As Kellie Lunney of Government Executive writes, a new watchdog report reveals that
Some veterans in the Washington, D.C., area waited more than a year for home health care services, including one who died before he could receive it …
So this time the problem was not out in Phoenix or somewhere else but right in the heart Governmentland. And the problems vets experienced did not necessarily end once they had cleared the waiting list, as
… the IG found that staff at the DC facility “did not comply with all elements of local policy and VHA requirements regarding quality of care, communication, and documentation related to” home and community-based services.
Also, the problem seems to be getting worse, nationwide, even as the woes of the VA are becoming more widely exposed and the agency’s leaders promise to make the needed fixes, as
… the VA IG found that the total number of vets on a department wait list for such care was 2,566 nationwide as of March 31, 2015 – an increase of 845 patients from September 2014. Five VA facilities accounted for more than half of the patients on the national wait list for home and community-based service: Los Angeles, Calif; Beckley, W. Va.; Richmond, Va.; Puget Sound, Wash.; and White City, Ore.
The VA is, however, on it as
VA Undersecretary for Health Dr. David Shulkin agreed with the IG’s recommendation to better address the needs of vets on the home health services waiting lists, calling it a “high priority” of the department.
