State of the VA system

The Veteran’s Affairs System is notorious for long wait times. By his own admission, the director of the Gulf Coast Veteran’s Health Care System says 2015 was a rough year. As Katarina Luketich reports, in today’s State of the System address in Biloxi, VA Director Anthony Dawson says things are looking up as they continue to strive for improvement.
Progression, in one word that was the theme of director Anthony Dawson’s State of the System address this morning, progress the VA has made and progress it still needs to make. “Improving access has been our biggest priority here and the VA and it will continue to be in 2016,” said Dawson.
Dawson says the demand for VA care is growing. In 2015, they saw 57,000 more patients than they had the year before. With higher demand comes an access issue and Dawson says to help here locally, the Biloxi VA is renovating a building to add 10 to 15 more inpatient beds. “We want to make sure that we utilize any facility inside the VA that can provide the care that we need.”
Even with the growing number of patients, 97 percent of veterans at the Gulf Coast VA are being seen within 30 days. Even though three percent seems like a small number, it equates to 1,400 veterans having to wait over a month for care. Officials are working to boost that to 100 percent in the coming years as they continue to ask for feedback from those they serve. “Some are very angry for one reason or another but most of all the comments and concerns, and I do keep data on this, are ensuring they are very, very pleased with the care they are getting here at Gulf Coast,” said Dawson.
To better communicate with their patients, the VA has veteran ambassadors who relay even more feedback to officials. Twenty-year Air Force Veteran Bill Parker is a VA ambassador. He said, “My mission is to tell the VA what the veterans are saying and the kind of service they would like to have.”
While there is always still work to be done and more ways to improve, the director sent a message of pride in the work the VA has done and excitement for where they’re headed in the year to come.