Military veterans and members of the public gathered at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veteran’s Hospital Tuesday to voice their concerns about wait times and equal treatment in the Veteran’s Administration program.

Many of those in attendance were displeased with their care at the VA, including Richard Lynch, a combat veteran during World War II and the Korean War. Lynch stressed the importance of having doctors at the hospital who understand what it is like to serve in the military.

“Most of our doctors here have never been in combat,” he said. “They have got to get some doctors who understand what’s going on in wars.”

Another veteran in attendance reiterated that point and gave an example in which a doctor was unfamiliar with Agent Orange, a chemical used by the military during the Vietnam War that has been shown to cause health problems.

Female veterans expressed concerns their voices were not being heard and their needs not met.

Angie, a disabled female veteran, described her experience at the VA as primarily good but said there was room for improvement, especially in treating female veterans.

“I’d ask that you educate your staff that we [female veterans] are coming in waves and that we have different needs from male veterans,” she said.

Many in attendance were pleased with the quality of their care, however.

“I found here a welcome, a healing, that I was never able to get before coming here,” a veteran, who identified himself only as Carl, said. “Being thanked for my service has made a significant difference in my life.”

Addressing the backlog

Of the concerns voiced at the meeting, wait times for treatment was the most discussed issue, with many of those in attendance upset that it took six to eight months to see their primary care doctor.

Robin Werner, a retired veteran, revealed records from 2009 that showed doctors believed her gallbladder was infected. She finally had it removed earlier this year, months after scheduling an appointment.

Werner said the way the VA addressed her pain was insufficient.

“They just shot me up with morphine, patted me on the head and sent me home,” she said.

Much of the waiting was caused by what VA Director Judy McKee described as a “perfect storm” situation. About the same time the VA was averaging adding 350 new patients per month, several doctors retired, went on medical leave or left for other reasons. In total, almost 25 percent of the hospital’s doctors left the facility during the first few months of 2014.

Since then, the VA has added more than a dozen new staff members to account for the increase. It has also obtained a robotic surgery device, which has already been used to perform more than 20 surgeries, McKee said.

The facility, which serves 130,000 veterans in southern Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois, and had more than 620,00 visits in fiscal year 2013, is also a regional referral center, treating veterans within the VA system who cannot be treated at their local VA hospital.

The consensus, though, was that the VA can continue to improve.

“We’ve got the resources,” McKee said, “Now we have to use those resources.”