Company says James A. Haley VA hospital in Tampa refuses to pay for software
By William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
Sunday, September 2, 2012
TAMPA — Software developed by a Tampa company transformed pharmacy operations at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center starting in 2006, benefiting thousands of veterans.
The software improved pharmacist performance, reduced errors and led to veterans being released from the hospital faster, a Haley pharmacist wrote in a 2007 letter that was approved by the assistant pharmacy chief.
But the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital now refuses to pay the company, QueueVision Inc., for software that its nurses and pharmacists have been using daily since 2006, according to Michael Blom, a company partner.
Haley's director, Kathleen Fogarty, told the company that it had no contract with the hospital — which is true.
"As a purchase order does not exist, we are unable to process your request," she said in a Feb. 24 letter.
But Haley pharmacy officials nonetheless repeatedly assured QueueVision that the hospital, one of the VA's busiest, would buy the software and that payment with a purchase order, or PO, was being processed, QueueVision's owners said.
read more here
Showing posts with label James A. Haley VA Medical Center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James A. Haley VA Medical Center. Show all posts
Monday, September 3, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
Tampa VA removes hidden camera
Tampa VA removes covert camera
VA says covert camera was only one hidden, no plans to use again
By Matt Grant
CREATED AUG. 9, 2012
FORT MYERS - The James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital has removed a covert camera hidden inside a smoke detector that was used to videotape brain damaged Korean War veteran Joseph Carnegie against his family's wishes.
Congress began investigating the Tampa VA's use of covert cameras last week. The VA tells Fox 4 the type of camera used to monitor Carnegie's condition was the only one they've ever used like that.
"There are currently no cameras of this type installed, in use or in stock for use at Tampa VA," said spokesperson Mary Kay Hollingsworth. "The camera which was removed from Mr. Carnegie's room will not be placed back into stock."
read more here
July 14, 2012
Hidden camera found in patient's room at James A Haley VA hospital
VA says covert camera was only one hidden, no plans to use again
By Matt Grant
CREATED AUG. 9, 2012
FORT MYERS - The James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital has removed a covert camera hidden inside a smoke detector that was used to videotape brain damaged Korean War veteran Joseph Carnegie against his family's wishes.
Congress began investigating the Tampa VA's use of covert cameras last week. The VA tells Fox 4 the type of camera used to monitor Carnegie's condition was the only one they've ever used like that.
"There are currently no cameras of this type installed, in use or in stock for use at Tampa VA," said spokesperson Mary Kay Hollingsworth. "The camera which was removed from Mr. Carnegie's room will not be placed back into stock."
read more here
July 14, 2012
Hidden camera found in patient's room at James A Haley VA hospital
Sunday, August 5, 2012
James A. Haley VA reports contradict its claims on covert camera
Haley VA reports contradict its claims on covert camera
By William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, August 5, 2012
TAMPA — Officials at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center insist they told the family of a severely brain-damaged veteran about a camera disguised as a smoke detector before installing it in his hospital room.
Hospital officials told the Tampa Bay Times and another media outlet that one of the man's relatives even signed a release acknowledging the unusual camera.
But Haley's own records appear to show the hospital's defense is simply untrue.
An internal "contact report" by an assistant nurse manager involved in Joseph Carnegie's care said angry family members approached hospital staff complaining about the camera after discovering it themselves.
The report by a supervisory nurse shows they were told nothing confirming its installation or use.
Then hospital officials told a Fort Myers television reporter that the Carnegies signed a release acknowledging the camera had been installed.
read more here
Hidden camera found in patient's room at James A Haley VA hospital
Deplorable conditions for America's war heroes at Haley VA
By William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, August 5, 2012
TAMPA — Officials at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center insist they told the family of a severely brain-damaged veteran about a camera disguised as a smoke detector before installing it in his hospital room.
Hospital officials told the Tampa Bay Times and another media outlet that one of the man's relatives even signed a release acknowledging the unusual camera.
But Haley's own records appear to show the hospital's defense is simply untrue.
An internal "contact report" by an assistant nurse manager involved in Joseph Carnegie's care said angry family members approached hospital staff complaining about the camera after discovering it themselves.
The report by a supervisory nurse shows they were told nothing confirming its installation or use.
Then hospital officials told a Fort Myers television reporter that the Carnegies signed a release acknowledging the camera had been installed.
The Times requested a copy of that document.
Haley released two "contact reports" to the Times with the names of hospital staff redacted. "Yes, the family was aware and attached is the signed release," Haley spokeswoman Carolyn Clark said in an email providing the reports.
But the forms are not signed releases at all. And they clearly contradict the heart of Haley's defense that the family knew about the camera before its installation.
read more here
Hidden camera found in patient's room at James A Haley VA hospital
Deplorable conditions for America's war heroes at Haley VA
Friday, August 3, 2012
Senator Nelson wants answers on hidden camera at Tampa VA
Sen. Nelson calls for investigation on Haley VA medical center's covert camera
By William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
Friday, August 3, 2012
TAMPA — Sen. Bill Nelson asked the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general on Thursday to investigate the James A. Haley VA Medical Center's use of a camera disguised to look like a smoke detector in a patient's room.
Nelson sought an inquiry to determine whether Haley had ever used hidden cameras before and whether any other VA hospital had ever done so.
