Acting VA Secretary Gibson promises accountability

In case you read some of the emails going around on Gibson not serving, this should clear it up.

A 1975 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Mr. Gibson earned both Airborne and Ranger qualifications and served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army

Statement from Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sloan D. Gibson

Gibson Announces Immediate Actions in Phoenix, Ariz.
PHOENIX (June 5, 2014)- Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sloan D. Gibson today announced immediate actions taken to address the recommendations outlined in the recent interim Office of Inspector General report. He made the following statement in Phoenix, Ariz.:

“No Veteran should ever have to wait to receive the care they have earned through their service and sacrifice. As the President said last week, we must work together to fix the unacceptable, systemic problems in accessing VA healthcare. I believe that trust is the foundation for everything we do – VA must be an organization built on transparency and accountability.

“That’s why we will release results from our nationwide audit, along with patient access data, for all medical centers next Monday. The data will demonstrate the extent of the systemic problems we have discovered.

“As a Veteran, I assure you I have the passion and determination to fix these problems – one Veteran at a time.

“The Inspector General confirmed we have serious issues when it comes to patient scheduling and access, and we have moved immediately to address those issues in Phoenix. VA has reached out to all Veterans identified in the Office of Inspector General’s interim report to discuss individual medical needs and immediately begin scheduling appointments. Getting this right is our top priority, and taking care of the Veterans here in Phoenix is a good place to start.

“We are using our current authority to immediately provide care in the community, to include primary care. In Phoenix, VA is working to award a contract which will extend the ability to use non-VA providers in the community for primary care.

“We’ve deployed a dedicated human resources team to support the hiring of additional staff. We are using temporary staffing measures, along with clinical and administrative support, to ensure these Veterans receive the care they have earned through their service. That includes three of our mobile medical units to take care of patients right here. That’s our first priority – to get all Veterans off waiting lists and into clinics. But more work remains.

“We now know there is a leadership and integrity problem among some of the leaders of our healthcare facilities, which can and must be fixed. That breach of integrity is indefensible. In Phoenix, we initiated the process to remove senior leaders. Across the country, VA has suspended all VHA senior executive performance awards for FY 2014. We will use all authority at our disposal to enforce accountability among senior leaders.

“Additionally, we will remove the 14-day scheduling goal from employee performance contracts to eliminate any incentives to engage in inappropriate behavior. We will revise, enhance, and deploy scheduling training, and we will continue medical center audits and site inspections.

“Veterans must feel safe walking into our VA facilities – they deserve to have full faith in their VA. I will not hold back from asking for help from other agencies, from community partners, from Congress – both sides of the aisle – or from the Veterans Service Organizations, who have been serving Veterans for decades. They are all our valuable partners.

“We will need the support of all our stakeholders to continue to improve the department. I look forward to working with them all to better serve our Veterans.”