Senator Sherrod Brown

Washington, DC – In a national survey of patient satisfaction at veterans hospitals, Dayton ranked near or below the bottom fifth – 117th out of 146 facilities in patient care and 137th in outpatient care. In response, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Committee, today announced new plans by the VA to address both the quality of care for veterans and worker satisfaction at the facility.

“The VA has made a commitment to correct the serious problems at the Dayton VA Medical Center,” Brown said. “Our veterans put their lives on the line to protect us, and for that sacrifice, we must provide good health care and benefits. I will continue to work with the Dayton facility and the VA to ensure top notch health care for Dayton vets.”

Since taking office in 2007, Brown’s office has received numerous complaints about the Dayton VA Medical Center regarding patient care, job satisfaction, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) problems, and pharmacy wait times.

A 2006 survey found that the Dayton VA Medical Center ranks last among six VA facilities in Ohio for job satisfaction among employees. In addition, according to the VA’s regional EEO office, 75 EEO complaints were filed by Dayton VA employees over the past five years. That is more than twice as many as the Cincinnati VA and nearly as many as the Cleveland VA, which has more than 1,000 employees.

Last week, Brown spoke with Guy Richardson, Director of the Dayton VA, and Bill Feeley, Deputy Undersecretary for Health Operations and Management at the Veterans Administration, about the urgency of addressing problems at the Dayton VA. The decision was made to draft an action plan to address Brown’s concerns with the Dayton VA.

The action plan with the Dayton VA includes:

Implementing a plan developed to increase quality service and monitored by Brown's office. The Dayton VA agreed to include specific actions that focus on improving customer service.

Developing a labor-management process to deal with low employee morale and help improve quality service to veterans.

Creating a veterans’ advisory group, including a representative from Brown’s office. The group met for the first time on Tuesday.

Providing additional training for employees.

Instituting monthly meetings between the Dayton VA Director and Brown’s office to review the implementation of their plan and issues that may develop. In addition, Brown's office will meet with patient advocates at the hospital and the organizational development experts.