Max Cleland: “I am very proud to be a Vietnam veteran and to have served as director of the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, from…”

“I am very proud to be a Vietnam veteran and to have served as director of the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, from 1977 to 1980. The VA has continued to provide high quality health care to our Nation's veterans and is a health care system leader on patient safety tracking, long-term care, Post-Traumatic Stress disorder treatment and dozens of other innovative health care programs. The VA Health Care System has also enhanced its access to veterans with the development of approximately 600 community-based outpatient clinics, CBOC's, across the Nation. But as I visit the VA medical centers in Georgia and across the Nation, I am very alarmed to see patient care areas which look as if they have not been renovated or upgraded in decades. These VA medical centers serve as the hub for all major health care activities and can not be compromised without affecting veterans' care. The president's annual budget for the VA has not requested crucial funding for major medical facility construction. The VA is currently reevaluating their present VA facility infrastructure needs through a process known as CARES or the 'Capital Assets Realignment for Enhanced Services.' Veteran health care and safety may pay the price as this process may take years to complete. With the increasing numbers of female veterans, many inpatient rooms and bathrooms continue to be inadequate to provide needed space and privacy.”