Too Much to (not Do.) (Just Kidding, So, Don`t send the FBI after me)
      IN Ok City V.A. Hospital, You get a recording IN EVERY CLINIC, Saying, “Due to high call Volume We are unable to answer your Call Leave a Call back Number” It`s been like that Every Day for over a month. You “Can” Leave a number, But, THEY NEVER CALL YOU BACK!! The Operator is answering the phone, and Will connect you to Whatever Clinic, But NO ONE IS ANSWERING THE DAMN PHONE, EVER.You still get that same Recording. I`ve been trying for About a Month & a Half to make an Appointment to the Neurology Dept. IF I were able That would put it out till November. I`m not making this up. Give it a try, You`ll see! 1-405-456-1000
      I live in Texas, I have to drive 400 Miles (Round trip) to get to Ok City V.A. & Back. So, They give me PLENTY of time to PLAN That Trip, But, First, You have to make the Appointment. Have`nt Figured out how to accomplish “That” Mission.
      I even Sent a load of Messages thru the “Secure Message system” on MyhealthEvet. I get “I Will Forward your message to the Clinic” NOTHING. HAVE THEY SHUT DOWN?
      NA,
      They`re all on vacation Spending that “Bonus Money”

      1. My VA created a policy that your primary healthcare person (usually an NP) has to make referrals to other clinics. I went into the ER after a bad fall and the ER MD wrote my NP about needing further treatment and nothing happened. My NP waltzed me around the hospital for nine months before an MRI. She would blow things off and in her notes state: “Per Protocol”. (Apparently I am on a bad boy list for complaining too much.) Point is that most referrals come from primary clinics. I cannot call a specialty clinic to schedule an appointment–not the first time anyway. As for NP’s, I think they have been trained to defer and delay serious treatment so as to facilitate upstream bonuses. If you sue for it the lowly NP that takes the ding and not a MD because she “ignored” MD’s advice.

  2. Rest in peace, Jim Garcia. Thank you “Brother” For your Service you provided, And the Sacrifices You made for “Our” Country.

  3. That Movie I mentioned in my earlier post on (How the V.A. Has changed) was “Article 99” Made in “92” (I thought it was older) Ray Liotta, Was also in it. But It shows a really messed up V.A. Healthcare System, And the Lengths some Vietnam Vet`s were forced by circumstance to act on. It will (Never) come out on T.V. It`s too Anti Govt.

  4. I CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT THERE IS NOT ONE DECENT STORY TO TELL ABOUT THE VA. I KNOW THAT FOR 35 + YEARS THEY HAVE BEEN “ROYALLY” DOING ME IN, BUT EVEN I HAVE SOME THINGS POSITIVE TO SAY.
    NOTHING IS 100% ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

    1. Vets start burning down va centers across the country that would be a positive story. when they start arresting and putting these azz clowns in prison for the crimes they have done for decades then I think you will get your positive story.

      1. “Burn down the Barn to get rid of the Rat`s” & “Shoot your self in the Foot” Comes to mind. I Disagree on Violent Revolt. I am pissed off too. BUT, I DO understand your Point.( Accountability) In WASHINGTON (And) The V. A. From The Top, To the guy that mops the floor. The Volume of “New” Veterans That “WONT TAKE THIS” Will Hopefully push them into doing What we Paid them for “In Blood”. Should Spark changes. This new Bill 4801 “Access to Care Act” Is a small step In the right direction. But to take “A” Step is far from the long March to get what The U.S. Veteran Deserves.
        A step & then “Mark Time” is what the Govt always does. “Let`s do this to shut them up for a while” This has GOT TO CHANGE. or there may be Violent Revolt. I don`t want that and I don`t think you do either. A LOT of good people would get hurt, Jailed, or worse.
        I Believe That a Veteran should be able to go to ANY Hospital that is Licensed to Operate in this “OUR” Country and Bill it to the V.A. Bonus Cuts Until They are “EARNED” by giving the Vet`s the Best They can give, EARN that Fat Govt. Paycheck, And Firing Those that DON`T.
        PAY SOME DAMN CLAIMS!! Git rid of the DELAY & WAITING for years. Etc.Etc.
        We have a L-O-N-G Way to go. I`m old, I`ll be dead But, The Veterans that follow me I PRAY will Finally get their “Just Reward” for their Sacrifice that Many have paid for with their lives. It`s Long Overdue.

  5. This is clear evidence that the VA executives, VISN administrators and VAMC managers, have created a stifling blanket of regulations and “policies” and “directives” that mirror perfectly the same kind of bureaucracy in Russia & the former Soviet Union. The painful truth is that many VACO executives and SES staff are undeniable liberals & socialist progressives. And well-connected enough to get hired at VA and become a millionaire in less than 10 years. All these VACO staff earn over $300,000 per year, plus bonuses and other perks. But for all the taxpayer salary they rake in, no performance is demanded. Nobody in the American corporate world with any ethics or common sense would hire any of these bastards. They have no record of performance other then their falsified self-exam forms to get their bonuses. Fortune 1000 corporations and all Americans reward performance only, and fire such laggards. But VA knows it gets yearly funds from a group of suckers. Gina Farissee says VA has to pay top dollar to retain this “talent” or lose them to the private sector. Really? Not in the good ole USA corporate world.