This comes on top of an investigation launched earlier this week by the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee. Haley spokeswoman Carolyn Clark said the VA will no longer answer questions about the camera. Its use was first reported in a July 10 story by the Tampa Bay Times.
The VA has sent a response to the committee. Both the VA and committee, chaired by Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Pensacola, refused to provide a copy to the Times.
read more here
original story
Hidden camera found in patient's room at James A Haley VA hospital
By William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
Friday, August 3, 2012
TAMPA — Sen. Bill Nelson asked the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general on Thursday to investigate the James A. Haley VA Medical Center's use of a camera disguised to look like a smoke detector in a patient's room.
Nelson sought an inquiry to determine whether Haley had ever used hidden cameras before and whether any other VA hospital had ever done so.
This comes on top of an investigation launched earlier this week by the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee. Haley spokeswoman Carolyn Clark said the VA will no longer answer questions about the camera. Its use was first reported in a July 10 story by the Tampa Bay Times.
The VA has sent a response to the committee. Both the VA and committee, chaired by Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Pensacola, refused to provide a copy to the Times.
read more here
original story
Hidden camera found in patient's room at James A Haley VA hospital
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Deplorable conditions for America's war heroes at Haley VA
WINK investigates VA hospital for poor conditions
Jul 16 2012
FORT MYERS, Fla.- A WINK News investigation team uncovered claims, almost two years ago, of dirty and deplorable conditions at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa.
The family of injured Cape Coral soldier Corey Kent brought pictures to Senator Bill Nelson and demanded change.
The VA promised better care for veterans, but there are new claims the hospital is again neglecting to give veterans proper care. Those vets contacted the National Coalition for Patriots organization, who then contacted us.
We got our hands on the new pictures from inside the James A Haley VA hospital showing what the organization calls deplorable conditions for America's war heroes.
WINK News spoke to one vet and his wife on the phone Monday. For the past year, he's been treated at James A. Haley VA hospital. He says the conditions and his care are horrible and something's gotta change.
read more here
Jul 16 2012
FORT MYERS, Fla.- A WINK News investigation team uncovered claims, almost two years ago, of dirty and deplorable conditions at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa.
The family of injured Cape Coral soldier Corey Kent brought pictures to Senator Bill Nelson and demanded change.
The VA promised better care for veterans, but there are new claims the hospital is again neglecting to give veterans proper care. Those vets contacted the National Coalition for Patriots organization, who then contacted us.
We got our hands on the new pictures from inside the James A Haley VA hospital showing what the organization calls deplorable conditions for America's war heroes.
WINK News spoke to one vet and his wife on the phone Monday. For the past year, he's been treated at James A. Haley VA hospital. He says the conditions and his care are horrible and something's gotta change.
read more here
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Hidden camera found in patient's room at James A Haley VA hospital
Family discovers 'covert camera' in Haley VA patient's room
By William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
In Print: Tuesday, July 10, 2012
TAMPA — Joseph Carnegie's son-in-law last month noticed an odd-looking smoke detector on the ceiling of the severely brain-damaged 80-year-old's private room at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center.
It wasn't there the day before.
The son-in-law, Mike Coleman, took a closer look that day, June 15. He thought he could see a tiny camera lens inside. His wife, Natalie Carnegie, asked a nurse, who she said assured her it was just a new smoke alarm.
In fact, it was a camera.
Officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital confirmed to the Tampa Bay Times that they ordered the installation of a small camera in Carnegie's room without his family's consent. They say it is medically necessary to monitor Carnegie's fragile health 24 hours a day.
Haley administrators deny it is a hidden camera, though they could not explain why they selected this particular model. The camera's manufacturer, Vonnic, describes it like this on its website: "C401W Smoke Detector Covert Camera."
read more here
By William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
In Print: Tuesday, July 10, 2012
TAMPA — Joseph Carnegie's son-in-law last month noticed an odd-looking smoke detector on the ceiling of the severely brain-damaged 80-year-old's private room at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center.
It wasn't there the day before.
The son-in-law, Mike Coleman, took a closer look that day, June 15. He thought he could see a tiny camera lens inside. His wife, Natalie Carnegie, asked a nurse, who she said assured her it was just a new smoke alarm.
In fact, it was a camera.
Officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital confirmed to the Tampa Bay Times that they ordered the installation of a small camera in Carnegie's room without his family's consent. They say it is medically necessary to monitor Carnegie's fragile health 24 hours a day.
Haley administrators deny it is a hidden camera, though they could not explain why they selected this particular model. The camera's manufacturer, Vonnic, describes it like this on its website: "C401W Smoke Detector Covert Camera."
read more here
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Soldier healing after suicide bomber killed friends
Wounded G.I., Bartram Trail grad making 'amazing' progress
Bartram Trail grad injured by suicide bomber overseas tells family 'I love you'
Posted: June 19, 2012
By SHELDON GARDNER
Bartram Trail grad injured by suicide bomber overseas tells family ‘I love you’
After spending two weeks in a coma, U.S. Army Lt. Ryan Timoney, 26, is awake. He is asking for food and drinks — power bars, apples, ice. He has said “I love you” to his family. He can write, and he is using a motorized wheelchair on his own.
