1,400 veterans' facilities reviewed, over 1,000 reports of substandard conditions

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032102583.html

Substandard Conditions at VA Centers Noted
90% of More than 1,000 Problems Reported Are Routine, Officials Say

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 22, 2007; Page A12

A review by the Department of Veterans Affairs of 1,400 hospitals and other veterans care facilities released yesterday has turned up more than 1,000 reports of substandard conditions -- from leaky roofs and peeling paint to bug and bat infestations -- as well as a smaller number of potential threats to patient safety, such as suicide risks in psychiatric wards.

The investigation, ordered March 7 by VA Secretary Jim Nicholson, found problems such as rugs loaded with bacteria from patient "accidents," ceiling and floor tiles with asbestos that needs to be removed, as well as exposed pipes and other fixtures from which mental patients could hang themselves.

"We are committed to being upfront in identifying issues, and we are managing to correct them," said Louise Van Diepen, chief of staff of VA's Veterans Health Administration. "I am pleased that we are managing it aggressively, and most represented wear-and-tear issues, as opposed to the Walter Reed situation," Van Diepen said, referring to the squalid conditions at an outpatient-care building at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which prompted the VA review.

VA officials said that with such a large network of facilities -- encompassing nearly 150 million square feet of space and serving 1 million patients each week -- it was not surprising to find maintenance concerns. They concluded that 90 percent of the issues were routine, while 10 percent involved more serious problems, and that the department's $519 million maintenance budget this year should address the "shortcomings."

Plans for fixing the facilities were outlined, with some taking days or weeks and others requiring years of extensive renovation of buildings dating to the 1920s. In some facilities, the needed repairs were widespread. For example, at a facility in Little Rock, 30 percent of the patient areas' walls and halls need to be repaired, patched and painted.

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And they not only trash them verbally, they treat them like shit in hospitals and clinics.

Toss the republicon chickenhawk liars out of Washington, and put in some elected officials
who actually respect our US veterans.

While I understand the stylishness of blaming almost everything on this Republican administration, the problems with the Veterans Administration and its aging facilities go back decades. I have had occasion to see VA facilities over the last forty years. With some exceptions, they always have been,in my opinion, substandard. This is a cause celeb right now, but I fear that after the next election cycle when we win the whole enchilada, it will disappear from the big forums and be relegated to the Veterans forum. Forgotten by most that have never had to deal with the VA or veterans.