1 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 1: Lute forms. If it doesn't work, you're just not using enough. 2 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:25,960 Speaker 1: You're listening to soft Web Radio Special Operations, Military Mails. 3 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 1: I'm straight talk with the guys in the community. 4 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:36,840 Speaker 2: Welcome to another episode of soft Rep Radio. I am 5 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 2: your honored host, Brad, And first of all, I have 6 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 2: a wonderful guest today. He has a lot of accolades 7 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,160 Speaker 2: on his resume, but I got to mention one thing 8 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 2: that keeps the shop going here, which is our merch store. Okay, 9 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 2: so if you want to support us and you want 10 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 2: to keep seeing my guests like the upcoming doctor Richard Stone, 11 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 2: who are about to interview right now, please go check 12 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 2: out a shirt or a mug and support us and 13 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 2: keep the lights on so I can keep interviews going 14 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 2: like this with passion. So with that said, thank you 15 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 2: so much to my listener for staying in tune with us. 16 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 2: And today I have a very special guest. It is 17 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 2: doctor Richard Stone. General major general, which is two stars, 18 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 2: I believe for those of you that are listening, there's 19 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 2: a rank of structure of generals. You have brigadier general, 20 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:22,839 Speaker 2: one star, major general, two star, lieutenant general, three star, 21 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:27,119 Speaker 2: four stars. You got you know, McCarthy five stars. So 22 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 2: at the end of the day, Doctor Richard Stone has 23 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 2: taken on so many different roles in his career. The 24 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:38,479 Speaker 2: most recent one was from twenty seventeen ish to twenty 25 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,040 Speaker 2: twenty one where he was the Director of the VA 26 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 2: Health and Wellness of the entire VA. This is the man, 27 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 2: he is the commander right here, and I want to 28 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 2: welcome you to the show Undersecretary Doctor Richard Stone. 29 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 3: General Sir d thanks so much for having me and 30 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 3: thanks for the introduction. I appreciate it and looking forward 31 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 3: to spending some time with you and your listeners. 32 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 2: Well, thank you, and I want to let you know, sir, 33 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 2: that I know that you were probably you know, aware 34 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:11,519 Speaker 2: that a lot of my listeners have deployed and they 35 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,679 Speaker 2: are you know, people who serve during your time as 36 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 2: serving and they've stepped in the same sand that you 37 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 2: may have stepped in when you've deployed and were over 38 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 2: the whole medical Italian. But what I want to ask 39 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 2: you is how old were you when you decided? Was 40 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 2: it high school that you wanted to enlist in the 41 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:30,240 Speaker 2: military and the army? Was it you're like, you know, 42 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 2: this is me, I'm a wrestler or what was going 43 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:32,919 Speaker 2: on through your head. 44 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, I was part of the Vietnam era lottery for 45 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 3: the draft, and I was ready to join the military 46 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,799 Speaker 3: at that point and found that my number in the 47 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 3: draft came up over three hundred and if you've read 48 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 3: anything about that era, they took people up to about 49 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 3: one hundred and seventy five or one hundred and eighty 50 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 3: on birth dates for the draft lottery. So I finished 51 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 3: my college and entered after I actually finished my medical 52 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 3: school training. But it was always my intention to join. 53 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 3: It's a fair and complex story that I described in 54 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 3: the book that I wrote on what it was to 55 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 3: lead the VA through once in a hundred year pandemic. 56 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,519 Speaker 3: That book is really described sort of how I got 57 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 3: into the military. But what happened was during that lottery, 58 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 3: one of my suite mates was the number one birthdate chosen, 59 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 3: and he went off and joined the Marine Corps and 60 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 3: was killed in Vietnam. And I always thought it was 61 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 3: incredibly unfair that your service rested on, you know, when 62 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 3: your birth date was pulled out of a bowl of 63 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 3: balls that were ping pong balls that had you know, 64 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 3: birth dates put on at three hundred and sixty six 65 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 3: days with February nineteenth being included. I just thought it 66 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 3: was unf and I was always my intention to join. 67 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 3: Life got in the way. And then after my medical 68 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 3: school I joined as a physician the army and thought 69 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 3: I had really missed the conflict. But when I became 70 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 3: the under Secretary of the VA, I was the first 71 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 3: combat experienced veteran RAD that had served in that position 72 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 3: for thirty years. Now, your listeners are veterans, and they 73 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 3: should know that seventy percent of us are combat experienced, 74 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 3: and of the nineteen million veterans in America, seventy percent 75 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 3: of seeing combat. And we're different. We're different than the 76 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 3: rest of America. Just serving makes you different and an 77 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 3: incredibly unique group. And it's why venues such as yours 78 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 3: are so important to reach out to veterans and help 79 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 3: us connect with each other, because we can talk to 80 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 3: each other a lot more effectively than we can to 81 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:58,280 Speaker 3: people who have never served. 82 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 2: Agreed, Right now, who's listening to us, When they listen 83 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,040 Speaker 2: to this, it might just hit them and that one 84 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 2: person if we could reach them and show them that 85 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 2: they have entitlements through the VA, which we're going to 86 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 2: talk about right and that they have you know, Okay, 87 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:13,280 Speaker 2: all right, let's just crack into it. Let's just get 88 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 2: there general. So let's talk about the big elephant in 89 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 2: the room with the VA, Okay, specifically Salt Lake City. 90 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 2: Let's talk about those hallways. What is going on with 91 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 2: the mile long hallways that my mom had to push 92 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 2: my loving father as she loved my father in a 93 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 2: wheelchair to his appointments and break her feet through as 94 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 2: long hallways as a spouse. All these caregivers who are 95 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 2: there to take care of those members, let's talk about 96 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:41,159 Speaker 2: those hallways. What's the concept behind that? 97 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,719 Speaker 3: First of all, well, most of these facilities were built 98 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:46,919 Speaker 3: a long time ago, and they were built at a 99 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:51,799 Speaker 3: time when the whole design of healthcare was these mega institutions. 