Sen. Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) held a roundtable discussion recently with Veterans Affairs (VA) leaders, including Veterans Health Administration Chief Medical Officer Carolyn Clancy and representatives from several VA clinics in her home state.
The purpose of the discussion, held at the Tamarack Conference Center in Beckley, West Virginia, was to focus on methods to enhance access to care by veterans and to address some of the specific needs and challenges facing ailing veterans in West Virginia.
“We talked about a wide array of problems and solutions, from mental-health care and opioid prescription rates, to improving appointment wait times, travel and hurdles that come with being such a rural state,” Capito said. “I called this group together to have a candid discussion about what is working at West Virginia’s VA facilities, what isn’t working and what solutions are needed.”
During interactions with Clancy, Capito and her team were assured that the VA is working to accelerate improvements at failing VA clinics in West Virginia. Another important topic was the increased efforts to ensure veterans know what care is available to them, including options outside of the VA.
“While many challenges remain, I was encouraged by the open dialogue today,” Capito said. “I am hopeful that it will lead to improved care for our veterans.”
Other topics addressed at the roundtable included the VA Choice Card program, education of veterans and providers about new VA services, increasing resources for prevention of opioid overprescribing, enhancing mental-health services offered by the VA and the need to improve service from national third-party providers for the VA Choice Card program.