Veteran finds new mission caring for injured soldiers

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nursing assistant Tom Alligood wears camouflage scrubs during his emergency room shifts at the Dorn VA hospital because he says it helps other veteran patients realize they’ve “walked over the same dirt,” the 62-year-old former Army tanker says.

Alligood means homelessness, job loss and the mental anguish of being a long-time military veteran trying to adjust to the trials of a dog-eat-dog, backstabbing civilian world he says nearly ate him alive.

In an attempt to respond to the crisis of lengthy patient wait-times and a malfunctioning bureaucracy, VA Secretary Robert McDonald told Congress the agency hired about 14,000 health care workers last year, including 1,300 doctors and 3,600 nurses.

“Veterans know what it takes to serve and what sacrifices they’ve endured and what some of their challenges have been that have affected their health,” the nurse supervisor says.

Alligood said he can relate to his veteran-patients because the route he took from being a VA patient to VA caregiver has been a challenging one.

Falling deep in debt, Alligood said he took to sleeping in abandoned buildings after losing his car and his home.

Alligood said counselors told him about a VA program that put homeless veterans into counseling and back to work.