Rounds, Noem invite Veterans Affairs Secretary to tour home state VA facility

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) want to ensure the Hot Springs Veterans Affairs (VA) facility in South Dakota remains open and operational and have invited VA Secretary Robert Wilkie to tour the hospital and see its good works firsthand.

The secretary is working with Congress to improve access to quality care, streamline the claims process, and improve VA accountability, among other issues, according to a letter Sen. Rounds, Rep. Noem, and U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) sent earlier this month to Secretary Wilkie.

“As you continue to appreciate the scope of the VA’s mission and footprint, we hope you will consider visiting Hot Springs to see firsthand the quality, five star care provided and hear from those personally impacted by the VA’s realignment plan,” the lawmakers wrote.

Among numerous programs, the Hot Springs VA facility serves United States military veterans via its Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse.

“We know that we are not alone in thinking that the outstanding program at Hot Springs could be expanded or serve as a national model for care, perhaps as a non-coastal division of the National Center for PTSD,” wrote the members, who previously have worked closely with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other VA secretaries on similar efforts.

“We would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and discuss the challenges faced by South Dakota veterans,” they noted in their letter, pointing to an issue of particular importance to South Dakota: the VA’s planned restructuring of the VA Black Hills Health Care System (BHHCS).

The VA publicly announced plans in December 2011 to close the Hot Springs VA hospital and replace it with an expanded Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) to be located in Rapid City, S.D.

“From the beginning, we have raised concerns with the VA about the impact the closure would have on access to care for our region’s rural and tribal veterans,” according to the delegation’s letter. “We sought explanations for the questionable data used to support the proposal, as the VA could not produce a cost-benefit analysis until six months later.”

Area veterans, they wrote, also think the facility has been mismanaged by previous VA officials.
“You are now the fourth VA Secretary to oversee this matter, which underscores how long South Dakota veterans and the town of Hot Springs … have endured great uncertainty about the future of their VA and access to care,” wrote the lawmakers.

The members of Congress also wrote that they don’t think “the VA should consider any realignment of services in an ad hoc manner,” and they support appropriations language that would prohibit the VA from moving forward on any reconfiguration of services until a national realignment strategy is completed.