"I really want a period of observation. I don't want to rush off with solutions and make the problems worse."

 

NOTE from Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org ... For background on the "Director of the Year" problems at the Fayetteville, NC facility, refer to this article (has backlinks) ... here ...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfnov09/nf111009-4.htm

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New VA director plans to watch and learn

By John Ramsey
Staff writer

http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2009/11/17/952738

Ralph Gigliotti spent his first day in charge of the Fayetteville Veteran's Affairs Medical Center on Monday in town hall meetings telling employees he's here to help.

Gigliotti, 49, took over as interim director a week earlier than planned from former director Bruce Triplett, who retired this month after The Fayetteville Observer reported dissatisfaction among employees and patients at the hospital.

Gigliotti spent the past 41/2years as director of the VA in Durham. For the next two weeks, Gigliotti plans mostly to watch and take notes on what works well and what doesn't.

"I really want a period of observation," Gigliotti said. "I don't want to rush off with solutions and make the problems worse."

Daniel Hoffman, director of the three-state VA hospital region that includes Fayetteville, said Gigliotti's stay in Fayetteville could be anywhere from three to 12 months during the search for a permanent leader.

Gigliotti told employees there are two ways to measure quality: technical proficiency and perceived quality.

Gigliotti said both are equally important.

And while technical proficiency has improved, the hospital's reputation is suffering.

The Fayetteville VA had the lowest scores on two government surveys gauging satisfaction of patients and workers in the region, which includes seven hospitals in North Carolina and Virginia, and one in West Virginia.

During one town hall meeting packed with about 150 people, some employees wanted to know how Gigliotti would boost morale.

Gigliotti said focus groups with employees will be one key to figuring out exactly why survey scores in Fayetteville are the lowest in the region.

"It's really important for us to take that seriously," he said. "It's hard for me to imagine veterans are getting the best care they can receive if employees are carping at each other."

Leaders also will be informally walking through the hospital and speaking with workers, he said.

Gigliotti's advice for the employees sounded simple: Do your job and do it well, focus on veterans in everything you do and give them the respect they deserve, and respect your fellow employees.

Gigliotti said he plans to learn from veterans, from employees and from stakeholders such as congressmen, who patients and employees often contact with complaints.

Congressmen from North Carolina have publicly called for reform at the Fayetteville VA.

Some issues may be easy to address immediately. For instance, some employees complained that wheelchairs aren't always available when patients are coming out of surgery.

"There should be no reason proper equipment isn't there at the proper time," said Hoffman, the regional director. "We can fix that easy."

But identifying whether that's merely an oversight or a symptom of an underlying problem could take longer to figure out.

Gigliotti said his plan is three-pronged: develop a list of priorities and start working on them, ensure a smooth transition to a full-time director and strengthen relationships.

The Fayetteville VA serves a veteran population of about 171,800 in southeastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina. The hospital is the second-largest by patient volume in the eight-hospital region. The hospital saw more than 45,300 different patients this year.

"Fayetteville is such a veteran-centered community, and a lot of people care what goes on in this hospital," Gigliotti said. "Failure's not an option."

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TOPICS: veterans, veterans' benefits, VA, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Fayetteville, North Carolina, low morale