Do you agree with Sec McDonald on his idea of closing outdated and unused facilities to save the VA money?

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 09:50:24 -0400

Questions for study -
What percent of the VA budget is $25 million?
Did you know they added 1,100 physicians, 3,500 nurses and increased office hours at some facilities by 12 percent in just the last year?

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The Veterans Affairs Department could save $25 million a year if it closed outdated and unused facilities, the VA's leader said Wednesday.

As part of an ongoing lobbying effort to gain more budget flexibility, VA Secretary Robert McDonald has been pressing Congress for permission to dispose of 10 million square feet of space that the department doesn’t use or thinks it does not need.

At a military and family forum in Washington, D.C., McDonald asked veterans and military advocates to support the effort, which he said faces an uphill battle from lawmakers.

“We need Congress to get the courage to allow us to close these spaces so we can make better use of the money we have,” McDonald said.

The VA’s inventory includes hundreds of historic, aging or blighted buildings. Among those popular with veterans is the historic Battle Mountain Sanitarium in Hot Springs, South Dakota, a facility that once served Civil War veterans of the battles of Gettysburg and Antietam and is part of the VA Black Hills Health Care System.

But other buildings, like a former quartermaster’s office in Minneapolis, have been vacant for years and fallen into disrepair.

According to VA, it has 336 buildings that are vacant or less than half-occupied. The money it takes to manage these properties — $25 million — could hire 200 registered nurses or pay for nearly 150,000 primary care visits and more.

But proposing to close buildings is a tough sell.

"Members of Congress and others don’t like us to close things in their geographic regions,” McDonald said.

In a hearing earlier this year, Florida Rep. Corrine Brown, the senior Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, voiced the reticence felt by many lawmakers about shuttering VA facilities.

But she also expressed support for a concept similar to a base realignment and closure plan.

“We support closing some of the VA facilities ... just as long as you don't close any in Florida,” she joked. “That's kind of the mentality of the members of Congress. So as we work through it, we've got to keep in mind, it is a team effort.”

McDonald has pressed for more flexibility, not only to control VA real estate but also to shift money between programs, to cover a budget crunch related to increases in medical costs and disability claims as well to support new construction and hire more personnel.

In the past year, the VA has added 1,100 physicians, 3,500 nurses and increased office hours at some facilities by 12 percent, to include nights and weekends, according to the VA.

But the department needs resources to build additional capacity and ensure it will be prepared to care for Afghanistan and Iraq veterans in the future, McDonald said.

"VA is the canary in the coal mine," he said. "We see the problems with American medicine before the rest of the country because we are the largest integrated health care system in the country. We see the effects of the aging population before everyone else and need to get ahead of this now.”

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/veterans/2015/09/09/mcdonald-let-va-shed-real-estate/71959220/

McDonald: Let VA shed real estate

The Veterans Affairs Department could save $25 million a year if it closed outdated and unusedfacilities, the VA's leader said Wednesday.

Response by Sgt David G Duchesneau made Sep 10 at 2015 10:05 AM

Sgt David G Duchesneau — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 10:05:00 -0400

All I know is that I have to go to either Maine, Massachusetts or Vermont because we do not have a VA Hospital in NH. Sure, we have a building that use to be a hospital, but they closed it and now all it is is a walk in treatment center. We should have at least one Hospital in each State.

Response by SPC(P) Jay Heenan made Sep 10 at 2015 10:50 AM

SPC(P) Jay Heenan — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 10:50:22 -0400

I would imagine we could save a lot more money if you were to really look at the VA. Imagine if we were to look closely at all of the programs that waste or mismanage tax payer money...

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Sep 10 at 2015 11:21 AM

LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 11:21:20 -0400

Considering the lack of capacity, and the building programs the VA is doing, shedding usable clinic space is not advisable.

That being said, does the VA really need things like golf courses? The American Lake (Tacoma) VAMC has a full golf course - it was a former military installation...

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Sep 10 at 2015 11:44 AM

MCPO Roger Collins — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 11:44:56 -0400

This is an issue throughout the federal, state and local governments, they can't let go of anything that may result in a loss of power, in some form or fashion. From CAGW.

"The federal government owns or leases approximately 361,000 buildings and 3.3 billion square feet of space, which is six times more than all of the commercial office space in Manhattan. The federal real property inventory consists of more than 480,000 structures, from national monuments to dams and levees. The General Services Administration (GSA) plays the role of both broker and property manager to many of these assets. In (FY) 2011, GSA had a total of 374.6 million rentable square feet in its inventory, of which 192.7 million square feet, or 51.4 percent, was leased."

