Interagency Consult. One Vha To Another

[Rockhound]

I'm just received an appointment date for a interagency concult I had requested, since I have personal issues with the local ENT specialist They have in essense, have given me only three, maybe four business days to arrange transportation to and from this other VA hospital, that is about a three hour drive away.

If I take a Bus and or Train, I will have to arrange for a place to stay, due to the time of the scheduled appointment. Appointment being a week from this Monday on the 12 Aug. at 10:00 a.m.

I have received no word if transportation is going to be furnished, given I do not drive and I need the use of my electric wheelchair away from home, plus the need fo Oxygen at night when I sleep. The other VA hospital does not have a Hospitality house in which I could stay, would have to arrange local motel room and besides my wheelchair, I would have to arrange transport of my Oxygen concentrator machine, since bottled Oxygen would be impractical and against bus and train regulations for the number of bottles I would have to take.

I am at a loss as what to do, besides transportation dept., to see what might be arranged. Who would I see to make sure If I qualify for mileage should I have to provide my own transportation?

This is all new to me and I don't know what I am supposed to do.

Rockhound Rider B)

[Rockhound]

Thought I would add, my PCP was helping me with this and she quit her job at the Hospital and I have yet to be appointed a new PCP and may not for 30 days or more.

Usually when I ask for an appointment they make it for about a month from now, Like I said, given scheduling restaints for alternater or private transportation, I only have about three maybe four business days to arrange anything, since just making an arrangements to get into town takes three days prior to when I want to go in.

Believe it or not, given the short time to arrange transportation, it is almost as costly to take a bus as it is to take a train and in both cases, I have to arrange the handleing of my chair.

Rockhound rider.

[purple]

Have you called your county VSO office? Usually they provide transport for vets, at no charge, to/from all appts. If not, then talk to someone at your VAMC like a pt advocate and let them know that you require transportation to & from this appt. I believe they are required to furnish transportation.

take care,

[Pete53]

At your VAMC there may be a transportation department. I know that in Dallas they have a bus that takes Vets back and forth every day and with notice will even pick up in other cities. You need to call and ask. Use the number on your pill bottle and punch 0 and ask to speak with the office that handles transportation.

Good Luck

Other sources would be DAV and other Service Organizations.

PS I am moving this to Claims

[LarryJ]

Contact the number that Pete told you about. Then call the patient advocate office.

In most VA Medical Centers there are an abundance of Veterans Service Orgs which also office directly in the Medical Center. Most states have a state-sponsored VSO (in TX it's the Texas Veterans Commission) that will help you. Usually, if you've had to hang around the VAMC very much you will have seen the transport vans. Some VAMC's have inter-site buses to get vets between one VAMC and the next, for instances just like yours. I know that the VAMC in Bonhman, TX, has a regular bus service service between Bonham and Dallas VAMC. We're talking something along the lines of a "big dog".

[Rockhound]

I know our local VSO provide some services like you mention with in our State, but I don't know if they have services that run to another state, even if the distance is no further away than some areas, they provide in State. I know when they sent me to San Franciso, all transportation was provided, but that procedure was the result of findings here and this other procedure could not be done here, since they were not set up for it.

This time I made the request and my PCP got it approved, I am wondering if it amounts to the same thing. If so, then I shouldn't have to worry I guess. But I am still nearly a day away from finding out anything and that is only if I get a live person to talk to and not a recording that would delay things that much longer.

Why must the VA always seem to mail out these kind of notices so that they reach us on the week end? They want us to notifiy them as quickly as possible if we can not make the appointment, but when it comes to notifying us, they give us little time to arrange our own schedules.

I'm sorry, it's hard for me not to worry over things like this, I have anxiety issues that get triggered under any undue stress and getting in to see a Dr/specialist that I do not have a history with, is a big deal for me, to see that it gets done, now that an appointment has been made.

Rockhound Rider B)

[Rockhound]

When I made my request for the interagency consult about six months ago, I also looked into transportation, now I am told I don't qualify because I make to much money on SSDI. I was told as long as it was SC they would pay my travel, now, no way hose.

I looked into transportation and given the different schedules for a train, or bus, the train being cheaper, however, both schedules do not allow me enough time to get from the station to the VA hospital in time without staying the night before and the night after my appointment at a motel. The approximate cost for transportation and hotel is about $200 to $225 dollars and that doesn't cover my meals, nor am I sure that I can get near enough to the VA hospital so that my electric chair can get me from the bus stop to the hospital without running out of juice before the day is out, nor would I be able to take my oxygen concentrator with me, since it is to large for me to handle by myself. oxygen bottles are out of the question also, except maybe one or two small bottles I could carry on my chair.

It appears it would be cheaper for me to see a civilian ENT specialist and hope they can provide me with the comprehensive examination I require for my claim.

I'm not only nearly house bound, I am most certainly Reno, NV bound. No means, No mas. I'm nearly at the point of taking up residency at the VA Hospital hear and tell them that they have me so messed up, now they can take care of me from now on. I about crazy enough now to do just that. All it would take, I think, would be to stop taking my psych meds to do the trick and let the voices do the rest. He He Ha Ha Their coming to take me away He He Ha Ha the men in white coats, to the funny farm we'll go, He He Ha Ha, their coming to take me away.