Atlanta VA Ranking Dropped

Atlanta VA quality drops to one of the worst in the nation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Willoughby Mariano
Sept 28, 2018

Troubles at the Atlanta VA persist despite years of reform attempts because department heads are slow to change, said Bob Teets, a U.S. Marine veteran who serves on the Atlanta VA director’s advisory council. These physicians are more concerned with preserving their reputations than alerting top administrators to problems, he said.

The Atlanta VA Medical Center’s quality rating fell to one out of five stars, ranking it among the bottom of VA facilities nationally, according to new data. Last year, it earned three stars. Photo: Phil Skinner

Atlanta’s VA Medical Center now ranks as one of the worst in the nation after the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs latest national assessment of hospital quality, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News have learned.

The Decatur-area hospital’s overall quality rating fell from three stars to one — the lowest in the VA’s five-star ranking system. This means that Atlanta’s VA is among the lowest-scoring 10 percent of the department’s 100-plus medical centers nationwide.

A June Inspector General audit found that the hospital has the highest staffing shortages of any VA hospital in the country. The hospital was short 89 positions, including neurologist, pathologist, psychologist and nurses slots.
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