And don't get me started on the massive land grabs taking place each and every day, even though we can not afford to maintain what we have now.

Response by SA Harold Hansmann made Sep 10 at 2015 11:47 AM

SA Harold Hansmann — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 11:47:51 -0400

Maybe McDonald and his cohorts should take a pay cut to help out. Hmmm?

Response by SCPO Penny Douphinett made Sep 10 at 2015 2:32 PM

SCPO Penny Douphinett — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 14:32:51 -0400

Maintaining a vacant space that has fallen into disrepair is a waste of taxpayer's money! Of course they should be rid of that and other property like it. They should not, though, throw the baby out with the bathwater. I live in Maine and the Togus VA Hospital is the oldest VA structure in the country at pre-Civil War. That isn't reason to close it though. It is the only hospital in Maine, there isn't one in NH and the next one is in Boston, MA. Some veteran's in Maine have to drive as much as 12 hours to get to Togus and for many the cost of travel is a true hardship.

The VA needs to take a very close look at its facilities management for cost effectiveness and efficiency. Our hospital continues to grow and improve facilities which is a good thing yet staffing is in a constant state of flux which is for another thread.

A VA hospital with a golf course? Good for them if the money it brings is greater than the cost of maintenance and it can be used locally.

Congress is the problem here, much more than the VA. Admit it, too, we all get up in arms when we here any military or VA facility near us is going to close even if it served no purpose whatsoever. We never hear that it was only costing us money, we just hear from the politicians in power that he/she will not allow the other party to rob our community of this rich source of local economic growth and the politician who wants to be in power promises to go to Washington and stop the the other party from robbing us of our jobs for their political gain.

Wouldn't it be great if the VA could close useless buildings and keep the money to shift into the medical side? Unfortunately, Congress all too often seems to get nasty and punish agencies at budget time.

Response by Sgt Spencer Sikder made Sep 10 at 2015 4:22 PM

Sgt Spencer Sikder — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 16:22:09 -0400

I agree, but my question is, why isn't the property turned back over to the Dept of the Interior? And if there are buildings, why aren't they turned over to GSA?

Response by PO1 John Miller made Sep 11 at 2015 2:30 AM

PO1 John Miller — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 02:30:21 -0400

Instead of closing these facilities maybe they could be repaired and upgraded? If a large enough veteran population in those areas are in need of those facilities I would think my idea would make more sense.

Response by LTC Christopher Sands made Sep 17 at 2015 8:17 PM

LTC Christopher Sands — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 20:17:53 -0400

The VA has the same issues as the Post Office. Congress makes the rules, so it is too hard to get rid of deadwood. I go to do rehab in a NJ VAMC they have a 1 foot long air pump to give me traction. The Army bought me a better one when I was on active duty. I go to work out on a arm bicycle, it is from 1950, cannot have any weight adjustments made to it, and is on a table that is not flush with the ground. Every time you make a revolution the table wobbles back and forth.
When I was on active duty and when I use my private health insurance I never had crapola like that.
When I called to complain I was told they have a new computerized traction system, like the one's i used on active duty and in the private sector, but they had "no room to put it out". If that happened in the private sector, or as I call it "The Real World", they would be out of business in less then 6 months. Who in their right mind would go to a rehab facility if you had to use equipment like that?

Response by SSG John Mitchell made Oct 18 at 2015 3:21 AM

SSG John Mitchell — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 03:21:05 -0400

I was around for all the Base closures that were SUPPOSED to free up money for Training, Parts, and UPDATES to those left operating. The money was squandered or it took YEARS to make any improvements. VA has more than destroyed the trust of the Vets. The wait times. The inaccurate diagnosis or the WORST, the Facility Rentals in an upscale section of L.A. that was DEEDED FOR VETERANS USE ONLY!(If you're renting a Building or three out in a posh neighborhood, what are you using THAT money on?) Historic Facilities have their place. They take resources to maintain. STILL far cheaper to maintain those already standing than squander upwards a few Billion on a new place that is yet to even OPEN and is already on the chopping block.

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Jun 18 at 2021 1:40 PM

SSG Edward Tilton — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 13:40:09 -0400

A leftover of the 3 million man Army. There are retirees living near all of those bases, but they are passing on. Many of them, like me, are being deserted. I went through ten base closings in California and Ft Huachuca ,Arizona is my latest. When I moved here the VA Clinic was in he Army Hospital, a one stop shop for almost anything. The VA moved out and they don’t treat retirees. When they close the base I will be out of luck again.