Bills would force VA hospitals to create plan for improvements
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and Rep. Markwayne Mullin introduced legislation Friday to require all Veterans Affairs hospitals present a plan for drastic improvement.
The bills — one in the Senate and a companion bill in the House — would give hospital directors 90 days to explain what personnel changes, resources and modifications are needed to achieve a perfect fivestar rating during annual inspections.
“The VA Medical Center Improvement Act instructs underperforming VA facilities to devise a plan to deliver better health care to our veterans,” said Mullin, a Westville Republican whose district includesa VA hospital in Muskogee.
Oklahoma City’s VA hospital received a three-star rating last year, director Wade Vlosich said during a news conference at the hospital. The hospital excels in medical care but suffers from poor customer satisfaction, he told Inhofe.
Vlosich blamed bureaucratic entanglements for delays in construction of a parking garage in Oklahoma City and improvements to a clinic in Clinton.
“The hiring process the VA requires these directors to go through to get personnel is onerous and it’s not conducive to good business practices,” said Pete Peterson, chairman of the Oklahoma Veterans Council.
The Senate bill is the latest measure from Inhofe written in response to a USA Today report in late 2015 that uncovered troubling instances of neglect of Oklahoma veterans. Previous bills have made it easier for hospital directors to fire underperforming employees and allow independent inspectors to investigate VA hospitals.
“One of the things that’s easy in Washington is to pass bills that are good for veterans,” Inhofe said during the news conference.
The bills do not punish hospitals that fail to reach a five-star rating. Inhofe said “nothing happens” if an Oklahoma VA hospital falls short of the rating next year but called fivestar ratings a worthy goal and “recognition that we are doing a better job for our veterans than other states are doing.”
The bills are co-sponsored by two Oklahoma City Republicans: Sen. James Lankford and Rep. Steve Russell.