HAMPTON--The Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center already passed an important milestone in November, when it got wait times for appointments with primary care providers below the national target of 30 days. Two weeks ago the facility announced it had gotten down to 29 days.
Now, the director is aiming for even more speed of care. Michael Dunphy, in a rare sit-down interview, said Thursday be believes it's possible to cut the wait times ever further.
"I think if we got to a place where on average we could provide access to primary care within a week, we could say we're doing a pretty good job," he said.
Dunphy credits the recent addition of night and weekend primary care clinics for the improvements to date. But he warned, don't expect overnight success.
"It'll be incremental progress," he said. "I think within the next five or six months we should be able to get it much closer to 20 days. Then, it will be assessing where we are at that point, additional initiatives we can take."
The Hampton V.A. has been under fire following an Inspector General's report which "flagged" the facility for long wait times. Virginia Senator Mark Warner has visited the facility twice this year. And two weeks ago, he expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of improvements, saying he believes some patients are not being treated with respect.
Veterans will get a chance to weigh in on how well they think the Hampton VAMC is doing. A second town hall is scheduled for next Monday, December 15, from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. in VAMC Chapel, Building One, 100 Emancipation Drive, Hampton.
