Please support Texas Veterans Assurance Act.

[crispini]

All,
Texas Democratic Veterans is asking for your support for this bill, which does not have an official bill number yet and may be put forward as an amendment to some other legislation. This stems from the shameful treatment of vets in the VA Hospital. Please write and call your senators and representatives and ask for their support for the "Texas Veterans Assurance Act." Here it is.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

The Texas Veteran's Health Care Assurance Act
AN ACT


Relating to the assurance of the quality of Veterans Health Care
Provided in the State of Texas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
TEXAS:
SECTION 1.Title 40 Part 5 Chapter 176 Rule 176.8, Texas
Administrative Code, is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
Any nursing home, longtime acute care facility, or medical facility
for the specified purpose of caring for military veterans or their
dependents operating in the State of Texas will be inspected by
employees of the Land Commissioners Office and a biannual report
will be published and made available to the Members of the Texas
Legislature and the General Public in regards to the status and
quality of Health care in all Veterans Facilities operated in the
State of Texas by the State and Federal Governments or private
facilities contracted by either the State of Texas or the Federal
Government to provide such care.

Here is the background story as sent to me by the Texas Democratic Veterans:

On January 18,2005 the Dallas Morning News printed the first of a
series of articles concerning the Dallas Veteran's Administration
Hospital in Oak Cliff and these articles came to the attention of
the Texas Democratic Veterans. Based on the these articles about
alleged conditions in the Hospital Texas Democratic Veterans started
an investigation of the current conditions including a review of the
official Inspector Generals Report on the condition and operation of
the Hospital.

The issues brought to light by this investigation lead to a call by
the Executive Committee of Texas Democratic Veterans to hold a Rally
at the Hospital in support of the Veterans being treated there.
On Wednesday, February 23, 2005 the Texas Democratic Veterans were
invited to visit the VA North Texas Health Care System also known as
VISN17 North Texas Health care System at 4500 South Lancaster Road.
VISN 17 is headquartered in Arlington, Texas and consists of VA
North Texas Health Care System, VA Central Health Care System, and
South Texas Veterans Health Care System this includes 6 Hospitals, 6
Nursing Homes, 3 Domiciliary, and 42 Operating Community Based
Outpatient Clinics. It stretches from the Red River to the Rio
Grande River. VA North Texas Health Care System covers 38 Counties
in Texas and 2 counties in Oklahoma.

On February 26,2005 the Rally which Texas Democratic Veterans called
for took place. Present were representatives of Texas Democratic
Veterans, The Young Democrats of Dallas County, and Texas Motorcycle
Riders Association II. The group demonstrated support for the
veterans at the Veterans Administration Hospital in an orderly and
dignified manner as agreed to by Texas Democratic Veterans and the
Administration of the North Texas Veterans Administration Health
Care system.

The issues, which spurred the Rally by Texas Democratic Veterans,
were brought to light by a series of articles by Doug L. Swanson of
the Dallas Morning News. It must be noted that the majority of the
people named in these articles have been replaced and new management
is in place. Texas Democratic Veterans is not seeking to make the
job of correcting the documented deficiencies more difficult for the
new administration but rather seek to help in any way it can to aid
the new management team deliver what our Veterans deserve - the best
quality care available. That is the stated goal of the new
management team.

We applaud Mr. Swanson's efforts to bring the plight of veterans to
the attention of the public, however the greatest areas of concern
to Texas Democratic Veterans come directly from the official
Veterans Administration OIG report, in pertinent part: Dallas VAMC
was NOT MAINTAINED TO ACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF CLEANLINESS AND SAFETY. A
pre CAP survey done by VISN 17 staff in March 2003 DOCUMENTED MANY
OF THE SAME EOC FINDINGS WE `IDENTIFIED' (November 26,2004).
Investigators observed bags of used medical disposables on the floor
of an operating room during an operation.

Mr. Swanson's first Article published in the Dallas Morning News on
January 18, 2005 stated:
The Dallas veterans hospital is so dirty, dangerous and poorly
managed, federal investigators have found, that it ranks as the
worst such medical center in the country. Those in charge "did not
maintain a consistently clean and safe environment," the report
said. And investigators found no evidence of a plan for better
management.

Texas Democratic Veterans encourages all Veteran's Organizations to
join us in our desire to assure that all Veteran's Facilities are
serving the Veterans of our Country and State in a manner that will
assure that they receive the care they earned and deserve now and in
the future. We expect many more heroes from our nation's current
conflict will be in need of the care of these facilities. We call
upon all Veteran's organizations to hold all elected officials
accountable to our brother veterans and their needs.

Texas Democratic Veterans call on the Land Commissioner of Texas to
insure that ALL VETERANS THROUGHOUT TEXAS IN ALL STATE AND FEDERAL
FACILITIES ARE RECEIVING the care they have earned and to publish an
annual report of the status of veteran care in the State of Texas to
be presented to the Texas State Legislature and to be available to
the public.

To insure this, Texas Democratic Veterans has discussed and its
Executive Committee unanimously endorsed and Texas Democratic
Veterans have submitted purposed legislation that any nursing home,
longtime acute care facility, or medical facility for the specified
purpose of caring for military veterans or their dependents
operating in the State of Texas will be inspected by employees of
the Land Commissioners Office and a biannual report shall be
published and made available to the Members of the Texas Legislature
and the General Public in regards to the status and quality of
Health care in all Veterans Facilities operated in the State of
Texas. We have entitled the purposed legislation The Texas Veterans
Health Care Assurance Act. We call for swift passage of the Act.

Please forward widely and especially to any other veterans organizations that you may know!