President Obama to visit Phoenix VA Medical Center

President Barack Obama is set to visit the Phoenix VA Medical Center tomorrow with VA Secretary Bob McDonald to review the progress made at the facility during the past 11 months.

According to the White House, the President is especially interested in how VA is expanding access to care, both VA and non-VA care, and how Veterans are taking advantage of the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act that he signed into law last year.

“During the course of this visit, the President will hear about progress made to improve the VA’s ability to serve veterans in a timely and effective manner, areas where more progress is needed, and further steps that are planned,” the White House said in a release announcing the visit.

President Obama signs the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act during a bill signing ceremony at Fort Belvoir last year. Tomorrow, the president will visit the Phoenix VAMC to review the progress made at the facility. (ROBERT TURTIL/U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)

VA’s initiatives to alleviate unacceptable wait-times and get Veterans the care they earned are more robust from coast to coast. In addition to the Choice Card and the Non-VA Medical Care Program, VA added more clinic hours and workdays, deployed mobile medical units, and shared best practices from high-performing facilities throughout VA.

To respond to Veterans’ mental health needs and the President’s 2012 Executive Order, VA has also substantially increased mental health staffing, expanded the capacity of the Veterans Crisis Line by 50 percent, and enhanced its partnerships with community mental health providers.