More wounded coming home, Tampa VA cuts jobs?

More answers needed from Haley VA Medical Center on its budget

In Print: Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The platitudes coming from the mouthpiece at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center about the hospital's financial challenges are just short of, "Don't worry, be happy." That sort of arrogant, condescending attitude should not sit well with veterans and other taxpayers. Haley is a public hospital funded with public money to provide top-quality care for veterans, and it should be more transparent about its budget woes and their impact on patients.

The Department of Veterans Affairs sent the Tampa hospital $28.7 million in cash from VA reserves to cover a shortfall once estimated as high as $47.5 million, the Times' William R. Levesque reported Sunday. Haley needs that much cash to balance its books at the end of the fiscal year, even after spending cuts that included reducing lab services by $1.5 million and cutting staff through attrition by 111 positions. There are serious issues here that deserve more transparent treatment than a canned statement from VA spokeswoman Mary Kay Hollingsworth that Haley "will continue to improve efficiencies and reduce costs.''

Members of Congress are getting no better treatment as they seek information. The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee sent a letter last month to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki about the Tampa hospital's budget issues. Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., and ranking member Richard Burr, R-N.C., expressed concern that Haley's cuts "could have an adverse impact on patient care quality.'' They have yet to receive an answer.
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