Restructuring will close VA hospital in N.E. Ohio

The plan defers closing VA hospitals in Butler and Pittsburgh.
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- When it comes to health care, Johnathan Abbinett thinks the Veterans Affairs Department doesn't do enough for him and his fellow veterans. And what it does do, it doesn't do soon enough.
So it's no surprise that Abbinett is less than enthusiastic about the news that Las Vegas, a city with one of the fastest-growing veterans populations in the nation, is getting a hospital as part of a VA restructuring of medical services nationwide.
"It always seems too little too late for the veterans," said Abbinett, 51, who served in Vietnam. "I welcome the news, but we needed a hospital here 10 years ago."
Details were to be released today by VA Secretary Anthony Principi at a news conference here.
About the plan
The plan calls for building two hospitals, in Nevada and Florida, and closing three hospitals, in Pennsylvania; Brecksville, Ohio; and Mississippi. The agency also will add or remove medical services at dozens of other hospitals and clinics nationwide.
Inpatient care is to be maintained at two western Pennsylvania veterans hospitals -- Erie and Altoona -- that were slated for shutdown, according to the report, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.
It also defers closing two other VA hospitals -- in Pittsburgh and Butler -- until alternate facilities are available.
Principi's directive overrules recommendations made earlier this year by a federal advisory commission tasked with reviewing the nation's 4,200 VA medical facilities. That panel, the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services Commission, in February advised closing acute-care services at the VA facilities in Butler, Altoona and Erie -- the latter two "as soon as reasonable."
The VA turnabout came in the face of heavy lobbying by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. He aggressively wooed veterans in Pennsylvania's GOP primary election battle that he barely won last week.
Specter faces Democratic Rep. Joe Hoeffel in the Nov. 2 general election.
Plea from Ohio legislators
Three Ohio lawmakers sent a last-minute letter to Principi on Thursday, asking him not to close the Brecksville hospital.
"The plan is flawed as it incorrectly assumes that the region has excess capacity. Like most areas of the country, such services and facilities are stretched beyond their limits," said the letter from Reps. Ted Strickland, Sherrod Brown and Tim Ryan, all D-Ohio.
The lawmakers said closing the Brecksville hospital will mean that 48,000 veterans who are served by that facility will have to travel farther and wait longer for health care needs.
Strickland, a licensed psychologist and member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he's worried that the Brecksville facility will close before all of its services are transferred.
"Any disruption of mental health care services to veterans is unacceptable," he said.
The Lutz Veterans Medical Center in Saginaw, Mich., will stop inpatient care, according to several congressional officials who had seen the report.
"In the end, we need to do more for our veterans, not less," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
Restructuring
The department undertook the restructuring two years ago to shift services to areas where veteran populations are increasing and to modernize buildings and shed vacant space.
The VA expects to reduce costs for maintaining vacant space from $3.4 billion to $750 million by 2022 but predicts spending $6 billion on construction during that time.
The VA also will expand services offered in Columbus, Ohio, by building a new 260,000-square-foot facility. That center would replace the current, 118,000-square-foot Columbus veterans facility, which is overcrowded and doesn't offer enough services. It was built in 1995 to handle 135,000 visits a year, but last year had more than 205,000 visits.
A draft plan last summer recommended closing seven hospitals; an independent commission examined that plan and narrowed the list of closings.
After reviewing the commission recommendations, Principi decided to close three hospitals, in Pittsburgh; Brecksville, Ohio, and Gulfport, Miss. The hospitals must have a plan for closure by September.
Veterans group were reluctant to comment on the report, saying they preferred to wait for its official release. The groups said they tried to ensure the restructuring didn't hurt veterans.
"We have been concerned about trying to take things too fast," said John Brieden, American Legion national commander. "We didn't want the VA to make decisions based on only partial information."
Seeking more ways
The VA plans to continue studying ways to cut costs. Representatives from veterans groups who met with Principi on Thursday were told the agency would not close or eliminate services at any locations before new or replacement services were available elsewhere in the area.
The move is expected to take several years, according to the report, but a master plan for the transition is expected by September 2004.
But Ronald F. Conley, the past national commander of the American Legion and director of veterans services for Allegheny County, said he fears future budget cuts will scuttle the new facilities and leave veterans without a local VA.
"We're going to have to be vigilant and maintain a watch," Conley said. "We want to make sure the new veterans that are being created in the war on terrorism are going to be taken care of."
Congress will review Principi's decision. It cannot change the plan but does have authority to determine whether to fund the changes. Congress had been unwilling to approve money for construction until the department offered a restructuring plan.
There are about 25 million veterans in the country, with more than 7 million enrolled in VA health care. About 250,000 veterans live in western Pennsylvania, according to veterans advocates. Moreover, Allegheny County alone, which encompasses Pittsburgh, has the second highest per-capita number of veterans in the nation behind Los Angeles, according to the advocates.