Officials dawdle on urgent care

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published August 14, 2007

Not everybody was listening when Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said Bay Pines and every other VA hospital with an emergency room would accept nonveteran patients if a life is at stake. Pinellas County's EMS policy remains the same: If a nonveteran falls critically ill off Bay Pines property, the ambulance will bypass the VA emergency room on its way to another hospital.

The issue arose after Bay Pines employee Mark Surette suffered a heart attack within sight of that facility's emergency room but was sent on a 10-minute ride to another hospital because he wasn't a veteran. He died.

Among those who were appalled by the policy was Rep. C.W. Bill Young, whose congressional district includes Bay Pines and who is usually a powerful voice on veterans' issues. "I think it would be well for the VA to notify all its medical facilities about just what the rules and regulations are so there won't be any question in the future," Young said.

Nicholson appeared to settle the matter in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times. "If that's the closest hospital and it's a life-and-death event, (the patient) should be brought immediately to the VA's emergency facility (regardless of veteran status)," Nicholson said.

Case closed, right? Not really. This involves, after all, two bureaucracies - the VA and Pinellas EMS. While Bay Pines did agree to give emergency care to nonveterans already on its property, it still won't accept any such victims from outside, no matter how close they are to its facility.

And Pinellas County has little sense of urgency to resolve the matter. "We haven't received any communication from the VA that they're ready to implement that, if it's going to be implemented," said Dr. Laura Romig, Pinellas medical director. "I'm not going to make a unilateral decision."

Someone make a decision? Heaven forbid! Ambulances off Bay Pines property will still bypass the VA emergency room if paramedics can't verify the victim is a veteran, and that can hardly be their primary concern at such a time. So never mind what the VA secretary says, or what Young thinks, or what the public fears. These things take time for the bureaucracy to work out.

The next heart attack or accident victim may not have that much time.

[Last modified August 13, 2007, 22:50:47]