Secret waitlist delayed care for 87 veterans at VA hospital in Omaha, led to departure of 2 employee

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Steve Liewer and Joseph Morton

An unauthorized waiting list for psychotherapy appointments at the VA hospital in Omaha delayed 87 veterans from receiving timely care and led to the departure of two employees, Department of Veterans Affairs officials said Friday.

Letters addressed to Iowa Sens. Joni Ernst and Charles Grassley, and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse blamed the unauthorized list on "training deficiencies" involving the Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System’s medical support assistants, who the letters said were improperly managing the VA’s electronic waiting list following rules changes in 2016.

The letters also said the veterans did receive other types of treatment while their names were on the list, including substance abuse treatment, inpatient treatment, and counseling through primary care or Veteran’s Center clinics.

"The management of these psychotherapy referrals during the spring 2017 time frame were handled poorly and did not meet the standards of our VA Health Care System," said an unsigned response to questions posed by Sasse.

FULL story at link.

Read more: http://www.omaha.com/livewellnebraska/health/secret-waitlist-delayed-care-for-veterans-at-va-hospital-in/article_5048df5a-bb65-11e7-932b-af5b8746deef.html

[AC_Mem]

1. This is misleading

I work for the VA and I can tell you - I simply do not know HOW this is even possible. There are daily reports on "access" and there is transparency on veterans who are waiting longer than 30 days for appointments Choice, outside VA care, etc.. If there is some kind of a situation here, it is not indicative of the VA or any past issues with "waiting lists" - it must be an isolated issue. The VA is so focused on doing everything they can to improve care for our Veterans, but it seems like there is never any credit for that - we have made huge strides and we work so very very hard for our Veterans. I make no excuses if this happened, i just wanted to be a voice for VA workers like myself, who may be getting painted with the same brush for something that is an isolated - NOT chronic, issue.

Also - they say in this story that the veterans are not being denied access to care! they are seeing their PCP, they are in group therapy, inpatient care, and counseling. this is hardly the situation that happened several years ago. Since our systems are electronic, I don't see how this could have occurred, unless this could have been a situation where the Veterans were asking for Choice when the Choice money ran out. I would need to know more of the details, which I hope will come out soon.

Medical Support Assistants (MSA's) are many times entry level, receive ongoing training and their main job is to schedule appointments. they are usually not clinical - they are the staff that sits outside the clinics and checks you in, checks you out and calls to schedule and confirm appointments.

Sorry - I couldn't let this go by without providing some facts for balance. I don't condone deceit in any workforce, but until we have all the facts, we shouldn't discount the fact that it could also be human error or lack of training. Our rules and direction have changed numerous times over the past year as we redirect our focus to meet the requirements of our new leadership.

To Veterans everywhere, thank you for your service.
A

[mpcamb]

2. More to the point, did this delay occur?

[not fooled]

3. And

pukes love these stories because they use them to push for privatization of the VA. After, of course, underfunding it.

[The Mouth]

4. The people responsible- and any and everyone who should have known

should be in jail for a long, long time.

NO excuses would be sufficient or exculpatory.

Thanks for what you do, and for providing some balance; but I want to see this investigated and people punished, and I mean in a timeframe that isn't measured in months or weeks.

[shadowmayor]

5. Let me just say thank-you!

As a veteran who has gone through the grinder with the VA, I tell everyone I know that the problem with the VA is two-fold: not enough money and not enough workers. The folks at the VA generally do a tremendous job, and they are humans too. Like all public service jobs, when they are doing it right, no one notices. It's only when things go wrong that the news people show up. Kind of the opposite of the business world where they brag about all the great things they do and try to hide the fuck-ups.

We do NOT want private care. We vets want a well-funded VA. The politicians only gave a shit about me when I had an M-16 in my hand. When I put it down, they said "thanks for your service" which is a polite way of saying "fuck-off".

Keep up the good work!