😡 Why we should stop blaming the healthcare system 😷
Back in the fall I went to a conference organized by the VA and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation for military caregivers. Everyone I met was wonderful and dedicated and very nice to me despite my open skepticism about their work.
Propping up unpaid caregivers with a minimum of support so the healthcare system can continue to exploit our love for our families is problematic, but also we live in a world where doing that has the biggest immediate impact on helping caregivers. So while I'm critical, I'm also grateful for what they do and have a deep respect for them.
Articles about the VA and the healthcare system in general seem to operate on the unspoken assumption that they're responsible. As if it's the VA's fault every time a veteran commits suicide or isn't able to live a fulfilling life with their injuries.
Sure, the VA is there to care for veterans. Everyone deserves healthcare that supports every aspect of the mind and body. But if the VA isn't able to provide someone with the care they need, that isn't automatically a sign that the VA has failed.
The VA didn't set up a world where we feel it is necessary to send soldiers to war. The VA didn't create a world of mass produced homes and products designed for some mythical "average" man and his nuclear family. The VA didn't teach us to value ourselves based on our ability to earn money. The VA didn't create a culture where acknowledging emotions is seen as weakness. The VA didn't train us to view interdependence as the ultimate shame.
The healthcare system is a mess. But no healthcare system can thrive when it's embedded in our culture.
PS. If you'd like to get better at coping with the stress of caregiving without all the suggestions to take up yoga or be grateful for everything, join me for a free 7 week program in self care for people allergic to self care.
PPS. Speaking of understanding how the healthcare system fits into the broader culture, do you know how I can better understand the lived experience of healthcare in other countries? Most sources discuss medicine and statistics, not what it's actually like to be a family caregiver embedded in a healthcare system.
Two sources I've found incredibly helpful in understanding other healthcare systems (and that have thus helped me understand the US system) are The Nordic Theory of Everything and A Tale of Two Cancers. Are there any others you can add to the list?