100 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 3: We got one like that in Chicago that you know, 101 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 3: has the literally it's a mile long halway. You could 102 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,280 Speaker 3: run the mindle going straight down on a hallway. And 103 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:05,360 Speaker 3: these are carryovers from World War Two when ten million 104 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:09,720 Speaker 3: veterans were coming home and they built many of these facilities. 105 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 3: It's not a model for today's healthcare. And the VA 106 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 3: operates over seventeen hundred facilities, one hundred and seventy five 107 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 3: of which our hospitals, and they're old. The average age 108 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 3: of a VA hospital is over fifty years old. And 109 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 3: I can't tell you how old the Salt Lake City 110 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 3: site is, but it's one of those facilities. It needs 111 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:35,479 Speaker 3: to be redesigned with the concept of today's healthcare in mind. 112 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 3: And it's one of the debates that Congress has each year. 113 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,360 Speaker 3: And it costs too much money, and it takes too 114 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 3: long for us to build a facility, and we need 115 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:47,600 Speaker 3: to get to common design of facilities. It's one of 116 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:49,920 Speaker 3: the things that we were working on in the five 117 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,839 Speaker 3: years I was with the VA from twenty sixteen to 118 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 3: twenty one. We wanted to get to common designs, rapid buildouts, 119 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 3: and we've made some progress in the ambulance area, but 120 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 3: the hospitals still are very difficult to negotiate. And you 121 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 3: go to a hospital like Salt Lake, and then you 122 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 3: go and look at some of the newer hospitals like Orlando, 123 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 3: Flora and Lake Nona. These are spectacular facilities that literally 124 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 3: you can drive into a parking structure, get out of 125 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 3: your car and walk into the neurology clinic without walking 126 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 3: through the rest of the hospital. And this has to 127 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 3: be changed in order to meet the needs of veterans 128 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 3: and their families. Now, the average agent of an American 129 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:33,120 Speaker 3: is about thirty eight years old. The average age of 130 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 3: a veterans fifty eight. So what's your folks experience and 131 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 3: what you guys as a family experience pushing that around 132 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 3: the hallways is it can be really difficult for an 133 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 3: elderly spouse. We have over two hundred thousand veterans now 134 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 3: being cared for in their homes, but they're usually cared 135 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 3: for partially by their venues. And those families are aging, 136 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 3: and it's hard. And you know yourself what you had 137 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 3: to deal with in caring for Dad and what. 138 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 2: You get Grandpa, Yes, sir, that's right. Yeah, Grandpa was 139 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 2: World War Two. He passed away on Christmas Day at 140 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 2: the Salt Lake VA while in the VA, just due 141 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 2: to complications of his own you know, smoking things like that, 142 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 2: that just you know, his own VA stuff that he 143 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 2: was World War two Navy and you know, just kicked 144 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 2: him in the butt. And so there's a lot of 145 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 2: I don't have animosity towards the VA. I hear it 146 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 2: a lot, okay, And I am in this industry and 147 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 2: obviously we're talking I'm talking to the head of the 148 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,600 Speaker 2: VA right now to my listeners. At that point in 149 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:35,680 Speaker 2: twenty twenty one, he was there for, you know, the 150 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 2: Trump administration, and he was there for the transition to 151 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 2: the Biden administration. So what I want to let you 152 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 2: know is that, you know, in front of this gentleman's 153 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 2: name tapes on his uniform said US first before any politics. 154 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,400 Speaker 2: And so I feel right off the bat that the 155 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 2: US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, US brings us 156 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,520 Speaker 2: all together right away. Okay, first of all, we're all 157 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 2: one people. We all bleed red blood, unless I could 158 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 2: be proven otherwise, doctor. 159 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 4: I am. 160 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 3: When we decide to serve, we do so voluntarily, yes, 161 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 3: but that the country bears responsibilities to us. And as 162 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 3: a veteran, you know, I went to the VA because 163 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 3: I thought it was a place that I could really 164 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 3: advocate on behalf of my fellow veterans. And and look 165 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,080 Speaker 3: I was. I was airborne hazard exposed, I was burnt 166 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:30,320 Speaker 3: in exposed. I'm disabled by my service. And you know 167 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:34,280 Speaker 3: you've dealt with your own issues generated by your service, 168 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 3: and ad we need an organization that really advocates for us. 169 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,440 Speaker 3: I get care at the VA and I felt that 170 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:45,200 Speaker 3: I couldn't lead the VA unless I'd gotten my care 171 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:48,080 Speaker 3: at the VA, and luckily I had done so before 172 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 3: I started. There was things I loved about the VA, 173 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 3: and there's things I don't. I get my care comes 174 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 3: out of Washington, DCVA for the most part, and there's 175 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:01,680 Speaker 3: things I love about that facility and things I don't. 176 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 3: It's an older facility, just like you and I have 177 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,679 Speaker 3: talked about are. But you know what I do find 178 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 3: there is that many of the employees are veterans, and 179 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:14,920 Speaker 3: they're there for the same reason that you and I 180 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:19,599 Speaker 3: chose to serve, as well as to continue their lifetime 181 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 3: of service to our veterans. And so I'm actually quite 182 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 3: pleased with my care. I'm not going to tell you 183 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 3: it's perfect, but I'm going to tell you in comparison 184 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 3: to what most of my family have run into in 185 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:34,679 Speaker 3: the civilian space, where it's really hard to get appointments 186 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 3: and it's really hard to get people to integrate care, 187 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 3: like the care that I'm receiving is more integrated. And 188 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:45,080 Speaker 3: when I say that my providers talk to each other 189 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:47,880 Speaker 3: and work with each other for my benefit. 190 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:53,679 Speaker 2: Well, didn't you bring didn't you help foster the electronic 191 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:56,600 Speaker 2: medical system that the VA is currently using right now. 192 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:58,720 Speaker 2: Wasn't that something that you were focused on to make 193 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 2: it kind of like let's paper and more like communicating 194 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 2: with the veterans. 