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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency services, April 18 Medford police seek new rules to stop sales of stolen goods Struggling to stay on track Central Point considers new fees for parks, school police People in Business Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services, April 18 Jurors see shocking conditions of accused serial killer's farm Emergency services Argument over stolen guns led to first shooting, Monica says Monica takes rare opportunity to cross-examine a witness in her double-murder trial Politics and Elections Arthur I. Cyr: Cuba’s enduring challenge to American foreign policy – and American politics Gov. Brown touts need for transportation funding in talk to Medford chamber Kent Bush: Clinton 2.0 is neither new nor improved Arthur I. 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Brown touts need for transportation funding in talk to Medford chamber Erickson shores up business with three contracts Lithia Motors shares break the $100 mark Agriculture New bosses take charge at Harry & David Dancin Vineyards covers up Broth maker leaves San Diego for Medford Opinion Latest Other Views: State Board of Education dragging its feet over Native American mascots Matthew T. Mangino: Mass incarceration enters the national consciousness Our View: Impeachment should be an option Letters to the Editor, April 17 Michael Gerson: Obama is desperately seeking a legacy Editorials Other Views: State Board of Education dragging its feet over Native American mascots Our View: Impeachment should be an option Our View: Gun background check bill is worth passing Our View: Don't expect a fix for I-5 viaduct through Medford anytime soon Our View: Minimum wage boost is no panacea Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, April 17 Letters to the Editor, April 16 Letters to the Editor, April 15 Letters to the Editor, April 14 Letters to the Editor, April 13 Columns Matthew T. Mangino: Mass incarceration enters the national consciousness Michael Gerson: Obama is desperately seeking a legacy Arthur I. Cyr: Cuba’s enduring challenge to American foreign policy – and American politics Kent Bush: Memories of Oklahoma City bombing still fresh 20 years later George Will: Sustainability gone wild Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Removing barriers to walking, biking benefits everyone Guest Opinion: Conversion therapy on LGBT youth is child abuse Guest Opinion: Pot opponents have good reason for concern Guest Opinion: If Courtney kills bill, $15 minimum wage will go to the ballot Guest Opinion: Phoenix embraces Bee City USA designation Lifestyle Latest stories Official hopeful whooping cough case at John Muir contained 6 trout to know App Finder: Best Earth Day apps Health Watch: How to avoid the dreaded weight-loss plateau Fishing Report: Friday, April 17 Food Tammy Kelly: Soft-shell crab is in season Community blog: Orange-blossom water enhances honey syrup High on flavor, low on calories: Cookbook offers tasty options for people trying to eat healthier Prudence Hilburn: Test-kitchen products become ‘secret’ specialties Community blog: Leave fruits whole for crumbles in a time crunch Home and Garden Carol Link: Tea olive shrubs can be propagated from new growth 12 ways ceiling fans keep you comfortable and save cash Dear Monty: Profiting with adaptive re-use Paul Rogers: Schedule your time wisely Home Help: 3 upgrades to help give your bathroom spa-like panache Health Official hopeful whooping cough case at John Muir contained Health Watch: How to avoid the dreaded weight-loss plateau Book Notes: A big body is not a bad body Go get physical Community blog: Better Living By Design: A Symposium You Must Not Miss Hiking Biking Faith Religion Briefs: Friday, April 17 Religion briefs: Friday, April 10 Religion briefs: Friday, April 3 Religion briefs: Friday, March 27 Milestones and Achievements Charlesworth-Murphy Drizzle doesn't dampen Pear Blossom Parade spirit New Arrivals: Sunday, April 12 Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Five picks for entertainment this week L.A. rockers The Relationship play Howiee's Joanne Rand at the Unitarian Fellowship Rogue Valley Symphony and 3 Leg Torso mingle classical with modern chamber music Third Fridays celebrates poetry, student art Theater Ashland New Plays Festival chooses new artistic director A tale of two plays at OSF Oregon Cabaret Theatre's "The Musical!" delivers five clever Broadway parodies in Ashland OCT stages 'The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)' Auditions for youth musical set at Camelot Music Alex de Grassi and Andrew York play SOU Live Music in Local Clubs L.A. rockers The Relationship play Howiee's Joanne Rand at the Unitarian Fellowship Rogue Valley Symphony and 3 Leg Torso mingle classical with modern chamber music Community Events Third Fridays celebrates poetry, student art 'BRAND,' 'Western' among Ashland Independent Film Festival award winners Ashland Co-Dependent Film Festival 2015 Pear Blossom Festival kicks off in Medford Ashland Independent Film Festival announces 2015 lineup Dining Siam Cafe offers 'mild' to 'very spicy' Thai cuisine Restaurant inspections, April 12, 2015 La Tapatia offers authentically delicious cuisine RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS: Sunday, April 5 The Laughing Clam in Grants Pass offers seafood-heavy menu Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Jurors see shocking conditions of