Hospitals Work Together

By Michael Newsom and Joshua Norman, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

Jun. 1–BILOXI — A large behind-the-scenes effort to streamline care at Keesler Medical Center and the VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System in Biloxi could allow for smoother operations when the hospitals treat the same patients.

Dr. Stephen L. Jones, U.S. principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, toured the Coast on Thursday to find out just how much progress the medical systems had made toward working together.

Government hospitals across the nation that treat military patients within close proximity to each other are working to share resources. There are several areas in the country where a VA and a Department of Defense medical complex sit close by, like Keesler and the VA, and Jones is touring nearly all of them.

In a meeting with officials from Keesler and the VA, as well as the Sun Herald, Jones said he liked what he saw.

“I was very pleased with the commitment,” Jones said.

Jones said the Gulf Coast is doing exceptionally well in sharing, and patients who are fixtures at each of the facilities can expect to start going to the other more often in the near future, as each have their own specialties.

Keesler and VA officials said the plan’s implementation would be mostly unnoticeable to patients because many aspects of the streamlining effort have already been applied. After Hurricane Katrina, there was much cooperation between the VA and Keesler, as about 100 base medical personnel worked in the VA hospital.

But officials said the plan, which will take several years to fully implement as the details are still being worked out, still faces hurdles. Legislation is needed to lessen some of the bureaucracy that comes with trying to manage referrals between the two hospitals.

The plan also could save taxpayers money in the long run, officials said.

They said there are no plans for a joint medical facility in South Mississippi that would house both staffs.

By Michael Newsom and Joshua Norman

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

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