195 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,240 Speaker 3: Before I arrived at the VA, the VA was already 196 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 3: on a electronic medical record system, but that electronic medical 197 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:14,200 Speaker 3: record system didn't talk to my d D records and 198 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:16,559 Speaker 3: the care that I got while I was still inside 199 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 3: d O D. And so yes, you know, I worked 200 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 3: a lot on trying to make sure that my d. 201 00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 4: D records spoke to my VA records. 202 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:31,080 Speaker 3: But you know, another area of really challenge is a 203 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 3: lot of care for veterans is received out in the 204 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 3: commercial space, and getting you know, my doctor who might 205 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 3: see me for some specialty problem to communicate effectively to 206 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 3: my VA provider is something that we've worked on and 207 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:47,880 Speaker 3: have tried to move forward, and I'm going to tell 208 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:52,199 Speaker 3: you it's been pretty disappointing the progress so far, but 209 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:56,280 Speaker 3: we do. You know, the VA performs about two hundred 210 00:11:56,520 --> 00:12:02,720 Speaker 3: thousand ambulatory visits on that trends every day. Somewhere between 211 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:07,479 Speaker 3: twenty and thirty thousand of those is done using technology 212 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:09,599 Speaker 3: enabled visits so that you and I can be in 213 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:13,839 Speaker 3: our home and speak to our position effectively. And what 214 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 3: we found is that those really do best if they're 215 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:23,120 Speaker 3: video enabled. Veterans stay with video enabled visits because they 216 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:27,680 Speaker 3: can judge how the person they're interacting with is behaving. 217 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:31,599 Speaker 3: There's a lot of human communication about our body language, 218 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 3: much more than telephonic visits. And one of the things 219 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:38,200 Speaker 3: we learned during the pandemic, when people were literally afraid 220 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 3: to come to the hospital was that video enabled visits 221 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:47,480 Speaker 3: could be very, very effective. And today, even these years later, 222 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 3: much of the mental health care is done by enabled visits, 223 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 3: and the other advantage of that is you can really 224 00:12:56,559 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 3: see the patient when they're at home, and even if 225 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:04,079 Speaker 3: they're surrounded by their family, you can learn an off 226 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 3: a lot about the dynamics of home rather than the 227 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:11,200 Speaker 3: artificial nature of a treatment room inside a hospital or 228 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 3: an ambulatory clinic. 229 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 2: We all go to the hospital with a little bit 230 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:16,360 Speaker 2: of a mask on our face, like I'm okay, but 231 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:19,960 Speaker 2: I'm here, you know, like okay, I'm at the hospital. 232 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 2: But in your home where you're more open to being 233 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:24,679 Speaker 2: just yourself, and you see maybe in the background there's 234 00:13:24,679 --> 00:13:26,440 Speaker 2: a fireplace, and maybe you see that there's a cat 235 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 2: wrong walking across the monitor, something to keep the veteran 236 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 2: happy while they pet it. You know, you get to 237 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:33,400 Speaker 2: see these types of things and then also talk about 238 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 2: their mental health, which is a huge thing. And let's 239 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 2: just bring it full circle because that's another question I 240 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:43,079 Speaker 2: want to ask, okay, recreational therapy. Okay, why is recreational 241 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,800 Speaker 2: therapy only for certain rated individuals and not for all 242 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 2: veterans who need recreational therapy? I mean, you and I 243 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:52,439 Speaker 2: were talking just previously. We won't get into it, so 244 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 2: we'll talk forever about snowboarding and skiing. That is so 245 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 2: connecting to me. I am so free from all of 246 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 2: anything in my mind when the snow is glittering in 247 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 2: my face, connecting to the hike on the mountains, recreational therapy. 248 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,240 Speaker 2: I had a question on the internet about this from 249 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:13,319 Speaker 2: a disabled veteran. He's a wputee blown up in Iraq 250 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,560 Speaker 2: doing a mission, open up a fridge, inside of the 251 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:18,600 Speaker 2: fridge with all the munitions, and it went, that's all 252 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,240 Speaker 2: he remembers, and he's here in Utah And I said, 253 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 2: what would you ask the VA commander? I said it 254 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 2: right to feet. I was like, what would you ask him? 255 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 2: He's like Rad, ask him why it's not an entitlement 256 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,800 Speaker 2: for all veterans to have recreational therapy available and only 257 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 2: for guys like me. Do you have any thought on that? 258 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:37,840 Speaker 4: Yeah? 259 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 3: I do, and that is that these what we refer 260 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 3: to as whole health approaches not so. Look when I 261 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 3: was trained forty years ago as a doctor, I was 262 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 3: trained to give you various chemicals to make you better. 263 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 3: And that's just the way we did. I did diagnose things, 264 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 3: and I gave pharmaceuticals right some surgery. Now we know 265 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,960 Speaker 3: today that there are a huge number of things, including 266 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:07,600 Speaker 3: the snowboarding and skiing. We were talking about the healing property. 267 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:11,600 Speaker 3: Being out with nature at an altitude surrounded by snow 268 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:15,840 Speaker 3: has huge healing value. And what your listener is talking 269 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,880 Speaker 3: about is the value of various recreational therapies to push 270 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 3: us to our limit. And you know, my physical therapist 271 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:26,800 Speaker 3: can do certain things, but getting out and actually doing 272 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 3: those things are what we want to get our lives 273 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:33,640 Speaker 3: back to. Now, a couple of things. Number One, we've 274 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 3: as we've grown that capability. As Frankly a leader across 275 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:43,040 Speaker 3: American healthcare, we've highlighted some adaptive games in fact, in June, 276 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 3: I'll be out in California. 277 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:49,160 Speaker 4: Teaching people to ski. I'm teaching people to serve, teaching 278 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:49,800 Speaker 4: people to surf. 279 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 3: You know, I'll spend a week in the water helping 280 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 3: disabled veterans learn to serve. 281 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:57,040 Speaker 4: That recreational therapy. 282 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,920 Speaker 3: I can tell you that people just sort of open 283 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 3: up as you're helping them really accomplish either overcoming a fear, 284 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 3: overcoming a problem, and the recreational therapy helps. So let 285 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 3: me get the answer. 