VA hospital to renovate, expand in Poplar Bluff

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Plans for more than $50 million in new construction for the Poplar Bluff VA hospital facilities were highlighted during a town hall meeting last week, where veterans shared concerns over wait times.

John J. Pershing VA Medical Center will spend about $15 million to add an urgent care and dental clinic to the south side of the main campus, hospital officials said.

This is the first project to increase clinical square footage since the hospital opened in 1951, director Marj Hedstrom said during the event.

About $35 million also will be spent to create a 43,000-square-foot clinic in Cape Girardeau.

The Poplar Bluff campus has difficulty recruiting specialists because of its rural location, she said, and this move is expected to help with those issues.

The main campus projects will take place between summer 2015 and 2017, said James Todd, chief of facility management services.

The Poplar Bluff facility has only three entrances, he said. Work needs to be done before summer to make the main entrance more accessible, Todd said.

"This will create a primary drop-off point. That will be critical," Todd said. "Once that is done, we can begin the primary construction."

Hospital staff were questioned about wait times to see the center's chiropractor and changes in federal law, which audience members said had caused delays in the delivery of pain medication for veterans.

The Poplar Bluff VA had one chiropractor on staff who was absent frequently for a time because of an injury, said Army veteran Bardis Dismuke, 70, who served from 1967 to 1969.

Dismuke said he waited six months to get an appointment to see a surgeon for shoulder issues. The problem, he said, is not the Poplar Bluff facility.

"It's the VA system entirely. It's not just here in Poplar Bluff," he said. "I've had good treatment here. I volunteer here."

Medical personnel acknowledged there were delays in care during a situation with the facility's only chiropractor.

The facility since has added a second full-time chiropractor, a part-time provider and a student worker.

Veterans choice cards also began going out last week to those who live more than 40 miles from the closest VA facility or who had to wait more than 30 days for treatment.

The Poplar Bluff VA does not know how many of its veterans will receive these cards, Hedstrom said.

The 30-day target is a change, she said, saying the target was once 120 days, then 90 days, then 60 days.

Hedstrom warned those who receive cards to verify their eligibility before obtaining treatment at another facility.

"The care has to be authorized and approved before (veterans) can start to use the cards. That's the most important thing," Hedstrom said. "The last thing we want is for them going out for care that's not authorized and having to pay some portion of that bill."