Dr. James Peake, the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, says he’s talked with officials at hospitals here about the possibility of expanding medical care for wounded veterans returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Peake toured the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center and the Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta today.
He praised community efforts on the expansion, but stopped short of giving specifics on what role his agency would play, suggesting there may be other priorities to consider.
"We’re always re-assessing what we have as a mission requirement," Peake told reporters. "We’re talking about space issues today…about how to expand our primary care space to provide a separate portal for women. We’ve brought a gynecologist on board in the VA hospital, so that’s shifting and adjusting our mission to meet the need of our veterans."
Peake has previously pledged to improve health care for women veterans. The focus on women's care comes as a congressional report earlier this year said women don't get the same quality of outpatient care as men in several VA medical centers in the U.S. About 14 percent of veterans are women.
The Eisenhower and Charlie Norwood centers already treat many wounded troops. Medical personnel and community leaders want to build on that by increasing efforts in medical care and rehabilitation and subsequently bringing more wounded active duty troops here, making Augusta a hub for treating them.
They say coordinating medical services among all facilities here and getting federal dollars could potentially help relieve the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. That’s where many active duty troops go to recover from war injuries.
The Medical College of Georgia and the Joseph M. Still Burn Center are also among medical care facilities located in Augusta.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs visits Augusta
