{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcsally.senate.gov/news/press-releases/mcsally-leads-arizona-delegation-to-urge-expansion-of-telehealth-care-at-va-facilities", "McSally Leads Arizona Delegation to Urge Expansion of Telehealth Care at VA Facilities", "2020-09-25", "2020", "2020-09", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "Martha McSally", "M001197", "www.mcsally.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. SENATE  U.S. Senator\r\nMartha McSally (R-AZ) on Friday led several members of the Arizona\r\ncongressional delegation in sending a letter\r\nto Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilke calling on him to adopt and expand\r\ntelehealth coverage at VA facilities in the state. Out of the three VA Medical\r\nCenters in Arizona, only one has the technology to provide tele-critical care\r\ncoverage. Reps.\r\nTom O'Halleran (D-AZ-01), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-02), Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04), Andy\r\nBiggs (R-AZ-05), David Schweikert (R-AZ-06), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-07), and\r\nDebbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) also signed onto the letter. The VA\r\nhas been a leader in adopting tele-Critical Care coverage for over a\r\ndecade.However, two-thirds of VAMC ICU beds are\r\nstill without coverage nationally  and zero beds have tele-Critical Care\r\ncoverage for our brave veterans in our state of Arizona, the members\r\nwrote. We believe this gap in ICU coverage must be closed as part of our\r\ngovernment's response to the COVID-19 public health crisis. Read the\r\nfull letter HERE\r\nor below. The\r\nHonorable Robert Wilkie Secretary\r\nof Veterans Affairs 810\r\nVermont Avenue, NW Washington,\r\nDC 20420 Dear\r\nSecretary Wilkie: Thank\r\nyou for your steadfast commitment to advancing telehealth technologies within\r\nthe Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system to enhance care for our\r\nveterans. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact veteran care\r\nacross the nation, we write to express our support for ensuring the rapid\r\nadoption of VA telehealth platforms through VA's tele-Critical Care program and\r\naccelerating telehealth accessibility for veterans receiving treatment in VA\r\nMedical Centers' (VAMCs) Intensive Care Units (ICUs). The VA\r\nhas been a leader in adopting tele-Critical Care coverage for over a\r\ndecade. However, two-thirds of VAMC ICU beds are still without coverage\r\nnationally  and zero beds have tele-Critical Care coverage for our brave\r\nveterans in our state of Arizona. We believe this gap in ICU coverage must be\r\nclosed as part of our government's response to the COVID-19 public health\r\ncrisis. Additionally,\r\nthe VA has more than 40,000 clinical vacancies, putting massive strain on a\r\nworkforce responsible for delivering care for over 9 million enrolled\r\nveterans. VAMCs in rural communities not only lack general clinicians,\r\nbut they are also lacking intensivists, with specialties veterans need,\r\nparticularly in ICUs. We can and must do better by our veterans, and we\r\nhave the opportunity now during this public health crisis to make permanent\r\nimprovements to veteran care. In June\r\n2020, the VA authorized the national expansion of its tele-Critical Care\r\nprogram, providing an opportunity for thousands of the sickest VA patients to\r\nreceive improved care through technology, and to significantly improve their\r\nlikelihood of exiting the ICU alive and well. Furthermore,\r\nVA tele-Critical Care systems operate on a Hub-Spoke model in which a central\r\ncommand center staffed by VA intensivists and critical care nurses, provides\r\ncare by monitoring individual patients through direct connections to the vital\r\nsign monitors and other medical devices in the patient rooms. In\r\naddition, there is an audio-high-definition video link within each veteran\r\npatient's ICU room permitting the remote intensivist or critical care nurse to\r\nengage with a physician, nurse, or veteran in the room. According\r\nto an article in CHEST, the Journal of the American College of Chest Physicians\r\n(2014; 145(3))[1], patients who receive their ICU care from a hospital\r\nwith tele-ICU capabilities were 26 percent more likely to survive in an ICU\r\nsetting. These patients also experienced a 30 percent reduction in\r\nlength-of-stay and were 15 percent more likely to survive hospitalization and\r\nbe discharged. Moreover, use of the tele-ICU has expanded to include more\r\nthan 500 of the 1,600 active VA tele-Critical Care beds and 38 VAMCs are\r\ncurrently utilizing the system. By increasing the number of ICU patients\r\nthat VA critical care teams can manage, tele-Critical Care effectively extends\r\nthe productivity and reach of intensivists and improves the quality of care for\r\nveteran patients. As\r\nMembers of the Arizona Congressional delegation, we look forward to working\r\nwith you to further expedite VA modernization for our veterans in Arizona and\r\nacross the nation, particularly within the ICU setting. To that end, we\r\nrespectfully request a timeline as to when our state's VAMC ICU's will be 100\r\npercent covered by tele-Critical Care technology.  Again,\r\nthank you for your commitment to transform VA services for our veterans. \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcsally.senate.gov/news/press-releases/mcsally-leads-arizona-delegation-to-urge-expansion-of-telehealth-care-at-va-facilities"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2592049315571785, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}