washingtonscene
that when we lose people’s trust, it’s hard to build it back up. But we’re work- ing hard to do that.” Here are 10 ways Shulkin plans to
shake up the massive bureaucracy during his tenure as secretary. Firing bad employees. At the top of Shulkin’s to-do list is improving account- ability at VA centers across the country. Most of the VA’s 365,000 employees do terrific work every day, he said. But when even a small number deviate from the department’s ethics and values, they need to go. “We’re going to make sure that the
secretary has the authority to make sure that those employees … are leaving the VA system,” Shulkin told the cheering crowd. Extending the Choice Program. The Vet- erans Choice Program, created after the wait-time scandals, allows VA patients to seek private doctors closer to home. The program was set to expire in August, but lawmakers approved an extension April 5. “If Congress doesn’t act, we will see a significant amount of resources that are dedicated to caring for veterans be re- moved,” he said. “We can’t let that happen.” Choice reform. Beyond the extension, Shulkin said the Veterans Choice Pro- gram needs to be simplified. The goal: to make it work better for veterans. Thirty-one percent of VA patients’
care now is delivered in their communi- ties, Shulkin said. He wants to continue coordinating with local health care fa- cilities so their systems are further inte- grated with the VA’s.
Shulkin also plans to get rid of rules
that allow only veterans who face more than a 30-day wait or live more than 40 miles away from a VA facility to seek care outside the VA, Stars and Stripes reported.
“This is not privatization,” Shulkin 34 MILITARY OFFICER MAY 2017
said. “This is actually [getting] the veteran the very best care in the VA and the very best care in the private system and then working to build that into an integrated system of care.” Improving VA infrastructure. During his speech, Shulkin shared slides showing two aging VA facilities: one built in 1895 and another in 1932. “Our buildings are too old,” he said.
“Many of the facilities frankly should’ve been remodeled or even torn down and rebuilt.” Veterans deserve the best equipment,
facilities, and health care professionals, Shulkin said, which means “reinvigorating our efforts to rebuild our infrastructure.” ‘World-class’ services. Some health care requirements are unique to the vet- eran community, and Shulkin said the VA needs to continue enhancing those services. That includes specialized pro- grams for spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries and treatment for post-traumatic stress.
These areas “are really important for
veterans [and] don’t exist in ways that are easily accessible to veterans outside of the VA,” Shulkin said. “We’re going to make sure that we are focusing on having those be world class.” Better VA-DoD partnerships. VA and DoD officials need to examine ways to le- verage existing facilities, Shulkin said. “When you take a look at the DoD and
VA, we have maps where we know that our facilities are close together,” he said. “We could be working closer together.” That could extend to other federal facili-
ties, Shulkin said, as agencies look for ways to share resources and cut expenses. Better electronic records. Towering stacks of paper medical records clogging up the VA system will be a thing of the past if Shulkin gets his way. The VA has made a lot of progress
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