Delegation Presses Veterans Affairs Secretary on Future of Hot Springs Facility

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary David Shulkin expressing continued concern with the VA’s misguided intention to realign services within the VA Black Hills Health Care System and halt any associated reduction in services at the Hot Springs facility until a national review of the VA’s footprint and delivery of care is completed. The delegation also requested that the secretary consider designating Hot Springs as a post-traumatic stress disorder Center of Excellence and encouraged him to visit the facility.

“In order to restore confidence within the veteran community and uphold our solemn commitment to their care, we ask that you support steps to remediate the decline in quality factors at the Hot Springs VA, as well as consider its designation as a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Center of Excellence,” the delegation wrote. “The success stories of the Hot Springs domiciliary program speak for themselves, and we ask that you visit the campus to see first-hand the environment of healing fostered in Hot Springs. We believe a visit to Hot Springs would also prove informative as you contemplate the broader question of realignment, and we would be happy to help facilitate a meeting with local stakeholders.”

In May 2017, the delegation met with Secretary Shulkin in Washington, D.C., and encouraged him to reverse former VA Secretary Robert McDonald’s decision to realign services within the Black Hills.

Full text of the letter can be found below.

Dear Secretary Shulkin,

We write to request an update of your review of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) footprint and transition to a quality and outcome-based system.  When you met with the South Dakota Congressional delegation last May, you discussed shifting to a quality-based system that would maintain services at facilities with top patient outcomes, while relying on community care in instances where the VA is not adequately meeting veteran needs.  Accordingly, you said you would review the previous administration’s Record of Decision concerning the realignment of services within the VA Black Hills Health Care System and halt any associated reduction in services at the Hot Springs VA until you completed a national review of the VA’s footprint and delivery of care.  We would like to reiterate our support for the tremendous care provided by the Hot Springs VA and again express our concern that the VA’s misguided intention to realign services will deny veterans the care they have selflessly earned, especially those in inpatient post-traumatic stress and addictive disorders services.

As we discussed, the VA Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning Value Model (SAIL) data first released by USA Today on December 7, 2016, indicated the Hot Springs and Fort Meade VAs were two of only 16 five-star facilities in the third quarter of 2016.^[1]  The Hot Springs VA was also one of 14 that was also rated a five-star facility in the fourth quarter of 2015.  We believe that this stellar performance should have given the VA pause before signing the Record of Decision to significantly reduce the services there.  Unfortunately, subsequent quality of care ratings downgraded the Hot Springs VA to a four-star facility on September 30, 2016, and to a two-star facility on September 30, 2017.^[2]  We are concerned that this precipitous drop was a direct result of the continued uncertainty surrounding the facility’s future and subsequent hiring challenges, which have persisted at the hand of the VA.

In order to restore confidence within the veteran community and uphold our solemn commitment to their care, we ask that you support steps to remediate the decline in quality factors at the Hot Springs VA, as well as consider its designation as a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Center of Excellence.  The success stories of the Hot Springs domiciliary program speak for themselves, and we ask that you consider visiting the campus to see first-hand the environment of healing fostered in Hot Springs.  We believe a visit to Hot Springs would also prove informative as you contemplate the broader question of realignment.

We appreciate your continued engagement on this matter and look forward to continuing the discussion on how we can best provide for our veterans.

Sincerely,

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