In a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough following news of the proposed layoffs at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said the recruitment has been limited and additional staff cuts are required to help address the $35 million budget deficit caused by the Oracle Cerner Electronic Health Record Modernization program.
WHY IT IMPORTANT
McMorris Rodgers said on Thursday that she “asks” the VA secretary to commit to preventing cuts in staff or services at Oracle Cerner EHR operating health centers by redirecting funding allocated to rollouts are currently on hold, specifically to the two VA medical centers in Washington.
“In no event should a VA medical center face budget shortfalls and staff or service cuts as a result of EHR failures,” McMorris Rodgers wrote in the letter.
Dr Robert Fischer, chief medical officer of Mann-Grandstaff, sent an email to supervisors on May 9, announcing that the hospital would need to reduce its authorized staffing level by more than 15% due to shortages. projected budget shortfall, equivalent to the loss of 146 full-time positions, according to a report earlier this week from Spokesperson-Review.
Stress medical centers say they rely on the private sector to make up for limited intensive care, though Fischer’s email cited wages as a contributing factor.
Shereef Elnahal, the VA’s director of health care, indicated in a press conference last week that the department had provided funding to address the impact of the system, the report said.
McMorris asserted that EHR has undermined care and is now threatening facilities, and asked the minister to ensure affected health centers are adequately resourced.
Secretary, can you pledge to me and every veteran in East Washington that your department will use every available dollar allocated to the EHR to prevent reductions in staff or services. at the Mann-Grandstaff and Jonathan M. Wainwright VA Medical Center?”
TREND TO BIGGER WOMAN
Frustrated by system outages, slow operations, and patient errors, the struggling EHR has impacted operations at five facilities that were the first to transition from VistA.
The VA recently extended its contract to modernize the Oracle Cerner EHR with renegotiated terms that include a range of performance metrics that, if not met, will result in monetary credits to the agency. bond and five one-year terms instead of one five-year term.
“Overall, this is a much stronger contract, and I hope it helps the VA ensure that Oracle Cerner puts this EHR program to work for Washington state vendors and veterans,” said Senator. US Patty Murray, D-Wash., chair of the Senate Budget Committee and VA Subcommittee and a senior member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, said in a statement.
ON PROFILE
“There will be no further system deployments during the EHR reset as announced by the VA,” said McMorris Rodgers.
“Therefore, the initial funds required to continue operating should be redirected to medical centers that are running short on budget, facing staff reductions and facing operational difficulties. as a direct consequence of the EHR.”
Andrea Fox is the senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