“It’s amazing, it’s amazing what he’s doing,” his mother Diane Timoney said over the phone, her voice upbeat, her speech interspersed with laughter.
Her family has hope now, after two weeks of watching Ryan, a Bartram Trail High School graduate, in a hospital bed — silent, motionless, as he struggled to recover from injuries he suffered after a suicide bomber attacked him and 12 other soldiers in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan. He is being treated at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Bethesda, Md.
read more here
Bartram Trail grad injured by suicide bomber overseas tells family 'I love you'
Posted: June 19, 2012
By SHELDON GARDNER
Bartram Trail grad injured by suicide bomber overseas tells family ‘I love you’
After spending two weeks in a coma, U.S. Army Lt. Ryan Timoney, 26, is awake. He is asking for food and drinks — power bars, apples, ice. He has said “I love you” to his family. He can write, and he is using a motorized wheelchair on his own.
“It’s amazing, it’s amazing what he’s doing,” his mother Diane Timoney said over the phone, her voice upbeat, her speech interspersed with laughter.
Her family has hope now, after two weeks of watching Ryan, a Bartram Trail High School graduate, in a hospital bed — silent, motionless, as he struggled to recover from injuries he suffered after a suicide bomber attacked him and 12 other soldiers in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan. He is being treated at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Bethesda, Md.
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Monday, April 30, 2012
Tampa VA veterans awaiting appointments hiked from 30 to 120 days
VA standard for veterans awaiting appointments hiked from 30 to 120 days
By William R. Levesque,
Times Staff Writer
Monday, April 30, 2012
Tampa Bay's two veterans hospitals have changed a much-watched measure of their performance by increasing from 30 to 120 days the time a patient must go without an appointment before being placed on a waiting list, interviews and documents obtained by the Tampa Bay Times show.
Critics of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs say the change is part of a wider VA trend of fudging statistics showing how well facilities serve veterans.
The VA denies the charge.
But at James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, a switch from 30 to 120 days this month left the hospital's waiting list for outpatient appointments much improved. It dropped from March's 4,981 patients to 1,800 this month, Haley figures show.
read more here
By William R. Levesque,
Times Staff Writer
Monday, April 30, 2012
Tampa Bay's two veterans hospitals have changed a much-watched measure of their performance by increasing from 30 to 120 days the time a patient must go without an appointment before being placed on a waiting list, interviews and documents obtained by the Tampa Bay Times show.
Critics of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs say the change is part of a wider VA trend of fudging statistics showing how well facilities serve veterans.
The VA denies the charge.
But at James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, a switch from 30 to 120 days this month left the hospital's waiting list for outpatient appointments much improved. It dropped from March's 4,981 patients to 1,800 this month, Haley figures show.
read more here
Monday, February 6, 2012
Florida VA hospitals use "Yacker Tracker" because healthcare is noisy
Tampa Bay VA hospitals pump down the volume
By William R. Levesque, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Monday, February 6, 2012
Nurses might be talking up a storm outside a room. Doctors are paged. Intravenous alarms sound. Food carts rattle. Fingers pounding a computer keyboard echo like tiny jackhammers.
Jonathon Starkey, 47, said he has learned one thing about veterans hospitals through numerous operations for bad knees.
Health care is noisy.
But Tampa Bay's two veterans hospitals, the Bay Pines and James A. Haley medical centers, are testing devices that measure the decibel level on inpatient wards. Placed at nursing stations and looking like a red light signal, the device flashes red when the noise exceeds levels set by the hospital.
The device — so far, just three are installed, though more may follow — is called a "Yacker Tracker." And it can't come soon enough for Starkey, an Army veteran and Tampa resident.
"If you're sick or recovering from surgery, the thing you need more than anything is sleep," said Starkey, who has been treated at both Haley in Tampa and Bay Pines in Seminole. "But it can be as loud as a war zone. And it's annoying."
Department of Veterans Affairs officials say studies have repeatedly documented that noise can delay healing. One study noted a correlation between the increased use of painkillers and noisier hospital wards.
read more here
By William R. Levesque, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Monday, February 6, 2012
Nurses might be talking up a storm outside a room. Doctors are paged. Intravenous alarms sound. Food carts rattle. Fingers pounding a computer keyboard echo like tiny jackhammers.
Jonathon Starkey, 47, said he has learned one thing about veterans hospitals through numerous operations for bad knees.
Health care is noisy.
But Tampa Bay's two veterans hospitals, the Bay Pines and James A. Haley medical centers, are testing devices that measure the decibel level on inpatient wards. Placed at nursing stations and looking like a red light signal, the device flashes red when the noise exceeds levels set by the hospital.
The device — so far, just three are installed, though more may follow — is called a "Yacker Tracker." And it can't come soon enough for Starkey, an Army veteran and Tampa resident.
"If you're sick or recovering from surgery, the thing you need more than anything is sleep," said Starkey, who has been treated at both Haley in Tampa and Bay Pines in Seminole. "But it can be as loud as a war zone. And it's annoying."
