Recently released numbers show medical care for veterans in Nevada remains slow months after lawmakers and federal officials vowed to do something about long treatment delays at Veterans Affairs hospitals.
The Associated Press examined wait times at 940 VA hospitals and outpatient clinics across the U.S. to see how things might have improved since a scandal over delays and a cover-up prompted changes.
The majority of Nevada's nine VA clinics and its two hospitals still show problems.
Officials and veterans say the delays are linked to the state's shortage of doctors.
At an Elko clinic, a physician flies in once a month from Salt Lake City to see patients during a week's time. The government has been seeking a physician for the clinic for more than a year without success. Â
Nationally, nearly 894,000 appointments -- or about 2.8% -- completed at Veterans Affairs centers from August to February involved a delay of at least a month, missing the VA's timeliness goal, which calls for patients to be seen within 30 days.
In California, nearly 40% of the state's 61 VA hospitals and clinics had a higher-than-average percentage of delayed appointments.
The Sacramento VA hospital had the highest percentage of appointments delayed by at least a month among VA centers in California.
VA officials say there's demand for specialty care such as sleep studies and orthopedics. The Sacramento hospital is hiring more doctors, nurses and staff to keep up with demand. (AP)
