Invest In Trees – Invest In VA
Remember the original Biosphere project in the ‘90s that was located in Arizona? They had a problem. As trees grew inside the Biosphere, scientists found that, at certain heights, they would just topple over.
My Grampa Isaacks didn’t talk much about his service in the United States Army Air Corps during WWII in the Pacific. As a young man, I was interested and always asked him questions about war. It wasn’t because of what I know now as an adult, but because I was big into GI Joe as a kid. You know how some memories you have are clearer than others? My grandpa’s home was located in Independence and, although located within a neighborhood, the yard was larger than normal and had these huge soaring trees. My grandpa, who was pretty old even when I was young, was out in the yard one day and I took the opportunity to spend time with him. My fascination with his military service was sparked earlier that day when he gave me an old Army knife, which I later learned was a bayonet knife he carried while serving in the Pacific. Once I got his attention, I asked him why he volunteered. At the time, I didn’t even blink when he shed a small tear as he gathered his thoughts to respond. But he responded by telling me to look specifically at one of the trees in the yard. It was the largest and grandest of them all.
“See,” he said, “nature invests in trees. Whether it’s the soil where they’re planted or the weather that surrounds them, trees seem to thrive during hard times. Trees with the deepest roots often are found in the windiest locations. The pushing and pulling of the wind is gracefully accepted by a tree. It does not just stand rigid in its ways; it accepts the challenges, environmental changes and energy the wind produces. Each time this occurs, it produces stronger and deeper roots.”
Those trees in the Biosphere were not exposed to trials and challenges and, as a result, the roots were never influenced to grow deep.
As my grandpa and I both gazed at that largest and grandest tree in the yard, he told me that a tree, no matter how majestic, is not strong naturally. It’s the investment of everything around it that makes it majestic. He told me that volunteering for military service was the way for him to invest in America and in my future just like nature invests in trees.
The VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) has had a long and every changing history. Recently, a Sergeant Major in the Army I know reminded me that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago and the second best time is today. When I think about my role as Medical Center Director for the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, I choose to make conscious decisions to plant “trees” now - to invest now in change and innovation, not wait until the future comes.
Truman VA will not stand rigid in its ways. We will accept the challenges, changes and energy of the future healthcare environment that will be required to care for Veterans. It won’t be easy. We will try many ideas, innovate as much as we can, and course correct as often as we must. We will learn from others, accept criticism and drive ourselves to be highly reliable. We will continue to break ground with whole heath concepts, Hepatitis C eradication, telemedicine and virtual care. We will continue to lead the healthcare industry in primary care and mental health integration as well as same day services. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s the right thing to do. Healthier Veterans mean a healthier America.
Some of America’s costliest and most complex health care exists within the Veteran population and those health care needs are directly related to the military service they performed for our nation. Addressing, healing and preventing escalation of those health care conditions is not only a moral obligation for all of us, but also a fiscally responsible one. I believe VA is the only healthcare system in the world organized to do this.
Similar to how nature shapes and strengthens trees, America plays an important role in shaping and strengthening VA. America pushes and pulls VA to higher levels of care and comprehensiveness that are often followed by private sector healthcare. Of course, the underlying reason is to provide the best care to American heroes, but it also has global impacts on American medicine.
As a service connected Veteran, what we do now matters to me. I don’t just serve as an employee at Truman VA and then receive health care services elsewhere. I receive the same health care I oversee. I am invested in this hospital to ensure the care for all Veterans continues to improve. As I age, I want a VA that is positioned, ready and capable of caring for my health care needs when I most need them. I encourage all Americans to find ways to invest in VA.
Whether you realize it or not and regardless of whether you are a Veteran or not, we have all benefited from a strong VA. Future generations of men and women who volunteer for military service in America see how America will care for them once their service ends. Whether that service is four years or forty years, how we invest in VA now will continue to be a strong link to ensuring a strong all volunteer military force in the future. A strong VA reflects a strong America!
David Isaacks, Marine Corps Veteran and Medical Center Director at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Columbia, Missouri