VA Announces Changes for California Health Care Facilities

WASHINGTON – New outpatient clinics in San Mateo and East Bay, seismic improvements to facilities across the state, and a new Blind Rehabilitation Center and expanded Spinal Cord Injury Center in Long Beach are part of a comprehensive plan by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to modernize its nationwide system of health care facilities.

In addition, the plan calls for the realignment of services at the Livermore Division of the VA Palo Alto Health Care System by transferring outpatient care to a new East Bay clinic and an expanded Central Valley Clinic.  Nursing home services will remain in Livermore.

“These changes will provide greater access to care for veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. “By strengthening our network of outpatient clinics, we will bring a greater quality of care closer to where most of California’s veterans live.”

About 392,001 of California’s 2,392,193 veterans were treated last year in VA’s health care facilities, up from 306,013 in 2000.  In 2003, VA spent $5.2 billion in California, an increase from $4.1 billion three years before.  

Secretary Principi noted that about 80 percent of the health care provided by VA is outpatient care.  He said the plan would allow the department to provide more of the outpatient care veterans want and use, while building upon VA’s expertise in providing highly specialized inpatient care.

The changes are part of a comprehensive plan called CARES, short for “Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services.”  The secretary’s report on CARES can be viewed in its entirety on VA’s Web site at http://www.va.gov/CARES.

Briefly, VA secretary announced the following for California:

• Open new Community Based Outpatient Clinics in San Mateo and East Bay;
• Improve patient and employee safety by correcting seismic and life safety deficiencies at the West LA, Long Beach, San Diego, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Menlo Park and Fresno facilities;
• Open a new Blind Rehabilitation Center and expand Spinal Cord Injury services at Long Beach;
• Transfer sub-acute care beds from the Livermore facility to the Palo Alto VA Medical center;
• Construct a new freestanding nursing home care unit for Livermore area veterans and expand the Central Valley outpatient clinic; and
• Maintain the Long Beach and West LA VA medical centers as separate tertiary care facilities but  continue to consolidate clinical and administrative services;
• Maintain the San Francisco and Palo Alto VA medical centers as separate tertiary care facilities but  continue to consolidate clinical and administrative services;
• Develop a master plan for excess land at the LA campus in collaboration with stakeholders; and
• Pursue collaboration with the Department of Defense to expand dialysis and inpatient psychiatric services at Travis Air Force Base and develop a joint outpatient clinic at Monterey.

CARES is a plan to modernize and improve VA’s health care system.  Among the elements of the Secretary’s CARES decision are more than 150 new community based outpatient clinics, potential creation of four new – and expansion of five existing – spinal cord injury centers, two new blind rehabilitation centers, and expansions throughout VA’s healthcare system that will enhance veterans’ access to VA care. 

In July 1999, a General Accounting Office study found that VA was diverting a million dollars a day – or $3.6 billion during a decade – from veterans’ health care to maintenance on unneeded or unused facilities.  The average age of VA’s more than 4,900 buildings is more than 50 years, and the need to reduce vacant space and unneeded buildings has been the focus of several reports by the General Accounting Office.

This approach to facility’s management means the dollars once wasted on old and vacant buildings can be used to enhance services in the communities where health care is provided.

“CARES modernizes VA’s 74-year old health care system,” said Principi. “I want to emphasize that no veteran will lose health care as a result of CARES, nor will there be any gaps in their health care services.”

The CARES plan was reviewed by an independent commission, which received more than 212,000 comments and held 81 site visits to VA and Department of Defense medical facilities, and state homes, 38 public hearings and 10 formal meetings.  The commission submitted its recommendations to Secretary Principi in mid-February.

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