Department of Veterans Affairs officials say studies have repeatedly documented that noise can delay healing. One study noted a correlation between the increased use of painkillers and noisier hospital wards.
read more here
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Community comes together for wounded Marine and his family
Special Christmas for wounded marine’s family
By Paul Kandarian
Globe Correspondent
December 25, 2011
Marine Lance Corporal Nicholas J. Eufrazio of Plymouth will celebrate Christmas today, with his family by his side, at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, where he is being treated for traumatic brain injury as the result of a grenade attack on Nov. 21, 2010, in Afghanistan.
Employees at Jordan Hospital in Plymouth where his father, Mark Eufrazio, has worked as a plumber for the past 13 years, raised thousands of dollars in recent weeks to help the family make the trip.
“Within a couple of weeks, they raised something like $9,000,’’ Mark Eufrazio said. “We didn’t expect anything like that; people just joined together to help us get to our son during Christmas. It’s really something to see so many people who care.’’
He said Jordan Hospital workers are always raising money for causes for colleagues and those outside the hospital, because “it’s true to their heart. They just want to help people.’’
A group of volunteers started organizing events to raise money to help the Eufrazio family. Physicians Ronald Bardawill and Paul Vigna of Plymouth Pathology Associates donated an iPad2 to be raffled off, and Plymouth firefighter Robert MacKinnon kicked in a surf casting rod and reel. Employees made gift baskets, area businesses donated items for raffles, and Plymouth South High School, which Nicholas Eufrazio attended and where he played football, sold raffle tickets.
read more here
By Paul Kandarian
Globe Correspondent
December 25, 2011
Marine Lance Corporal Nicholas J. Eufrazio of Plymouth will celebrate Christmas today, with his family by his side, at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, where he is being treated for traumatic brain injury as the result of a grenade attack on Nov. 21, 2010, in Afghanistan.
Employees at Jordan Hospital in Plymouth where his father, Mark Eufrazio, has worked as a plumber for the past 13 years, raised thousands of dollars in recent weeks to help the family make the trip.
“Within a couple of weeks, they raised something like $9,000,’’ Mark Eufrazio said. “We didn’t expect anything like that; people just joined together to help us get to our son during Christmas. It’s really something to see so many people who care.’’
He said Jordan Hospital workers are always raising money for causes for colleagues and those outside the hospital, because “it’s true to their heart. They just want to help people.’’
A group of volunteers started organizing events to raise money to help the Eufrazio family. Physicians Ronald Bardawill and Paul Vigna of Plymouth Pathology Associates donated an iPad2 to be raffled off, and Plymouth firefighter Robert MacKinnon kicked in a surf casting rod and reel. Employees made gift baskets, area businesses donated items for raffles, and Plymouth South High School, which Nicholas Eufrazio attended and where he played football, sold raffle tickets.
read more here
Friday, December 16, 2011
Toughest battles are fought after war
Toughest battles are fought after war
By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune
Published: December 16, 2011
Just hours after the pomp and circumstance of a Baghdad ceremony marked the official end of the war, Ryan Fournier sits on a black chair in the barely furnished living room of a small Tampa apartment, in constant pain from injuries — physical and mental — he suffered in Iraq.
For Fournier and Nicole, his wife of nine years who stuck with him through basic training, two tours of duty and constant training in between, the war rages on.
Spc. Fournier, a few weeks shy of 30, suffered a debilitating back injury in the summer of 2007 when his Humvee hit an improvised explosive device. Years later, after Nicole marched him to the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, he learned he also suffered traumatic brain injury in that attack.
His memory is faulty; he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and has a dangerously violent temper and thoughts of suicide.
"He'll be fighting this war until the day he dies," says Nicole. "Every day is a struggle."
Nicole Fournier also is fighting.
As her husband talks about his experiences in Iraq, she chases the couple's 2-year-old son Rylee, who is running around, shrieking.
Rylee is autistic and has sensory processing disorder. The couple's oldest child, Ally, 9, has a host of emotional, developmental and mood disorders that often result in violent or disruptive behavior.
With her husband gone so often, the brunt of dealing with two demanding children has fallen on her shoulders. Because of the injuries her husband suffered in Iraq, she has to take care of him too.
"I do everything for him but bathe him," she says. "I hate to say this, but there are times when I have to talk to him like a child because of his memory."
read more here
By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune
Published: December 16, 2011
Fournier family photoTAMPA --
The Fourniers are among many military families struggling with the physical, emotional and financial fallout of the Iraq war.
Just hours after the pomp and circumstance of a Baghdad ceremony marked the official end of the war, Ryan Fournier sits on a black chair in the barely furnished living room of a small Tampa apartment, in constant pain from injuries — physical and mental — he suffered in Iraq.
For Fournier and Nicole, his wife of nine years who stuck with him through basic training, two tours of duty and constant training in between, the war rages on.
Spc. Fournier, a few weeks shy of 30, suffered a debilitating back injury in the summer of 2007 when his Humvee hit an improvised explosive device. Years later, after Nicole marched him to the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, he learned he also suffered traumatic brain injury in that attack.
His memory is faulty; he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and has a dangerously violent temper and thoughts of suicide.
"He'll be fighting this war until the day he dies," says Nicole. "Every day is a struggle."
Nicole Fournier also is fighting.
As her husband talks about his experiences in Iraq, she chases the couple's 2-year-old son Rylee, who is running around, shrieking.
