Brother doesn’t get adequate care at Arizona State Hospital, says sister
Summer Walter says her brother Darren Beach is not receiving proper care at Arizona State Hospital.
Cheryl Evans, Arizona Republic
The Tucson Veteran Affairs Medical Center is expanding, giving hope of shorter wait times for the growing number of veterans in southern Arizona.
“I waited about six months just to get an appointment with an otolaryngologist,” said Jo Mendoza, a Marine Corps veteran who relies on the Tucson VA Medical Center for her health care.
The Tucson center is the primary medical facility in the Southern Arizona VA health care system. The Southern Arizona VA serves 175,000 veterans in eight Arizona counties and one New Mexico county and has health clinics throughout the state.
Mendoza eventually went to a civilian doctor with a referral from her primary care doctor at the VA. She said wait times for women’s health care at the VA are also long, and noted that it’s difficult to miss or reschedule appointments for annual breast exams.
“If you miss the appointment, it can take two months to get the next one,” Mendoza said.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough wants to change that. On August 2, he announced plans to expand facilities at the Tucson VA Medical Center.
“Additional space means we will be able to provide additional care for additional veterans,” McDonough said.
VA expands psychiatric clinic, primary care and emergency room
Plans call for a 7,600-square-foot expansion of the medical center’s psychiatric clinic and an 11,250-square-foot expansion of the medical center’s primary care facility and an 8,000-square-foot expansion of the emergency department by the end of 2024. Construction on the primary care expansion is scheduled to begin in October, while the emergency department upgrade is scheduled to begin by the end of the year.
The VA also recently established a mobile medical unit to provide medical care to veterans in rural areas of southern Arizona.
“Today we provide more care and more services to more veterans than ever before in history,” McDonough said.
The expansion comes as the need for mental health services increases.
In 2021, the VA projected a 32% increase in outpatient mental health care over 10 years. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide remains the 13th leading cause of death for veterans overall and the second leading cause of death for veterans under age 45.
The expansion comes as more veterans enroll in VA health care after eligibility is expanded with the passage of the Pact Act in 2022. The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System has seen 1,000 additional enrollments, McDonough said.
The Pact Act is one of the largest health care expansions in the department’s history, according to the agency. The law expanded VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to a range of toxic substances, including burn pits and Agent Orange, a herbicide mixture the military used during the Vietnam War to remove vegetation and destroy crops around U.S. bases. Under the law, health care expansion will begin March 5.
The law requires the VA to conduct toxic exposure screening for veterans enrolled in the VA health care system and has added numerous presumptive conditions, meaning veterans do not have to prove that their service caused the condition, they just have to meet the service requirements.
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Tucson VA has a history of long wait times and wait time fraud
In a 2023 report, the VA’s Office of the Inspector General found that the number of primary care patient appointments that took 30 days or longer to schedule increased from 2015 to 2016.
In 2016, the same agency conducted an investigation that found that one of the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System’s clinics was manipulating wait times. The investigation also found that doctors at the clinic were receiving bonuses based on wait times.
The wait times have taken a toll on Caleb Hayter, who served in the Marines from 2009 to 2013. Although he said he received “first-class” care at the Tucson VA, he had to wait nine months before he could see a specialist to change his medication.
“I was hoping to get an appointment with a specialist at the Tucson VA about a year ago last summer. I wasn’t able to get treatment there until April of this year,” Hayter told The Arizona Republic, adding that wait times at civilian doctors are even longer.
VA hospitals in the US have also been caught falsifying wait times. In 2014, the Phoenix VA was caught falsifying patient appointment records following complaints from whistleblowers.
McDonough said wait times have improved significantly compared to 10 years ago. He said in July the Tucson VA met its goal of providing access to mental health care, but declined to disclose that goal.
Nationwide, VAs have seen an 11% reduction in average wait times for primary care and an 8% reduction in average wait times for mental health care, he said.
VA is working to restore trust
After investigating the VA hospitals in Phoenix and Tucson, the agency worked to regain public trust.
“Trust is something we earn, maintain and strive to earn back every day,” he said, noting that current trust levels are the highest the department has ever seen. In June, the VA found that 92% of veterans who use VA health care trust the VA.
However, he acknowledged that much work remains to be done.
For Mendoza, this work also includes improving the quality of health care for women.
“I think the expansion is great and I hope it will not only expand the range of services offered, but also improve the quality of care and put a new emphasis on women’s health care, which in my experience has not always been a priority at the VA,” she said.
You can reach the reporter at [email protected]The Republic’s coverage of Southern Arizona is funded in part by a grant from Report for America. Support reporting in Arizona with a tax-deductible donation to supportjournalism.azcentral.com.
