A new nationwide patient survey confirms what AFGE has been saying all along – that the Department of Veterans Affairs’ hospitals are superior to non-VA counterparts, which is all the more reason to invest in the VA so that it can serve more veterans and provide even better services.
According to the latest survey conducted by Medicare between July 2021 and June 2022, VA hospitals outperformed non-VA hospitals on all 10 core patient satisfaction metrics. Medicare awarded star ratings of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest quality as part of the survey.
Here’s how the VA did compared with non-VA hospitals:
Overall hospital rating: 72% of VA hospitals received 4 or 5 stars compared to 48% of non-VA hospitals.
VA hospitals received more 4 or 5 star ratings than non-VA counterparts in all other categories:
Communication with doctors: 87% vs. 48%
Communication with nurses: 59% vs. 35%
Responsiveness of hospital staff: 63% vs. 34%
Communication about medicines: 80% vs. 38%
Cleanliness of the hospital environment: 69% vs. 52%
Quietness of the hospital environment: 49% vs. 38%
Discharge information: 65% vs. 55%
Care transition: 76% vs. 35%, and
Willingness to recommend the hospital: 76% vs. 52%
“This data just confirms that VA is doing its job, and an integrated health care system is the way to go,” said AFGE National VA Council First Executive Vice President MJ Burke. “Our stakeholders are the best, our mission is the best, and our employees are super dedicated.”
Investing in the VA
That’s why AFGE has been speaking out against cutting the VA’s budget and sending veterans to private providers. Every time the VA has tried to privatize veterans’ care, the private, for-profit hospitals have charged veterans more money out of pocket for worse outcomes.
Our union last year successfully rolled back attempts to close down VA facilities across the country. These planned closures (and potential future ones) are part of a bigger push to send more veterans to private providers who are often not equipped to handle veterans’ unique and specialized needs.
Investing in the VA means hiring employees to achieve its mission of caring for veterans, decreasing reliance on private, for-profit care, and ensuring employees have the resources they need to do their jobs. It also means paying them well and treating them right so that they won’t seek employment elsewhere, exacerbating staffing shortages and wasting time and money trying to hire and train replacements.
Unfortunately, some lawmakers are trying once again to demoralize workers and politicize the VA’s disciplinary action procedures by introducing legislation to revive a 2017 firing law, some key aspects of which have been invalidated by courts. If passed and signed into law, the legislation would weaken employees’ due process, a cornerstone of civil service protections. The VA has stopped utilizing powers granted under the original law after facing a barrage of legal challenges, many from AFGE, and being ordered by judges to reinstate illegally disciplined employees.
AFGE will continue to fight attempts to politicize and scapegoat the VA workforce in order to privatize veterans’ care.
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