Inspector General says Muskogee VA making progress – Tulsa World

The Muskogee-based Eastern Oklahoma Veterans Health Care System has made significant strides since a critical 2015 news story was published, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General says in a report released Monday.

Signed by Dr. John D. Daigh Jr., assistant inspector general for healthcare inspections, the report says the Eastern Oklahoma system, which includes two Tulsa clinics, has fulfilled 11 of 19 recommendations from a May 2016 site visit and has target completion dates within the next few months for the remainder.

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, who requested Office of Inspector General reviews of both the Eastern Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City systems, told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Tuesday that we have solved the problem in Oklahoma.

Inhofe was presenting legislation that would permit third-party investigations of VA facilities.

Inhofe praised Ralph Gigliotti, director of the VA Rocky Mountain Network, which includes Oklahoma, and said he thinks most of the problems at Oklahomas VA facilities were related to leadership and turnover in administration.

Mondays report notes that the Eastern Oklahoma system went through several top administrators in a relatively short period of time, but it also highlights broader staffing issues that may continue to be a problem, particularly at the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee and some outlying clinics.

Specifically, the report says the systems rural locations and low pay make recruiting and retaining personnel, particularly medical specialists, a difficult task.

It also says the Eastern Oklahoma system has had trouble implementing Veterans Choice, a new program intended to allow veterans to use private health-care providers closer to their homes, and in being able to transfer out patients needing higher levels of care.

Investigators reviewed the deaths of 10 acute- care patients and found it more likely that the deaths were due to the severity of the patients diseases rather than poor quality or a lack of care during their ICU stay.

Inhofe requested the OIG investigations after a Dec. 22, 2015, USA Today story outlining failures in the two systems, and particularly the Oklahoma City hospital.

Since then, Inhofe and other members of the Oklahoma congressional delegation have pressed for changes making it easier for regional directors to dismiss local administrators.

Mark Morgan, who was brought in to run the Eastern Oklahoma VA in 2016 after several temporary directors, said he expects continued progress.

I have reviewed the OIGs findings and recommendations and concur with all of them, Morgan said. We have already implemented or completed 11 of the recommendations and are actively working to complete the remaining eight by the end of the year.

The Eastern Oklahoma system includes the Montgomery Medical Center in Muskogee, outpatient clinics in Tulsa, Hartshorne, Muskogee and Vinita, and the behavioral medicine clinic in Tulsa.

randy.krehbiel @tulsaworld.com

Twitter: @rkrehbiel

See original here:

Inspector General says Muskogee VA making progress - Tulsa World