Dallas loves Veterans!!

[vinnieponte]

Dallas VA hospital is nation's worst

07:00 AM CST on Tuesday, January 18, 2005


By DOUG J. SWANSON / The Dallas Morning News


The Dallas veterans hospital is so dirty, dangerous and poorly managed, federal investigators have found, that it ranks as the worst such medical center in the country.

Investigators' report says the Dallas veterans hospital 'did not maintain a consistently clean and safe environment.' An inspector general's report for the Department of Veterans Affairs said the scores for the North Texas Health Care System place it last among all veterans facilities. The report assessed 80 percent of the system's performance indicators below the "fully satisfactory" level.

The flagship of the North Texas system is the Dallas VA Medical Center. Investigators there found that "most patient rooms and bathrooms we inspected were unclean." Also, floors and walls "had buildups of grime," and some stretchers displayed "dried residue suggestive of body fluids."

Those in charge "did not maintain a consistently clean and safe environment," the report said. And investigators found no evidence of a plan for better management.

The deadline for the system's formal written response to the inspector general is Wednesday. Hospital officials said they already have eliminated most of the problems identified in the report, which was released late last year.

"Frankly, that's the job of the I.G.," Dr. Robert Cronin, the system's chief of staff, said of the report. "They don't come and give you a pat on the back and say you're doing a great job.

"We got the message. We're working hard to correct those things. ... We've added a number of people to help us get the job done."

Alan G. Harper, who had been director of the VA's North Texas system for 14 years, left that position several weeks ago. Allen Clark, public affairs officer, said no conclusions should be drawn from the timing of the inspector general's report and Mr. Harper's departure.

"It was time for him to retire," Mr. Clark said.

Mr. Harper could not be reached for comment Monday.

The Dallas hospital complex covers 84 acres near Lancaster Road and Loop 12 in Oak Cliff. It is the center of a system that serves 38 counties in Texas and two in Oklahoma. Last year, the hospital had more than 13,000 admissions and almost 626,000 outpatient visits.

The system also operates an outpatient clinic in Fort Worth and a small hospital in Bonham.

Gary Gingrow, who has undergone spinal surgery, is working to regain his ability to walk at a physical therapy lab at the Dallas veterans hospital. "It's the worst VA I've been in," said Joe Hillyard of Waxahachie. The 48-year-old Army veteran said he has been treated at five veterans hospitals for post-traumatic stress disorder.

He complained of long waits to see a doctor and delays in the filling of prescriptions at the Dallas medical center. "I was here at eight o'clock yesterday morning," he said. "I didn't get out of here until six o'clock in the evening."

But 80-year-old Jim Neatherlin of Paris, Texas, a patient since 1980, praised the hospital and its staff. "They always treated me real nice," he said.

And cancer patient Louis Powell, a 76-year-old Army veteran from Hurst, said he has high regard for the medical center. "They treat you real good, no problem," he said.


Report findings

The inspector general's report, however, cited a variety of shortcomings. Among them:

•There were unspecified deficiencies in a number of "high-risk processes," including medication management, restraint use, invasive procedures, resuscitation and mortality review.

•The system administration's quality management program "was not planned, systematic or coordinated." Managers did not "collect, trend or analyze mortality data."

•No one in management analyzed complaints collected by the hospital's patient advocate.

•"Not all patient injuries were recorded, and nurse managers did not receive reports relating to medication errors or falls."

•"Floors and walls had buildups of grime and the rooms had foul odors, suggesting they had not been thoroughly cleaned over a significant period."

•Intravenous pumps were dirty.

•Exposed electrical connections, such as uncovered heater switches, were found in patient bathrooms. Patients' refrigerators needed cleaning.

•In one unit, "the medication refrigerator temperature was consistently below the required range, possibly altering the effectiveness of the medications."

•Several crash carts – portable cabinets containing life-saving equipment to use in case of cardiac arrest – "were in disrepair and required tape to keep the doors closed."

