Medical staff with Shreveport's Overton Brooks VA Medical Center informed military veterans about ongoing patient service improvements as well as took comments on needed improvements at a local town hall meeting Thursday.
After an awards ceremony recognizing seven local Vietnam veterans commemorating last year's 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, Toby Matthews, center director, went into details about ongoing efforts to improve the center's services.
Matthews said the center's new telephone call center, which opened last month, now allows veterans needing medical assistance to talk to other veterans who provide the answering service. Calls are also answered within the first 30 seconds.
Matthews also told meeting attendees that the center distributes Veterans Administration information packets in order to help veterans connect better with the center's medical service providers.
Following his presentation, Matthews opened the meeting up to comments, criticisms and suggestions for further veteran patient service improvements. One veteran said that when he called the center, it lead to an answering service in Kansas. Matthews explained that the center's patient pharmacy medicine refill requests are handled through a phone bank in Kansas in order to allow for more expedient service.
Another veteran expressed concern about parking problems at Overton Brooks, to which Matthews replied construction of a new multi-story parking garage is under way and should be completed in about 60 to 90 days.
One veteran's wife explained she wasn't able to get her husband's prescriptions filled for a lung disease because the medical staff said his required medicines were too expensive to fill and that he had too many ailments to contend with.
Following her presentation, some medical staff members from Texarkana local VA Outpatient Clinic took the spouse's paperwork in order to further investigate her husband's case after she said she was told his medicine would cost as much as $9,000 a month.
Veteran George Akin said that he just gets to see medical interns regarding his disabilities, but he would also like to see a regular doctor if he could. He said some of his disabilities were related to exposure to Agent Orange.
Matthews said multiple medications are always reviewed by assorted medical staff in order to make sure that different prescriptions aren't harmful to a patient if taken in conjunction with other medications.
Matthews added that Texarkana could be getting larger clinic by 2020.
Local veteran Bess Gamble-Williams said Overton Brooks doesn't seem to have a public affairs officer to inform veterans of upcoming town hall meetings, to which Matthews replied that the center will be getting a new public affairs officer later this year.
Gamble-Williams also said that some local veterans have attempted suicide and need help, however, Matthews said his center's psychiatric patient beds are often full.
Mathews then thanked the participants for their input.