The Longest Response Ever To A Yes Or No Question
Transcript runs something along the lines of …
“Y’know, Rick Shinseki serves because he thinks deeply about veterans .. cares deeply about the mission .. ah, ah, and .. Rick’s attitude, ah, ah .. he doesn’t want to let veterans down .. so I’m sure he’s not gonna be interested .. ah, solving the problem .. working with us to do it .. I’m gonna do everything in my power .. to help that process .. but I’ll be waiting to see what, ah, ah .. the results of this revue process, ah, ah .. yields .. I don’t know yet .. know how systemic this is .. I don’t yet know ah, ah, are there other facilities that have been cookin’ the books .. or is this just ah, ah, an episodic problem .. ah, ah, ..
ah, we know that .. pause, pause, pause .. that essentially wait times .. ah, pause, ah .. have been a problem for decades .. ah, in all kinds of circumstances in respect of the VA getting better .. in terms of healthcare etc .. ah, some facilities do better than others .. ah, ah, .. pause, pause .. a couple of years ago the veteran’s affairs set a goal .. ah 14 days for wait times .. ah, pause, ah .. what’s not clear to me is that enough tools were given to ensure that those goals were met .. ah, ah, and ah, pause, ah .. I won’t know until the report .. ah, ah .. is put forward .. pause .. ah management follow-up ..
ah, ah .. folks on the front line doing scheduling .. had the capacity to meet those goals .. ah, pause, ah .. blather, blather, blather .. need to find out who’s responsible .. a lotta questions we have to answer .. pause, pause .. let’s not wait for the report retrospectively .. blather, blather .. reach out immediately to veterans who are waiting .. blather, pause, blather .. something we can initiate right now .. we don’t need to wait .. ah, ah, blather, blather .. pause, pause .. ah, to dig in and make sure we’re upping our game .. um, um, pause, pause, um .. uh, ah, eh .. blather, blather .. say that, every single day, there are people working at the VA .. blather, blather, pause, pause.. outstanding work ..
put everything they’ve got .. ah, ah, .. blather, blather .. in making sure that our veterans get the care, benefits and services that our veterans deserve .. ah, blather, blather .. ah, ah, close by sending out a message ah, ah, that .. I get letters of blather, blather .. we have seen improvements on a whole range of blather, blather .. and, ah .. pause, pause .. folks who weren’t even eligible, ah, blather, blather .. so, ah, ah .. that, however, does not excuse the possibility that, ah, ah blather, blather .. folks who need an appointment for a chronic condition .. ah, ah.. blather, blather .. critical to make sure that we have blather, blather, good information in order to make good decisions .. blather, blather ..
people on the front lines to tell me, or to tell someone, ah, ah .. this is a problem, ah, don’t cover up a problem .. blather, blather .. let folks up the chain know .. let folks up the chain know .. and ah, ah, that’s the thing that most disturbs me about the report .. the possibility that folks went and withheld information and, blather, blather .. fix a problem .. ah, ah, there’s not a problem out there that’s not fixable .. folks have to let the folks know who, ah, ah, pause, pause they are reporting to .. ah, ah that there is a problem in order for us to blather, blather .. so that’s it .. “
Can anyone out there explain what he just said?