286 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 4: To the question. 287 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 3: They're just not enough available, and so we've limited it 288 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:18,920 Speaker 3: to those people that need it, and your friend that 289 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:21,720 Speaker 3: was actually blown up in a rock to be eligible. 290 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 3: The question is they are enough in each community, and 291 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 3: we're trying to hire as much as we can to 292 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,480 Speaker 3: make that go. I think he's right, this should be 293 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:33,920 Speaker 3: part of everybody's health care. Why should it require that 294 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 3: I be disabled by my service to get it. It 295 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 3: should be part of everybody's health care, and its just 296 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,280 Speaker 3: a matter of growing it and then getting the rest 297 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 3: of American health care to really sort of come on 298 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 3: board to believe in what you and I both know works. 299 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 3: That is, sometimes you know, way better than an antidepressant, 300 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 3: is Tai cheap, and you know, there are things that 301 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:56,240 Speaker 3: you can do that really make things go. 302 00:16:57,400 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 2: So like my buddy, he rides in a sled. You know, 303 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 2: he's adapted to skiing and he's hard core charger. You know, 304 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:05,960 Speaker 2: still same mindset, right, just has to sit in a 305 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:07,920 Speaker 2: sled and he just says that pushes him. And we 306 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,640 Speaker 2: like to say, here at soft Rep thrills before pills. 307 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:13,040 Speaker 2: So if we can get the veteran out. You know 308 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:16,760 Speaker 2: Brandon Webb who runs the website, he's taken veterans to 309 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:20,359 Speaker 2: shamine France on ski adventures and helos and he wanted 310 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:23,360 Speaker 2: veterans specifically to make this movie called Big Mountain Heroes 311 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:25,960 Speaker 2: and I'm just getting at it and it's about getting 312 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:28,840 Speaker 2: outside and skiing and snowboarding. He brought these guys from 313 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:32,159 Speaker 2: all over and they flew out to Shamane skied. I 314 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 2: mean even just look at it. His shoulder doing it. 315 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:36,440 Speaker 2: And he didn't get much film time, but it's still 316 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:38,880 Speaker 2: he was really happy to be there because they weren't 317 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 2: popping pills. You know, every time you go someplace, everybody 318 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:42,720 Speaker 2: just wants to say, well, take two of these and 319 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:45,359 Speaker 2: call me in the morning, right, prescribe or diagnose and 320 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 2: prescribe as a doctor's kind of thing, and that's fine. 321 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 2: How can we get them to buy off on prescribing, 322 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:56,119 Speaker 2: you know, like retail therapy or recreational therapy, you know, 323 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 2: to do that. 324 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the vas Co star ready. I think 325 00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 3: it's a matter of growing the workforce to the point 326 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:06,680 Speaker 3: you can do it. And you know, I partnered with 327 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 3: a lot of equine related to you know, horse therapy 328 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:15,280 Speaker 3: and people just and there's about thirteen states that have 329 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:20,000 Speaker 3: horse related therapy. And it wasn't just riding the horse, 330 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 3: it was actually interacting with the horse, which are pretty 331 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 3: intuitive creatures that really sort of know there's something going 332 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 3: on with you. In fact, amazingly, right after I got 333 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 3: home from my Afghanistan tour in two thousand and four, 334 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 3: I ended up out in your area, in the country 335 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,480 Speaker 3: and a place doing some equine therapy, and I had 336 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:44,840 Speaker 3: a lot of trouble interacting with the horse. And I've 337 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 3: been around horses all my life, and I would tell 338 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:51,480 Speaker 3: you that this type of therapy as an alternative to 339 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:58,600 Speaker 3: pharmaceutical treatment is absolutely necessary and should grow. I think 340 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 3: it's one of the things I tried to point out 341 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:04,440 Speaker 3: in the book as you look at the value of 342 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:09,000 Speaker 3: a system like the VA completely dedicated to the care 343 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:13,400 Speaker 3: of veterans as an asset to the United States healthcare 344 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,359 Speaker 3: system and options. There's things we can do that you 345 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:19,159 Speaker 3: just can't do in a regular healthcare system. You know, 346 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:22,480 Speaker 3: if you talk to a regular healthcare system about taking 347 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:26,800 Speaker 3: you referring to, you know, animal related therapy to help 348 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:31,160 Speaker 3: my ability to build and sustain relationships, they look at 349 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:32,720 Speaker 3: you like you're a complete lunatic. 350 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:36,280 Speaker 4: There's some things that we can do inside the VA. 351 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:36,720 Speaker 4: You know. 352 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:39,879 Speaker 3: The VA has four missions. The first is to provide 353 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 3: years in my care, right, I mean, it's of the 354 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:47,840 Speaker 3: nineteen million veterans, about nine and a half million get 355 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:51,119 Speaker 3: their care in the VA. About eighty five percent of 356 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,959 Speaker 3: veterans have other health insurance that don't come to the VA, 357 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 3: and almost universally they say, well, I wasn't as injured, 358 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:02,040 Speaker 3: I wasn't as bad as some you know, as much 359 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:05,480 Speaker 3: he was, I'm not going to take his spot. And 360 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 3: we find that works until they get elderly. And when 361 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:10,960 Speaker 3: they get elderly, we need to get them into the 362 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,359 Speaker 3: system because we do better elder care than almost anybody. 363 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,240 Speaker 3: The second mission of the VA is to do research 364 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:19,600 Speaker 3: on these sort of things that we've been talking about, 365 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:23,000 Speaker 3: and they do about four billion dollars worth of research 366 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:28,760 Speaker 3: on service related diseases and wounds of war. The third 367 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 3: thing is they're the primary trainer of new physicians and 368 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:36,680 Speaker 3: nurses and other medical professionals in the nation. One hundred 369 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:41,840 Speaker 3: and twenty four thousand people in training, including physician residents, 370 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,840 Speaker 3: show up every day in the VA to be trained. 371 00:20:45,359 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 3: And the fourth mission, which was really the focus of 372 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,720 Speaker 3: the book, was to be the backstop for the American 373 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:55,280 Speaker 3: medical system when it's overwhelmed. And you know, people recognize 374 00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:58,760 Speaker 3: the role of the VA in really backing up the 375 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:03,480 Speaker 3: American healthcare system when it's completely overwhelmed. And this case 376 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 3: of twenty twenty and twenty one, as we dealt with 377 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 3: the COVID pandemic, is when we really exercise that mission extraordinarily. 