Area veterans got their chance to sound off about their quality of care at the Fort Wayne Veterans Hospital today.
Nearly 150 veterans spoke with Congressmen Stutzman and Jeff Miller of Florida-- and expressed their concerns.
"There's a lot of veterans here that are entitled to be take care of because they did raise their hand and step forward and said, 'I'll serve,'" says Army veteran Don Lamecooly.
Some veterans said older veterans were receiving inadequate care; others said they were denied jobs that were supposed to be reserved for veterans.
The congressmen promised change, but one vet said he'd believe it when he sees it.
"I will see after times gone on and whether they contact me and let me know, and we'll also actually see if the changes are being put into place, whether it was an impact from the meeting today," Army veteran Gerald Willis said.
Other concerns were patient wait times and the lack of parking.
Some say they've gotten tickets parking near the hospital.
"Parking is a huge issue at the hospital. It wasn't originally built to have the daily traffic that it's got coming through, and it now has a clinic and a lot of inpatient care that's being taken care of," Congressman Miller said.
The Congressmen toured the hospital this morning-- then met officials to discuss a proposed expansion that could add mental care and increase inpatient services.
"The administration has proposed a budget for the VA which increased the budget about ten percent from this year over last, and that shows that there is demand, because he have more veterans coming home," Congressman Stutzman said.
They say Fort Wayne's growing veteran population makes a VA expansion necessary-- and could be open by 2015.
At today's forum, the congressmen also took questions about other issues.
And one of the most asked was about jobs for veterans.
Congressman Miller said it's one of the next issues he plans to bring up in congress.
Nearly 150 veterans spoke with Congressmen Stutzman and Jeff Miller of Florida-- and expressed their concerns.
"There's a lot of veterans here that are entitled to be take care of because they did raise their hand and step forward and said, 'I'll serve,'" says Army veteran Don Lamecooly.
Some veterans said older veterans were receiving inadequate care; others said they were denied jobs that were supposed to be reserved for veterans.
The congressmen promised change, but one vet said he'd believe it when he sees it.
"I will see after times gone on and whether they contact me and let me know, and we'll also actually see if the changes are being put into place, whether it was an impact from the meeting today," Army veteran Gerald Willis said.
Other concerns were patient wait times and the lack of parking.
Some say they've gotten tickets parking near the hospital.
"Parking is a huge issue at the hospital. It wasn't originally built to have the daily traffic that it's got coming through, and it now has a clinic and a lot of inpatient care that's being taken care of," Congressman Miller said.
The Congressmen toured the hospital this morning-- then met officials to discuss a proposed expansion that could add mental care and increase inpatient services.
"The administration has proposed a budget for the VA which increased the budget about ten percent from this year over last, and that shows that there is demand, because he have more veterans coming home," Congressman Stutzman said.
They say Fort Wayne's growing veteran population makes a VA expansion necessary-- and could be open by 2015.
At today's forum, the congressmen also took questions about other issues.
And one of the most asked was about jobs for veterans.
Congressman Miller said it's one of the next issues he plans to bring up in congress.
