Salisbury VA shift under fire

Veterans and employees of Salisbury VA Medical Center are protesting plans to discontinue emergency and surgical care at the main hospital that has served Charlotte-area veterans for more than 50 years.

The plan is on hold pending a review prompted by questions from N.C. congressional leaders.

"There's no reason for this to happen," said Vietnam veteran Zane Robertson of Salisbury. "It's just another way to throw taxpayers' money away."

The VA's justification is that it will allow veterans to get medical care at private hospitals closer to home.

"I don't have any problems with that," Robertson said, "but don't shut down a hospital that's working."

In mid-September, the W.G. "Bill" Hefner VA Medical Center announced plans to take a "new strategic direction" by focusing on mental health and long-term care. VA officials said the agency would pay for veterans to get emergency care and surgery at hospitals in Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Greensboro, where many veterans live. Salisbury is about 40 miles north of Charlotte.

How this could affect veterans remains unclear. The VA has not provided details. Some critics wonder if it could mean longer waits for emergency care at local hospitals and higher out-of-pocket costs.

In September, Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., and Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., raised concerns to Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. James Peake. In response, Peake stopped the changes pending a staff review, which is due soon.

Watt said he was "hit cold" by the announcement.

"Theoretically, it sounds like they're trying to do what is in the best interest of veterans," Watt said. "But we don't live in a theoretical world."

Community hospitals "have stresses of their own in meeting the needs of the patients they already have," Watt said. "The notion that we would add to their burden just doesn't seem viable....[Veterans] would be sitting in emergency rooms for hours."

Two years ago, revelations about substandard care and questionable deaths at the Salisbury VA led Watt to call for a congressional hearing on the problems. Since then, the hospital has spent millions of dollars updating surgical and intensive care units and recruiting top-quality doctors.

VA officials said the new operating rooms can still be used for outpatient surgery. But Watt said: "You don't go and spend a lot of money on something and then close it down," he said.

'Excellent doctors'

Robertson, 62, who is disabled from neuropathy and vision loss due to diabetes, said he gets all of his care at the Salisbury VA. "I've got excellent doctors. I get excellent care."

He said he's getting conflicting answers about whether care at community hospitals will cost veterans more than the VA hospital.

Watt and Dole have also raised questions about job losses and about the financial impact for veterans.

Salisbury's director Carolyn Adams has assured employees there will be no job cuts. But Watt said, "I can't see how they could go forward with this without having an impact on jobs."

In letters to Watt and Dole, Peake said he would "ensure that the clinical needs of your state's veterans are fully satisfied."

Chris Walker, a spokesman for Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., said his understanding is that, if the changes are made, veterans won't be asked to pay more for their care at non-VA hospitals.

Walker said Burr is "keeping an open mind" about the proposal. "If there's a better way to provide care for veterans, he's going to listen to it," Walker said.