The Department of Veterans Affairs announces 100,000 new health care enrollees this year, highlighting improvements in access, scheduling, facilities, and overall service. VA officials attribute the increase to these 'landmark improvements' and efforts to prioritize veterans' needs. Despite ongoing challenges, the positive response underscores the importance of healthcare for veterans.
by CORY SMITH | The National News Desk Veterans Affairs has recorded 100,000 new health care enrollees already this year, hitting the milestone faster than in six of the last seven years, the department said this week.
, VA Secretary Doug Collins touted his department’s transformation “from a bureaucratic organization to a service organization, where Veterans come first in everything we do.” VA pointed to expanded access to care, increased flexibility in appointment scheduling, modernized facilities, and other “landmark improvements” as drivers for the increased health care enrollment. opened 34 new health care facilities. And VA has offered veterans more than 2.2 million appointments outside of normal operating hours to make care more convenient, the department said.“This number is a good sign that trust continues to build,” he said. Despite persistent challenges with health care access, especially for rural veterans, and wait times for specialty care, Whaley said veterans are responding positively to changes at VA. Health care comes up “nearly 100% of the time in some way, shape or form” when Mission Roll Call staff talk with veterans, Whaley said. Health care is vitally important to veterans, he said. And it’s a core part of keeping the promise the nation has made to honor and take care of those who served.“VA direct care really does provide some of the absolute best culturally competent care for people who have served, and there's providers who know and understand the veteran experience and are able then to provide care in a way that meets their needs and meets them where they are,” Hunter said. Whaley and Hunter, both veterans themselves, said trustworthy VA health care also supports military recruitment and the pipeline of future veterans. Over eight in 10 veterans say they trust VA to fulfill the nation’s commitment to them, including over 90% who say they trust VA for their health care needs. Hunter voiced concerns over funding shifting away from VA direct care toward community care, along with staffing shortages within some areas of VA health care. But she applauded VA’s efforts to make scheduling an appointment more convenient. And she said she was encouraged to see closer collaboration between the Department of Defense and VA, making it easier to share medical records and information for veterans. Both Whaley and Hunter said outreach remains a crucial point of focus, so every eligible veteran gets connected with the care they need. And both said veterans service organizations, like theirs, can be key partners for VA to reach veterans at the community level.“The secretary has invited Mission Roll Call at least on four different occasions to come to his headquarters and sit down with him and talk about what veterans are saying,” Whaley said. “We're sharing that information in real time with him and his staff, and they're reacting. They're taking notes, and they're not getting defensive. And we think that's important.”A nightclub security guard shot a suspect who had allegedly just fatally wounded another person, in what police say is the latest violent incident at a troubledSaturn, the Yorkshire Terrier receiving parvo treatment at Austin Pets Alive! while nursing a litter, is showing improvement. All three surviving puppies are heThe Austin Humane Society is looking for a woman who allegedly stole a 4-month-old puppy by concealing him in her purse and slipping out through a staff entrancAustin police officers arrested a couple in north Austin after they stole from a store while "heavily impaired" and with young children in their care.The Austin
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