i received a note from dimitris rentzis

on the original posting i did on lance corporal justin bailey. let me correct that, on the DEATH of lance corporal justin bailey - who happened to be the best friend of dimitris rentzis

i wanted to post dimitris' letter. he wanted me to use names, i don't feel quite right about that (i'm sorry dimitris).

Thank you for posting the story in your blog. It is a total shame what happened. Now the VA is trying to prove me a liar claiming the staff was never warned. There are too many phone records, witnesses and taped phone conversations that will prove the staff wrong. I've dealt with people like them before and I learned how to document events when I see the warning signs of a disaster.I have overwhelming evidence that the staff was warned, including Dr. W, who started him on Methadone on Dec 12th 2006. I have phone records to prove that I warned this Dr. W on Dec 8th, four days prior to sealing Justin's fate and starting him on 30 day supply of methadone totally UNSUPERVISED, violating the FDA warning to all MDs about Methadone, issued last November.

The staff that was warned do not return my calls and they did not even show in the 2 meetings the VA held between staff and patients to discuss what happened to Justin and how to "improve" the program. This is how they show their respect for someone that fought for them in Iraq. They are nothing but spineless cowards, that murdered my best friend with their negligence and now hiding behind the VA administration. The main 4 people responsible for this tragedy are: DR W, A (the most incompetant social worker in charge of vets with Post Tramautic Stress Disorder),Dr L(Queen Bee of the domiciliary) and P (careless social worker).

But even if the staff were not warned as they claim, there is still a lot of evidence in Justin's VA medical records by previous doctors that he can not properly self medicate and abuses his medications. Why didn't Dr W and L read his medical records??? Isn't this what doctors are supposed to do in an intake??? I'll tell you why; because they see the vets as cattle that needs to be overmedicated in hope they will OD and won't collect their due dissability benefits. Because they see the VA as a source of passive income to finance their hollywood hills pads.

Plus he died under their watch. He went there to get help. He survived Iraq, street drugs and died under the "safe grounds" of VA rehab.

Plus, common sense tells you if you have an addiction to illicit drugs that that same addictive behavior will carry over to prescription drugs.

What is wrong with this picture? Is this United States in 2007 or some 3rd world country ? Even a Tijuana clinic would provide better health care .....

The media exposure is not finished with this VA. Feel free to post this in your blog.

Sincerely,

Dimitris Rentzis

and coincidentally, i found THIS in attytood today

this is SO wrong in SO many ways

the tip of the iceberg is right. we haven't even seen a TENTH or a TWENTIETH of the problems that are going to happen to the veterans of this UNJUST IMMORAL ILLEGAL war.

we're not equipped to deal with the casualties of the VIETNAM war much less this one. i am sure the va hospitals are OVERWHELMED by the influx of new patients.

all blame must trickle up to king george and his court. ALL of it. for the abuse of our war wounded (both MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY) at our own hands to the destruction of an entire country (iraq) who did us NO HARM at the time we INVADED THEIR country (to line the pockets of many an ol' already rich white boy)

five overdose deaths in a california va hosptial and they ONLY took action when they found out friends and family of those who died were going to go public.

a man, dmitris rentzis, who works on 'king of the hill' befriended one of those overdose victims. when mr rentzis found out about the death of his friend, HE gathered evidence of at least SEVENTEEN times the staff at the va hospital was warned mr bailey was abusing his prescriptions. the staff (allegedly. i HATE to say allegedly but one must) ignored all warnings and mr bailey, VETERAN, is now dead

to the friends and family of marine lance corporal justin bailey, my thoughts and prayers are with you as they are with all of the friends and families of ALL of the men and women who have served and not come back whole

A Fatal Dose

A rash of drug overdoses at a Veterans Administration hospital in California raises new questions about the quality of military health care.

By Jonathan Alter
Newsweek
Updated: 5:58 p.m. ET March 20, 2007
March 20, 2007 - The poor conditions uncovered at Walter Reed Army Hospital may be only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to sub-standard treatment of veterans. At the Veterans Administration hospital in West Los Angeles, hospital administrators confirmed to NEWSWEEK and NBC News last week that five veterans there died of overdoses of illegal and prescription drugs in less than three months this winter. After learning that family and friends of a dead Iraq War veteran were about to go public, VA administrators ordered major policy changes at the 660-bed facility.............