378 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:19,120 Speaker 2: You know, you have a book and I'll just drop 379 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:21,919 Speaker 2: it right now in this conversation, doctor Stone. You're the 380 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:25,119 Speaker 2: author of Save Every Life you Can, a reflection on 381 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:29,479 Speaker 2: leadership and saving lives during the COVID nineteen pandemic. I 382 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 2: just want to say, first of all, I never thought 383 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 2: i'd read that title, Okay, or live through such an 384 00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:38,600 Speaker 2: event myself and have to as a business owner by 385 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:40,720 Speaker 2: to all the rules that were being put out there 386 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:44,679 Speaker 2: to us by our state and federal guidelines. CDC. You know, 387 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,920 Speaker 2: everybody coming in with two cents on the pulpit saying 388 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 2: this and that, and here you are with the US 389 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:52,679 Speaker 2: in front of your name, realizing you have all of 390 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:56,119 Speaker 2: these men and women underneath your command, if you will, 391 00:21:56,240 --> 00:22:00,399 Speaker 2: that need to be saved and protected while losing staff members. 392 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,239 Speaker 2: I believe if I did a little research, around one 393 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 2: hundred and fifty people of what I read you lost 394 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:08,679 Speaker 2: as staff members in the VA just from COVID, just 395 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:13,240 Speaker 2: that disease attacking them, that virus and taking their lives. 396 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 2: These people who were just there to do the volunteer work. 397 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:19,120 Speaker 2: They were veterans, people helping caregivers, bringing their pets into 398 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 2: pet let veterans pet them. COVID hit those people and 399 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,080 Speaker 2: took them from our lives and their families' lives. And 400 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:28,800 Speaker 2: here you are nineteen million people, eight point something million 401 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,679 Speaker 2: of them coming into the VAS to get service. They 402 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:33,800 Speaker 2: need it. They got to have cardiologists, you got to 403 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:37,120 Speaker 2: have heart surgery. Still, but no, it's all halted. Everything's 404 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:40,360 Speaker 2: being halted non major surgeries. What's going through your mind, sir? 405 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 2: I mean here you are. 406 00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:42,359 Speaker 4: Look. 407 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 3: I came to the VA thinking that I needed to 408 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,919 Speaker 3: fix the access to healthcare problem, and I ended up 409 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:50,600 Speaker 3: doing something that nobody had done for one hundred years, 410 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:54,639 Speaker 3: and that is to lead America's largest healthcare system through 411 00:22:55,320 --> 00:23:00,840 Speaker 3: a one sent of century pandemic and completely overwhelmed our 412 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:06,480 Speaker 3: healthcare system, overwhelmed our supply systems, and challenged us as 413 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:11,439 Speaker 3: significantly as the nineteen eighteen influenza pandemic that began in 414 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:15,200 Speaker 3: the United States Army and cost so many millions of lives. 415 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:18,320 Speaker 4: Around the world. Man, maybe as many as fifty million lives. 416 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 3: Little did I know that more than the two million 417 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:25,960 Speaker 3: Americans would lose their lives to the COVID pandemic. What 418 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 3: was going through my mind was as follows. I was 419 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,880 Speaker 3: put there for a reason. I've always trusted that God 420 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:34,600 Speaker 3: put me wherever I was supposed to be for a reason. 421 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 3: I was the only combat experienced veteran to lead this 422 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 3: organization in thirty years. I'd led soldiers in combat, I'd 423 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:45,919 Speaker 3: lost soldiers in combat. I was there for a reason, 424 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 3: and we built the organization in order to be flexible 425 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,880 Speaker 3: and agile enough to take this on. There are nine 426 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,400 Speaker 3: hundred and fifty thousand hospital beds in America. In those 427 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:00,760 Speaker 3: nine hundred and fifty thousand hospital beds is they're about 428 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:03,760 Speaker 3: eighty five to ninety percent filled all the time with 429 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:07,160 Speaker 3: Americans that need health care. So you can pretty quickly 430 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:11,399 Speaker 3: figure out that you don't have a lot of healthcare 431 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:15,119 Speaker 3: beds available. And we were thinking that as many as 432 00:24:15,119 --> 00:24:20,400 Speaker 3: one hundred million Americans might get COVID very quickly, and 433 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:25,080 Speaker 3: of those hundred million Americans, we might need somewhere between 434 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:28,800 Speaker 3: ten and fifteen million hospital beds when we only had 435 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:32,240 Speaker 3: one hundred and twenty five thousand to offer. My job 436 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 3: representing twenty five thousand hospital beds in my system was 437 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:42,720 Speaker 3: to focus on the patients most in need. So we 438 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:47,160 Speaker 3: focused the system on the most critically ill patients. And 439 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:51,159 Speaker 3: if you remember in March of twenty twenty, when New 440 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:55,439 Speaker 3: York was screaming for help, most of that help was 441 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 3: needed in southern parts of New York and Manhattan and 442 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 3: the Bronx and boroughs of New York City, and they 443 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:04,439 Speaker 3: needed a lot of help. And that was the first 444 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:09,000 Speaker 3: place that we began accepting civilians into our system. Now, 445 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 3: we needed to do that by taking the most critically 446 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 3: ill patients that needed the most support. And our job 447 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:22,840 Speaker 3: was to unload the civilian system while still maintaining the 448 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 3: ability to support veterans, even the nine million veterans that 449 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 3: hadn't come to us. Our feeling was when their own 450 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 3: healthcare system was overwhelmed, they were going to turn to us. 451 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:37,320 Speaker 3: They needed to create rooms. So we grew our system 452 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,720 Speaker 3: by four thousand beds. Now, you opened this discussion with 453 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,919 Speaker 3: a discussion of Salt Lake City and the mile long hallways. 454 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:50,240 Speaker 3: Those mile long hallways were what allowed us to reconfigure 455 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:54,000 Speaker 3: the VA to literally, within a period of weeks, grow 456 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:58,160 Speaker 3: four thousand critical care beds and to take very critically 457 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:02,720 Speaker 3: ill patients off the hands of many of the civilian hospitals. 