Noteboom The Law Firm

James Haley Medical Center Facing $17 Million Deficit

September 30, 2011 is the end of the fiscal year and the James A. Haley Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center has a tough couple of weeks ahead of them. They are currently undertaking "emergency measures" in order to fill a budget deficit currently valued at $17 million. That number is down about $30 million from March due to "significant budget cuts" the medical center has already made, which will undoubtedly affect veterans disability.

Haley is one of the busiest VA hospitals in the country. Despite that, the cuts they've made have been necessary. To date, the hospital has:

• reduced 111 staffing positions due to attrition;
• severely limited travel as well as overtime;
• eliminated veteran referrals to outside health care providers unless necessary; and
• postponed maintenance.

Haley VA has also cut almost $50,000 from their program to combat MRSA within this hospital, a program proven successful in multiple VA hospitals. Additionally, $130,000 has been eliminated from mental health programs, as well as $1.5 million being cut from the laboratory services budget.

Directly contradicting the hospital's own records, a spokeswoman from Haley denied even having deficit in recent years and will not acknowledge the current deficit or the cuts being made. Still, the VA's regional office, the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) is giving Haley "supplemental funding to ensure patient care is uninterrupted."

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.