releases: https://medium.com/@RepBetoORourke/the-need-to-improve-the-el-paso-va-f7b874bf4e33?source=rss-964ef69221bc------2
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| https://medium.com/@RepBetoORourke/the-need-to-improve-the-el-paso-va-f7b874bf4e33?source=rss-964ef69221bc------2 | THE NEED TO IMPROVE THE EL PASO VA | 2016-11-10 | 2016 | 2016-11 | Democrat | House | TX | Beto O'Rourke | O000170 | medium.com | legacy | THE NEED TO IMPROVE THE EL PASO VA 11/10/2016I’ve just seen the most recent VA internal reports on the performance of the El Paso VA (Click here: https://goo.gl/NZxqkc to see the report.) The bottom line is the El Paso VA is letting too many veterans down; it is underperforming despite dramatic increases in funding, and the attention and support from the local medical community; and it is proving that without strong leadership all the resources in the world won’t be able to ensure that every veteran is treated with respect and dignity in El Paso.While many El Paso veterans get excellent care without incident — and I am deeply grateful to the staff and providers at the El Paso VA who make that possible — there are too many still reporting to me that they are unable to get appointments, their appointments are dropped, or that they are not able to connect with the VA in the first place to make an appointment.Here are some of the numbers from an internal report that were only made public when a Freedom of Information Request Act (FOIA) was recently filed: Call Center Responsiveness: Veterans who call the El Paso VA call center experience an average wait time of approximately 70 seconds — significantly higher than the national benchmark of roughly 21 seconds. Further, the El Paso VA call center was assessed to have an average call abandonment rate of approximately 9 percent. No call should go unanswered at the El Paso VA, especially not at a rate nearly three times the national benchmark.Primary Care Access: In spite of numerous efforts to bring the lack of primary care providers to the attention of the El Paso VA, the data indicates that only approximately 38 percent of veterans receive a routine care appointment as soon as needed. The national benchmark is approximately 67 percent. Similarly, only 33 percent of veterans in El Paso receive an urgent care appointment as soon as needed. · The data also suggests that only 76 percent of veterans in El Paso are able to receive primary care appointment within 30 days from their preferred date — a staggering difference from the national benchmark, which has completion rate of nearly 100 percent in this category. Specialty Care Access: The El Paso VA was assessed to have completed 44 percent of urgent specialty care as soon as needed. The national benchmark for this category is 57 percent.Mental Healthcare Access: The data indicates that while we have improved in increasing access to Mental Healthcare, the El Paso VA is still 10 percent below the national benchmark in completing new mental health appointments within 30 days from the preferred date.Efficiency: For each medical center, clinical and administrative cost efficiency is scored on a scale from 1–100. The El Paso VA received a score of approximately 73 percent, compared to the national benchmark of 96 percent. Adding insult to injury, the acting director in El Paso sent an email about this report to congressional staffers ONLY AFTER THE REPORT WAS TURNED OVER THROUGH A FOIA REQUEST, taking zero ownership of the problem, admitting no responsibility, and on a call later with my staff complained that El Paso shouldn’t be compared to high performing VAs in other parts of the country. That is absolutely unacceptable and is the perfect illustration of the leadership problems at the VA and a culture that allows management to make excuses instead of a culture that prioritizes excellence and accountability.We have a new permanent director starting Monday, Col. (Ret.) Michael Amaral. He will be the first permanent director that we’ve had in El Paso in 2 years. I will do everything in my power to make him successful. However, he must make a total commitment to excellence and we will hold him accountable for fulfilling that.We’ve made strides in hiring mental health staff, in coordinating care with Texas Tech (who are now providing 5 additional psychiatrists), and in authorizations for the construction of new clinics. But if we can’t ensure that every veteran is being cared for in the way he or she deserves and has earned, then we are failing.What I’m going to do: Our opportunity to improve this will rest largely with new leadership. I will request that Col. Amaral submit a clear plan of action to my office detailing how the El Paso VA intends to improve in the areas in which it is underperforming.Request that internal data be collected on a weekly rather than quarterly basis, and meet weekly with the El Paso VA to identify areas of improvement.Introduce legislation to require that these internal reports are published publicly as soon as they are available and shared with veterans, the general public and the media to ensure that we are holding the VA accountable.Personally evaluate the performance of the El Paso VA call center by collecting and recording call wait times and abandonment rates.Work with the VA National Office to increase oversight and accountability for those VA medical centers that are chronically underperforming in key areas — performance data is only useful if we act on it.Aggressively pursue national legislation that will give the VA every opportunity (and no excuse) to perform at the highest level (for a link to our proposed VA legislation, click here: https://goo.gl/7d05QR) From Day 1 (January of 2013), I have been aggressively focused on mental health access and the performance of the El Paso VA in this area. That is in response to the veterans who are taking their own lives in our community and throughout the country in part because they have not been able to get an appointment, or a follow-up appointment, or any care at all. That focus and relentless measuring and public accountability has worked in improving the El Paso VA’s performance. Where we had 68 full time employees in mental health in 2013, we now have the equivalent of 97. We are seeing improved levels of access in our veterans surveys, and we are successfully leveraging care in the private sector to open up more appointment slots. It’s clear to me that only this vigorous level of scrutiny and accountability works, and I will apply that to every aspect of the VA’s performance. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |