Conservatives lie when their lips are moving...that is how you tell...they
will not look at hard facts and data that show their heroes despise them
and
are screwing them every chance they get.
Looks like his heroes increase was only enough to cover inflation and not
to
SERVE the huge numbers of returning vets.
"David R" <ho.ho@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:N7uBh.6362$o61.4536@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> "Charlie Wolf" <charlie_wolf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:5clbt21k0t5sbc98hblmrrmm5qb9dvfimm@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> On Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:50:27 -0500, "Tom" <tomtk3@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>
>> The Bush Administration has increased the VA budget by more than 38%
>> in 7 years.
>>
>> **** off Tom.
>> Regards,
>
>
>
>
> http://veterans.house.gov/democratic/budget/snapshot6-29-05.htm
>
> Snapshot of How VA Budget Shortfall is Hurting Veterans'
>
> Access to Safe and Timely Care across the Nation
>
>
>
> The VA claims that by ****fting funds dedicated to replace old equipment
> and conduct maintenance the department can address its budget shortfall
> and meet veterans' demand for timely, high-quality health care. The
> following snapshots from across the nation reflect the stark reality of
> the budget shortfall on veterans' access to safe, high quality care.
>
>
>
> a.. The 3 surgical operating rooms at the White River Junction VAMC in
> Vermont had to be closed on June 27 because the heating, ventilation,
and
> air conditioning system was broken and had not been repaired due to the
> siphoning of maintenance funds to cover the budget shortfall.
>
>
> a.. The VAMC in San Antonio could not provide a paraplegic veteran with
a
> special machine to help clean a chronic wound because the facility did
not
> have the equipment dollars.
>
>
> a.. The VAMC in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, closed its Geriatric Evaluation
> and Management Unit which does extensive case management to help elderly
> veterans increase their functioning and remain at home.
>
>
> a.. The Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) needed to meet
> veterans' increased demand for care in the North Florida/South Georgia
VA
> Healthcare System have been delayed due to fiscal constraints. The
> Gainesville facility has made progress in reducing its wait lists, but
as
> of April there were nearly 700 service-connected veterans waiting for
more
> than 30 days for an appointment.
>
>
> a.. VA Medical Centers in VISN 16, which includes Arkansas, Oklahoma,
> Mississippi and Louisiana and part of Texas, have stopped scheduling
> appointments for many veterans who are eligible for care, pending
> available resources.
>
>
> a.. Even though the VA Palo Alto, California, Health Care System has
used
> $3 million in capital funds for operating needs, as of March 1 more than
> 1,000 new patients had to wait more than 30 days for a primary care
> appointment. A third of these new patients had to wait more than 3
> months. More than 5,000 patients had to wait more than 30 days for a
> specialty care appointment. Roughly 1,400 had to wait more than 3
months.
>
>
> a.. The replacement of the fire alarm system at the Loma Linda VAMC in
> California won't be done this year because the facility is using most of
> its capital funds to cover operating expenses.
>
>
> a.. The White River Junction VAMC in Vermont struggling with a $525,000
> shortfall in its prosthetics budget.
>
>
> Because the FY 2005 budget is inadequate, the facility has not been
> allowed to hire 3 additional mental health care staff and 3 additional
> Registered Nurses for the ICU. Nurses in the ICU have been forced to
work
> double ****fts, which this Committee has found to be an unsafe patient
> practice.
>
>
>
> a.. Even though the San Diego VAMC expects to exceed its goal in
medical
> care cost collections, it will divert $3.5 million of non-recurring
> maintenance funds to partially cover operating expenses, and has delayed
> filling 131 vacant positions for 3 months. The facility has a waiting
> list for patients of 750 veterans.
>
>
> a.. Because the Iowa City VAMC had to ****ft maintenance funds and
> equipment funds to cover a FY 2004 million shortfall of $3.2 million in
> medical care expenses in FY 2004, the facility is facing severe
> infrastructure problems and a larger shortfall of $6.8 million in FY
2005
> that puts patient care and safety at risk. The facility wanted to spend
> $950,000 in non-recurring maintenance funds last year to prevent a
> mechanical failure of the electrical switcher, which would close the
> facility, but was required to use those funds to cover a budget
shortfall
> in medical care last year. As a result in FY 2005, the VA must divert
> $1.5 million of medical care funds to maintain the key electrical
> switchgear for the hospital.
>
>
> Recently, a motor failed on a hospital bed, which the VA planned to
> replace but couldn't because of the shortfall, causing a fire with the
> patient on the bed. Fortunately the patient was able to get out of the
> bed safely, but the facility was forced to expend $700,000 of medical
care
> dollars to replace all the beds, which thanks to the diligence of VA
staff
> lasted 7 years beyond their life expectancy. The facility could not use
> capital funds to replace the very old beds because the money had already
> been siphoned off to cover medical care.
>
>
>
> To bring the shortfall down to $6.2 million the facility has delayed
> hiring staff for 4 months. The deliberate short staffing of nurses on
the
> psychiatric ward - as a means to correct the budget shortfall -- has
> forced the VA to cut the beds available for treatment in half.
>
>
>
> a.. As a result of cost cutting measures to make up for the shortfall
in
> FY 2005, the ****tland, Oregon, VAMC is delaying all non-emergent surgery
> by at least six months. For example, veterans in need of knee
replacement
> surgery won't be treated because of the budget shortfall.
>
>
> Since FY 2002, the ****tland VAMC has had to use its equipment and
> non-recurring maintenance funds to cover medical care expenses. For FY
> 2005 the facility needed $13 million for medical and clinical equipment
> but only received $2 million.
>
>
>
> The facility is reducing staff as a cost-cutting measure and is now
short
> at least 150 hospital staff, including nurses, physicians, and social
> workers. As a result of budget cuts for staffing, the VA has cut the
> number of medical beds available to care for veterans.
>
>
>
> Veterans in need of outpatient psychiatric treatment at the ****tland
> facility are on a waiting list because of the budget shortfall.
>
>
>
> a.. The Biloxi, Mississippi, VAMC has diverted maintenance dollars to
> meet operating expenses for the past two years but the facility will not
> be able to balance its budget without reducing staffing levels at a time
> when the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System has approximately 100
new
> veterans seeking enrollment each week.
>
>
> a.. Fifty percent of all the veterans receiving home health care
through
> the San Antonio VAMC will now have to fend for themselves. This
> cost-cutting measure means that some 250 veterans, including those with
> spinal cord injuries, will no longer be provided this care.
>
>
> a.. The VA Connecticut Healthcare System is facing a major budgetary
> challenge of sending veterans to non-VA facilities for hospitalizations
> because the VA has a shortage of beds to care for veterans and staff.
>
>
> a.. Due to the budget shortfall, the VA facility in Bay Pines, Florida,
> has been forced to put veterans who have a service-connected illness or
> disability rating of less than 50% on a waiting list for primary care
> appointments. As of late April, some 7,000 veterans will be waiting
> longer than 30 days for a primary care appointment.
>
>
>
>
> Prepared by the Democratic staff of the House Veterans' Affairs
Committee
>
>
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