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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 12, 2007
CONTACT: Geoff Embler or Jamie Loftus
Sen. Hutchison Continues Support for Waco VA Mental Health Center of Excellence in Senate Hearing
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Ranking Member of the Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, today continued her support for the Waco VA and the Mental Health Center of Excellence during a subcommittee hearing on the Fiscal Year 2008 Department of Veterans Affairs budget.
“The Waco Center of Excellence in Mental Health is a model for how consolidating personnel, training and specialized resources produces world class care,” Sen. Hutchison said. “The close collaboration with the research facilities at Baylor University, Texas A&M University Medical School, Ft. Hood Army Hospital and Mental Health Association from the state of Texas has helped the Waco VA become a cornerstone of quality care.”
Sen. Hutchison has been a longtime advocate of the Waco VA. In 2003, the VA Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) Commission released a draft plan that called for the closure of the Waco facility. Sen. Hutchison lobbied for a commission hearing to be held in Waco so that Central Texas veterans could express their views on the issue. In 2004, Sen. Hutchison arranged for the VA Secretary at the time, Anthony Principi, to visit Waco and see the hospital first hand. As a result, the VA agreed to postpone a final decision pending further study of veterans needs.
Sen. Hutchison welcomed Jim Nicholson, secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to the Waco VA in July of 2005. She personally invited him to tour the facility to see the resources and care provided by the hospital and discuss its future.
In November of 2005, Sen. Hutchison authored legislation which designated the Waco VA a Mental Health Center of Excellence. The Waco VA is a leading institution in the field of psychiatric care and has conducted breakthrough research on treatment of mental health conditions, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This designation made additional funding available to the hospital.
The legislation she authored also included language to delay the CARES process by encouraging further study of VA facilities. It prohibited any change to the current infrastructure, service or mission of the 18 facilities recommended by the CARES Commission for additional review. It encouraged the VA to conduct further study of these locations.
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