On Behalf Of Communications Center, Senate Democratic (Reid)

The Iraq Accountability Project: A Wrap-Up of This Week's Senate Oversight on Iraq

This week Senate Democrats continued to provide oversight on Iraq with a probe into the staffing and quality control problems at veterans health facilities, as well as a continuing examination of how our veterans are treated by employers upon their return from service.  After bravely fighting abroad, our men and women in uniform deserve exceptional health care - a commitment that this Administration has failed to uphold.  Additionally, our nation's returning soldiers shouldn't have to fight to resume their jobs upon return to the United States.   Senate Democrats are united in their determination to hold the President accountable for his failed strategy in Iraq and guarantee American veterans receive the care and respect they deserve.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs

"Hearing on Hiring Practices and Quality Control at VA Medical Facilities"

Tragic events at the Marion, Illinois VA have raised concerns about the hiring practices and quality controls at VA clinics across the country.

SEN. AKAKA:   Dr. Cross, there are two issues at the heart of the situation at Marion. One, did VA do all it could to ensure that physicians practicing there were appropriate hires? And two, when deaths and botched surgeries started to arise, did hospital management take appropriate action? Are you confident that VA did everything possible to verify the credentials of physicians? And are you, at this point, able to say with certainty that hospital management responded appropriately when they were told about problems with the surgeon?

GERALD CROSS, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY, HEALTH, DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS:  Sir, what I can assure you of is that we have taken dramatic, swift, definitive action based on the information we have at this time, and that we had in August. I'm not going to be confident to tell you that I have the complete picture until the investigations are complete. That does include the medical inspector investigation and the IG investigation.

But we found that we had enough concerns early on in August that we took rather definitive action in removing, by detailing out the medical center director. We detailed out the medical center chief of staff, and subsequently detailed out the chief of surgery and an anesthesiologist. As our investigation has continued, we have taken further action, which I have listed in my oral statement elsewhere, and some of that just occurring within the past few days.

Tammy Duckworth, Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs warns that more must be done to ensure that the VA can meet the current and future medical care needs of veterans.

DUCKWORTH:  There simply is just not enough time for the USDVA to try to recruit enough physicians to meet the current need.  And I think that it's time to think a little outside the box.  And I thank you for calling this hearing, even at this early stage, because I think it will allow us to move forward in terms of where we -- future questions that need to be raised.

Senators and witnesses highlighted the importance of ensuring first-rate standards at veterans' care facilities, as the VA works to hire more physicians and expand services to meet the growing needs of incoming Iraq and Afghanistan veterans as well as veterans from previous conflicts.

SEN. MURRAY: Let me ask you a more broad question, because it is one that I think we all need to be aware of. And that is that we are really trying to hire more physicians to deal with the high number of incoming veterans, both from the current wars as well as previous wars. And Congress has allocated funds over the last year to do that.

...

DUCKWORTH: Some of the suggested solutions are that the USDVA needs to either open more VA clinics and vet centers, or they need to start certifying private practitioners to provide medical services and give the veteran this option to access care outside of the VA clinic, the VA hospital themselves.

We need to ensure, however, that there is no drop in standard of care for our veterans. We also need to identify major civilian medical facilities, such as university teaching hospitals or other large networks, where the physicians who have privileges at the VA hospital should be required to also have privileges -- surgical privileges, practice privileges -- at these outside facilities to provide a cross-check, as it were, not only at their VA system that is being implemented by the local VA hospital administrator;

Rural VA facilities have faced challenges recruiting the additional physicians and medical personnel necessary to meet the needs of the growing number Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans accessing VA care.

MURRAY: ...Have the smaller rural VA facilities, like the one in Marion, seen an increasing number of veterans from this current conflict?

...

MAISH:  Senator, our facility has grown from 1999 to the present from taking care of 19,000 individuals to taking care of almost 41,000 individuals. So we have had to recruit personnel -- doctor, nurse, PA, nurse practitioner -- to care for these people. We are very busy in the recruiting business because of the rapid growth and demand for services

...

MURRAY: And what has been your experience in trying to hire physicians and medical personnel?

MAISH:  It's a difficult job.