458 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:04,119 Speaker 4: Let me give you an example of that. 459 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 3: After Katrina, our hospital in New Orleans was destroyed, we 460 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:13,200 Speaker 3: rebuilt that hospital. And when we rebuilt that hospital after Katrina, 461 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:18,040 Speaker 3: we built it so it was ultimately configurable and literally, 462 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:22,919 Speaker 3: in a period of seventy two hours, the hospital leader 463 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:27,280 Speaker 3: in New Orleans, when he realized that the New Orleans 464 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:31,760 Speaker 3: hospital system was being overwhelmed, converted that entire hospital into 465 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:35,399 Speaker 3: one hundred bed I see, and we were able to 466 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:40,760 Speaker 3: fill that with critically ill patients and save as many 467 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:42,960 Speaker 3: lives as we could. And that's where the title comes 468 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,280 Speaker 3: from of save every life you can. 469 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,160 Speaker 2: Right, and again, let me just reiterate what the title 470 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:51,119 Speaker 2: of that book is, because there's a lot. It's a sentence, 471 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:55,280 Speaker 2: save every Life you can, a reflection on leadership and 472 00:26:55,359 --> 00:27:00,000 Speaker 2: saving lives during the COVID nineteen pandemic, written by General 473 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:04,119 Speaker 2: doctor Stone here okay, under Secretary for the US. The 474 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,080 Speaker 2: guy knows what he's talking about. You should check this 475 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:09,080 Speaker 2: book out. Just open up your mind and see what 476 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,080 Speaker 2: his mind had to deal with and what he wants, 477 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,359 Speaker 2: what he wants to talk about, you know, and read 478 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:16,160 Speaker 2: about that and check it out. I'm sure that it'll 479 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:18,000 Speaker 2: be a part of our book club. Soft Rep has 480 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,159 Speaker 2: a book club that we do and I can I'm 481 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,120 Speaker 2: sure brand would love to throw that into the rotation. 482 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:23,520 Speaker 2: Those of you that are a part of our book 483 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,080 Speaker 2: club listening software book club check it out. But I 484 00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:27,760 Speaker 2: just want to put that out there, you know, love 485 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:29,399 Speaker 2: to have it in the rotation. We have about a 486 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:31,920 Speaker 2: thousand books in our book club that we generate through 487 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:35,879 Speaker 2: our members. Now, I mean here I am. I just 488 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:37,400 Speaker 2: get to sit in front of a fire and host 489 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:40,280 Speaker 2: a podcast, and you're sitting here running as a commander. 490 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:42,399 Speaker 2: You know you have so much on your plate. What 491 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:44,840 Speaker 2: is it that you do to do? You do tai chi? 492 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:46,200 Speaker 2: Is that what it is that you find? 493 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:46,320 Speaker 4: Like? 494 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:48,560 Speaker 2: What if you got thirty minutes to do something and 495 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:50,720 Speaker 2: step away, take a beat, what is it that you 496 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:51,080 Speaker 2: go and do. 497 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,879 Speaker 3: I've always believed i'mond and marathon, not a sprint, and 498 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:58,679 Speaker 3: I need to measure myself and harder. Measuring yourself is 499 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:03,000 Speaker 3: to find balance. Balance includes demonstrating the ability to go 500 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:06,480 Speaker 3: home and sleep at night. I love exercise and I 501 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,880 Speaker 3: love the bike ride, and you know, in the winter 502 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,120 Speaker 3: months I stationary Biomo peloton guy. 503 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:15,480 Speaker 4: But I love the kayak. I loved to horseback ride. 504 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,560 Speaker 3: And so you know, I think there's things you do 505 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:20,520 Speaker 3: to find balance. But I think what you expect of 506 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,240 Speaker 3: your leaders. I led three hundred and sixty three thousand 507 00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:29,720 Speaker 3: people through the pandemic when I was in the Uniform 508 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:32,639 Speaker 3: Services as a deputy and Surgeon general. There were sixty 509 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:34,040 Speaker 3: thousand people that work for me. 510 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:34,960 Speaker 4: I think you. 511 00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:39,840 Speaker 3: Find balance by always recognizing the fact that you're not 512 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,040 Speaker 3: the smartest guy in the room. You need your whole 513 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:46,600 Speaker 3: team to help you through whatever challenge you have, and 514 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:48,800 Speaker 3: you must remain the calm and the. 515 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:49,640 Speaker 4: Center of the storm. 516 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,320 Speaker 3: When people were in meltdown of oh my gosh, we're 517 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:56,080 Speaker 3: going to be overwhelmed and the entire country is going 518 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,640 Speaker 3: to be overwhelmed, you had to take a step back 519 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 3: and say, we weren't a safe gave people one wife 520 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,000 Speaker 3: at a time, and your opportunity is to do the 521 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 3: same thing that you did when you were in the service, 522 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:10,320 Speaker 3: and that is you had a lot of big responsibilities, 523 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:12,920 Speaker 3: but you took care of the person to your left 524 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:15,600 Speaker 3: and to your right, and that's what you took care 525 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:18,720 Speaker 3: of as you narrowed your focus. And I remember the 526 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:22,200 Speaker 3: first time I was fired on in combat. It was 527 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:25,800 Speaker 3: amazing the narrowing of focus that came down from all 528 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:30,400 Speaker 3: the worries I had to simply survival from the engagement 529 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 3: and survival of the people that were just around me. 530 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:37,800 Speaker 3: And I think those are unique experiences, and I can't 531 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,320 Speaker 3: tell you how important I think that was to my success, 532 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:44,239 Speaker 3: as I was able to put a team together that 533 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,480 Speaker 3: did some pretty extraordinary work as it worked its way 534 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:51,520 Speaker 3: through this once at a hundred year event, and so 535 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 3: rat what do I do? I try to always remain 536 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:59,360 Speaker 3: as humble as I can, always focus on the fact 537 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,719 Speaker 3: that my is to be the calm pillar in the 538 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:04,080 Speaker 3: center of that storm. 539 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,600 Speaker 2: Calm pillar. See I take notes, I do I have notes, 540 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:11,600 Speaker 2: calm pillar. Let me write that down. I think we 541 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 2: were just talking about lighthouse earlier. Remember that we had 542 00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:16,040 Speaker 2: a little lighthouse conversation. I was like, I don't want 543 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:21,480 Speaker 2: toot my horn, calm pillar. So as a calm pillar 544 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 2: and finding your own zen because you're human. I know 545 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:26,520 Speaker 2: you got rank, I know you got stars, You've got 546 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 2: cars of flags on them, you got details following you everywhere. 547 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,760 Speaker 2: You're an important individual in that job, in that role. 548 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:33,880 Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, I'm sure you 549 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:37,240 Speaker 2: have a family life, a support system that's there on 550 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:40,440 Speaker 2: the home front for you, am I right? Yeah, And 551 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,560 Speaker 2: they're there to support you through Like when everybody comes 552 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:45,120 Speaker 2: to you. My mom would always say, you know who 553 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:47,600 Speaker 2: do I get to go to? Who do I go 554 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:50,800 Speaker 2: to to convent? You know who do I everybody goes to? Mom? Right, 555 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 2: everybody's coming to you to vent, and it's like, who 556 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 2: do you go to event, do you go up the chain? 