Rylee is autistic and has sensory processing disorder. The couple's oldest child, Ally, 9, has a host of emotional, developmental and mood disorders that often result in violent or disruptive behavior.
With her husband gone so often, the brunt of dealing with two demanding children has fallen on her shoulders. Because of the injuries her husband suffered in Iraq, she has to take care of him too.
"I do everything for him but bathe him," she says. "I hate to say this, but there are times when I have to talk to him like a child because of his memory."
read more here
Friday, October 28, 2011
Tampa VA lost equipment and camera with breast cancer patients data
I-Team: Tampa VA lost private medical photos of breast cancer patients
By: Alan Cohn
TAMPA - The I-Team has uncovered hundreds of thousands dollars' worth of expensive equipment and property at VA hospitals in Tampa and Bay Pines has been lost or stolen in the last two years.
The list includes televisions, laptop computers, and microscopes. But the most serious loss was not the most expensive item.
A camera, used to photograph women before and after surgery for breast cancer, was discovered missing from a clinic at the James A. Haley VA Hospital last November.
"The photos in question,” an investigative report obtained by the I-Team reads, "may potentially be graphic and personal in nature."
read more here
By: Alan Cohn
The camera disappeared from the Plastic Surgery Clinic. The VA's reports says it also contained “The social security information from the patients" whose photos were on it.
TAMPA - The I-Team has uncovered hundreds of thousands dollars' worth of expensive equipment and property at VA hospitals in Tampa and Bay Pines has been lost or stolen in the last two years.
The list includes televisions, laptop computers, and microscopes. But the most serious loss was not the most expensive item.
A camera, used to photograph women before and after surgery for breast cancer, was discovered missing from a clinic at the James A. Haley VA Hospital last November.
"The photos in question,” an investigative report obtained by the I-Team reads, "may potentially be graphic and personal in nature."
read more here
Monday, October 24, 2011
Tampa VA hospital apologizes to veterans for 'miscommunication'
Tampa VA hospital apologizes to veterans for 'miscommunication'
By William R. Levesque, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Monday, October 24, 2011
TAMPA — The James A. Haley VA Medical Center has apologized to four men quoted in a recent St. Petersburg Times article about difficulties they faced in a program that pays for medical care outside the facility, a hospital spokeswoman said.
This program, called fee basis, allows veterans to get medical care outside the Department of Veterans Affairs if the agency is too busy, doesn't offer a service or in case of some emergencies.
Veterans interviewed by the Times for the Oct. 16 story complained appointments with non-VA doctors have been canceled because of Haley's budget problems. Some noted instances in which Haley refused to pay for outside medical care.
"We have contacted those veterans who contacted you and apologized for any miscommunication that our veterans received," Haley spokeswoman Carolyn Clark said.
But interviews with most of the veterans or their families indicate the VA has not offered to remedy any of the problems they discussed in the story.
read more here
By William R. Levesque, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Monday, October 24, 2011
TAMPA — The James A. Haley VA Medical Center has apologized to four men quoted in a recent St. Petersburg Times article about difficulties they faced in a program that pays for medical care outside the facility, a hospital spokeswoman said.
This program, called fee basis, allows veterans to get medical care outside the Department of Veterans Affairs if the agency is too busy, doesn't offer a service or in case of some emergencies.
Veterans interviewed by the Times for the Oct. 16 story complained appointments with non-VA doctors have been canceled because of Haley's budget problems. Some noted instances in which Haley refused to pay for outside medical care.
"We have contacted those veterans who contacted you and apologized for any miscommunication that our veterans received," Haley spokeswoman Carolyn Clark said.
But interviews with most of the veterans or their families indicate the VA has not offered to remedy any of the problems they discussed in the story.
read more here
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
More wounded coming home, Tampa VA cuts jobs?
More answers needed from Haley VA Medical Center on its budget
In Print: Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The platitudes coming from the mouthpiece at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center about the hospital's financial challenges are just short of, "Don't worry, be happy." That sort of arrogant, condescending attitude should not sit well with veterans and other taxpayers. Haley is a public hospital funded with public money to provide top-quality care for veterans, and it should be more transparent about its budget woes and their impact on patients.
The Department of Veterans Affairs sent the Tampa hospital $28.7 million in cash from VA reserves to cover a shortfall once estimated as high as $47.5 million, the Times' William R. Levesque reported Sunday. Haley needs that much cash to balance its books at the end of the fiscal year, even after spending cuts that included reducing lab services by $1.5 million and cutting staff through attrition by 111 positions. There are serious issues here that deserve more transparent treatment than a canned statement from VA spokeswoman Mary Kay Hollingsworth that Haley "will continue to improve efficiencies and reduce costs.''
Members of Congress are getting no better treatment as they seek information. The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee sent a letter last month to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki about the Tampa hospital's budget issues. Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., and ranking member Richard Burr, R-N.C., expressed concern that Haley's cuts "could have an adverse impact on patient care quality.'' They have yet to receive an answer.
read more here
In Print: Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The platitudes coming from the mouthpiece at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center about the hospital's financial challenges are just short of, "Don't worry, be happy." That sort of arrogant, condescending attitude should not sit well with veterans and other taxpayers. Haley is a public hospital funded with public money to provide top-quality care for veterans, and it should be more transparent about its budget woes and their impact on patients.
