VA Announces Changes for Florida Health Care Facilities

WASHINGTON – A new veterans hospital in Orlando, a new inpatient tower at Tampa, new construction in Gainesville, and four new clinics and the potential for enhanced spinal cord injury services are part a comprehensive plan by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to modernize its nationwide system of health care facilities.

“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 care closer to where most of Florida’s veterans live.”

About 451,000 of Florida’s 1.8 million veterans were treated last year in VA’s health care facilities, up from 290,000 in 2000.  In 2003, VA spent $4.2 billion in Florida, an increase from $3.1 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 enable the department to enhance its ability to provide more of the outpatient care veterans want and use, while building upon VA’s expertise in providing highly specialized inpatient care. 

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

In addition to the new medical center in Orlando, offering the full range of inpatient, outpatient and specialty care, the secretary’s announcement includes the following for Florida:

• Tampa: new inpatient tower for the Tampa VAMC;
• Four new community based outpatient clinics in Jackson County, Putnam, Summerfield (South Marion) and Eglin Air Force Base by 2012;
• Lake City: Continuation of inpatient surgery services;
• Jacksonville: Pursuit of joint ventures with the Naval Air Station at Jacksonville;
• Pensacola and the Panhandle: Pursuit of a joint venture with Pensacola Naval Hospital and Eglin Air Force Base for outpatient and inpatient care;
• Bay Pines: Pursuit of a joint VA/Department of Defense medical clinic at Bay Pines VA Medical Center.
• Bay Pines and Miami: Explore enhanced-use leasing opportunities; 
• Sarasota: Identify a site for a new national cemetery; and
• New or expanded spinal cord injury services in South Florida.

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.  

CARES was developed to identify the infrastructure VA will need to care for veterans in the 21^st century, redirecting resources from unneeded buildings to veterans’ care. Savings from CARES will be retained locally and used locally to strengthen health care services for local veterans.

“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 Veterans Homes, 38 public hearings and 10 formal meetings.  The commission submitted its recommendations to Secretary Principi in mid-February.

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