The recent news articles about unsanitary conditions at the Salt Lake VA Medical Center are troubling, but they are not the norm.
My experience with the VA started last year when I received a chest X-ray as part of my physical exam. Shortly after the exam I received a call from the VA telling me that I had a spot on my lung that needed to be examined. An on-the-ball, sharp-eyed VA doctor had looked at my x-ray and saved my life. They got me in for a biopsy in one week. It came back positive for lung cancer.