LSU Health Shreveport Chancellor and Dean G. E. Ghali, MD, and Rep. Ralph Abraham, MD, R-La., met with top officials from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tuesday to discuss how the university can improve veterans' healthcare access.
Dr. Ghali and Dr. Abraham sat down with VA Secretary David Shulkin, MD, to outline a plan under which LSU medical students, residents and fellows could address and improve veterans' access to care at the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center in Shreveport.
Under the partnership proposal, the VA Choice Program would reimburse providers at academic medical center affiliates to provide care at VA facilities. The program would allow medical students and residents to gain onsite clinical experience by providing services currently lacking at the facility, such as neurology, orthopedic and internal medicine services.
"We know there are continuing issues at the Shreveport [VA] hospital that must be solved. This is one way we can use existing resources available to us to further enhance the quality of care our nation's heroes deserve," said Dr. Abraham. "I appreciate [Dr.] Shulkin for [taking an] interest in this proposal, and I thank Dr. Ghali for his willingness to work with the federal government to benefit our veterans."