New VA Secretary Tours Veterans Hospital
News Article
By Rachel Moore
Newly appointed secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Bob McDonald is on a nationwide tour of veterans hospitals. He made his second stop at the VA Medical Center in North Las Vegas Saturday.
"This is a fantastic facility," McDonald said. "Almost half the people are veterans. Who would you rather have take care of you? Another veteran who understands your situation and is empathetic."
However, like several veterans medical facilities, long wait times, canceled appointments and a shortage of doctors plague the veterans healthcare system in southern Nevada. McDonald said areas in the Silver State present a challenge when fixing these problems.
"Veterans tend to like to live in rural areas, and rural areas create a problem for us because we don't have clinics in every single rural area," McDonald said.
The department is working to improve the care for veterans across the Valley. McDonald allocated to the VA southern Nevada Healthcare System nearly $12 million of the $15 billion President Barack Obama signed over to the VA for the next three years. Part of the funds will beef up the VA clinic in Pahrump. Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford said that's a project he's been trying to complete for more than a year.
"Since I was elected, we have been working for more than a year to get a piece of paper signed by the VA, but because of the bureaucracy it was being held up," said Rep. Horsford. "Within one week on that job, Secretary McDonald got the job done."
The secretary said gaining the trust back in his agency is a top priority. McDonald said he's upset by the way veterans have been treated.
"There are some veterans who have lost that trust," said Joe Violante, national legislative director of Disabled American Veterans. "I think the VA can redevelop that trust, and I think this secretary has the ability to bring that trust back."
"The vast majority of employees are doing a great job and the veterans will tell you that," McDonald said. "Those employees who have violated that trust; who have violated our values of ethics, they will be dealt with."
McDonald will visit the Reno VA facility in two weeks.
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