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VA Restructuring
What a time to Downsize!
Vietnam Veterans of America - May 6 (press release provided courtesy of the associated press) Posted on Thu, May. 06, 2004 VA to close three hospitals, build two SUZANNE GAMBOA Associated Press WASHINGTON - The Veterans Affairs Department will close three hospitals in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Mississippi and build two new ones in Nevada and Florida as part of much-anticipated restructuring plan, The Associated Press has learned. The agency also will add or remove medical services at dozens of other facilities. VA Secretary Anthony Principi backed off plans to transfer major operations out of the Waco, Texas, hospital to VA facilities in Temple and Austin. "There is no doubt that the hard work of the Waco community has made a positive difference for the Waco VA, and I am honored to work alongside them," U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, said in a statement. The move had been heavily opposed in Waco. He said more study and financial information was needed before a decision is made. Principi also has endorsed building 156 community-based outpatient clinics by 2012, with an emphasis on serving rural areas. Local VA officials had sought 270 clinics. Principi was to release the plan Friday in Las Vegas. Several congressional officials who had seen it described the contents to the AP in advance. The department undertook the restructuring two years ago to shift services to areas where veteran populations are increasing and to modernize outdated buildings and shed vacant space. Under the plan, the VA expects to reduce costs for maintaining vacant space from $3.4 billion to $750 million by 2022 but projects spending $6 billion on new construction during that time. A draft plan last summer that recommended closing seven hospitals drew opposition from local officials and veterans in those communities. An independent commission examined that plan and narrowed the list of closures. After reviewing the commission recommendations, Principi decided to close three hospitals, in Pittsburgh; Brecksville, Ohio, and Gulfport, Miss. The hospitals must have a plan for closure by September. It was not immediately clear when they will shut their doors. A fourth hospital, in Livermore, Calif., will have all its services except long-term care transferred elsewhere. However, a new VA nursing home will be established there. The VA plans to continue studying ways to cut costs. Representatives from veterans groups who met with Principi on Thursday were told the agency would not close or eliminate services at any other locations before new or replacement services are available elsewhere in the area. The department will build new hospitals in Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla. The VA also wants to build new rehabilitation centers for the blind in Biloxi, Miss., and Long Beach, Calif., and place new spinal cord centers in Denver, Minneapolis, Syracuse or Albany, N.Y., and Little Rock, Ark. In Texas, acute care services will be closed at Kerrville as soon as the VA contracts for care through a community contract or space is available in San Antonio. The VA will move the Brownsville community-based clinic to Harlingen. The agency will continue studying whether to close the Big Spring hospital and determine what kind of facility should be built in the Odessa-Midland area. Among the VA facilities that will lose services is the hospital in Canandaigua, N.Y. It had been on the list to be closed, but Principi decided instead to transfer inpatient psychiatric beds to Buffalo or Syracuse and ordered officials to come up with a plan for making the campus more efficient. The hospital has nearly 1,000 beds but only 166 patients on average. Congress will review Principi's decision. It cannot change the plan but does have authority to determine whether to fund the changes. Congress had been unwilling to approve money for construction until the department came up with a restructuring plan. There are an about 25 million veterans in the country, with more than 7 million enrolled in VA health care.
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