Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/493837
ByDavidB.Caruso The Associated Press FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. The chronic delays plaguing the Veterans Affairs health sys- tem are concentrated in a fraction of its hospitals and clinics — many of them in the South — that have done far worse than others in delivering prompt care, ac- cording to government data reviewed by The Associated Press. A year after Americans recoiled at revelations that sick veterans were getting sicker while languishing on waiting lists, VA sta- tistics show that the num- ber of patients facing long waits has not declined, even after Congress gave the de- partment an extra $16.3 bil- lion last summer to shorten waits for care. Nearly 894,000 appoint- ments completed at VA medical facilities from Aug. 1 to Feb. 28 failed to meet the health system's timeli- ness goal, which calls for patients to be seen within 30 days. More than a quar- ter of those appointments involved a delay of longer than 60 days. Since the summer, the number of vets waiting more than 30 or 60 days for non-emergency care has largely stayed flat. The number of medical appoint- ments that take longer than 90 days to complete has nearly doubled. Those delays were not spread evenly throughout the VA's vast network of hospitals and clinics. Many occurred in a hand- ful of Southern states, often in areas with a strong mil- itary presence, a rural pop- ulation and patient growth that has outpaced the VA's sluggish planning process. Of the 75 clinics and hos- pitals with the highest per- centage of patients wait- ing more than 30 days for care, 12 are in Tennessee or Kentucky, 11 are in east- ern North Carolina and the Hampton Roads area of Vir- ginia, 11 are in Georgia or southern Alabama and six are in north Florida. Seven more were clus- tered in the region between Albuquerque, New Mexico and Colorado Springs, Col- orado. Those 47 clinics and hos- pitals represent just a frac- tion of the more than 1,000 VA facilities nationwide, but they were responsible for more than one in five of the appointments that took longer than 60 days to com- plete. That has meant big headaches for veterans like Rosie Noel, a retired Marine gunnery sergeant awarded the Purple Heart in Iraq af- ter rocket shrapnel slashed open her cheek and broke her jaw. Noel, 47, said it took 10 months for the VA to suc- cessfully schedule her for a follow-up exam and biopsy after an abnormal cervical cancer screening test. Her first scheduled appointment in February of 2014 was postponed due to a medi- cal provider's family emer- gency, she said. Her make up appointment at the VA hospital in Fayetteville, one of the most backed- up facilities in the coun- try, was canceled when she was nearly two hours into the drive from her home in Sneads Ferry on the coast. Noel said she was so en- raged, she warned the caller she had post-traumatic stress disorder — and they better have security meet her in the lobby. "To say I was livid is be- ing mild," she said. The AP examined six months of appointment data at 940 individual VA facilities to gauge changes since a scandal over de- lays led to the resignation of the VA's secretary and prompted lawmakers in Au- gust to give the VA an addi- tional $16.3 billion to hire doctors, open more clinics and build the new Choice program that allows pa- tients facing long delays to get private-sector care. Data for individual facili- ties were not available for August. The analysis reveals stark differences between the haves and have-nots. In the Northeast, Mid- west and Pacific Coast states, few VA sites reported having significant delays. A little less than half of all VA hospitals and clinics reported averaging fewer than two appointments per month that involved a wait of more than 60 days. But at the VA's outpa- tient clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, 7,117 appointments completed between Sept. 1 and Feb. 28 involved a wait of more than 60 days. There were more vets experienc- ing extended delays there than in the entire states of New York and Pennsylvania combined. VETERANS Data: Worst VA health care wait times are in the South PATRICKSEMANSKY—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Optometrist Paul Archambault, le , talks with U.S. Army veteran Kenneth Chavis during a glaucoma examination at the Fayetteville Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Fayetteville, N.C. By Alan Scher Zagier The Associated Press ST. LOUIS A broad swath of the Midwest readied for hail, damaging winds and possibly tornadoes Thurs- day as a strong storm front rumbled through the Plains. In central Indiana, a 75-year-old woman died Wednesday night after be- ing swept into a rain-swol- len creek near Indianapo- lis. Pittsboro Fire Chief Bill Zeunik said the woman, identified as Doris D. Mar- tin, was clearing debris from a water-filled ditch in her front yard along with her husband when she fell in and was swept away into a drainage pipe. Martin's body was found in a creek nearly a mile away. A tornado was reported near Peoria, Illinois, on Thursday afternoon but there were no immediate reports of damage. The National Weather Service's "enhanced risk" area stretched from north- east Texas to Michigan, Wisconsin and across the upper Midwest. Forecast- ers say Philadelphia, Wash- ington and other parts of the Atlantic coast could see the same weather pat- terns Friday, including Au- gusta, Georgia, where the Masters golf tournament is taking place through the weekend. "It's quite an expansive area," said Greg Carbin, a meteorologist with the Na- tional Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. In Wisconsin, an inter- state north of Milwau- kee was closed for several hours Thursday morning after several vehicles be- came partially submerged in flood water due to heavy rain. Tornado watches were posted Thursday for north- ern Illinois — including Chicago — and areas of Iowa, Missouri and Wis- consin. Parts of Arkan- sas, Louisiana and Texas were covered by another tornado watch, and severe thunderstorms were ex- pected in western Arkan- sas and eastern Oklahoma. Tornadoes were re- ported Wednesday and early Thursday in Kan- sas, Missouri and Okla- homa, but those areas saw minimal damage from the year's first widespread bout of severe weather. And in Michigan, light- ning strikes caused a fire at a mobile home and a fire place explosion, ac- cording to authorities. No one was injured in either incident. By early afternoon, tem- peratures in downtown St. Louis approached 80 de- grees under bright sun- shine. The balmy after- noon arrived in stark con- trast to temperatures in parts of the northeast; freezing drizzle in New Hampshire delayed some school openings and more than 2 inches of snow post- poned the first game of the season for the Portland Sea Dogs in Portland, Maine. WEATHER Midwest prepares for possible tornadoes as storms move east OZAUKEE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE VIA AP Vehicles are seen partially submerged in flood water due to heavy rain in Port Washigton, Wisconsin, on Thursday. Comfortable1,2&3bedroomfloorplans featuring fully equipped kitchen, spacious laun- dry facilities, energy efficient design Rentalassistanceassignedwhenavailable. Equal Opportunity Housing REDBLUFFAPARTMENTS Forfurtherinformationandapplication Call (530) 527-5435 • TDD/TTY 1-800-735-2929 111 Sale Lane • Mon-Fri. 8am-5pm THIS INSTITUTION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROVIDER AND EMPLOYER Accepting Applications Published as part of an event co-sponsorship agreement with The Daily News | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015 8 A