Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks Director Dr. George Velez traveled to the National Veterans Golden Age Games to support 32 local Veterans, demonstrating his commitment and compassion to local Veteran Athletes.
“Having Dr. Velez come to the games meant the world to me,” said Annie Moore, Army Veteran and RazorVet Athlete. “I love how involved he is with the Veterans and how deeply he cares about all of us. It makes me want to represent Fayetteville VA the best I can at the games.”
Spirit remains unbroken
The National Veterans Golden Age Games are a celebration of resilience, determination and camaraderie among Veterans. These brave men and women who have already given so much in service to our country come together to showcase their athletic prowess, proving that their spirit remains unbroken despite the challenges they’ve faced. For many of them, the games are more than just a competition … they’re a testament to their strength and a reminder that they are never alone.
“I came to the support our Veteran Athletes because what they are doing is life changing. They are taking care of their health by moving and engaging with others. These choices will help them live a longer, healthier life,” Velez said (pictured above). “I am proud of them for taking chances and trying something new. I want them to know how much I care about our patients. They are setting the example for others.”
Topics in this story
More Stories
Bob Jesse Award celebrates the achievements of a VA employee and a team or department that exemplifies innovative practices within VA.
The Medical Foster Home program offers Veterans an alternative to nursing homes.
Watch the Under Secretary for Health and a panel of experts discuss VA Health Connect tele-emergency care.
You wanted to complain so you did. Many vets feel the same. However, the doctor who spends free time involved with pt. activities deserves some recognition. So, well done.
This work at home is baloney, as far as I can see how it works. It doesn’t work. Now, if a worker is disabled, let’s reasonably accommodate.
This baloney when one calls to talk about a special appt and is told to check back in a few days. What name? What phone extension? That is just blowing a pt off. These VA federal GS jobs are great jobs in the USA in our current era in which the movement is to shrink down and eliminate these solid jobs.
Next topic. Twenty years ago I had cancer and had to go to a radiation center 5 days a week for 9 weeks. Waiting in the waiting room, there was a lady oncologist, about 50 yrs, who sometimes came into the waiting room and greeted waiting patients for a brief chit-chat. One never sees these. Physicians have separate hidden entry/exit doors to avoid pt contact. It has always bothered me a bit. That’s it.
Not toput a damper on this event or anything similar but there’s any administrators who do their 9 to 4 thing at the office after which we’re ignored. It’s nice that Dr. Velez supports Veterans in this way. However, I would like to see more administrators directly involved with Veterans at the medical facilities they run. For instance, like making sure that our much-needed appointments aren’t indiscriminately cancelled by staff the night before we’re due to arrive. I’ve had spinal problems that were ignored for a couple of years, so surgery was delayed, and I’m now suffering sequelae. I’m told I can’t be seen by our spinal clinic because I don’t qualify, they won’t refer me to one through Community Care either. I asked for a psych appt to help me deal with the stress of being ignored and the progressive decline in function, only to find out that that practitioner isn’t available because she works out of her home, so staff have to send her a message and she’ll call back at her leisure. Couldn’t get an appointment. A message was left for me to call the main number to the VA, no extension given (certainly not her home number where she works) and you know how that goes- you’re on the line forever trying to track a ghost. A spinal stimulation consult was ignored close to a year and finally got scheduled when I reminded staff it was overlooked. The night before this consult, this very same “psych specialist” cancelled my appointment telling staff I had to see her first. And round and round it goes, no treatment. Weve had 2 major security breaches through the VA not safeguarding our personal information and they’re still allowing personnel to work from home where they have access to all of our data. That alone, should cause some serious concern. I am not the only one in similar circumstances where needed care is ignored. Podiatry limits care to 100% disabled but not even then. The same with dental. I have an appointment for February with a crown that broke. We fight over and over again to get our disability ratings corrected to discover they get increased after fighting for 20-30 years when our life expectancy has decreased to where they end up paying less. But at that time, we’re even closer to death from stress-related problems they caused.