    These are not examples of a bureaucracy that has merely run amok; instead these absurd and idiotic rules and policies were in fact “designed” to cause these types of consequences, and inflict harm. Evil necessarily lacks foresight since all evil is selfishness incarnate, as we have here. All of this was not reckless bureaucratic stupidity. A similar incident occurred at the Bay Pines, FL VAMC a few years back where a VA employee who was not a veteran was denied VA ER care and died by the time he got to another local hospital, St. Pete General. He was 300 feet from the ER entrance.

    The VA is NOT a benevolent healthcare and disability benefit system, it is a Malevolent criminal organization that defies the clear intent of laws passed by Congress and even the Title 38 CFRs (rules) that VA itself writes through its General Counsel staff. We call such criminals “thugs” since their behavior shows it. One can read the CFRs and see the plain language used, and then discover that there are a host of VHA & VBA & BVA “directives” and policy guidance memos that completely contradict the written laws and in many cases dilute it entirely, such as Voc. Rehab’s self-employment option for veterans to chose. VBA did this to Ben just recently. Unless you discovered VBA’s M28 manual and rules therein, you wouldn’t know Ben and others get screwed by VA staffers who know the law but defy it for their sole convenience and the disadvantage and loss to veterans — and their families. This is blatant criminal fraud since VA staff have to lie to get you to believe it. Or destroy your records, or put you on a waiting list, or cancel your appointments, or place you under a patient security flag and force you to check in with VA police and/or escorted by them to all you care and contacts at VA. They’ve shown without shame they are practiced in these criminal arts. Even retaliating on witnesses and whistleblowers, whether VA employees or veterans themselves. All are game to VA.

    These people are brute thugs that hide behind suits and ties with malicious intents and consequences. When you finally see them as such, its easy to understand how they operate. If I ever had the pleasure of cross-examining Willy Gunn, the VA General Counsel, I have no doubt I would rip him into a sniveling wimp via interrogation in open-court, on the record. That’s why he resigned. That’s his golden parachute and immunity to testify to Congress, even under subpoena. Only a few of the House VA committee ask really pointed questions to embarrass and corner the many VACO officials who came and lied without shame. The arrogance displayed to date by VA officials is stupefying for the fact that they just don’t seem to care how they are viewed by the public. Just like most other criminal syndicates that are cash-heavy and immune from prosecution.

  6. Really? Is the AmericanVeteran a mole for the republican party? If you got a comment about the topic post it but don’t disgrace this veteran sight with that FOX News bullshit excuse of blaming the president for the U.S. veterans fight with the VA for their rights to good healthcare and compensation benefits on every sorry ass excuse that the assholes in the Republican Congress are using to stall this nation into a civil war or something. Everyone in this country with half a brain know that the VA hasn’t changed in 40 years and the economy was a bust at the end of the Bush term caused by the terror attacks of 2001 along with the patriot act. What an asshole you are.

    1. Hey, thin-skin!

      Anybody here that reads my comments here regularly knows I’m not a Republican.

      I am an equal opportunity hater of both Republicans and Democrats.

      Sorry to crush your fragile hold of reality.

      Not.

    2. Well, I believe the V.A. “Has” changed in the last 40+ years, I was there. I remember when the place was filthy, Full to capacity in every waiting room, With babies crying and people fighting. Men once Whole wandering the hallways urinating on the floor and Babbling to themselves or Ranting at people. The Employee`s sitting at a desk with their feet on the desk. Not giving a damn about the backed up line at the counter, Eating potato chips and talking about their boyfriend to other Worthless Employees, Laughing & cutting up like they were at the prom. Phones Ringing , Nobody paying any attention to them or the long line. Living it up on that fat Govt Job, Not doing a damn Thing. If you said anything & pissed them off, They`d put you in the L-O-N-G line.That was 1972. It was a damn mess. They were finding dead veterans in Full Rigor 10 to 12 hrs after they had died.INSIDE THE Damn Place. Yep, It is better than it was, But, It still has a Hell of a long way to go to pass the reasonable Smell test. I`ve been under V.A. Health care for 43 years. I`m a hard man to kill i guess. But, It has changed….a little.

      1. I remember a movie “Artical 51 ” or something like that “I Think” but, Keefer Southerland Played a new to the Profession And the V.A. Very young V.A.Doctor. (Maybe a Resident) Anyway, If you can. Watch that, It will give you an Idea of the V.A. “Back in the day”

  7. Ben says, “Vote wisely this November and hound your local officials into taking action to protect the interests of their electorate.”

    Just as importantly is to be pro-actively engaged with other American citizens about who and why this country is failing.

    Remember the tens of millions of Obama voters who chose a guy who promised them the moon, but instead delivered higher gas prices, an economic depression unrivaled since the last great one, class warfare that pits groups against each other, spying on American citizens, selling out Main Street to Wall Street, targeting law-abiding folks with the IRS, demonizing supporters of the U.S. Constitution, forcing government into your healthcare, allowing the VA to continue to screw over veterans, lying about a video that supposedly encouraged the murder of military veterans overseas, continuing to engage in unlawful wars that injures and kills America’s bravest, giving drug dealers access to guns, and inviting in millions of foreign invaders to replace you on your job and force you to pay higher taxes for their welfare babies?

    It’s these folks you need to have a serious sit-down chat with.

    Otherwise NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE!

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