Homecoming renews devotion to VA’s mission
All kinds of health services to 40,000 area veterans.
A budget of $215 million. Outpatient visits approaching half a million last year, not to mention 1,700 employees.
Those are some pretty big numbers, and Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s new director says they represent the country’s commitment to Western New York veterans.
William F. Feeley also says that more can be done.
In particular, he wants to do his part in speeding up pending claims from veterans seeking disability benefits.
There are nearly 1 million claims outstanding from veterans across the country, and while Feeley and his medical staff do not decide who gets a disability pension, they do play a role in assessing the extent of service-related injuries on which pensions are based.
That is why Feeley says that “timely completion of medical examinations” for these veterans is a top priority.
At present, veterans in this region receive the examinations within 25 days, which is 40 percent faster than the VA’s national standard of 35 days.
“We’re exceeding that standard and want to do it in an even shorter time,” Feeley said last week during an interview outlining his goals.
The Veterans Benefits Administration arm of the VA rates injured veterans, based on the exams, when determining who gets a monthly disability pension and for how much.
“My concern is people need to have the process occur as rapidly as possible,” Feeley said of the medical exams. “There can be as many as seven or eight elements in an exam.”
Feeley is no stranger to the Buffalo Niagara region. He served as director in Buffalo from 1998 to 2003, when he accepted a promotion that ultimately took him to Washington, D. C., and the post of deputy undersecretary for VA health care operations and management.
There, he says, he gained a broader perspective on the challenges faced by the VA in coming to terms with caring for the thousands of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“With the tragedy of war, we’re now screening for post-traumatic stress, depression and traumatic brain injuries. It enables us to improve care. Early intervention is what we want to be about,” Feeley said.
His goals of providing timely and effective health care to locals vets is good news for Ronal R. Bassham, one of the founders of the Region 9 United Auto Workers’ Veterans Committee and an executive board member of Chapter 120, Disabled Veterans of America.
“I think it is wonderful that he is back. The previous two people we had were temporary directors, and we couldn’t get any real commitment from those guys,” said Bassham, a Vietnam War veteran from Niagara Falls. “I am looking for better service for our guys who need medication and treatment sooner. We need greater collaboration.”
Collaboration is something Feeley understands.
He cited Buffalo City Judge Robert T. Russell Jr.’s Veterans Court, which helps the VA in its mission.
Psychological and brain-related injuries, the director explained, sometimes figure into why a veteran might have a brush with the law.
“What makes sense is to get the veteran in for help,” Feeley said.
Too often, Bassham said, veterans who have undetected physical or psychological injuries end up self-medicating with drugs and alcohol and get into trouble.
As for the 62-year-old Feeley, he says his return to Western New York is like coming home, though he is a native of New England. “The opportunity to come back home was hard to pass up,” said Feeley, who has several grown children, as well as grandchildren, living in Buffalo Niagara.
How long does he intend to work before retiring?
“I intend to stay awhile,” he said, “as long as I have passion in my heart.”
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