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CCVS Steve Balczo - Getting Emergency Care at Non-VA Facilities · Brian Thomas

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  Speaker 1: I'm KRS the talk station.
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  Speaker 2: It's seven forty two KRCD talk station. It's time for
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  Speaker 2: Steve Belso from the Clemic County Veteran Services to talk
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  Speaker 2: about emergency care in a non VA facility. Steve, it
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  Speaker 2: is great having you back in Man. Thank you again
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  Speaker 2: as always for what you're doing for the American veteran.
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  Speaker 1: It is great to be with you, you your.
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  Speaker 2: Crew at Klemic County Veteran Services, and of course a
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  Speaker 2: shout out to everybody at the VA who's serving our
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  Speaker 2: American veterans to the best of their abilities. But sometimes,
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  Speaker 2: as I understand it, veterans have to go to a
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  Speaker 2: non VA facility and that sure sounds like out of
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  Speaker 2: network provider for us straight to you know, who didn't
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  Speaker 2: serve the American military.
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  Speaker 3: It's well one, yes, it is right, Yeah, it's life.
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  Speaker 3: And so if I'm out of the Cincinnati area and
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  Speaker 3: I happen to be traveling down to Florida as most
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  Speaker 3: retirees do, why I don't know, I want to go
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  Speaker 3: to Alaska. Nonetheless, it's your choice. When you're out of
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  Speaker 3: state and out of our area. Who knows you're a
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  Speaker 3: veteran with VA healthcare and.
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  Speaker 2: All the vas aren't hooked up to some central computer
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  Speaker 2: that says, yeah, this guy that came in with his
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  Speaker 2: DD two to fourteen discharge and who signed up for
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  Speaker 2: VA healthcare benefits in Hamilton County or Claremont County or
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  Speaker 2: any of the other areas, they don't have a note
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  Speaker 2: a record of that elsewhere.
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  Speaker 3: Not that's in transition. So whole another conversation.
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  Speaker 2: They're moving in that direction, though, is that like a
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  Speaker 2: glimmer of hope There not even a glimmer.
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  Speaker 3: Of hope that that is happening by location. And so
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: Serna was purchased by Oracle that sold it to the
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  Speaker 3: VA so that all the VA facilities can have a
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  Speaker 3: connection through our great cloud. Right, it's not floating overhead.
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  Speaker 3: So now I can go from VA facility to facility
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  Speaker 3: and oh there's Steve, right, I see you, instead of
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  Speaker 3: being stovepiped into your VA locale only.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, but this is.
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  Speaker 3: This is more really the the emergent topic today is
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  Speaker 3: about I'm traveling down seventy five and I'm in the
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  Speaker 3: middle of Georgia and my my chest starts killing me.
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  Speaker 3: Your arm is godlib Yeah, I need to pull off
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  Speaker 3: at a hospital well, I'm not trying to find a
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  Speaker 3: local VA hospital to go to exactly. It's an emergency.
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  Speaker 3: So I'm going to take the first hospital I see now.
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  Speaker 3: In Cincinnati area, most hospitals know are you a veteran?
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  Speaker 3: And to call the the Cincinnati VA. The problem becomes
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  Speaker 3: when we can move out of our area locally, most
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  Speaker 3: hospitals are not asking you.
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  Speaker 1: Are you a veteran?
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  Speaker 3: Do you have VA healthcare?
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  Speaker 1: Really?
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  Speaker 3: And so it's up to the responsibility of the veteran
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  Speaker 3: or the veterans family to contact the VA within seventy
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  Speaker 3: two hours.
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  Speaker 2: All right, Steve's going to continue on this very important
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  Speaker 2: subject matter when we return. It's seven forty five right now,
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  Speaker 2: fifty five KRC the talk station. I get to strongly
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: recommend fast and pro roofing.
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  Speaker 1: I just put it fifty five KRC the talk station.
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  Speaker 2: Way, it's seven seven fifty fifty five kr z the
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  Speaker 2: talk station, Tima sitting comic. Let's start over right, Plima
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  Speaker 2: County Veteran Services. Steve Bell Zone Studio, the executive director.
