STOCKTON, Calif. — A new Veterans Affairs clinic just started serving veterans in French Camp. It all comes as 10 On Your Side gets answers about a major doctor shortage at the clinic in Stockton.
Vietnam veteran Tino Adame proudly displays his United States Marine Corps flag outside his home, and inside, the walls are covered with his many accomplishments, including recognitions from the California State Assembly.
He fought for his country, but he told 10 On Your Side he was in the fight of his life with the Stockton VA clinic.
"We have veterans that are dying in their cars, and we don't have the proper doctors there to take care of them," said Adame.
A doctor shortage left the nation's heroes waiting weeks, if not longer, just to make an appointment.
"We've been in a real crisis for our veterans health care across the Central Valley over the last year. Just 6 months ago, we lost half the doctors that were catering to the veterans in our area and that sent wait times skyrocketing," said Congressman Josh Harder.
The VA's own website showed the average wait time for a new patient to see a primary care physician at the Stockton VA Clinic was 66 days back in September.
For existing patients, the Stockton clinic's wait time was 21 days.
"I took letters from hundreds of veterans across San Joaquin County directly to the Secretary of the VA, urging immediate action to hire more doctors," said Harder. "One of our veteran's recently had to have his leg amputated because he couldn't see a doctor to get his medication refilled."
Congressman Harder addressed the crisis on the House floor, and he used his position on the House Appropriations Committee to write and pass an amendment directing the VA to create an emergency plan for addressing the doctor shortage.
The VA provided the following statement, in part:
VA Northern California Health Care System has consistently and diligently worked to recruit, hire, and retain talented and dedicated providers to serve Veterans in the Stockton area.
These efforts have resulted in:
- Significantly reduced wait times for new patients, down to 28 days from 38 days in the previous quarter. Wait times for established patients are currently at 12 days.
- Two new providers already onboarded. Two additional providers will start seeing patients this summer. Five more providers will join the team and are currently undergoing the onboarding process.
It's welcomed news for Adame, who spoke at the ribbon cutting for the brand new VA clinic in French Camp.
"Great. It's great. It's a worry off me," said Adame.
The new French Camp location will eventually take over all patients from the Stockton clinic.
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Statement from VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes :
Our top priority is to provide Veterans with the world-class care they deserve, whenever and wherever they need it. As a part of that mission, VA Northern California Health Care System has consistently and diligently worked to recruit, hire, and retain talented and dedicated providers to serve Veterans in the Stockton area.
These efforts have resulted in:
- Significantly reduced wait times for new patients, down to 28 days from 38 days in the previous quarter. Wait times for established patients are currently at 12 days.
- Two new providers already onboarded. Two additional providers will start seeing patients this summer. Five more providers will join the team and are currently undergoing the onboarding process.
Additionally, we have opened a new facility – the Richard A. Pittman VA Clinic – to expand access to care for local Veterans living in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Calaveras, and Tuolumne counties. The 158,000-square-foot clinic is comprised of four floors dedicated to providing quality primary and specialty care for Veterans living in the area. This clinic now serves over 32,000 Veterans, allowing them to receive a variety of specialty care services in their own backyard. VA started seeing patients there on April 30, and all primary care services have transferred to the new clinic.
We appreciate the ongoing support we receive from Representative Josh Harder and other members of Congress, who are our valued partners. Their efforts help us carryout VA’s sacred mission which is providing timely and quality health care to Veterans living in Northern California.
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