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Services at dom not expected to fall Access, buildings under scrutiny, but patient numbers unthreatened By Paul Fattig WHITE CITY � The Department of Veterans Affairs has no plans to reduce the number of patients treated at the Domiciliary, says the director of the agency�s Pacific Northwest medical facilities. But the agency is looking at ways to improve care and access while keeping costs as low as possible, said Ted Galey, a medical doctor based at the DVA�s regional office in Vancouver, Wash. "We�re not talking about reducing the number of beds or the number of patients," he said. "We�re talking about expanding the types of service we provide. "We think we can manage the same number of patients even better. We�re not singling out White City. This is part of a national review." He was reacting to concerns expressed by local veterans� groups that studies under way would reduce the patient load by half while decreasing rehabilitation time from up to six months down to 28 days. There are now about 780 patients in the facility, the largest domiciliary in the nation not connected to a veterans hospital. It has a capacity for 820 patients and serves about 5,000 outpatients in Southern Oregon and Northern California. An internal office memo from a Domiciliary employee indicated the cuts were among changes being considered by a regional team of department experts. The concern is that reducing the number of patients at the facility would put homeless veterans back on the streets, said Joe Grabowski, state commander of the Oregon chapter of Disabled American Veterans. "They have very successful drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs at the Domiciliary," he said. "What they are doing is getting the homeless vets off the street. They train them, give them living skills and help get them jobs. We need to continue doing this." Built in the early 1940s as a Army base known as Camp White, its current mission is to help homeless veterans become contributing members of society. While citing the work being done at the facility, Galey noted the reviews now under way are congressionally mandated. Officials are looking at ways to improve care and access as well as the ability of the VA facilities to withstand earthquakes. A General Accounting Office study released last year chided Uncle Sam for the huge cost of maintaining buildings that weren�t worth the upkeep, Galey said. "We are assessing all the structures, especially where we have seismic issues," Galey said. "We are looking at whether they are safe. That is coinciding with our health-care review." The goal is to complete the seismic review before the health care study, he said, noting the latter must be completed in two years. "We also have to consider the taxpayers to whom we are accountable," he said. "But we don�t intend to take care of less veterans. We want to do what is best for them." That may include tapping into community resources more than in the past, he said. "Most people don�t like to lay in hospital beds anymore," he said, noting that is true of patients at all medical facilities, not just those at the VA. "Veterans are a very productive part of our society," he said. "We are working to improve their care. "But there is no plan to reduce veteran services in the Pacific Northwest." The current annual operating budget for the facility is about $33.5 million. In addition to some 350 employees, it has several hundred volunteers. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.