Kay Calls on Veterans Administration to Hold off Closing Veterans Emergency Room Facility in Salisbury

October 15, 2008

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Concerned about drastic changes to the delivery and quality of veterans’ health care in North Carolina, state Senator and U.S. Senate Candidate Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) today called on Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake to postpone any changes to the emergency room and other services at the Hefner VA Medical Center in Salisbury. On Saturday, the Salisbury Post reported that Hefner “plans to eliminate emergency and inpatient services and focus mainly on mental health and long-term care.”

“Veterans who depend on Hefner for emergency medical care have been calling my office, worried sick about these proposed changes which seemed to have come out of the blue,” Kay said. “They’re frustrated, and I’m frustrated, by the lack of communication, the lack of answers, and the lack of sense this decision seems to make. Secretary Peake should postpone making the proposed changes at Hefner. Veterans that depend on the facility should be notified and their concerns should be voiced and heard. Making this decision without the input of people who it affects the most seems hasty, and quite frankly, irresponsible.”

The Salisbury Post recently reported that Hefner Director Carolyn Adams admitted “her communications plan did not work well when it came to informing members of Congress about upcoming changes in veterans services.” On October 9, Kay’s husband, Chip Hagan, a Vietnam veteran himself, attended a meeting for employees affected by the decision at Hefner, who also were not made aware of the changes until the 11th hour.

Kay has made improvement of veterans’ care a priority in her campaign for U.S. Senate. Kay has held veterans’ town halls across North Carolina in order to hear, first-hand, how veterans’ care could be improved. In September, Kay released a policy created with the direct input of veterans in North Carolina, titled, “Keeping Our Promises to Our Veterans.” The full policy can be viewed here: http://www.kayhagan.com/issues/veteranspolicy.

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