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  Speaker 2: He is providing great service as an American veteran and
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  Speaker 2: it's a great first stop for veterans issues out there,
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  Speaker 2: maybe even getting signed up for VA benefits getting to
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  Speaker 2: your appointments. Clemon County Veterans Services does it all, and
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  Speaker 2: God bless them for it. So going into getting emergency
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  Speaker 2: operative word care at a non VA facility. Your example, Steve,
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  Speaker 2: was maybe on vacation in Florida, you got a grabber
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  Speaker 2: going on while you're driving a car. All you want
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  Speaker 2: is the nearest hospital. It's not a VA hospital, So
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  Speaker 2: you go there, you get your emergency treatment. That is
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  Speaker 2: not to say you can go to an urgent care facility.
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  Speaker 2: It needs to be an emergency facility.
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  Speaker 3: That's right, absolutely, yeah, sort of.
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  Speaker 2: Proving that it is in fact a medical emergency, not
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  Speaker 2: just loadable.
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  Speaker 1: Well, well was right there. I just saw walk on it.
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  Speaker 3: If it's non emergency base, then you would find a
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  Speaker 3: local VA facility, which you can do outside of state.
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  Speaker 3: But if it's an emergency, the VA wants you to
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  Speaker 3: call nine to one one. Yeah, preferably right, instead of
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  Speaker 3: driving yourself or have a spouse or someone of significant
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  Speaker 3: interest take you to a non the closest hospital.
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  Speaker 1: Let's say it that way.
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  Speaker 2: Those circumstances, when met, results in the VA paying for
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  Speaker 2: the services at an n VA facility.
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  Speaker 3: Correct, Correct, They there's a caveat to this though.
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  Speaker 1: Is welcome to life. It's this government run So I
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  Speaker 1: just say it is right.
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  Speaker 3: And so here's here's the misnumbers that most individuals don't
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  Speaker 3: know if they have VA healthcare, especially those who use
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  Speaker 3: the VA for one hundred percent of the healthcare their
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  Speaker 3: primary care physician. Uh, they're part of a pack team
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  Speaker 3: somewhere and I have one never been told this. I
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  Speaker 3: learned this by a veteran coming to our office saying
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  Speaker 3: the VA is not paying for my husband's two weeks
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  Speaker 3: in the emergency room. And my service officer says, have
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  Speaker 3: they called the VA number?
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  Speaker 2: Red flag for VA families out there? Here's here's the
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  Speaker 2: ultimate point on this. Yes, you'll get the payment covered,
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  Speaker 2: but what do you have to do to make sure
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  Speaker 2: that happens?
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  Speaker 1: Steve Belzo, that's right.
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  Speaker 3: You need to call if you can find if you're
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  Speaker 3: at a VA, ask them for the community care card
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  Speaker 3: because on it is a phone number. It is eight
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  Speaker 3: four four seven two four seven six four to two.
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  Speaker 3: And I suggest veterans and your spouses take a photo
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  Speaker 3: of this that you have it resent on your phone
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  Speaker 3: or save it as a phone contact number. So if
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  Speaker 3: the veteran loved one is actually in the v VA
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  Speaker 3: system for healthcare and has to visit the emergency room.
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  Speaker 3: It's imperative that they let the hospital know they have
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  Speaker 3: VA healthcare.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, so right out of the gate, that'd be the
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  Speaker 2: first step. Second step is, while they're getting the emergency care,
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  Speaker 2: hopefully it's short term turnaround, they're in and out, they
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  Speaker 2: can call this VA number. Now you said the number
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  Speaker 2: was eight four four.
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  Speaker 3: Seven two four seven two four seven eight four to two.
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  Speaker 2: Seven eight four to two. I just want to make
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  Speaker 2: sure it was repeated to my veteran friends and families
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  Speaker 2: can get that down. So what happens if you don't
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  Speaker 2: reach out to the VA and call that number within
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  Speaker 2: seventy two hours?
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  Speaker 3: Now you've got a I won't call it a fight.
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  Speaker 3: You're not promised. It becomes from will to question a right.
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  Speaker 3: So it's how it's filed. Most hospitals in our Cincinnati
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  Speaker 3: area know to report to the VA and ask are
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  Speaker 3: you a veteran? However, it's always best to double up
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  Speaker 3: the effort and ensure that someone from the family is
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  Speaker 3: calling the VA.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, it's a pleasing thing to hear that our local
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  Speaker 2: hospitals typically ask the question whether or not they're covered
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  Speaker 2: under VA. Does the hospital unilaterally then contact the VA
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  Speaker 2: for the family. So I just want to make sure
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  Speaker 2: we're clear on this. Is it the norm for them
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  Speaker 2: to do it? In other words, this condition, this phone
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  Speaker 2: call has been satisfied by a hospital that asks whether
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  Speaker 2: you're covered by the VA. Never take it for granted,
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  Speaker 2: I knew you to say that, set It's.
