WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (KS-02) and Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) called on the VA Heartland Network Director raising serious concerns about the support the Network is receiving from the VA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., to resolve the ongoing issues with the operation of the emergency room at the Colmery-O’Neil VA Medical Center in Topeka, Kan. 

Congresswoman Jenkins and Sen. Moran first raised these concerns with then-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki in August 2013. Now – in April 2015 – the situation remains unclear due to a lack of transparency from the VA Headquarters regarding the status of the emergency room.

“We can all agree that our veterans deserve the highest quality of care possible, yet more than a year has passed and veterans are still not able to receive emergency care from Colmery-O’Neil,” Congresswoman Jenkins. “This situation is unacceptable and must be resolved immediately. Rather than more excuses and inaction from leaders at the VA in Washington, our veterans deserve results and care that is worthy of their service to our nation.” 

"Veterans who have served our nation with duty and honor deserve access to quality health care when they need it," Sen. Moran said. "Because Kansas is a rural state, many of our veterans are already forced to travel long distances to visit a VA hospital. For more than a year, Topeka veterans have been without the emergency care services they could need at any moment. We will continue to press VA leadership in Washington for answers to make certain veterans in Kansas and across the country get the care they earned.”

Click here to read the letter from Rep. Jenkins and Sen. Moran.

###