Senator Wyden demands urgent VA reforms after OIG Report
KATU2 Press Release
Sen. Ron Wyden
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden urged top federal Department of Veterans Affairs officials to act quickly to make the recommended improvements identified in the recent Office of Inspector General’s report on Roseburg VA Health Care System.
Among other issues, Sen. Wyden noted that “Roseburg is operating at 48% of its authorized strength during the VA OIG’s inspection, and even lower in some of Oregon’s rural areas.”
He also expressed his alarm at the lack of suicide prevention measures, noting that Roseburg VA staff failed to complete an evaluation for 57 percent of patients who had a positive suicide risk screen, which is significantly above the OIG’s 10 percent deficiency benchmark.
“The OIG report goes on to document that staff did not notify the suicide prevention team about two patients who reported suicidal behaviors during the evaluation. Concerningly, VA OIG observed that the Roseburg VA Health Care System failed to conduct its required five suicide prevention outreach activities each month,” Wyden wrote. “I recognize that VA leadership attributes these findings to inadequate training and staffing as the reason for Roseburg’s inability to satisfy the stated requirements for reporting and outreach, but these outcomes are unacceptable and ultimately reaffirms the importance of addressing staffing shortages at Roseburg.”
The full “Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection of the Roseburg VA Health Care System in Oregon can be downloaded at the following link. <https://tinyurl.com/4ax9tb2e>
(SOVO) helps bridge the gap between what is available and what is needed to assist in meeting the needs of our veterans and their families. SOVO helps ensure that veterans receive the benefits they are due for their service to our country. Coos County, Oregon has approximately 6000 veterans and one County Veterans Service Officer.
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Senator Wyden demands urgent VA reforms after OIG Report
KATU2
Press Release
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden urged top federal Department of Veterans Affairs officials to act quickly to make the recommended improvements identified in the recent Office of Inspector General’s report on Roseburg VA Health Care System.
Among other issues, Sen. Wyden noted that “Roseburg is operating at 48% of its authorized strength during the VA OIG’s inspection, and even lower in some of Oregon’s rural areas.”
He also expressed his alarm at the lack of suicide prevention measures, noting that Roseburg VA staff failed to complete an evaluation for 57 percent of patients who had a positive suicide risk screen, which is significantly above the OIG’s 10 percent deficiency benchmark.
“The OIG report goes on to document that staff did not notify the suicide prevention team about two patients who reported suicidal behaviors during the evaluation. Concerningly, VA OIG observed that the Roseburg VA Health Care System failed to conduct its required five suicide prevention outreach activities each month,” Wyden wrote. “I recognize that VA leadership attributes these findings to inadequate training and staffing as the reason for Roseburg’s inability to satisfy the stated requirements for reporting and outreach, but these outcomes are unacceptable and ultimately reaffirms the importance of addressing staffing shortages at Roseburg.”
The full “Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection of the Roseburg VA Health Care System in Oregon can be downloaded at the following link. <https://tinyurl.com/4ax9tb2e>
Category: Blog Tags: Dept. of Veterans Affairs, OIG Report, Recommendations, Sen. Ron Wyden, suicide prevention
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