In early 2020, I served as Director of Medical Services for Paralyzed Veterans of America. In that capacity I was responsible for quality of care, access to care, and benefits for catastrophically injured veterans living with spinal cord injury. I worked with VA medical centers nationwide on care that is highly specialized and, for this population, available almost exclusively inside the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The American people support Veterans receiving the finest care, especially veterans with catastrophic injuries connected to their service. The COVID-19 shutdown and vaccine protocols disproportionately robbed these veterans of the care they desperately needed and caused incalculable damage to this vulnerable population.