The Department of Veterans Affairs sent the Tampa hospital $28.7 million in cash from VA reserves to cover a shortfall once estimated as high as $47.5 million, the Times' William R. Levesque reported Sunday. Haley needs that much cash to balance its books at the end of the fiscal year, even after spending cuts that included reducing lab services by $1.5 million and cutting staff through attrition by 111 positions. There are serious issues here that deserve more transparent treatment than a canned statement from VA spokeswoman Mary Kay Hollingsworth that Haley "will continue to improve efficiencies and reduce costs.''
Members of Congress are getting no better treatment as they seek information. The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee sent a letter last month to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki about the Tampa hospital's budget issues. Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., and ranking member Richard Burr, R-N.C., expressed concern that Haley's cuts "could have an adverse impact on patient care quality.'' They have yet to receive an answer.
read more here
Saturday, August 6, 2011
James A. Haley VA paid big bonuses in tight 2009 budget
Haley VA paid big bonuses in tight 2009 budget
By William R. Levesque, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Saturday, August 6, 2011
TAMPA — One of the nation's busiest veteran hospitals found itself in a money crunch in 2009.
Leaders at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center worked frantically to find funds to offset a deficit that, at one point, was projected at more than $25 million, financial records show.
Travel costs were curtailed. Overtime scrutinized. Potential hires prioritized.
But amid the cuts, one budget item nearly tripled:
Employee bonuses.
Haley paid its 175 business office employees $553,000 in fiscal 2009 bonuses, up from $196,000 the year before, according to Haley and budget records. Bonuses largely went up, Haley officials say, because of a new hospital program that rewarded workers who exceeded goals collecting money owed by insurers and veterans.
Collections went up 14 percent that year to $82 million compared to 2008. Bonuses shot up 181 percent. As bonuses climbed, so, too, did billing refunds.
Refunds of veteran co-pays climbed from $426,525 in fiscal 2007 to $1.5 million in 2010, Haley confirmed.
Haley officials describe the refunds as routine for any Department of Veterans Affairs hospital and said they do not point to flawed billing.
Some say the VA needs to be more forthcoming about bonuses in trying financial times.
Haley's 2009 bonuses "stand out like a search beacon in the desert," said Paul Sullivan, a veterans advocate who is the executive director of Veterans for Common Sense in Washington, D.C.
read more here
Haley VA paid big bonuses in tight 2009 budget
By William R. Levesque, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Saturday, August 6, 2011
About 87,000 patients get treatment at Haley, ranked 9th among VA facilities nationally. Haley boasts what may be the premier polytrauma unit in the nation, where the most severely wounded veterans are treated.
TAMPA — One of the nation's busiest veteran hospitals found itself in a money crunch in 2009.
Leaders at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center worked frantically to find funds to offset a deficit that, at one point, was projected at more than $25 million, financial records show.
Travel costs were curtailed. Overtime scrutinized. Potential hires prioritized.
But amid the cuts, one budget item nearly tripled:
Employee bonuses.
Haley paid its 175 business office employees $553,000 in fiscal 2009 bonuses, up from $196,000 the year before, according to Haley and budget records. Bonuses largely went up, Haley officials say, because of a new hospital program that rewarded workers who exceeded goals collecting money owed by insurers and veterans.
Collections went up 14 percent that year to $82 million compared to 2008. Bonuses shot up 181 percent. As bonuses climbed, so, too, did billing refunds.
Refunds of veteran co-pays climbed from $426,525 in fiscal 2007 to $1.5 million in 2010, Haley confirmed.
Haley officials describe the refunds as routine for any Department of Veterans Affairs hospital and said they do not point to flawed billing.
Some say the VA needs to be more forthcoming about bonuses in trying financial times.
Haley's 2009 bonuses "stand out like a search beacon in the desert," said Paul Sullivan, a veterans advocate who is the executive director of Veterans for Common Sense in Washington, D.C.
read more here
Haley VA paid big bonuses in tight 2009 budget
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital "conditions are horrible" says wounded soldier's stepfather
Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now
Surgery keeps Kent in Tampa, out of D.C.
BY DENES HUSTY III • DHUSTY@NEWS-PRESS.COM • OCTOBER 20, 2010
A wounded Cape Coral soldier can’t be transferred immediately from a Tampa veterans’ hospital, where his family describes conditions as “deplorable” because he had surgery there Tuesday.
The procedure to remove Army Pfc. Corey Kent’s infected gallbladder was successful, said his stepfather, Dan Ashby.
Kent asked to be transferred from Walter Reed Medical Center near Washington three weeks ago to be nearer his family, Ashby said.
Now Kent, 22, “cannot wait to get out of there. He’s regressed. The conditions are horrible. The place is dirty” and he wants to go back to Walter Reed, said Ashby, 40.
However, he said Kent can’t be transferred until at least late next week because of his recuperation and the arranging of a military flight, Ashby said.
read more here
Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now
Surgery keeps Kent in Tampa, out of D.C.
BY DENES HUSTY III • DHUSTY@NEWS-PRESS.COM • OCTOBER 20, 2010
A wounded Cape Coral soldier can’t be transferred immediately from a Tampa veterans’ hospital, where his family describes conditions as “deplorable” because he had surgery there Tuesday.
