Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Warner took time out from his campaign against Republican challenger Ed Gillespie (who is trailing in polls that have tightened somewhat) to visit the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Salem.
Warner was there for a briefing with director Dr. Miguel LaPuz and his staff, to see what progress had been made on reducing wait time for appointments, when military veterans call in seeking to visit with a doctor.
The one-term senator and former cell phone mogul summed it up this way: the Salem VA Center appears to be ahead of some of the other VA facilities he has visited statewide in terms of making improvements, but there is still a long ways to go: “Salem is further along the path.”
Scheduling databases that still do not use Windows-based software make it more difficult, said Warner. He called that “1980’s technology” and added that a phone system “antiquated at best,” means that it may be three minutes or more for a caller to reach a live person.
Warner knows something about phone technology – he made his fortune in the early days of the cell phone boom after several failed business attempts. The Senator said he would like to return to Salem within 90 days to check on any progress being made.
Warner noted that Congress authorized an additional 17 billion dollars over the summer for the Veterans Administration to make those changes, after charges that delays in setting appointments led to delays at other medical centers in seeing a doctor – perhaps resulting in deaths elsewhere.
“Like most Americans I’ve been angered and dismayed by some of the crisis and scandals that have taken place in the Veterans Administration,” said Warner after the briefing in Salem. There are an “awful lot of good people that go to work at the Salem VA everyday [about 2000], they see roughly about 38,000 veterans every year.” That amounts to more than 400,000 visits every year, he added.
It’s not just about throwing money at the problem said Warner, “It’s going to take more than money – it’s going to take a culture change.” That means making sure the VA system is more responsive to the changes needed. Warner noted the case backlog has been reduced but he said there is still plenty of room for improvement.
“The ability …to schedule [appointments] for these veterans in a timely manner is something where we need to see improvement,” said Warner, speaking outside the Salem Civic Center after his trip to the VA campus in Salem. The goal locally is to get the wait times for visits below 30 days for primary, specialty and mental health care. “There’s more [progress] to be made.” Salem officials said they also need more specialists on staff to deal with the caseload.
Warner pushed for private IT companies to offer their services as part of the legislation passed in Congress, saying they can provide the VA “with at least a template on how to provide a 21st Century health care scheduling system.” VA Centers in Richmond and Hampton Roads are being assessed now by IT firms; Warner said Salem officials are willing to look at any changes that have been made for possible implementation here.
One thing is evident said the Senator: “We all need to roll up our sleeves.”
He also wants to see the VA be “more open to 21st Century change that will improve the quality of care,” which he said was generally good – once veterans were able to get into the system. “I think I’m seeing progress in Salem,” concluded Warner, [but] there’s always room for improvement.”
By Gene Marrano
