- Veterans and families protested outside to keep benefits and staffing.
- Larry Thorsen, a Vietnam War veteran, shared his experience with Whole Health programs.
- Thorsen's program instructor was recently fired, impacting his health improvement.
- The protest highlights ongoing issues with veteran support and funding.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Thursday Veterans and their families protested outside of the Omaha Veteran Affairs Medical Center, advocating for benefits and staffing.
Watch Hannah's story:
Larry Thorsen is a former army clerk, he was drafted during the Vietnam War, and told KMTV reporter Hannah McIlree about Whole Health, which offers personalized classes from assessing your surroundings, and coping with grief to physical classes like tai chi and yoga…
Thorsen said he was working on his mobility in a yoga class until his instructor was fired.
"I was improving my health by taking these classes, and they, they've stopped and I, you know, they were helping me a lot and I'm just discouraged that they're not, they're not gonna they're not gonna keep them," said Thorsen.
His instructor was one of many part-time employees who were fired last month. Thursday U.S. District Judge William Alsup required the Department of Veteran Affairs to offer these employees reinstatement.
However, the Trump Administration is still planning to cut upwards of 80,000 more VA employees.
Danielle Selders, is a military brat her dad was in the service. She organized the protest in honor of her father and the work VA employees do every day.
"That's almost 20% of the VA workforce when we've had an increase in veterans using VA services, 15% since 2019, which are the numbers that they're trying to go back to, so the math just isn't matching there," said Selders about the looming firings.
VA Administrator Doug Collins posted to X on Friday, denying health care and benefit cuts.
"It's just that the VA, especially here in Omaha, is a good organization. They treat you well. I've talked to people that work at the VA and they say things are going to get a lot worse. Your, your times getting appointments are going to get a lot worse because they don't have the personnel to do everything," said Thorsen.
KMTV contacted Representative Don Bacon about the cuts and he sent the following statement:
“I personally know VA Secretary Doug Collins. He says the cuts are being significantly exaggerated. I look forward to seeing ground truth on what the cuts really are. Obviously, I know significant cuts will hurt the care provided to our veterans and would oppose this. Once we see the facts, we can make a better judgement. I’ll provide feedback to the Secretary who I have contact with on my cell phone.”
KMTV also contacted the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System Public Affairs Office but has not heard back yet.
