VASecretaryLaudsEPTimes

El Paso County Commissioner Pct. 2
Veronica Escobar

VA secretary lauds 40 hires at El Paso facility
By Chris Roberts / El Paso Times
The hiring of 40 new staff at the El Paso VA Health Care System already has improved the satisfaction of veterans using the system, said James Peake, secretary of Veterans Affairs, during a Monday news conference.
Peake made the trip from Washington, D.C., to meet with staff after an internal survey on patient satisfaction ranked the El Paso system last in the nation. Among the problems were long waits on the phone system, waits for services and appointments, delays in getting prescriptions filled and poor staff morale.
"It's not where we want it yet, but we'll get there," said Peake, who added that about 100 more staff will be hired. "We owe them (veterans) nothing but the best service and the best quality of medical care."
Jay Romo, an 84-year-old World War II veteran, has had problems with access, which officials identified as the main problem on Monday.
"You can't talk to your doctor, you can't talk to anybody," said Romo, who was a veterans service officer helping other veterans gain access to the system before he lost his vision. "My primary doctor is great but she's always overbooked."
Romo said that he has been trying to return oxygen equipment he no longer needs -- and that someone else likely could use -- but hasn't been able to speak with a doctor to get the required order.
"A few months ago, we got a report that wasn't good," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. "Everyone loves the service they get here, it's just that access has been delayed."
Peake, Hutchison, U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, and El Paso Mayor John Cook were present at the news conference and were among those briefed Monday morning.
Hutchison said the hirings will allow the addition of more doctors and nurses, as well as creating evening hours for veterans with daytime jobs. She said efforts are under way to ensure that prescriptions are filled in a timely fashion and that paperwork delays are minimized.
Luis Bolaños, a veterans service officer, said the El Paso VA staff does a good job "for what they have to work with." He attributed the problems to a lack of funding. Many have criticized the way the VA is funded, which involves starting from zero for each fiscal year and which has resulted in budget shortfalls requiring supplemental allocations from Congress.
Funding has increased in recent years, Hutchison said, adding that in the four years she has had a hand in it, "we have more than doubled the health care side of it." Hutchison is a member of both the appropriations and veterans affairs committees. Reyes and Democrats in the House also have approved larger VA budgets.
"I think the funding is going to be there," Hutchison said. "People can expect it, they can budget for it."
Reyes said Congress must anticipate the needs of VA related to a growing stream of veterans with service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We need to make sure we take care of their needs," he said, "while we maintain the level of service to the already existing veterans in the system."
An administration policy of giving priority toIraq and Afghanistan veterans has drawn criticism that there is a two-tiered system that gives lower priority to veterans of all other wars. Reyes said adequate funding will ensure that everyone's needs are met.
Peake characterized the current VA system as "trimodal," providing different services for three groups of veterans -- World War II and Korea, Vietnam, and the current conflicts. "That is not our intent, to set up a two-tiered system," he said.
El Paso has other concerns with nearly 30,000 soldiers in the process of arriving at Fort Bliss in a seven-year period ending in 2013. "The VA is going to need a bigger facility," Hutchison said. "This will be a major part of the planning for growth at Fort Bliss."
And Hutchison said a "huge increase" in military construction funding is coming to Fort Bliss.
"I'm going to be right on top of making sure all that growth happens in a timely way, including health care," Hutchison said.
Reyes, who spoke to the El Paso Times about the El Paso VA problems in early April and met with staff members then, promised to "stay on top of this issue until we're satisfied that everything has been resolved."
El Paso veterans advocate Ron Holmes said he liked what he heard but warned that there likely will be a delay while new staff are recruited, hired and trained.
"I think in the future, we're going to have a good thing," he said, "but who's going to fall through the cracks while we're getting there?"
Chris Roberts may be reached at chrisr@elpasotimes.com;546-6136.