Cohen: Memphis Veterans Deserve Highest Quality of Care

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today highlighted his efforts to see that Memphis veterans and veterans nationwide receive the highest quality of care available at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs). Video of the Congressman’s remarks on the floor of the United States House of Representatives is available here, and his remarks as prepared for delivery follow:

“Mr. Speaker, President Obama has announced his plans to withdraw our troops from Afghanistan.

As we prepare to welcome these men and women back home, we must ensure that our VA medical centers are well-equipped to meet the needs of these returning heroes, in addition to the men and women currently receiving care.

Like all of my colleagues here, I am outraged by the deaths and medical errors that have occurred at VA medical centers around the country, including at the Memphis VA Medical Center in my district.

As soon as the VA Inspector General issued a report about preventable deaths at the Memphis VA, I wrote to Secretary Shinseki expressing my concerns about the Memphis facility.

I invited him to visit the medical center to assess what resources it needs to help improve care for the nearly 200,000 veterans served by the facility.

I have also been in close communication with the director at the Memphis medical center to discuss quality of care improvements for Memphis veterans.

I am committed to making sure that our VA medical centers have the resources they need to deliver quality care to our nation’s veterans.

This is already a serious matter and will only become more critical as more of our heroes return. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this issue and I yield back the balance of my time.”