Congresswoman Cheri Bustos toured the Bob Michel VA Clinic Tuesday meeting with administrators, and talking to veterans.
Bustos is visiting VA medical facilities in her district in response to wait-list issues. The national audit of VA facilities shows the Bob Michel Clinic was misusing the electronic scheduling system. At the time, there were also three people who’d waited at least 90 days for an initial visit.
Bustos says systems and processes are long overdue for an upgrade.
“There’s an antiquated scheduling system, the software first came out in the 70’s, It’s been upgraded in the 80’s. And other than that it has not kept up with the times. Number two, I’ve heard that the process to expand, to build a new location, is cumbersome and takes too long. When you’ve identified a need and it’s going to take 5 years to go from start to finish, by the time you get the place open there’s a chance you’re going to outgrow it.”
The Bob Michel VA Clinic is the busiest outpatient facility in the 17th Congressional District, serving about ten thousand veterans a year.