VA secretary: Disney doesn't measure wait times, so why should VA?

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Sarah Westwood - The Washington Examiner


http://i.imgur.com/1hk6O2S.jpg

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald on Monday compared the length of time veterans wait to receive health care at the VA to the length of time people wait for rides at Disneyland, and said his agency shouldn't use wait times as a measure of success because Disney doesn't either.

"When you got to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what's important? What's important is, what's your satisfaction with the experience?" McDonald said Monday during a Christian Science Monitor breakfast with reporters. "And what I would like to move to, eventually, is that kind of measure."

McDonald's comments angered House Speaker Paul Ryan, who tweeted out Monday afternoon, "This is not make-believe, Mr. Secretary. Veterans have died waiting in those lines."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is not make-believe, Mr. Secretary. Veterans have died waiting in those lines. <a href="https://t.co/OxfT3AYzTi">https://t.co/OxfT3AYzTi</a></p>&mdash; Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerRyan/status/734770693687103488">May 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
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McDonald faced questions at the breakfast about the VA's lack of transparency surrounding how long veterans must wait to receive care at VA facilities around the country. The agency has weathered controversy over the past several years due to its struggle to provide timely care for many patients.

[deebakes]

:facepalm:

[fricnjay]

Yea lets treat out wounded soldiers who fought for our way of life in combat like Disney Cast Members. :shakehead:

[RBP]

good lord. :|

[FBD]

Yea lets treat out wounded soldiers who fought for our way of life in combat like Disney Cast Members. :shakehead:

While I respect the personal sacrifices made by our soldiers, we should not kid ourselves about this whole concept of "they fought for our way of life" bullshit. They fought wars so that the banking clans could weasel around actually taking losses, the banks funded both sides of pretty much every war in the last few hundred years, and the MIC gets its gravy train and toys to play with.

All wars are bankster wars, let's not kid each other about the sad truth of that matter. Our poor soldiers who died or got maimed in vain, along with the populace, were bamboozled about what exactly they were going, here there and wherever, to do.

[fricnjay]

While I respect the personal sacrifices made by our soldiers, we should not kid ourselves about this whole concept of "they fought for our way of life" bullshit. They fought wars so that the banking clans could weasel around actually taking losses, the banks funded both sides of pretty much every war in the last few hundred years, and the MIC gets its gravy train and toys to play with.

All wars are bankster wars, let's not kid each other about the sad truth of that matter. Our poor soldiers who died or got maimed in vain, along with the populace, were bamboozled about what exactly they were going, here there and wherever, to do.

I agree but: #1 thats not always been the case and, #2 a lot of them believe that's what they are doing, #3 Isn't that even more reason to make sure they are cared for? Being duped into service by patriotism so some rich pricks can be more rich deserves our compassion as least. :lol:

[FBD]

oh, I'm all for caring for vets. I just dont think people should have any delusions about why we go to "war"

[Muddy]

Actually Disney does absolutely measure wait times, and let you know anticipated wait time before entering an attraction.

[fricnjay]

Actually Disney does absolutely measure wait times, and let you know anticipated wait time before entering an attraction.

Actually very true, plus with their Fast Pass it virtually does away with any wait time. :tup:

[RBP]

Actually Disney does absolutely measure wait times, and let you know anticipated wait time before entering an attraction.

http://i.imgur.com/nqZNh4G.jpg

[Muddy]

http://i.imgur.com/nqZNh4G.jpg

Not when you have it 'fast passed' my friend..

[fricnjay]

We went 2 years ago and used the SHIT out of those fast passes. Had them tied in with the Magic Bands so when we used all the attractions we prepicked we went to the Fast Pass kiosk and added more that where still available. Planning on going back, had a great time! Doubt any Vets say that about the VA. :lol:

[RBP]

Not when you have it 'fast passed' my friend..

I edited the photo obviously.

Vets need a fast pass. problem solved.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

What a jackass this guy is

[Teh One Who Knocks]

FOX News


Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald is scrambling to calm a growing bipartisan firestorm after downplaying veteran wait times at VA hospitals by comparing them to wait times for rides at Disney theme parks.

McDonald made the comments Monday morning, and faced a backlash from Capitol Hill almost immediately.

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., went so far Tuesday as to call for McDonald’s resignation.

“Secretary McDonald’s preposterous statement is right out of Never Never Land,” Blunt said in a statement. “I call on him to resign because it’s clear he cannot prioritize getting our veterans the health care they deserve and have earned in a timely manner.”

One of the toughest condemnations came from Illinois Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat and Iraq war veteran who lost her legs in Iraq and still receives health care at a VA hospital.

“Comparing abhorrent wait times to a trip to Disneyland is unbelievably tone-deaf and hurtful to American heroes desperately in need of care,” she said in a statement. Duckworth, who is running for Senate, said McDonald “needs to comprehensively address the VA's systemic problems -- and that means reducing wait times, improving care and increasing patient satisfaction.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., top Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, also said he was “troubled” by the secretary’s comments and wants to speak with him.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of that committee, said in a statement he was “extremely disappointed in Secretary McDonald’s comparison of the deadly VA wait-time scandal to long lines at an amusement park.”

Even Disney pushed back on the secretary’s comments. A Disney Theme Parks representative told Independent Journal Review that they do in fact “take wait times very seriously” at their parks, and, “A large team of highly trained industrial engineers are tasked with improving our guest’s experiences, from transportation, to guest flow, to ride comfort and certainly wait times.”

McDonald made the comparison during a breakfast with reporters in Washington.

“When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what's important? What's important is, what's your satisfaction with the experience?" McDonald said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan swiftly chided him on Twitter.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump used the remarks to hammer home his own message about the lingering problems at the VA.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Obama’s VA Secretary just said we shouldn&#39;t measure<br>wait times. Hillary says VA problems are not ‘widespread.’ I will take care of<br>our vets!</p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/734794856564936705">May 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The VA later issued a statement on Monday stressing that they are working to better serve America’s veterans.

“This is a solemn duty that we take seriously,” the statement said. “We know that Veterans are still waiting too long for care. In our effort to determine how we can better meet Veterans’ needs, knowing that their satisfaction is our most important measure, we have heard them tell us that wait times alone are not the only indication of their experience with VA and that’s why we must transform the way we do business.”

The VA went on to acknowledge that inaccurate figures can cause “unintended consequences and confusion” like the flawed and erroneous bookkeeping that was exposed in 2014. That year, reports broke that dozens of patients died while waiting for care and that VA employees at some locations made secret lists to hide long wait times. McDonald took over when his predecessor, Eric Shinseki, was forced out.

The VA is the only health care system that makes wait time information public.

Asked Monday by Fox News about wait times, McDonald acknowledged they have issues getting veterans in for care and said they’re working hard to address it.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

I hope he is forced to resign, I'm so tired of these politicians thinking everything is a joke

[FBD]

its not a joke, its flat out fraud