The procedure to remove Army Pfc. Corey Kent’s infected gallbladder was successful, said his stepfather, Dan Ashby.
Kent asked to be transferred from Walter Reed Medical Center near Washington three weeks ago to be nearer his family, Ashby said.
Now Kent, 22, “cannot wait to get out of there. He’s regressed. The conditions are horrible. The place is dirty” and he wants to go back to Walter Reed, said Ashby, 40.
However, he said Kent can’t be transferred until at least late next week because of his recuperation and the arranging of a military flight, Ashby said.
read more here
Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now
Sunday, July 4, 2010
July 4th means more to wounded warrior in Tampa
Holiday means more than just fireworks for wounded warrior
By VIN MANNIX
Gary Boggs wasn’t sure what he’d be doing Independence Day.
Maybe go on a boat. Or hang out along Channelside.
“It’s a celebration, a patriotic day,” he said from Tampa. “I just hope people realize it’s not just about fireworks.”
Boggs, 35, is a wounded warrior and volunteer spokesman for the TAMCO Foundation’s Embracing Florida’s Wounded Heroes, a nonprofit program that provides assistance to injured veterans.
According to Brig. Gen. Chip Diehl (Ret.), there are more than 1,800 wounded Florida veterans and 30 percent are severely wounded. Some are being treated at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa for brain and spinal cord injuries.
“They have lived through pain and sacrifice and all them are special to me and should be to all of us,” said Diehl, the EFWH executive director. “A lot of these kids are heroes in their 20s and ... it’s important to remember them, embrace them, tell them how much we appreciate and love them for what they did.”
Read more: Holiday means more than just fireworks for wounded warrior
By VIN MANNIX
Boggs, who’s on 100 percent disability, volunteers at Haley and mentors disabled veterans.
Gary Boggs wasn’t sure what he’d be doing Independence Day.
Maybe go on a boat. Or hang out along Channelside.
“It’s a celebration, a patriotic day,” he said from Tampa. “I just hope people realize it’s not just about fireworks.”
Boggs, 35, is a wounded warrior and volunteer spokesman for the TAMCO Foundation’s Embracing Florida’s Wounded Heroes, a nonprofit program that provides assistance to injured veterans.
According to Brig. Gen. Chip Diehl (Ret.), there are more than 1,800 wounded Florida veterans and 30 percent are severely wounded. Some are being treated at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa for brain and spinal cord injuries.
“They have lived through pain and sacrifice and all them are special to me and should be to all of us,” said Diehl, the EFWH executive director. “A lot of these kids are heroes in their 20s and ... it’s important to remember them, embrace them, tell them how much we appreciate and love them for what they did.”
Read more: Holiday means more than just fireworks for wounded warrior
Friday, May 14, 2010
Tampa veteran's hospital earns state honor
Tampa veteran's hospital earns state honor
By Joyce McKenzie The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 14, 2010
UNIVERSITY AREA - When put to the test at the state level, the management and staff at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital and Clinics have validated their worth.
One of the Department of Veterans Affairs biggest health care facilities has been named a recipient of the 2010 Governor's Sterling Award, an honor that for 18 years has acknowledged organizations and businesses throughout Florida that demonstrate excellence.
Officials from Haley, along with Orlando's Florida Hospital and South Miami Hospital, will be on hand to receive the award June 4 in Orlando. It's the first time in the award's history that the recipients all come from the health care industry.
Each of the honorees has gone through a rigorous process of on-site evaluations where Florida Sterling Council-appointed examiners rated them on the basis of knowledge, leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, results and analyses. Employees at all levels were interviewed.
Nancy Reissener, Haley's acting medical center director, is pleased to represent what she considers an outstanding team of colleagues.
"This award is in recognition of the quality of work, professionalism and dedication of the staff at James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital and Clinics," she said. "Our veterans deserve the best care anywhere and I am so proud of our employees who make this happen every day."
Sterling Award winners are meant to serve as role model organizations across the state and their business practices are intended to help other institutions elevate their performance and productivity levels.
go here for more
Tampa veterans hospital earns state honor
By Joyce McKenzie The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 14, 2010
UNIVERSITY AREA - When put to the test at the state level, the management and staff at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital and Clinics have validated their worth.
One of the Department of Veterans Affairs biggest health care facilities has been named a recipient of the 2010 Governor's Sterling Award, an honor that for 18 years has acknowledged organizations and businesses throughout Florida that demonstrate excellence.
Officials from Haley, along with Orlando's Florida Hospital and South Miami Hospital, will be on hand to receive the award June 4 in Orlando. It's the first time in the award's history that the recipients all come from the health care industry.
Each of the honorees has gone through a rigorous process of on-site evaluations where Florida Sterling Council-appointed examiners rated them on the basis of knowledge, leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, results and analyses. Employees at all levels were interviewed.
Nancy Reissener, Haley's acting medical center director, is pleased to represent what she considers an outstanding team of colleagues.
"This award is in recognition of the quality of work, professionalism and dedication of the staff at James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital and Clinics," she said. "Our veterans deserve the best care anywhere and I am so proud of our employees who make this happen every day."
