Field Report: VFW Leaders On Hand for Hearing to Discuss Orlando VA Hospital

This week the House Veterans Affairs Committee hosted a field hearing at the University of Central Florida to discuss the lack of progress on a new VA Medical Center in Orlando.

VFW Past Department Commander David Harris was on hand to hear witnesses from the VA Office of Construction and Facilities Management, and hospital contractor Brasfield and Gorrie, testify on persistent delays in the project.

Harris described the hearing as a “circular firing squad” between the project’s architects, construction management, and the VA project manager, who all blamed each other for the project delays.

Construction on the new facility started in October 2008 and was scheduled for delivery this October; however, numerous change orders to the contract, design issues, and other delays have pushed the opening to late 2013 at the earliest, and possibly into 2014.

“My single interest is the expeditious completion of this facility for the veterans of Central Florida who have been waiting over a decade for this medical center,” said Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla. “It is clear from today’s hearing both VA and the contractor still have quite a long way to go to come together and figure out how to work together, which is what needs to happen. But I am cautiously hopeful that will become the goal moving forward, as it should have been all along.”

Despite the finger-pointing, both VA and Brasfield and Gorrie officials promised to continue working toward consensus on how to move the project toward completion of the new medical hub for central Florida’s veterans.

Local VFW officials will continue to monitor progress on the new VA medical center, holding public officials accountable for its completion.

To view an archived webcast of the hearing and to read the prepared statements of each witness, click here.

Members of both the House and Senate are in their home districts throughout the month of August, tending to constituent affairs. VFW advocates are once again taking this opportunity to meet directly with their elected leaders on veterans’ issues, and we are looking to share those stories on this blog.

To submit your Field Reports for consideration on the VFW’s Capitol Hill blog, simply fill out our online form here, or send photos and stories directly to vfwac@vfw.org. Information for this story was provided by VFW National Legislative Committee member Lee Kichen.

Watch Live: Senate Hosts Hearing on Vets' Mental Health Care

UPDATE: The archived webcast from yesterday's hearing is now available on the Senate VA Committee's Web site. To view a full list of witnesses, read their prepared remarks, and view the archived webcast, click here. 

This morning the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee will host a hearing to evaluate the ease-of-access for veterans seeking mental health care at VA facilities. The hearing comes in the wake of an alarming report from the VA's Office of the Inspector General, indicating that VA may have misled Congress and the veterans' community on how it ensured prompt access to care for veterans seeking treatment for mental health conditions.

Your VFW will be on hand when the hearing is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. in Senate Dirksen Office Building room 138. To view a live webcast of the hearing on the committee's home page, click here.

VA policy dictates that veterans who seek treatment for mental health must be seen with 14 days of requesting treatment. However, the report, which can be read here, claims that VA misrepresented how it tracked whether or not veterans received treatment in a timely manner, many times only starting the 14-day clock from the earliest date on which a veteran physically entered a VA facility for treatment.

For example, if a veteran were to contact VA on April 1 to seek treatment, VA could offer an appointment date on April 16. If the veteran accepted the April 16 appointment and was actually treated in a VA clinic on April 16, VA would report that the veteran waited zero days for his or her treatment, as opposed to the actual 15-day waiting period.

As a result, OIG determined that VA's reports on wait times and treatments were neither accurate nor reliable, and called on the VA Undersecretary of Health to revise policies to clarify how patient scheduling and treatment should be tracked and identify staffing shortfalls that may impede timely treatment.

Senate VA Committee Chairman Patty Murray, D-Wash.,  and Ranking Member Richard Burr, R-S.C., called for the IG report. The results come less than a week after VA pledged to hire an additional 1,900 mental health care personnel to include marriage and family therapists and licensed professional mental health counselors.

VFW leaders were disturbed at the report that VA may have misled the public and the veterans’ community on how it delivers mental health care. Your VFW will continue to keep its finger on the pulse of this critical issue, putting pressure on VA officials and leaders in Congress to take decisive action. Check back regularly for updates.