•"An IV pole, soiled linen, a mop pail of dirty water, an oxygen tank and a biohazard can were inappropriately stored in the radiology dressing area. Radiology equipment was covered with thick dust."

•"We concluded there was no evidence of a planned, collaborative effort to improve organizational performance."

Dr. Cronin, the chief of staff, said inspectors "found more than we might have expected" but said improvements are under way.

"Frankly, we didn't pay enough attention to them," he said of the problems. "But we are now."

[madape]

Ok, who left a democrat in charge of the VA hospital?

[vinnieponte]

Originally posted by: madape
Ok, who left a democrat in charge of the VA hospital?

ape, are your knees sore from sucking bradley off ?

[madape]

ape, are your knees sore from sucking bradley off ?

Haha. nice comeback Vinnie.

I'm curous, though. Do you hate queers as much as you hate republicans? Judging by your retort, being gay is just about the worst thing a person can be. What's next? Are you going to call me a dirty jew? A fucking n*gger? Don't get me wrong, I'm not insulted.. I just expected a little more tolerance from a so called "progressive"

Then again... Maybe I shouldn't

The Democrats certainly have become the party of intolerance and hate. You don't live in Florida, do you Vinnie?

[vinnieponte]

Lol, I'm referencing my post to all you "Bradley" posts. You took a low blow to the dems saying we ran the hospital, so I took a low blow to you. And fyi, dems support gay & lesbian couples unlike republicans who are trying everything in their power to stop them from marriage.

[mavsman55]

Yes vinnie, you support them by making a derogatory joke out of their lifestyle. They should be free to marry whoever they want, as long as you liberals are still allowed to make cracks at it and see republicans as "intolerant" for doing the same, right?

[vinnieponte]

mavsman, you tell me. You're a republican, are you for same sex marriage? I voted for someone who is because I believe they have the right just like anyone else. And I NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT BEING GAY! I was poking fun at madape for all of his high holy bradley posts.

[u2sarajevo]

Just curious vinnie.... who did you vote for? Obviously not W... but who?

[EricaLubarsky]

sad article about the state of the veteran's hospitals, but I dont get how this article is a condemnation of the citizens of Dallas or the current administration, or on the flip-side how there is any link at all between democrats and this.

This politics area is pretty full of stereotyping, emotional responses and flat out bickering but is pretty empty of any real thought.

[Dooby]

Originally posted by: vinnieponte
mavsman, you tell me. You're a republican, are you for same sex marriage? I voted for someone who is because I believe they have the right just like anyone else. And I NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT BEING GAY! I was poking fun at madape for all of his high holy bradley posts.

Yeah. Who did you vote for? I can't think of any presidential candidates that was for same sex marriage. I dunno. Maybe Nader, I didn't follow his candidacy too closely. Was there anyone else? Who was the libertarian? Maybe that guy.

[EricaLubarsky]

Nader wasn't. Even Dean shied away from full-on gay marriage. Kerry was even more conservative and believed in "weak unions"

[Mavdog]

Nader supports the right of gay and lesbian couples to be afforded the same rights as hetero couples enjoy and is against the Constitutional Amendment prohibiting same sex marriages. IMHO this is one issue where Nader is right. Discrimination is wrong. period. Every citizen should be afforded the same rights as any other, and in this case this does not exist, hetero couples are given more rights than same sex couples are given.

From Nader's web site:

Ralph supports equal rights for gays and lesbians, including equal rights for same-sex couples. He opposes President Bush’s proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages as adults should be treated equally under the law on this matter. Ralph believes that by attempting to mandate inequality Mr. Bush is leading the country in the wrong direction.

Ralph agrees with Marie C. Wilson, the president of the Ms. Foundation, who recently said: “The most important thing is really having equal rights. It’s not about the marriage. It’s having the same rights that you would get if you were married.” Ralph also believes that love and commitment is not exactly in surplus in this country and should be encouraged. The main tragedy of marriage, what undermines marriage, is divorce, as Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago recently said.

