Local VA OK, Auditors Find

Nationwide Review Finds No Problems At Fayetteville

FAYETTEVILLE -- Patients of the Veterans Affairs hospital in Fayetteville do not suffer from the long waiting times and skewed scheduling records that caused scandal at other VA facilities, a national audit found.

"We're glad to hear that," said Virgil Bradshaw, commander of the American Legion Post in Fayetteville.

"I'm not really surprised because a lot of our post members have used the VA and are pleased with them, but it's always good to get the official word," Bradshaw said.

Ninety-six percent of the 42,226 cases reviewed at the Veterans Health Care Center of the Ozarks received an appointment within 30 days, according to a nationwide Department of Veterans Affairs audit released Monday. First-time patients were fully enrolled and received primary care, on average, within 53 days. Returning patients had an average waiting time for an appointment of less than three days. Those figures include cases at the hospital itself and at six related clinics in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Those figures compare to 64,000 veterans who never received an appointment after enrolling in the system and requesting services at other centers, according to the audit. The review also found waiting times of 90 days or more for 57,000 veterans elsewhere.

The severity of the problems first came to light in Phoenix, Ariz. Further disclosures prompted the audit and led VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign May 30.

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers, a veteran, said he also was pleased but not surprised at the audit's findings in Fayetteville. "I have personally seen the good work being done at the Fayetteville VA during my many visits there and am relieved to have confirmation that our Northwest Arkansas veterans, and all those seeking care at the medical center, have not fallen victim to the systematic dysfunction and impropriety at the VA," he said. "And while 96 percent is pretty good, I remain committed to working with the VA to ensure that 100 percent of our veterans can readily access the care they have earned."

Neither the hospital in Fayetteville nor its affiliated clinics are under any allegation of altered scheduling records, auditors found. Nationwide, almost one in every eight members of VA scheduling staff surveyed by the audit were told by someone within the system "to enter a date different than what the veteran had requested in the appointment scheduling system."

The situation at the Fayetteville facility has improved since auditors left, too, said Wanda Shull, center spokeswoman. "I'm very, very thrilled to be able to say that we only have 55 people on our electronic waiting list, down from the 268 reported in the audit," she said. The electronic waiting list is an agency tool for tracking how long a patient has needed care and assessing how that care can be provided. The list has been a major problem at other facilities, but the 268 cases found on the Fayetteville list was not listed as a concern by auditors.

"VA is struggling to meet the demand and that has cost our veterans timely medical care they need and earned," said U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Rogers. "In some cases, the care they cannot access is for the treatment of conditions they incurred because of their service. To me, this is unacceptable and must be remedied."

NW News on 06/10/2014

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