WASHINGTON – A new outpatient clinic in central Washington, maintaining the current mission of the Vancouver medical center and transferring inpatient beds from the AmericanLakeVA to the MadiganArmyMedicalCenter are part of a comprehensive plan by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to modernize its nationwide system of health care facilities.
"These changes will provide greater access to care for veterans," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. "By strengthening our network of outpatient clinics, we will bring a greater quality of care closer to where most of Washington’s veterans live."
About 108,312 of Washington’s 649,046 veterans were treated last year in VA's health care facilities, up from 89,433 in 2000. In 2003, VA spent $1.5 billion in Washington, an increase from $1.1 billion three years ago.
Secretary Principi noted that about 80 percent of the health care provided by VA is outpatient care. He said the plan would allow the department to provide more of the outpatient care veterans want and use, while building upon VA's expertise in providing highly specialized inpatient care.
The changes are part of a comprehensive plan called CARES, short for "Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services." The secretary's report on CARES can be viewed in its entirety on VA's Web site at http://www.va.gov/CARES.
Briefly, the secretary announced the following for Washington:
Open a new community clinic in central Washington;
Maintain the current mission at the Vancouver Division of VA Medical Center Portland and explore possibility of expanding Vancouver’s function by relocating services from the Portland medical center;
Study how to best provide health care to veterans in the Walla Walla community. The study will evaluate the demand for health care against availability of care in the Walla Walla community. It will consider multiple options, including partnerships with community and private sector organizations to provide nursing home and psychiatric inpatient care. VA will also consider options for moving into a more modern and efficient facility and will determine a more effective use for the current Walla Walla campus;
Transfer 15 inpatient beds from the AmericanLakeVA medical center to the MadiganArmyMedicalCenter in Tacoma, freeing up 85,000 square feet of space at AmericanLake to meet primary care demand;
Replace or renovate extremely high risk seismic buildings at American Lake and Seattle; and
Pursue a partnership with the Department of the Navy to provide acute inpatient medicine, emergency room care and possibly urology services in support of the VA outpatient clinic in Bremerton
CARES is a plan to modernize and improve VA's health care system. Among the elements of the Secretary’s CARES decision are more than 150 new community based outpatient clinics, potential creation of four new - and expansion of five existing - spinal cord injury centers, two new blind rehabilitation centers, and expansions throughout VA’s healthcare system that will enhance veterans’ access to VA care.
In July 1999, a General Accounting Office study found that VA was diverting a million dollars a day – or $3.6 billion during a decade – from veterans' health care to maintenance on unneeded or unused facilities. The average age of VA's more than 4,900 buildings is more than 50 years, and the need to reduce vacant space and unneeded buildings has been the focus of several reports by the General Accounting Office.
This approach to facility's management means the dollars once wasted on old and vacant buildings can be used to enhance services in the communities where health care is provided.
"CARES modernizes VA’s 74-year old health care system," said Principi. "I want to emphasize that no veteran will lose health care as a result of CARES, nor will there be any gaps in their health care services."
The CARES plan was reviewed by an independent commission, which received more than 212,000 comments and held 81 site visits to VA and Department of Defense medical facilities, and State Veterans Homes, 38 public hearings and 10 formal meetings. The commission submitted its recommendations to Secretary Principi in mid-February.
