|
Web Posted : 08/05/2003 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs announced a plan Monday to close seven VA hospitals — one of them in Waco — while opening others and retargeting its health care services.
The plan includes major mission changes at 13 facilities, Veterans Affairs spokeswoman Karen Fedele said.
In addition to Waco, the VA wants to close hospitals in Canandaigua, N.Y.; Pittsburgh; Lexington, Ky.; Brecksville, Ohio; Gulfport, Miss.; and Livermore, Calif.
The proposal would open new hospitals in Las Vegas and in Orlando, Fla.; add centers for the blind in Biloxi, Miss., and Long Beach, Calif.; and place new spinal cord injury centers in Denver; Minneapolis; Syracuse or Albany, N.Y.; and Little Rock, Ark.
The proposals are part of a VA restructuring begun last year to shift the agency's focus to outpatient care, place services where they are needed most and save money by eliminating underused facilities.
"This is probably the most comprehensive assessment of VA infrastructure since World War II," VA Secretary Anthony Principi said.
A 15-member commission, appointed by Principi, will consider the proposed changes.
The secretary must accept or reject the plan as a whole. His decision is expected by the end of the year.
"I'm not trying to save money," Principi said. "I'm trying to transform an infrastructure that has been built or acquired over the past 50 years."
08/05/2003 |