Sen. Kaine meets with VA Chief McDonald

Sen. Tim Kaine expressed optimism Tuesday after a meeting with VA Secretary Robert McDonald to discuss, among other issues, long wait times for patients at the Hampton VA Medical Center.

In a news release, Kaine called the meeting "very positive" and said he was pleased with McDonald's performance since being named to succeed embattled former secretary Eric Shinseki.

The senator said he also voiced concern over the backlog in adjudicating claims for disability benefits "and a culture at VA hospitals that many veterans see as unwelcoming."

Audit data released last month showed that primary care patients in the Hampton region faced, on average, the longest wait times in the nation at 30.53 days, a weighted number that considers the medical center, plus outpatient clinics in Virginia Beach and Elizabeth City, N.C.

The next highest region was Fayetteville, N.C., at 28.45 days. Third highest was a region in Texas at 23.8 days, but the large majority of other regions scored in the low teens and single digits.

Data released Jan. 8 showed primary care wait times at 29.6 days in Hampton, which still appears to be the nation's longest.

Michael Dunfee, Hampton's director, said changes are on the way that should shorten wait times by the summer.

One primary-care doctor recently joined Hampton and two more are coming by the end of January. Up to seven will come on board in February. Additional construction on the Hampton campus will result in 11 more primary-care exam rooms.

Meanwhile, Hampton plans to lease additional space to supplement its Virginia Beach clinic. A site has not been determined, but Dunfee said the lease would add 10,000 square feet — about the size of the current clinic — and provide roughly 20 exam rooms.

Kaine scheduled the meeting with McDonald before the start of the year — before Hampton wait times became the topic of news stories.

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