"The VA has received a lot of bad PR over the last few years, however, after my(our) experiences with the Amarillo VA over the last few days , I feel I need to tell the other side of the story.
When I was at the VA with my dad, the entire staff was nothing short of outstanding. From the volunteers to the custodial staff, nurses, and doctors everyone throughout the facility was caring and helpful. It was apparent to me that they truly cared about our veterans and the care they received.
They also provided me with one of the most moving experiences of my life. We were notified at about 11 last night that dad had passed. My sister and I went to the hospital to be with dad. While we were waiting on the funeral home to arrive we were able to sit with dad and spend some final minutes with him.
The funeral home arrived about 1:20 in the morning. The hospital was quiet, with just the night staff on duty. My sister and I were directed to the hallway where all of the night staff on our floor joined us. The staff lined the corridor and taps began to play as they rolled out my father with a flag draped over his body. There were hands held over hearts and tears streaming down faces of nurses that never knew my father, but knew that another veteran was gone. The Amarillo VA started this ceremony several years ago and now all the VA hospitals preform similar ceremonies for all the veterans they lose.
So the next time you hear something negative about the VA, remember that the front line at the VA truly have a passion for what they do and care greatly for our veterans. To the staff at the Amarillo Thomas E. Creek Medical Center, I salute you."
s/ brother of raiderinark75
I was with dad a couple hours before he passed, unfortunately, my ringer was off on my phone so I missed the call informing us he had died and the ceremony my brother describes above.
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When I was at the VA with my dad, the entire staff was nothing short of outstanding. From the volunteers to the custodial staff, nurses, and doctors everyone throughout the facility was caring and helpful. It was apparent to me that they truly cared about our veterans and the care they received.
They also provided me with one of the most moving experiences of my life. We were notified at about 11 last night that dad had passed. My sister and I went to the hospital to be with dad. While we were waiting on the funeral home to arrive we were able to sit with dad and spend some final minutes with him.
The funeral home arrived about 1:20 in the morning. The hospital was quiet, with just the night staff on duty. My sister and I were directed to the hallway where all of the night staff on our floor joined us. The staff lined the corridor and taps began to play as they rolled out my father with a flag draped over his body. There were hands held over hearts and tears streaming down faces of nurses that never knew my father, but knew that another veteran was gone. The Amarillo VA started this ceremony several years ago and now all the VA hospitals preform similar ceremonies for all the veterans they lose.
So the next time you hear something negative about the VA, remember that the front line at the VA truly have a passion for what they do and care greatly for our veterans. To the staff at the Amarillo Thomas E. Creek Medical Center, I salute you."
s/ brother of raiderinark75
I was with dad a couple hours before he passed, unfortunately, my ringer was off on my phone so I missed the call informing us he had died and the ceremony my brother describes above.
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