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AP Finds Some Washington VA Hospitals Still Lagging; Seattle VA Starts Expansion

Our malpractice attorneys in Seattle examines an AP report that found some washington VA hospitals still lagging.

Many veterans are still facing lengthy waits for appointments at many Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities nationwide, and while most Washington VA facilities are meeting goals for timeliness of appointments, three not do not yet meet the target, according to a report from the Associated Press (AP) that was recently published by The Seattle Times.

The AP reports that VA centers in Walla Walla, Vancouver, and Chehalis lag when it comes to timely appointments, a year after the nation was angered to discover long waits for VA medical appointments, leading to a shakeup at the VA and $16.3 billion legislation intended to cut wait times.

The VA’s goal is to see all patients within 30 days. The AP’s analysis of 940 VA facilities around the country between September and February showed that more than 893,000 appointments did not meet that goal, with more than a quarter involving a delay of more than 60 days, according to an AP article in The Washington Post.

The AP also reported in The Washington Post that while the number of veterans in the nation facing waits of 30 to 60 days for non-emergency care has been flat, those with waits of more than 90 days have nearly doubled.

Delays at Washington VA Hospitals

The Seattle Times’ AP article stated that delays at VA facilities in Walla Walla, Vancouver, and Chehalis were higher than the national average of 2.8 percent, and worse than before the appointment scandal came to light. Less than 2.4 percent of the appointments at the other 11 VA facilities in Washington had such a delay.

Specifically, the AP analysis showed:

  • The VA hospital in Walla Walla had the worst statistics in the state, with 4.6 percent of about 26,000 appointments at the facility delayed more than 30 days; 48 appointments delayed more than 90 days.
  • At the VA clinic in Vancouver, 4.1 percent of almost 49,000 appointments were delayed at least 31 days, and 25 were delayed more than 90 days.
  • In Chehalis, 3.21 percent of more than 5,500 appointments were delayed more than 30 days.
  • While the VA facility in Spokane had less than 2.4 percent of all appointments with a delay, 240 appointments were delayed more than 90 days.

In The Seattle Time article, Brian Westfield, director of the Walla Walla hospital, which serves a rural region of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, said there were no obvious reasons for the wait times, and the facility has “no significant vacancies.”

The Vancouver clinic is part of the VA Portland Health Care System. Spokesman Daniel E. Herrigstad said in the article that staffing, including primary care doctors and support staff, has been a challenge for the facility.

In the last two years, outpatient visits have been rising at the Vancouver facility, according to the article, and the VA Portland Health Care System has been approved for an additional 12,000 square feet of leased space for primary care and specialty care in Vancouver. Herrigstad said the facility also has plans for a new clinic focused on primary care.

Seattle VA Breaks Ground for Expansion

The VA hospital in Seattle is also expanding, having broken ground recently on a $152 million building focused on mental health and research.

The Seattle Times reported this is the first VA campus expansion in nearly 30 years. More than 22,000 veterans sought mental health treatment from the region’s VA hospital system last year in the Puget Sound area, the article stated, 8 percent more than the previous year.

“Quite frankly, the demand has outstripped our supply,” Larry Carroll, director of the VA Northwest Health Network that includes facilities in Washington and five other states, said in the article. “This project will give us room to grow.”

At Morrow Kidman Tinker Macey-Cushman, PLLC, we have recovered compensation for military veterans and their families in cases concerning delayed and mismanaged care by VA providers. We are experienced in navigating the system for bringing medical malpractice claims against the VA, and will work to bring justice for our clients. If you are concerned about delays or errors in your VA care, do not hesitate to call us or contact us using our online form.