Ralph supports full equal rights for gays and lesbians. While civil unions are a step in the right direction under current federal and state law they do not afford equal rights. There are 1,049 federal rights that go only with marriage. In addition, at the state level, a civil union is only recognized in the state where it occurs, while marriage, and all the rights that go with it, is recognized in all the states. Thus, the only way to ensure full equal rights is to recognize same-sex marriage.

In more than 200 years of American history, the U.S. Constitution has been amended only 17 times since the Bill of Rights – and in each instance (except for Alcohol Prohibition, which was repealed), it was to extend rights and liberties to the American people, not restrict them. For example, our Constitution was amended to end our nation’s tragic history of slavery. It was also amended to guarantee people of color, young people and women the right to vote. The amendment urged by President Bush (called the Federal Marriage Amendment) would be the only one that would single out one class of Americans for discrimination by ensuring that same-sex couples would not be granted the equal protections that marriage brings to American families.
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Erica wrote:

sad article about the state of the veteran's hospitals, but I dont get how this article is a condemnation of the citizens of Dallas or the current administration

Well, certainly not a responsibility of or condemnation of the citizens of Dallas, however the Veterans Administration is part of the Exeutive Branch (which is headed by the CEO, our Pres) which is administered by a Cabinet level appointment, therefore to paraphrase the words of Harry Truman, the buck stops with Bush.

[EricaLubarsky]

buck stops with Bush but veteran's hospitals have been bad under W, Clinton, Bush sr., Reagan....its not specific to this administration.

also, the phrasing on that article is stronger than the actual belief. Nader believes in equal rights which is just a belief in strong civil unions, which I believe most all the democratic candidates supported.

[Dooby]

In more than 200 years of American history, the U.S. Constitution has been amended only 17 times since the Bill of Rights – and in each instance (except for Alcohol Prohibition, which was repealed), it was to extend rights and liberties to the American people, not restrict them. For example, our Constitution was amended to end our nation’s tragic history of slavery. It was also amended to guarantee people of color, young people and women the right to vote. The amendment urged by President Bush (called the Federal Marriage Amendment) would be the only one that would single out one class of Americans for discrimination by ensuring that same-sex couples would not be granted the equal protections that marriage brings to American families.

Fundamentally flawed statement from a legal point of view from the website of a lawyer. OP and I had this discussion some time ago. It really is irrefutable. I don't think OP and I were on the same page politically. Hohfeld disputes the notion that rights can be created without there opposite "No Right" or its correlative 'duty'. Thus the right not to be enslaved cannot be created without the opposite, that you, as a white man, have 'no right' to enslave; as its correlative, the government has a 'duty' to prevent that from happening.

Nevertheless, the const. amendment supported by Bush banning gay marriage would not prevent civil unions.

[Mavdog]

The "right" to the priviledges/benefits of a marriage which the State grants to those who marry, as opposed to a "no right" to those priviledges/benefits of marriage, with the state having the "duty" to deny discrimination and to promote equality for all its citizens.

[Smiles]

My dad was originally treated for cancer and heart disease by fantastic clinics in Paris, TX. It's pretty hard to change to the VA way of doing things, but we are so grateful to have ANY PLACE to go for his treatment - since his private insurance ran to early last year.

The first time we saw the oncologist at the Dallas VA, we had an appointment for 12:00 - noon. We didn't see a doctor until after 5:00PM. It's hard to become "one of the herd" again as he was in the military, especially after being given the best treatment in the past.

I guess I should point out that most of his doctors are young, beautiful females. I think that cheers him up some. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] They and his PCP (a not-so-attractive male) have really good bed side manners. Those things go a long way.

On a funny note: My dad and I were there once when the fire alarm went off. Their system is very much like the alarm system at the AAC, so lights flash and a recording goes out over the sound system telling everyone to evacuate. Guess what? NO ONE MOVED!!!!!!! I gathered our stuff, and my dad wouldn't leave because none of the hospital personel reacted. A receptionist told me the fire was in a different wing of the building, so we shouldn't need to listen to the alarm. I hope they never make a bad call and run out of time to get everyone out of the building. I guess that's not funny after all.