Traumatic brain injuries have become the “signature wound” of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Estimates from the Department of Defense and Veteran’s Brain Injury Center show 22 percent of combat casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan are from brain injuries. Many more with blast injuries may also have sustained TBIs. Since 2000, instances of TBI… Read more »
In the weeks following the attacks of Sept. 11, the United States put boots on the ground in Afghanistan. That was 17 years ago, with thousands of lives lost and billions of dollars spent – yet there’s still no clear end in sight. The U.S. is currently spending an estimated $45 billion a year on… Read more »
This week, the Department of Veterans Affairs released its annual end-of-fiscal-year quality and performance ratings for 146 medical facilities across the country. The VA began releasing star ratings in 2016 after a USA Today investigation found the VA was keeping quality data away from public scrutiny. Since then, the VA has published an annual list… Read more »
Back in July, the Tampa Bay Times reported on allegations that Department of Veterans Affairs staff at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital improperly canceled radiology exams. According to the allegations, staff at the Tampa-area facility canceled hundreds of exams in an effort to clean out the backlog of orders. In response, Haley became the… Read more »
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie met last week with the Senate VA Committee to discuss the state of the department under his leadership. Committee members asked Wilkie, who took office two months ago, about several looming issues, including the modernization of veterans’ health records. The secretary discussed ongoing conversations with the Department of… Read more »
The Department of Veterans Affairs has an important deadline coming up. By Oct. 4, the department must submit a progress report on its plan to implement the VA MISSION Act, which will overhaul veterans’ health care so that more have access to medical care outside the VA. That much-needed reform can’t come soon enough. The… Read more »
Just a few months ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs released ratings for its 133 nursing home facilities. Although releasing this data was a good move toward transparency, the information paints a bleak picture of care at VA nursing homes across the country. The VA uses a star-rating system to measure quality and care standards… Read more »
