http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfJUN07/nf061607-1.htmSECRETARY NICHOLSON ANNOUNCES EXTENDED HOURS AT VA HOSPITALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BUT... --
Calls to a number of VA facilities found that no one knows about this directive.
Here is a perfect example of your VA at work.
The following press release came out on Friday, June 15 and hit my email box at 11:40am Pacific time. It immediately caught my attention because I hadn't heard of any VA facility extending hours.
So, I began calling VA's around the country. I talked with Director's offices, Public Affairs offices, clinics and even switchboard operators. No one has any knowledge of this!
One Public Affairs person said they got it at the same time I did and it was the first they knew about it.
Another Public Affairs person told me the same thing. I asked this person if they had any idea how they would accomplish this, given current budget conditions. They told me they had no idea, but that they would need more funding to increase operating hours in any way.
But, VA Secretary Nicholson will use this press release to claim he is providing "world-class healthcare" (one of his favorite expressions) for America's veterans.
The problem is...it leaves the VA facilities high-and-dry...with no additional funding but a directive to do more.VA press release here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/vap07/vap061507-1.htm