"To provide better care for veterans:" Rep. Ron Kind, others introduce bill following crisis at Tomah VA

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WITI) -- U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), along with Reps. Reid Ribble (R-WI) and Lee Zeldin (R-NY) have introduced a bipartisan bill to improve veterans health care in response to the crisis at the Tomah VA Medical Center.

“Giving veteran patients and their families a real role in VA oversight is an important way we can ensure that the lessons learned from the problems at Tomah help inform the VA to provide better care for veterans nationwide,” said Rep. Kind. “This bill will help prevent the tragic events at Tomah from happening again. We owe a debt to our veterans that can never truly be repaid. What we can do is honor their sacrifice by working to provide veterans with the best care possible.”

Rep. Kind introduced the bipartisan Veterans Pain Management Improvement Act, which would establish a pain management board within each Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) comprised of health care professionals and clinical patients and/or family members of a clinical patient. The pain management boards would:

The bill is based on a recommendation by the VA Office of Inspector General, which proposes collaborative boards as a way to improve pain management practices at VA hospitals.

The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) has endorsed this legislation.