Montana State's VA system voted best in U.S.

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Since 11-13-05

By MIKE DENNISON Missoulian State Bureau

HELENA - Veterans advocate Bob Schwegel says most vets he talks to are “quite pleased” with the medical care they receive at the Fort Harrison veterans hospital here, and with good reason.

This year, the federal Veterans Affairs hospital at Fort Harrison and its Montana outpatient clinics have been ranked as the best VA medical system in the country, according to performance standards.

“I've been in a number of different VA hospitals, including this one, and there's been a tremendous change over the past several years with this one,” says Schwegel, department service officer for the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Helena.

The ranking is for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, said Teresa Bell, public affairs officer for the hospital.

The VA's medical performance standards, which consider things like patient waits, patient satisfaction and proper health care procedures, often are measured by independent “peer review” agencies, she said.

“It gives (our employees), data-wise, at the end of the year, a feeling of how they did,” Bell said of the ranking.

Montana is in the VA's Rocky Mountain Network, which is one of 23 separate regions in the country.

The Rocky Mountain region had the highest ranking of any region for the second year in a row, Bell said, and Montana's system ranked the highest in the region, which includes VA health centers in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.

Fort Harrison and its 10 outpatient clinics in Montana served about 29,000 veterans in the year that ended Sept. 30. The hospital and clinics have 580 full-time employees, and treat veterans from Montana and some from North Dakota, Wyoming and Salmon, Idaho.

The VA medical system, which was considered for abolishment in the early 1990s because of care thought to be less than ideal, has gone through dramatic changes in the past decade.

It's often recognized for its computerized record system of patients and care, which tracks patients' medical histories and ensures they are receiving their prescribed treatment.

Schwegel, who routinely visits the Fort Harrison hospital and chats with patients, said the VA hospital's staff also is well-trained and really cares about patients.

“The employees seem to be taking a lot more personal interest in the patients they have,” he said. “Probably a lot of that has to do with the overall management practices that have been taking place the last few years.”