Thursday, May 22, 2014

If Congress wants to make a difference, they need to pass a spending bill to bring all patients on waiting lists to other clinical settings.

Perhaps the US Congress doesn't understand the meaning of the word "Backlog." Let me help.

According to Merriam Webster:


1 :  a large log at the back of a hearth fire
2
:  an accumulation of tasks unperformed or materials not processed <a backlog of court cases>

If the Congress does not view this as an overburdened Veterans' Administration in need of support to carry out it's obligations then they are more the problem than the Secretary could ever be.

For Congressmen and women claiming to be business persons able to run the country better than any department manager, this is called INCREASED DEMAND.

What would a business person do? WWBPD? First a business person would maximize the total carrying capacity of the system that already existed by hiring into all the open personnel positions and close the gap between demand and supply.

Then once the current infrastructure was maxed out, the next step is to offer free lancing to come in and fill in the gap. What does that mean for the VA? That means all the open personnel positions are filled and then local facilities nearest the VA facility is tapped to maximize their capacity.

The design looks like a spiraling circle. It starts at the center and spirals out. The closest private or public facility is tapped with more and more facilities being tapped moving away from the location of the VA facility. Why does it have to be a spiraling out model? Because nearby facilitates have an understanding of local populations of veterans without putting ridiculous demand on travel.

This is not a difficult problem. It is a matter of APPROPRIATING funds to carry out quality care to all those in need of health care. It requires legislation and it is an emergency so it needs to occur immediately. 

ELIMINATE THE BACKLOG, PASS LEGISLATION TO PAY THE BILLS FOR HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS

It is so very easy to point political fingers, but, to actually make a difference requires commitment to understand the problem and legislate to address it. Legislating funding for addressing the Backlog will be less expensive than the monies the country will pay out in wrongful death suits.

Congress, not the Secretary of the Veteran's Administration needs to be added to the list of potential criminals involved in the investigations of a Special Prosecutor. Start with the committee persons who cut funding and put Veterans second to their political dogma.

Once the BACKLOG is satisfied and the DEMAND falls the VA system can be trimmed and operating budgets reassessed. Until the Backlog is satisfied there will be emergency funding needed.

The BACKLOG has been GENERATED through increased DEMAND and not because the VA system didn't work. The increased demand is historic. 

WASHINGTON — With outrage mounting (click here) over veterans’ health care, President Obama declared yesterday that allegations of misconduct at VA hospitals will not be tolerated, and he left open the possibility that Secretary Eric Shinseki, a disabled war veteran, could be held to account.

“I will not stand for it — not as commander in chief but also not as an American,” Obama said following an Oval Office meeting with the embattled Shinseki.

Congress moved to keep up the pressure on the administration, with the House easily approving a measure last night that would give the VA secretary more authority to fire or demote the 450 senior career employees who serve as hospital directors or executives in the 
agency’s 21 regions.

Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, sponsored the measure, saying VA officials who have presided over mismanagement or negligence are more likely to receive bonuses or glowing performance reviews than any sort of punishment. He declared that a “widespread and systemic lack of accountability is exacerbating” the department’s problems.

The White House said it supported the goal of seeking greater accountability at the VA but had unspecified concerns about the legislation....