After being in the hot seat for not following proper protocol when it came to scheduling appointments, officials with the Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Healthcare Center say improvement continues.
Dr. Anthony Stazzone, the Chief of Staff at the Southern Arizona VA says they've taken the approach of making sure their staff know the exact guidelines to follow when it comes to scheduling.
"There's strict scheduling guidance, the VA is one of the few agencies in healthcare that actually tracks very in depth and religiously when we schedule and when patients get appointments," said Stazonne, "what we've done is really follow the scheduling guidance, we've distributed that to everyone, educated all of our staff on that and we do audits/ We have internal audits and we have outside audits to make sure we're in compliance with that scheduling guidance."
He added the VA has also filled key leadership roles in order to make sure protocol is being followed from every level.
Along with that, Stazzone added that in order to give better care, the VA has focused on creating a better culture for both staff and patients.
"The best decision you can to take care of that veteran, one veteran at a time, that's how you earn trust. That's how you get good experiences and it's really nothing I can say but it's something I can mirror in my actions and expect the staff to be empowered and go ahead and act in the best interest of our veterans," Stazzone said.
