U.S. Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) led a bipartisan contingent of her Arizona colleagues in requesting that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) more rapidly adopts telehealth technologies to enhance care for America’s military veterans.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact veteran care across the nation, we write to express our support for ensuring the rapid adoption of VA telehealth platforms through VA’s tele-Critical Care program and accelerating telehealth accessibility for veterans receiving treatment in VA Medical Centers’ (VAMCs) Intensive Care Units (ICUs),” wrote Sen. McSally and her colleagues in a Sept. 25 letter sent to VA Secretary Robert Wilke.
The lawmakers noted that while the VA has been a leader in adopting tele-Critical Care coverage for over a decade, two-thirds of VAMC ICU beds are still without coverage nationally, and zero beds have tele-Critical Care coverage for veterans in Arizona.
Sen. McSally and her colleagues cited a 2014 article in CHEST, the Journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, which said patients who receive their ICU care from a hospital with tele-ICU capabilities were 26 percent more likely to survive in an ICU setting, also experienced a 30 percent reduction in length-of-stay, and were 15 percent more likely to survive hospitalization and be discharged.
“We believe this gap in ICU coverage must be closed as part of our government’s response to the COVID-19 public health crisis,” wrote Sen. McSally and her colleagues.
Additionally, the VA has more than 40,000 clinical vacancies, according to their letter, in turn putting “massive strain” on a workforce delivering care for more than 9 million enrolled veterans.
“As Members of the Arizona Congressional delegation, we look forward to working with you to further expedite VA modernization for our veterans in Arizona and across the nation, particularly within the ICU setting,” they wrote. “To that end, we respectfully request a timeline as to when our state’s VAMC ICU’s will be 100 percent covered by tele-Critical Care technology.”
U.S. Reps. Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) also signed the letter.