[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S6157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. AKAKA:
  S. 1176. A bill to improve the provision of health care and services 
to veterans in Hawaii, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the ``Neighbor 
Islands Veterans Health Care Improvements Act.'' My State of Hawaii is 
home to 115,000 veterans, nearly 18,000 of whom avail themselves of VA 
health care. Unfortunately, the level of care provided to those living 
on Oahu and the Neighbor Islands--Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and the 
Big Island--is not at the optimal level. My legislation would 
significantly improve the level of care the veterans residing in Hawaii 
have so bravely earned.
  Hawaii is undoubtedly an exceptional place to make one's home, and 
its population continues to grow each year. As such, the number of 
veterans seeking VA health care has grown. However, the level of 
services provided to Hawaii's veterans has failed to keep pace. 
Additionally, each day more veterans are returning home to Hawaii from 
the Global War on Terror, including Operations Enduring and Iraqi 
Freedom. It is critical that these brave men and women receive adequate 
care. It is equally critical that today's veterans receive needed long-
term care and mental health care.
  My bill would ensure that care and facilities are optimized, that the 
burden of VA personnel is diminished, and that veterans throughout the 
state receive specialized care. Specifically, my legislation calls for 
new Community Based Outpatient Clinics and Vet Centers in areas that 
desperately need additional health care facilities, as well as 
expanding services at those already in existence. Satellite clinics 
providing both medical care and mental health counseling would be 
opened on the islands of Molokai and Lanai, which currently lack VA 
facilities. Staff levels at existing clinics and Vet Centers would be 
increased to compensate for these new clinics and to provide needed 
community-based long-term care, such as home care. My legislation also 
authorizes the construction of a $10 million mental health center on 
the grounds of Tripler Army Medical Center, which will include an 
inpatient Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder residential treatment program.
  That our veterans receive the long-term care to which they are 
entitled is of major concern to me. In fact, the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs, of which I am Ranking Member, held a hearing on the potential 
demand for long-term care just this May. I would like to point out that 
the VA Center for Aging in Honolulu--the only VA nursing home in the 
State--has a mere 60 beds. This is nowhere near sufficient to care for 
the number of veterans who reside there. Furthermore, community nursing 
home beds are limited. Given the dearth of nursing home beds, both VA 
and community, the Neighbor Islands Veterans Health Care Improvements 
Act authorizes a medical care foster program on the Island of Oahu. 
Modeled on the successful Medical Care Foster Program at the Central 
Arkansas Veterans Health Care System, such a system places veterans in 
a permanent foster home, allowing them to remain in the community while 
receiving the care they need.
  Because I believe specialized care, such as orthopedics and 
opthamology, are limited on the neighbor islands, the bill directs that 
VA fully study the provision of such care. VA would then be required to 
make a formal determination as to the adequacy of specialized care. I 
may seek to direct improvements in this area at a later date.
  This bill is vital to those veterans residing in Hawaii. Though they 
may live far from the other veterans on the mainland, they are just as 
entitled to quality health care.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:
  (The bill will be printed in a future edition of the Record.)
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