UPDATE: THE "NICHOLSON SPIN" ON WALLA WALLA VA DOWNSIZING --

Says, "We are not going to close this hospital." But, he did.

Background on Walla Walla here... http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20JUN%2006/newsflash06-12-2006-2.htm

Previous story here... http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20JUL%2006/newsflash07-08-2006-1.htm

The "Nicholson Spin" on the Walla Walla VA is pure hype.

He says, "We are not closing this hospital."  But, he did.  And, he's replacing it with an outpatient clinic.

Nicholson has a lemon on his hands and his attempts to make lemonade aren't working.

If you read the background story above you will note this:  "A staffing hole has grown to represent an estimated 15 percent of the work force.  Loss of two physicians has resulted in the temporary elimination of acute inpatient services and the after-hours walk-in clinic."

A smaller VA operation with fewer services awaits vets in Walla Walla.

And, from the story below comes a hint of the future:  "Nicholson said the VA will work in partnership with local officials, nonprofit organizations and state and other government agencies to develop solutions for nursing home care, residential rehabilitation, inpatient health care and inpatient mental-health services. Those won't necessarily be located on the Walla Walla campus, according to a statement from the VA."

More outsourcing of services...More travel for vets (at just 11 cents a mile)...More expenses for vets...

A cut in services is a cut in benefits!

Walla Walla is just the next step in dismantling the VA.

VA press release here... http://www.vawatchdog.org/vapressrelease/vapressrelease07-07-06.htm

Story here... http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2006/07/07/local_news/local01.txt

Story below:

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Nicholson: 'We are not going to close this hospital'

By Vicki Hillhouse

A new state-of-the-art outpatient facility will replace Walla Walla's Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said Jim Nicholson, secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

"The aging of these facilities cannot be endured if we are to offer the best health care - the quality of health care that has been earned," Nicholson said in a meeting today that was scheduled with little notice Thursday.

In front of about 45 people in the VA hospital's theater, Nicholson said the fear of closure that has pervaded the Walla Walla VA campus is over.

"We are not - and I cannot stress this enough - we are not going to close this hospital," he said.

Instead, he said the federal VA will construct a new facility on the historic Walla Walla VA campus. Other parts of the 84-acre property will be used for housing and undetermined veterans services.

Nicholson didn't have a price tag or a timeline for the project. He also had no details about how the property would be redeveloped. All of that, he said, will be determined through an open process with the community.

The focus of the new facility will be primary care, specialty care and mental-health care. Nicholson said the VA will work in partnership with local officials, nonprofit organizations and state and other government agencies to develop solutions for nursing home care, residential rehabilitation, inpatient health care and inpatient mental-health services. Those won't necessarily be located on the Walla Walla campus, according to a statement from the VA. The Wainwright facility serves about 69,000 veterans in a 14-county area ranging from southeastern Washington and into neighboring states.

It had been threatened for closure under a Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services Commission recommendation in early 2004.

The CARES process was designed to streamline the VA's nationwide health-care system by eliminating unnecessary facilities costs and better aligning veterans with medical services.

Implementation of that recommendation was put on hold - along with recommendations for 17 other facilities across the country - so that further study could be done.

Walla Walla is the third community to have a decision issued by the secretary in the two years since then.

A Community Task Force, with help from a $250,000 federal grant, has worked to develop its own strategic plan for the campus.

Representatives from the task force traveled to Washington, D.C., in late April to offer their proposal to the secretary. Their recommendation would allow the VA to continue offering health care to veterans, while reducing the costs of maintaining the sprawling hospital complex.

The medical center has 350 jobs and an annual payroll of $18 million to $20 million.

Other VA medical centers in the region are in Spokane, Wash., Seattle and Portland, Ore. The district also has clinics in Richland and Yakima, Wash., and Lewiston, Idaho.

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris, R-Wash., and Dennis Lewis, director of the VA regional office responsible for Walla Walla, also attended today's meeting.

Absent was U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who had secured the federal grant for the task force and been an advocate for the facility. Murray said she hadn't been invited.

McMorris said she didn't know why the meeting had been so secretive. Though she knew a week prior that the secretary was planning to visit, she heard only Thursday evening that he planned to announce a decision.

"It's good news," McMorris said.

"As (Nicholson) mentioned, this was a first step. I feel like it's a turning point."

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Larry Scott

(go back to VA Watchdog dot Org Home Page)

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