Sterling Award winners are meant to serve as role model organizations across the state and their business practices are intended to help other institutions elevate their performance and productivity levels.
go here for more
Tampa veterans hospital earns state honor
Friday, December 18, 2009
Wounded troops and families feted for holiday at Haley VA
Wounded troops and families feted for holiday at Haley VA
By Robbyn Mitchell, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, December 18, 2009
TAMPA
The din rose higher and higher as more than 300 guests talked and chowed down on turkey, but Craig Remsburg was determined to speak his piece Thursday night.
"I just want to thank you for all you're doing for us," Remsburg said as he shook the hand of Bob Silah, the chairman of Operation Helping Hand. "This is all so wonderful."
The father of an Army Ranger in a coma, Remsburg was in awe of how the Tampa community came out in force to honor his son and nearly 30 other injured or wounded military personnel at Operation Helping Hand's monthly dinner at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center's Spinal Cord Injury Center.
People were listening to Christmas music and talking between forkfuls of turkey , mashed potatoes, bread, yams and fried plantains.
Santa Claus sat smilingly near the front of the room, welcoming children. The Tampa Bay Lightning's Thunderbug flitted from table to table working the littlest dinner guests into a frenzy with mimicry and gags.
Silah said the group had raised $12,000 during the dinner, the bulk — $8,000 — coming from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office clay pigeon shoot out.
read more here
Wounded troops and families feted for holiday at Haley VA
By Robbyn Mitchell, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, December 18, 2009
TAMPA
The din rose higher and higher as more than 300 guests talked and chowed down on turkey, but Craig Remsburg was determined to speak his piece Thursday night.
"I just want to thank you for all you're doing for us," Remsburg said as he shook the hand of Bob Silah, the chairman of Operation Helping Hand. "This is all so wonderful."
The father of an Army Ranger in a coma, Remsburg was in awe of how the Tampa community came out in force to honor his son and nearly 30 other injured or wounded military personnel at Operation Helping Hand's monthly dinner at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center's Spinal Cord Injury Center.
People were listening to Christmas music and talking between forkfuls of turkey , mashed potatoes, bread, yams and fried plantains.
Santa Claus sat smilingly near the front of the room, welcoming children. The Tampa Bay Lightning's Thunderbug flitted from table to table working the littlest dinner guests into a frenzy with mimicry and gags.
Silah said the group had raised $12,000 during the dinner, the bulk — $8,000 — coming from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office clay pigeon shoot out.
read more here
Wounded troops and families feted for holiday at Haley VA
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
VA let us down, says soldier’s mom
VA let us down, says soldier’s mom
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Sep 16, 2009 16:35:14 EDT
The mother of a severely wounded Army veteran choked back tears Wednesday as she told attendees of a seminar on veterans’ health care that she believes the government has let her and her son down.
“It is very sad this country has let us down so incredibly,” said Leslie Kammerdiener, mother and caregiver of Army Cpl. Kevin Kammerdiener, a 173rd Airborne Brigade soldier who suffered severe burns and brain injuries in a 2008 roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan.
A low point came earlier this year, Kammerdiener said, when her son indicated by hand movements that he wanted to hang himself. She said she called the Veterans Affairs Department asking for help because her son was suicidal; she waited days but got no return call.
She got help only after tracking down a doctor at a military event and pleading for help, she said.
Kammerdiener told her story at an Alexandria, Va., conference sponsored by the Military Officers Association of America and the U.S. Naval Institute that focused on what the government is doing and should be doing to help combat veterans with invisible wounds such as post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries.
Kammerdiener had high praise for the immediate care her son received for his burns at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas. But once her son was transferred, care began to erode, she said.
In a sign of what was to come, when her son arrived at VA’s polytrauma center in Tampa, Fla., on Labor Day weekend in 2008, the hospital had no medicine for him, no bed and no food for his feeding tube because they seemed to be unaware he was coming, she said, adding that her son went 30 hours without being fed.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/09/military_wounded_soldiermother_091609w/
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Sep 16, 2009 16:35:14 EDT
The mother of a severely wounded Army veteran choked back tears Wednesday as she told attendees of a seminar on veterans’ health care that she believes the government has let her and her son down.
“It is very sad this country has let us down so incredibly,” said Leslie Kammerdiener, mother and caregiver of Army Cpl. Kevin Kammerdiener, a 173rd Airborne Brigade soldier who suffered severe burns and brain injuries in a 2008 roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan.
A low point came earlier this year, Kammerdiener said, when her son indicated by hand movements that he wanted to hang himself. She said she called the Veterans Affairs Department asking for help because her son was suicidal; she waited days but got no return call.
She got help only after tracking down a doctor at a military event and pleading for help, she said.
Kammerdiener told her story at an Alexandria, Va., conference sponsored by the Military Officers Association of America and the U.S. Naval Institute that focused on what the government is doing and should be doing to help combat veterans with invisible wounds such as post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries.
Kammerdiener had high praise for the immediate care her son received for his burns at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas. But once her son was transferred, care began to erode, she said.
In a sign of what was to come, when her son arrived at VA’s polytrauma center in Tampa, Fla., on Labor Day weekend in 2008, the hospital had no medicine for him, no bed and no food for his feeding tube because they seemed to be unaware he was coming, she said, adding that her son went 30 hours without being fed.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/09/military_wounded_soldiermother_091609w/
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