Secretary McDonough Visits Robley Rex VA Medical Center
LOUISVILLE, KY - In his first official visit to Louisville, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough spent Friday morning meeting with leadership, staff, and touring Robley Rex VA Medical Center to meet patients and get a first-hand look at how the hospital operates.
McDonough, the 11th Secretary of Veterans Affairs, addressed the challenges of providing healthcare during the pandemic and emphasized how local patient feedback scores improved during this time. He credited the frontline staff for stepping up when they were needed the most.
“Throughout the pandemic, our Veterans are choosing the VA more and more,” said Secretary McDonough. “Not only are they choosing the VA more and more, but the response that we are getting and the trust we are engendering through the care of our Veterans, is increasing. Trust scores are higher today than they were at the beginning of the pandemic. That is because of facilities like this, and more importantly, it’s because of the human infrastructure – the men and women are the secret recipe to how we provide timely access to world-class care.”
Much of the discussion from leadership and staff focused on staffing issues that have not only impacted the healthcare sector across the country, but all facilities in Louisville and surrounding areas.
“I just had a very candid discussion with the leadership team here about the challenges that we are facing,” McDonough stated. “It’s a very tight labor market and the pandemic has had a big impact on providers here in Louisville. We are working very hard to ensure we pay our healthcare professionals what they have earned.”
According to McDonough, the bipartisan RAISE Act that was recently signed into law, will help the Department attract and retain registered nurses and physician assistants and improve patient-access.
“Recently, the President signed into law the Raise Act – which allows us to increase wages for our nurses,” said McDonough. “This is a very important update to an existing law so that we can ensure, in the year 2022, our nurses can get what they have earned. This will be very important as we continue to invest in the workforce.”
The visit to Robley Rex VA Medical Center also provided Secretary McDonough an opportunity to meet with staff, union officials, and present five employees with official coins to recognize their willingness to go above-and-beyond their job duties.
Staff presented with commemorative coins from the Secretary include:
Jim Binford – Advanced Medical Support Assistant: On September 22, 2021, Mr. Binford made a routine follow up call to a Veteran to verify his address. While asking the demographic questions, Mr. Binford noted the Veteran’s current address was in Florida and asked him if or when he planned to return to Louisville. The Veteran stated that nothing had gone right for him since he arrived in Florida, he couldn’t get any answers from anywhere, including VA, and then stated: “I would just feel better if I wasn’t here anymore. It just don’t matter.” Mr. Binford became immediately concerned for the Veteran’s well-being and continued to engage him in conversation while alerting another staff member to contact the Suicide Prevention Coordinator, who successfully intervened. The Veteran received the services he needed and later expressed his gratitude for Mr. Binford’s intervention.
Dr. Priya Krishnan – Interim Chief, Medicine Service: Dr. Krishnan has been instrumental in the development and implementation of SMR 30 analytics with identification and mitigation of patient and facility risks. She effectively assumed the role of Interim Chief of Medicine Service during the pandemic. She has provided leadership of multiple initiatives and process improvements including a reduction in hospital readmissions, COVID-19 vaccination, testing surveillance, and isolation liberation for inpatients.
Pam Payne – Nurse Manager: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Payne was detailed to lead staffing resource efforts for the hospital. Her valuable knowledge, experience, and skills were instrumental in the identification and reassignment of staff from across the facility to meet the demand of COVID-positive Veterans. Her work in this area ensured our Veterans received excellent care throughout the crisis.
Sarah Schultz – VA Police Officer: Officer Sarah Schultz observed a male Veteran acting erratic in the parking lot. Based on the behaviors exhibited by the Veteran, he was determined to be under the influence of illicit drugs and displaying signs consistent with a drug overdose. Ms. Schultz acted quickly and administered naloxone/Narcan to the Veteran and transported him to the Emergency Department. These swift actions were instrumental in saving his life.
Emily Watts – Women Veterans Program Manager: Ms. Watts led the Women Veterans Program in the creative conversion of women’s health outreach events to virtual and drive-thru formats, including mobile baby showers, drive-thru vaccination drives, a drive-thru outreach event in Hardin County, and mobile women Veterans’ open houses. In addition, Ms. Watts and her team have continued to expand the facility’s women’s health services including a second Women’s Health PACT, and facilitation and support for the training of women’s health medical providers.