Posted on 06/30/2009 1:59:26 PM PDT by bs9021
Vetting Healthcare for Vets
by: Mytheos Holt, June 29, 2009
Due to the recent appearance of oversight issues in the national veterans’ healthcare program, the Senate Subcommittee on Veterans’ Affairs convened a hearing chaired by Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI).
The committee room was practically abandoned, except for Chairman Akaka and Ranking (minority) Member Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC). “We know of several instances of poor care,” Sen. Akaka said, accusing the administrators of “putting veterans at risk for infectious diseases.”
According to Sen. Akaka, Congress had “subcontracted with an outside entity with the expectation that good care will be provided. Good care was not provided.”
Sen. Burr echoed Sen. Akaka’s indictments, using the example of a Navy Vet by the name of Michael Priest who had been told that he’d contracted Hepatitis B and HIV, only to have this diagnosis declared invalid later. “Simply put, this is an unacceptable way to treat our veterans or their families,” Sen. Burr said. “When veterans have lost their confidence in the VA, then we have lost confidence in those who fought for us…There is no possible justification as to why this has not been corrected. The warning signs were there.”
After short statements from committee members Arlen Specter (D-PA), Jon Tester (D-MT) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Sen. Akaka turned to the first round of witnesses, most of whom focused on possible avenues of improvement for veterans’ healthcare quality management. Dr. Thomas Nolan, of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, outlined six areas along which performance should be evaluated—“safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, and equity” and suggested that a greater degree of “quality planning” was needed. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at campusreportonline.net ...
And they want to run a nationwide health care system?
Great Brittain is so short of funding that hospitals have pests (rodents and insects) that invade even ORs.
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