The case of the absent allergist at the Portland, OR VAMC
Dear Sec. Bob McDonald, September 14th, 2015
I hope things are going well for you as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Both Congressman Jeff Miller and Sen. Bernie Sanders did yeoman's work to provide VA with sufficient money to solve a few problems. Another couple billion more wouldn't hurt, I know. Included in the budget was this provision: Senate-confirmed VA executives can now be fired for cause. That should allow you to clean up the joint.
I have a very strange problem for which I can't find an answer. I have a drippy nose and it comes on without warning. I also have been coughing up small quantities of sputum for so long that I know what it is called. Some days my eyes water. At times when all three occur together, I become a mess. I'll say it so you don't have to: This summer I was a hot mess. This has been going on for 18 months.
I am pretty sure the problems are all allergies. Just to be sure that I haven't overlooked the obvious, I talked with my Primary Care physician in hopes of finding an answer. He and I tried everything in the VA Formulary to solve the problem and nothing worked. Then he referred me to a number of different specialists. My medical records will tell you who those doctors are. Beyond that my Primary Care doctor tried to recommend me for the new Veteran's Health Care Choice Act so I could see an Allergist outside of the VA. That was refused. My Primary Care doctor showed me the response to his written request. The reason: "Allergists cannot deliver an effective outcome.".
It turns out that among all of those doctors not one was an Allergist. Those specialists are pretty damn mad that the Portland, OR VAMC doesn't have one. Not one. Not even a clinician who specializes in allergies. I tried to find out why. I initiated a request for information from the Portland, OR VAMC patient representative's office and even asked my clinic's social worker. It's a big mystery - none of them had an answer nor could they suggest where to find the answer.
Now, it's not that Allergists aren't part of the medical staff at any VAMC (hospital). I know I saw one in Chicago at Jesse Brown VAMC, and my father saw one at the Madison, WI VAMC. I was with him. A friend of mine is a heart patient at the Iowa City VAMC and he sees one regularly. I took a friend of my father's into Hines VAMC where he saw one. As a patient at West Los Angeles VAMC prior to foot and ankle surgery an Allergist did an extensive scratch test on me.
I doing research for this letter I checked out 17 additional VAMC's. They all had Allergists, too. Why not the Portland, OR VAMC? According to not just the specialists I've seen, but additional doctors in the Emergency Room Portland is unique. Those doctors claim not having one makes their own ability to solve a number of problems for patients damn near impossible.
On behalf of my friends who have been grossed out when my nose drips without warning, the Specialty Clinics' frustrated doctors, my own Primary Care doctor who has done his best to help me, and me, could you please solve our problem?
Bob, I believe I have followed the chain of command leading to this letter to you. Can you and will you help?
Thank you very much,
LLBear