'False impressions': Fayetteville VA responds to congressional concerns
Editor's note: This is an updated version of the original story.
The Fayetteville NC VA Coastal Health Care System is responding to reports about its prosthetic department after concerns were elevated to local members of Congress last month.
In an email to staff that was confirmed by a Fayetteville VA spokeswoman on Friday, the executive director of the Health Care System, Marri “Nicki” Fryar, said that recent reporting inaccurately portrays the Fayetteville VA’s prosthetics services and vendors.
“This misrepresentation could raise unwarranted concerns among Veterans and create false impressions of negligence in their care,” Fryar wrote.
The concerns
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis and Rep. David Rouzer, Republicans whose districts include the Fayetteville and Cumberland County area, sent an April 19 letter to national VA Secretary Dennis McDonough about issues they said veterans, veterans advocates and prosthetic vendors were having.
They attributed the issues to a lack of care coordination in clinics for patients and “poor communication and responsiveness,” to vendors.
There were also claims about a vendor not being paid on time and other vendors having outstanding invoices, which were raised during a call between Fayetteville VA Medical Center staff and vendors that their congressional staffers were part of, they said.
The local members of Congress told McDonough that an “apparent lack of attention to timely and empathetic care delivery for amputee veterans, overburdensome bureaucratic processes, and poor communication among staff and leadership” was causing veterans’ quality of live to diminish.
Tillis, Rouzer call for an investigation into Fayetteville VA Medical Center
Actions taken by the Fayetteville VA
In her email to staff, Fryar said that for fiscal year 2023, the Fayetteville VA received only one patient-initiated congressional inquiry about prosthetic timeliness.
Fryar said that the Fayetteville VA’s executive team collaborated with subject matter experts to review and address the concerns.
Actions taken included:
• The prosthetic team contacting all local vendors for retraining on submitting invoices to the VA.
• The patient advocate team reviewed the few prosthetic patient complaints received, primarily about continuous positive airway pressure machines.
• The leadership has participated in numerous fact-finding calls with VA Central Office leadership and congressional partners regarding the prosthetic acquisition process and care coordination to ensure all the care standards are met for limb-loss patients.
Prosthetics and timelines
Addressing questions raised by Tillis and Rouzer, Fryar told staff in the email that 24 of the prosthetics department's 32 positions for the prosthetics department were filled and that recruiting for open jobs is underway.
The Fayetteville Health Care System does not fabricate prosthetics and relies on more than 26 vendors, she said.
The average timeline for processing consults for a prosthetic is five days, and 86.77% of consults are scheduled within 30 days, she said.
“It's essential to recognize that prosthetic timelines for patients experiencing limb loss are very complex and based on the Veteran’s specific needs, medical condition, rehabilitation progress, and the complexity of the prosthetic device required,” Fryar wrote.
In an email statement Monday, Fayetteville VA spokeswoman Gail Cureton said there is not a standard timeline between surgery, prosthetic fitting, physical therapy and prosthetic delivery because various factors influence the process.
A patient's specific medical condition, scheduling availability, progress in rehabilitation, “and the complexity of the required prosthetic device,” are factors, she said.
Usually, about six weeks post-amputation and during rehabilitation that spans 13-16 weeks, Cureton said, patients will collaborate with their limb loss team to acquire their first prosthesis.
“This comprehensive process involves continuous consultations with providers, physical therapists, mental health professionals, prosthetists, and other health care professionals,” she said.
The latest veteran feedback report found that 88.8% of prosthetic patients trusted their prosthetics team at Fayetteville VA Health Care System, Fryar said in her email to staff.
How many amputees are being served?
Data provided by Cureton shows that the Fayetteville prosthetic department received 157 new artificial limb requests from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023.
From Oct. 1, 2023, to March 6, 2024, 91 requests had been received.
Fryar said that while the Fayetteville VA serves 881 amputees, not all of those patients want to wear a prosthetic, and 24 are conflict-related amputees.
Welcome oversight
Fryar said the Fayetteville VA welcomes external oversight and review of its processes.
“We fully embrace the oversight and collaboration with our staff, the media, elected leaders, and senior VA officials, as it underscores our unwavering mission to honor and care for our nation's Veterans with the utmost respect and dedication they deserve,” she wrote.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What Fayetteville VA says after congressional call for investigation