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  Speaker 3: One of those things. Double down on something like this.
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  Speaker 3: Hospital emergency rooms are expensive, right right.
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  Speaker 2: And of course the hospital wants to get paid, so
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  Speaker 2: it's in their best interest to call the VIA because
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  Speaker 2: that's where the reimbursement's going to come from.
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  Speaker 3: It is, however, you don't know of the discipline and
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  Speaker 3: the initiative of the individual that was the intake in
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  Speaker 3: the emergency room to follow through to notify the VA.
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  Speaker 3: So I would, because of the cost of these things
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  Speaker 3: ensure for me. Hey, Mama, have this card. It is
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  Speaker 3: a photo and I want you to call it within
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  Speaker 3: seventy two hours. What if I'm incapacitated. What if I
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  Speaker 3: did have a heart attack and they put me in
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  Speaker 3: a coma automatically, I can't tell her. Hey, make sure
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  Speaker 3: you call the VA, right, So this is for the
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  Speaker 3: family members as well as a veteran to know this number,
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  Speaker 3: because a family member can call the VA on behalf
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  Speaker 3: of the veteran to notify them. My dad, my husband,
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  Speaker 3: my uncle is currently an emergency room, just arrived here
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  Speaker 3: and he's contacted and you may have to know his
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  Speaker 3: last four is his social but somebody immedia Famili's got
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  Speaker 3: to know that.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, having practice in the insurance coverage at realm law
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  Speaker 2: when I was practicing law, whether or not something is
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  Speaker 2: truly a definitional emergency, that quite often is it none
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  Speaker 2: until you get in there and they determined that, well
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  Speaker 2: it's not an emergency. Is that going to be a
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  Speaker 2: factor here? I mean, if I think I'm having a
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  Speaker 2: grabber heart attack, go in and it turns out no,
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  Speaker 2: you have gas, right right, I won't know that until
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  Speaker 2: going to the emergency room, but it may be deemed
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  Speaker 2: non emergent situation.
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  Speaker 3: You won't. But however, somebody had to validate that in
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  Speaker 3: the emergency room. Okay, right, you're not a physician, neither
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  Speaker 3: am I I would rather be gas and someone bend
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  Speaker 3: me over, like, oh maybe then it actually be a
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  Speaker 3: heart attack.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you get no argument on that, Steve
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  Speaker 1: sure Safe. I don't know.
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  Speaker 3: Some people don't want to have the gas attack, they'd
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  Speaker 3: rather have a pill under their tongue.
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  Speaker 2: But it doesn't sound like that's going to be a
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  Speaker 2: really a big problem for someone. So if you clearly
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  Speaker 2: are not in an emergency situation, you're not going to
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  Speaker 2: have it covered in an AVIA facility. But if you
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  Speaker 2: do go in, you leave its emergency. Maybe it is,
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  Speaker 2: maybe it isn't.
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  Speaker 3: Now for mental health, right, so we go to the
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  Speaker 3: Compole Act, right, that's automatically tied in. It's mental health.
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  Speaker 3: Stay there, we want to get you well. The VA
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  Speaker 3: is not going to come grab you out of the
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  Speaker 3: hospital either. If you go to the emergency room, you're
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  Speaker 3: not contacting them. So they send the ambulance over because
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  Speaker 3: we're going to take you over to the VA. No,
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  Speaker 3: they want to ensure you're stabilized, right.
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  Speaker 1: All right.
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  Speaker 2: Joe Strekker will add this information with the blog page
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  Speaker 2: fifty five caresee dot com. But remember the number eight
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  Speaker 2: four four seven two four seven eight four to two.
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  Speaker 2: Get the card, the community care card from your VA.
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  Speaker 2: Go to the Clarmont County Veteran Services and get their
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  Speaker 2: help It's all there for you take advantage of it,
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  Speaker 2: and yes, you will be covered as long as you
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  Speaker 2: take the proper steps. And that's why we have Steve Belzo.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely God bless you, sir. Have a wonderful Easter Man,
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: Happy Year it is.
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  Speaker 1: Well, yeah, he's risen. Thanks brother, Take care. Seven