557 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:55,200 Speaker 4: Right? 558 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:57,240 Speaker 2: And so do you feel that you had since you're 559 00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:59,560 Speaker 2: out now, do you feel that you had a viable 560 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:02,200 Speaker 2: chain of communication or excuse me, let me start over, 561 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:04,880 Speaker 2: a clear line of communication with your chain of command 562 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:06,720 Speaker 2: that was above you. 563 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:11,840 Speaker 3: Yes, I was blessed with a secretary and secretary Wilkie, 564 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:15,880 Speaker 3: who was a veteran. He understood exactly I was talking. 565 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 3: He the first time I met him, I sort of 566 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 3: laid out where I wanted to lead the VA and 567 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:23,920 Speaker 3: he said to me, he said, dexter Stone, I'm not 568 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:25,200 Speaker 3: of this of your world. 569 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 4: He said, I'm not a healthcare guy. 570 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:29,440 Speaker 3: He said, I have a pretty clear idea what I 571 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,360 Speaker 3: want done and what I want done for veterans. But 572 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:35,480 Speaker 3: he said, I need you to execute. And he said, 573 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:37,960 Speaker 3: you also need to be honest enough to come to 574 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,600 Speaker 3: me and tell me what you need. Well, if you remember, 575 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 3: early in the pandemic, we had the governor of New 576 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:48,160 Speaker 3: York screaming for thousands of ventilators, right, and you know, 577 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 3: I think he was doing that in good faith, but 578 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 3: he was being informed by people who were in a 579 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,800 Speaker 3: worst case scenario saying, you know, you might need sixteen 580 00:31:55,840 --> 00:32:00,360 Speaker 3: thousand ventilators. Well, you know, if it wasn't that many 581 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,400 Speaker 3: in the country, and should we give them all to 582 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:07,680 Speaker 3: New York City. And there was some tough issues that 583 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:11,160 Speaker 3: had to be tackled, and only a cabinet secretary could 584 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:14,120 Speaker 3: take those on. And I think the cab I think 585 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:19,080 Speaker 3: Secretary Willkie did a spectacular job in responding to my needs. 586 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 3: And so I went to him to decompress. I He's 587 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:24,360 Speaker 3: the guy that would come to me and say what 588 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:27,400 Speaker 3: time you go home tonight? You know what became, you know, 589 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 3: twenty three twenty four hour job. He was very affective. Now, 590 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:34,040 Speaker 3: let let's go back to family. You know, my wife 591 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:36,080 Speaker 3: is a veteran. She's an Army veteran. I met her 592 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:39,080 Speaker 3: in the Army. He was driving a five ton truck. 593 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:43,200 Speaker 4: When we met. That's hot, you know, I mean. 594 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:47,920 Speaker 3: She had an extraordinary understanding of the stress of service 595 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:51,920 Speaker 3: and as part of After September eleventh, two thousand and one, 596 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:54,960 Speaker 3: you know, there wasn't a year that I wasn't gone 597 00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:58,520 Speaker 3: I think at least one hundred and seventy nights until 598 00:32:58,560 --> 00:32:59,960 Speaker 3: I retired in two thousand and four. 599 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:00,320 Speaker 4: Team. 600 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:04,080 Speaker 3: And you know that can strengthen or weaken a relationship 601 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:07,320 Speaker 3: for us at strengthen those and I think that those 602 00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:09,600 Speaker 3: are the sort of things that helped me, you know, 603 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:12,400 Speaker 3: get through this. And and so my chain of command, 604 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:16,520 Speaker 3: both inside and big family as well as inside the VA, 605 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:20,200 Speaker 3: was extraordinarily important. And you see the people around you 606 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:23,360 Speaker 3: and your veteran friends and in your own lives where 607 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:24,440 Speaker 3: family is important. 608 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:25,280 Speaker 4: Clearly. 609 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:28,960 Speaker 3: Look, your dad's flag is behind you, you know, right. 610 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,640 Speaker 2: It's you know, and my mom's pictures there with it, 611 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:34,720 Speaker 2: just because they're both that same hard charger. 612 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 3: But your family is part of your resilience in life, okay, 613 00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:45,040 Speaker 3: and so is your spouse. And when you think about 614 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,920 Speaker 3: with your listeners, there are listeners that have resilience and 615 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:51,680 Speaker 3: there are those that are really teetering on the edge. 616 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:55,160 Speaker 3: And what we need to do as veterans is to 617 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,280 Speaker 3: make sure we're reaching out to all of those that 618 00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:01,200 Speaker 3: are teetering on the edge and helping them their foundation 619 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:05,200 Speaker 3: and to get the resilience that allows us to go forward. 620 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:08,359 Speaker 3: And I would imagine if you're having a bad day, 621 00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:11,040 Speaker 3: if I said get the snowboard, let's get up on 622 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:13,720 Speaker 3: the mountain. When you came back off of that mountain, 623 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:17,160 Speaker 3: you may be sore and tired, but you're gonna say 624 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:21,520 Speaker 3: it's gonna be okay. Whatever I thought was important may 625 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:25,400 Speaker 3: not be that important. I found balance in my life, 626 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:28,480 Speaker 3: and that goes back to tying in you know, the 627 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:32,000 Speaker 3: whole concept of recreational therapy that you ask about earlier. 628 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:36,239 Speaker 3: There's things that stabilize us, that give us resilience. And 629 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:38,040 Speaker 3: I was able to be the calm in the middle 630 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:40,600 Speaker 3: of storm because of those anchors. 631 00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:41,000 Speaker 4: In my life. 632 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:44,320 Speaker 3: Now, look, I lost my dad to COVID. I lost 633 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:47,319 Speaker 3: my brother to failing to go to the emergency room 634 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:50,719 Speaker 3: for a gallbladder because he was afraid of going into 635 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:54,160 Speaker 3: an emergency room where there was COVID and he gallbladder ruptured, 636 00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:54,640 Speaker 3: me died. 637 00:34:55,200 --> 00:34:55,400 Speaker 4: You know. 638 00:34:55,480 --> 00:35:00,360 Speaker 3: I my youngest son had bilateral COVID pneumonia. He was 639 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:03,719 Speaker 3: in Florida, I was in DC. We were separated for 640 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:07,239 Speaker 3: weeks when they were trying to treat him in the hospital. 641 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:11,720 Speaker 3: So I think there's things though that you know, I'm 642 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:13,960 Speaker 3: a person of pretty deep faith, and you know, I 643 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,239 Speaker 3: think God puts certain things in front of you that 644 00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:20,919 Speaker 3: really challenge that stability and that resilience. And I think 645 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,719 Speaker 3: that we find strength in each other, and it's what 646 00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:26,080 Speaker 3: I love about the veteran community and why I want 647 00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 3: to continue serving them is that we as a community 648 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:34,520 Speaker 3: are together and that's really important. And clearly read, I 649 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:36,040 Speaker 3: had a nerve and I'm sorry. 