accused serial killer's farm ... Monica claims she never acted on murderous thoughts ... Governor Brown says Oregon 'back on track' in State of the State address ... Jurors see shocking conditions of accused serial killer's farm ... Monica claims she never acted on murderous thoughts ... Governor Brown says Oregon 'back on track' in State of the State address ... WHITE CITY Staffing shortages keep vets waiting at SORCC By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 12, 2015 @ 2:00 am By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 12, 2015 @ 2:00 am » RELATED CONTENT • CHART: Veterans' wait times at Oregon VA facilities • VA clinics statewide can't compete with private sector » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Some veterans in the area — particularly those seeking specialty care — are still experiencing lengthy wait times despite a concentrated effort by the Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics to hire additional providers and implement new scheduling practices. About 2.5 percent of all appointments — 1,495 out of 59,479 — at the SORCC between Sept. 1 and Feb. 28 were delayed more than a month, according to data provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and compiled by The Associated Press. And 255 of those appointments involved a wait time of more than 90 days. While the SORCC completed nearly as many appointments in that six-month period as the Salem, Eugene and East Portland VA clinics combined, it had a lower percentage of patients waiting 31 days or more for care than nine of the 15 VA clinics in the state. But of the 940 VA hospitals and outpatient clinics nationwide included in the AP’s report, it ranked 53 for highest number of patients waiting more than 90 days for care. It’s been nearly a year since the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs ordered a nationwide audit because of off-the-books scheduling practices and a mismanagement of VA resources, among other things, at several VA facilities. Since the passage of the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act last August, VA facilities and clinics nationwide have received funding to hire additional staff and expand facilities in an effort to reduce wait times. The bill also allowed veterans enrolled in the VA health care system to access private-sector care through a third-party administrator if they live more than 40 miles from the nearest VA medical facility or if they are unable to secure an appointment at a VA medical facility within 30 days. The SORCC was allocated $1.69 million, enough to fund 23 additional employees, and so far it has hired five new employees and offered jobs to 15 other people who are at various stages of the hiring process, said SORCC spokeswoman Rhonda Haney. Psychologists, medical support assistants and social workers were among those hired, and psychiatrists are still needed, said Monica Mortimer-Lamb, SORCC’s business manager. “We have such a large resident population — 490 (Friday) morning — who are all receiving mental health treatment, as well as a lot of outpatients,” Mortimer-Lamb said. “It’s very difficult to recruit psychiatrists and psychiatric social workers,” she added. “They’re tough to find anywhere, and they’re especially tough to find in rural areas.” Veterans requiring urgent care are seen immediately, and those needing primary care are typically seen by a VA provider within a month. But wait times continue to be a problem for folks with specialty care needs, such optometry and orthopedics, Mortimer-Lamb said. If the wait time does exceed the VA’s timeliness standard, those veterans are referred to a third-party administrator, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, and connected with a private-sector provider. “Initially, people were excited about (this option), but it’s a cumbersome process to have to go through a third-party administrator to access care and sometimes that’s difficult … and the wait times can be just as long out in the community,” she said. And if a veteran sees a private-sector optometrist and is prescribed glasses, he'll still have to make an appointment with the VA to order the glasses due to contractual rules between the VA and TriWest. Last summer, SORCC lost two optometrists. One of the positions has since been filled, and the other will be filled in June “so by the end of this summer we should be back to seeing our optometry patients within 30 days, which is the goal,” Mortimer-Lamb said. Despite staffing shortages, SORCC has continued to grow by 100 to 200 patients every month, including 809 new patients between the beginning of October and the end of March. “We had a 5 percent increase in the number of veterans overall in 2013-14,” Mortimer-Lamb said. “We don’t count the number of visits. We count the number of individual patients and that has steadily increased for us over the last three or four years.” Mortimer-Lamb said the increase could be owed to more veterans moving to the area to retire and more veterans enrolling in the VA health care system because of the Affordable Care Act. "There's a reason why veterans sometimes wait for care because the care that is provided is far more comprehensive than what they receive in the private sector," she said. Reach reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt . By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 12, 2015 @ 2:00 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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