Carol Costa: The New VA … A Winning Model - An Inspired Mission?

Carol Costa: The New VA … A Winning Model - An Inspired Mission?

The new Director of the VA has been talking a good game but, are we reaping results for our men and women who wear the uniform of this nation. I contend the jury is still out. VA Secretary Robert McDonald, recently appointed by President Obama on the heels of the scandal that exposed large inefficacies and utter dysfunction by the Government agency charged with caring for those men and women who serve the nation through military service. Wrestling the beast that is the Veterans Administration is no small task and the needs of veterans remain pressing. Restoring trust must be a paramount concern for the new Secretary, as he appears to have an all hands on deck approach to the problems plaguing the agency using new funding and a careful examination of operations that sadly have failed too many vets, including secret wait lists and wait times of 30 days resulting in often times terrible outcomes. President Obama too is on board, as he signed a bill providing 16 billion dollars to hire doctors and nurses, and fund mobile clinics for our veterans. But, will the changes and new path get to the local and human level of the need? Time will tell.    

Rebuilding Trust

In his October 20, 2014 remarks at the Institute of Medicine Annual Meeting in Washington, DC McDonald outlined a mission for what he calls the “Road to Veterans Day” He stated, “The problems we face are serious. The President, Congress, Veterans service organizations, taxpayers, and VA’s rank and file all understand the need for immediate reforms to achieve three non-negotiable goals—goals we set for ourselves more than two months ago on our “Road to Veterans Day.” This initiative outlines what we intend to accomplish by Veterans Day 2014. It begins with our mission and immediate objective: To better serve and care for those who have “borne the battle” and for their families and survivors. From there, we developed a series of goals and actions that enable the Department to move quickly and decisively to:

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Rebuild trust with Veterans and stakeholders.
Improve service delivery, focusing on Veteran outcomes.
And set a course for long-term excellence and reform.

So as we sit two days post Veterans Day, how is the new mission going? Secretary McDonald’s actions are decisive and the numbers are impressive, as he has begun 5600 disciplinary actions and promised justified terminations to follow, he has made referrals to the DOJ, made personal visits to VA centers across the nation and started to unpeel the levels of the behemoth bureaucracy. He has set the agency on a course of renewed focus on patient care. He has re-energized the mission and by doing so is hopeful the results will be felt on the ground by staff and Veterans alike.

Serving All Vets

So like any huge institution chances are the impact at the local levels will be slow to come. I contend these are steps in the right direction. There are 22 million Veterans in the United stated 10 % of those are women and that percentage is growing larger each day. The VA’s care for female Veterans is also up for scrutiny as a report published in Women’s Heath revealed large gaps in health care for these 2.3 million women. According to the article, a report from DAV released in September 2014 found that one-third of VA medical centers did not have a gynecologist on staff. I have been told my female veteran friends that often times a trek of many miles is undertaken to simply get a mammogram or a pap smear. This is unacceptable. I realize the journey of a million miles begins with a single step. But, as the ranks of our military grow and return home with many healthcare challenges I only hope the VA’s new re-energized mission is ready to serve them with efficacy and compassion.

Secretary McDonald provides a stark contrast from former Secretary Eric Shinseki who by all accounts is a very nice man and exemplary general, yet presided in a much more laid back fashion. McDonald’s willingness to step in and shake things up is a good thing and removes the more passive nature of the previous administration. The Vets I know like this quality. I feel McDonald has the tone right and he is moving in a positive direction, he appears active, engaged and ready to be a doer. But, like the old TV ad says, "we’ve come a long way baby and we have a way to go.”

Happy Belated Veterans Day.  

Carol Costa is a public relations and community outreach specialist; she has experience in both the public and private sectors. She is the Chairwoman of the Scituate Democratic Town Committee and has extensive community affairs and public relations experience. She previously served in the Rhode Island Judiciary for nearly 17 years. Carol also enjoyed a successful development stint at the Diocese of Providence as Associate Director for Catholic Education and is currently a public housing manager. Her work has been published in several local outlets including GoLocal, Valley Breeze, The Rhode Island Catholic, and Currents Magazine.