650 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:38,600 Speaker 2: No, it's okay. I mean, you know, we all have 651 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 2: things close to us that where we lost people, and 652 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:43,000 Speaker 2: I'm sorry that you lost your father and your brother. 653 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:47,080 Speaker 2: And I'm just a guy like has feelings, So yeah, 654 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:48,880 Speaker 2: maybe a little nerve and my dad. You know, I 655 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:51,560 Speaker 2: think about my mom and you know they're here with us. 656 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:54,680 Speaker 2: So sorry about your dad and your brother. Than you 657 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:58,160 Speaker 2: can hit my nerve anytime, okay, because underneath all this 658 00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,239 Speaker 2: beard and all of this I hear is just a 659 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:04,319 Speaker 2: person that has feelings and that just wants to see 660 00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:06,480 Speaker 2: everybody have a good time and you know, and just 661 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:08,279 Speaker 2: peace really if we have to, you know, if we 662 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:11,120 Speaker 2: can say it. But I know that guys like yourself, 663 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:14,280 Speaker 2: guys like my father, my grandfather, world War two veteran. 664 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:17,799 Speaker 2: These guys chose to go and serve in World War Two. 665 00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:20,600 Speaker 2: My dad didn't want to be conscripted. He chose the 666 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:24,160 Speaker 2: navy you see in the draft, okay, And he was 667 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:26,960 Speaker 2: seventeen when he went, and he was adopted, and he 668 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,080 Speaker 2: didn't know who his dad was. And I found out 669 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:32,040 Speaker 2: later in life through DNA who his dad is. And 670 00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:35,080 Speaker 2: his dad was leaving Vietnam as my dad was entering 671 00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:37,920 Speaker 2: Vietnam like the same year. His dad was National Guard 672 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:40,000 Speaker 2: and my dad was joining the Navy at seventeen, And 673 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:42,000 Speaker 2: I was just like, it's crazy. So when you bring 674 00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:44,760 Speaker 2: up family, you know, and I bring up a support system, 675 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:47,400 Speaker 2: and you're talking about veterans on the edge, and you 676 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:49,239 Speaker 2: know there's a support system for you. And if you 677 00:36:49,239 --> 00:36:51,200 Speaker 2: don't have a family to reach out to and you're 678 00:36:51,239 --> 00:36:53,560 Speaker 2: listening to this, you can reach out to me directly 679 00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:56,920 Speaker 2: at my Instagram, Rad Rocking. And if you're a veteran 680 00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:58,640 Speaker 2: and you want to hit up the VA, don't be 681 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:00,600 Speaker 2: scared to hit up the VA and say, Hey, I'm 682 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:03,279 Speaker 2: feeling funny about myself. I'd like to come in maybe 683 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:06,080 Speaker 2: talk to somebody. Do you have Rad's phone number. Feel 684 00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:09,080 Speaker 2: free to reach out to the VA. I know you 685 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:10,799 Speaker 2: don't want to call like the local law enforce, so 686 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:12,399 Speaker 2: they're not the ones coming to help you. You want 687 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:14,480 Speaker 2: to just hit me up. If you're freaking out, hit 688 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:15,680 Speaker 2: me up whoever you are. 689 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:20,400 Speaker 3: I read thanks for doing that, and I so appreciate it, 690 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:24,080 Speaker 3: and I appreciate the time that you've spent with me today, 691 00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:28,160 Speaker 3: and I appreciate the friendship as only can occur between 692 00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:29,320 Speaker 3: the two veterans. 693 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:31,279 Speaker 2: You know, it's just quickly, you know, either going to 694 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:33,160 Speaker 2: click or you're going to be like rad whatever. And 695 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:36,080 Speaker 2: I appreciate to doctor Stone, and I know that you've 696 00:37:36,239 --> 00:37:38,960 Speaker 2: lived a full life and you know you're a doctor. 697 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:41,400 Speaker 2: It's really cool. You went through a lot of school 698 00:37:41,719 --> 00:37:45,400 Speaker 2: real quick. Your forte as a physician. Is that like family? 699 00:37:45,719 --> 00:37:47,920 Speaker 2: Is it specific to like neuro what is that? 700 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:48,160 Speaker 1: No. 701 00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:51,240 Speaker 3: I started out in internal medicine, and then I did dermatology, 702 00:37:51,719 --> 00:37:53,799 Speaker 3: and I actually in the in the middle of that. 703 00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:57,120 Speaker 3: I worked in Detroit in ers for three years after 704 00:37:57,200 --> 00:38:01,320 Speaker 3: internal medicine and get tired of a lot of the violence. 705 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:04,799 Speaker 3: But then after I finished hermatology, I was leading a 706 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:10,200 Speaker 3: pretty good life developing healthcare systems in the Midwest. And 707 00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:12,920 Speaker 3: then nine to eleven happened, and I was a reservist, 708 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:15,319 Speaker 3: and I wanted to be on active duty right back. 709 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:18,640 Speaker 3: And the majority of the next fourteen years unactive duty voluntarily, 710 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:21,319 Speaker 3: and it was where I was supposed to be, so 711 00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:23,399 Speaker 3: but it's good. 712 00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:24,520 Speaker 4: It was the right thing to do. 713 00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:27,399 Speaker 2: It sounds like you have done the right thing your 714 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:30,960 Speaker 2: foot forward in every aspect of your life, including writing 715 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:34,040 Speaker 2: a book called Save Every Life You Can, a reflection 716 00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:37,840 Speaker 2: on leadership and saving lives during the COVID nineteen pandemic. 717 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:40,520 Speaker 2: And we all know about that, and we're looking forward 718 00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:43,360 Speaker 2: to the roar and twenties of our time and our generation, 719 00:38:43,719 --> 00:38:47,360 Speaker 2: and we're looking forward to a functional VA Health center 720 00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:49,960 Speaker 2: where we can go and get some assistance. And if 721 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:55,560 Speaker 2: the current VA commander is listening to this conversation recreational therapy, 722 00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:58,880 Speaker 2: sir or ma'am, please put that on your docket. 723 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:00,440 Speaker 4: Thank you. 724 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:04,880 Speaker 3: The books available on Amazon and arnsandoble dot com. Also, 725 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:08,000 Speaker 3: I just released the audio version, which I recorded myself, 726 00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:11,920 Speaker 3: which was a unique challenge. But the stories, especially the 727 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:14,520 Speaker 3: personal stories and the deaths and my family were so 728 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:17,480 Speaker 3: personal that I decided to record it myself and it 729 00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:20,480 Speaker 3: was an interesting challenge. Read listen you have. 730 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:23,279 Speaker 2: And they've done that. I know you got a hard one. Hey, 731 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:25,320 Speaker 2: to all my listeners out there, go buy our merch 732 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:27,800 Speaker 2: keep us afloat so I can keep bringing doctor Stone 733 00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:29,799 Speaker 2: back on and doctor Stone I may reach out and 734 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:31,680 Speaker 2: have you back on. If you got another book, let 735 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:32,959 Speaker 2: me know you're a welcome guest. 736 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:36,319 Speaker 4: Okay, thank you, Ed, I have a great day and joy. 737 00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:37,920 Speaker 4: Thank you and thank you. 738 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,000 Speaker 2: And that's it, everybody, peace out from software. 739 00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:46,560 Speaker 4: Take it easy. 740 00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:49,840 Speaker 1: You've been listening to self Red LDIA.