Why the Veterans health system is better than you think

November 11th, 2015

“At the West Haven VA, Suzanne Gordon spent a day at one of the system’s 13 Blind Rehabilitation Centers. These residential facilities serve some of the 157,000 veterans who are legally blind or the one million who suffer from the kind of low vision that makes it difficult for them to navigate daily life. Here, veterans whose private-sector ophthalmologists or optometrists may have dismissed their particular ocular disease by saying, “There is nothing further to be done,” spend multiple weeks in an inpatient residential program learning how to function in daily life. Therapists—who have themselves spent hours wearing goggles or glasses that simulate the vision problems of their patients—teach them how to walk with a cane, cook, do leather or woodwork, or use computer programs that are specially designed to allow them to recover daily function. When they return home, they take special microwaves, iPads, iPhones, computers, or other equipment with them, courtesy of the VHA. The private sector does not offer any similar inpatient residential program with such extensive benefits.”

To read more of Suzanne Gordon’s article please visit: Prospect.org