WASHINGTON (AP) – The Veterans Affairs Department has reached out to all veterans on official and unofficial waiting lists at the VA’s troubled Phoenix medical center, where a whistleblower first exposed long delays in patient care, VA Secretary Robert McDonald says.
The Phoenix hospital has hired 53 additional full-time employees in recent months as officials move to address a patient backlog that resulted in chronic delays for veterans seeking care, McDonald said. Officials completed nearly 150,000 appointments at the hospital in May, June and July, McDonald said, a significant increase over previous years.
In all, the VA has reached out to more than 266,000 veterans nationwide to get them off waiting lists and into clinics, McDonald said in testimony prepared for a Senate hearing Tuesday. The Associated Press obtained a copy in advance.
“We at VA are committed to fixing the problems and consistently providing the high-quality care our veterans have earned and deserve in order to improve their health and well-being,” McDonald said.
McDonald was set to testify Tuesday as Congress examines an investigative report on delays in patient care at the Phoenix hospital, where a scandal that resulted in the ouster of former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki erupted last spring.