In October, Army Reserve Maj. Leslie Haines walked into the Fort Wayne campus of the Northern Indiana VA Health Care System for her regularly scheduled appointment at the PTSD clinic.
The session had been on the books for months; Haines says she attends appointments like clockwork to treat her “high-level PTSD, that’s often exacerbated” by her civilian job — counseling troops and veterans.
But on Oct. 9, the clinic receptionist told Haines her appointment that day had been canceled.
The reason?
Mental Illness Awareness Week.
The staff, it seems, was attending a guest lecture on resiliency from an inspirational speaker.
“Do they see the irony in that?” Haines said. “I was thinking, I’m glad it wasn’t National Suicide Prevention Day.”
Haines, a prior-enlisted soldier who served as an MP at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and was injured in Kirkuk, Iraq, is executive director of Lutheran Military Veterans and Families Ministries in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Now in the medical evaluation board process, Haines relies on the Veterans Affairs Department for most of her health care. She says the care is good — when VA doesn’t mess with her appointments.
“When I questioned whether I could reschedule, I was told no and reminded that I had an appointment scheduled for the following month.”
Northern Indiana VA Health public affairs officer Jennifer Baran-Prall told Military Times that health care providers were invited to the speaking engagement but not required to attend.
If they did, however, they could earn continuing education credits.
Baran-Prall said the event had been scheduled since August and hospital staff was supposed to notify patients of any appointment cancellations, first by phone and, if the patient could not be reached, via postcard.
“There was only one instance in which a veteran was not contacted directly and was instead sent two notifications,” Baran-Prall said.
According to VA, appointments for 19 veterans at the system’s two campuses were rescheduled.
Haines said she received no notification or phone call and was unable to reschedule through the scheduling system. Her provider did squeeze her in during lunch time the following week.
“He’s fantastic. His schedule is packed full,” Haines said.
She received an apology about the “mixup” from a hospital administrator but has filed a complaint with the VA Inspector General over what she sees as a violation of VA scheduling policy — that someone other than herself or her provider canceled the appointment.
She has not received a response and says she’ll pursue the issue to make sure it doesn’t happen to other veterans.
“This was definitely one for the ‘you can’t make this s— up’ file,” Haines said.■
