Many veterans who have choices as to where they can get their healthcare (Medicare with supplemental insurance, company retirement plans, or retired military) use the VA for many reasons. In many cases even medical insurance plans have significant co-pays (need to take into account Medicare part B and the cost of the supplemental plan) but in the case of the VA, your co-pays are minimal or none at all. As a retired military person, I get great medical coverage with minimal co-pays, but it doesn’t include hearing aids or glasses. The VA does. But, the primary reason those with choices use the VA is that we like the care we get. The VA today isn’t the VA of 50 years ago, not even 20 years ago. Since 9/11, Congress recognized that our veterans were not getting the care they should and put pressure on the VA (with a significant increase in funding) to fix the problems, many of which were all over the news. While there is always room for improvement, today’s VA, especially in Maine, ranks as one of the top hospital systems in the country. Since 2012, the VA has tracked their performance and have provided that information to the public. Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning Value Model (SAIL), is a system for summarizing hospital system performance within Veterans Health Administration (VHA). SAIL assesses key quality measures in areas such as death rate, complications, and patient satisfaction, as well as overall efficiency at individual VA Medical Centers (VAMCs). If you are curious how Maine is doing relative to other VA hospital systems or how we rank amongst other none VA healthcare systems, you have access to the reports through the VA website. In Maine, we are fortunate that all veterans have access to the Director of the Maine Healthcare system (Togus) monthly (except during the summer) and can voice issues directly with her. These meetings are conducted via Zoom with access information provided via the Post website (www.post36maine.com) and sent to all Post members via email.

Speaking of Zoom, the Hall now has an installed Zoom system. Two cameras, remote mics and a dedicated computer allow us to connect to the internet and therefore Zoom, attended webinars, live stream using Facebook or any other web-based system. One more reason the Hall should be considered for your events.

The Yard Sale is Aug. 6. This is a community yard sale – $25 will buy you a 10-foot by 20-foot section of the yard. Call the Post (633-4487) to participate.

The next breakfast this Sunday, July 3. Yes, we will be having breakfast the 4th of July weekend! So, if this is a big weekend with family coming from all over the country to celebrate the 4th, why not bring them all over the Legion on Sunday morning and have a relaxing breakfast ... no cooking and no dishes to wash!