Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald recently visited Helena, Montana, to discuss health care with the area's veteran population.
McDonald shows commitment to veterans
The Great Falls Tribune reported that McDonald engaged in a roundtable discussion at the Montana National Guard Joint Force Headquarters. He was joined by representatives from local veterans groups, universities and state veterans agencies. The meeting was just one of his stops – he will continue to travel around the state all week, speaking with Montana vets and touring area VA facilities. McDonald has been in his position since July, when he took the job after Eric Shinseki resigned amid a public scandal concerning long wait times at VA facilities across the country. Since taking over the seat, McDonald has visited 20 states to speak with local veterans, noted Military Times.
McDonald started his speech by acknowledging the state's vast servicemember community, since Montana has the second-highest per capita veteran population in the country. He explained to local vets that the government is well aware of the sizeable number of soldiers in the region and will continue making health care for Montana vets a top priority.
Significant changes to come
McDonald's first order of business is to hire new staff to care for Montana veterans, largely due to a hefty claims backlog that he would like eradicated by the end of 2015. While local VA centers are currently having employees work overtime to sift through these claims, he noted that not only is this unacceptable, but unsustainable. McDonald acknowledged that the nation's veteran population is only growing larger, especially in Montana, and that the VA needs to step up its efforts to deal with the expanding demographic, noted the Great Falls Tribune.
Military Times explained that McDonald has already started hiring new Montana VA workers, including cardiology nurses and urologists. He hopes to place a bigger focus on bringing in talented mental health workers, responding to a nationwide push for increased attention to the psychological well-being of former soldiers. The source noted that he specifically hopes to bring qualified mental health specialists to rural areas, where local vets might not have easy access to this type of care. The source also noted that the VA is looking into constructing more Montana outpatient surgery facilities, providing increased access to telemedicine services and even creating a transportation program for vets with limited access to cars.
The recent addition to the VA has also been influential in spearheading investigations at centers across the country where patients reported receiving low-quality care. He has also renewed the organization's commitment to ending veteran homelessness, reported the source.